Learning to ride at Humblehorse Ranch

Times Reporter     

 

Learning to ride a horse is a dream for many people. There’s something almost liberating about it, knowing that big animal can become your friend, roaming the countryside with the wind whipping through your hair. The Humblehorse Therapeutic and Western Riding Center may not take you trail riding, but they do offer Western Riding lessons and a Therapeutic Riding program. 

The operation is a family affair. Becky Skuter offers Western Riding lessons and is a level one certified coach, having graduated from Olds College in 2003. Her dad Clarence Skuter teaches the therapeutic side of things, using guidelines that his other daughter, Aimee Bailey, helps come up with. Bailey has an Early Childhood Development degree.   

Children can begin their lessons at Humblehorse as early as three-years-old with the lead line classes.

“We started working with three-year-olds because in the therapeutic that’s when we can start to address Cerebral Palsy and some other motoring deficiencies,” said Clarence.

Once a lead line child reaches the age of seven or eight they have the chance to move into Becky’s classes, or into the therapeutic side of things. 

“After that they kind of have their core riding ready to come into even more technical lessons with me,” said Becky. 

The Western Riding lessons run once a week for an hour for four weeks. At the end of four weeks each rider can decide if they would like to sign up for another four weeks. 

“I’ll move you up accordingly, so I will move you up based on where your technical skill is, where your core balance is, how you’re responding to the horse. You’re constantly progressing, but it’s not a rush,” said Becky. 

Even if you are in a group for four weeks and two of the riders are a little more advanced she will be able to tailor the lessons a little to fit your skill while still keeping you in the same group.

Other riders who have really shown a lot of improvement will be put into a sport class; that is a goal to work towards, if you want it.

“It is kind of catered to what your goal is but we’ll work you up towards it constantly, lets us know where you want to go and we’ll hopefully take you there,” said Becky.

“Our goal is to teach, not just to get on a horse and ride, we teach horse behaviour, horse health, proper grooming, proper tack fitting, leading. All different kinds of scenarios as well as beginner to advanced riding levels. We try to give them the whole picture,” said Becky. 

Humblehorse supplies all the horses and the tack for their riders. They even have extra boots if needed. 

Becky constantly goes to clinics and is always learning to keep herself fresh in the industry.

The Therapeutic Riding program is different than what is offered to the western riders. The lessons are not as scheduled, in general they last an hour or an hour and 15 minutes but if Clarence sees a lot of progress from one child and they need an extra couple of minutes they are going to get it. Clarence said he often has conversations with Aimee about how to stimulate the kids in his classes. 

‘That’s the challenge, if these children have a good time that’s when things happen and if they don’t have a good time then nothing happens,” said Clarence. 

The Therapeutic Riding program has benefited adults and children with multiple sclerosis, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, down syndrome and autism.

“Anyone that can benefit from anything we can do, we’re open to giving it a go,” said Becky. 

Clarence said they are open to learning. There are some areas they have experience and some they don’t but they will always try and see if they can make a difference. 

Before accepting a new rider in the therapy programs Clarence has a one-on-one session with the potential rider and their caregiver. 

He brings out three horses and tries to get a feel of what the caregiver is trying to accomplish, what medical concerns they have to worry about and see what kind of horse would satisfy their objectives. It gives the caregiver a chance to decide if it is what they want to sign up for and it gives Clarence a chance to learn about the rider before the first lesson. 

Volunteers are an asset to any organization and that’s no different at the ranch. The same volunteer base can be used for both the Therapeutic Riding program and Western Riding lessons. For every person riding a horse on the therapeutic side two volunteers are needed, which can become a bit of a dilemma. For the Western Riding classes everyone is usually riding by themselves; Becky does have volunteers to help set up events, and if there is a student that is still fairly new she will have a volunteer for them but by the time they reach her class the students are more into the technical and more hardcore riding. 

“It is very challenging to train them (volunteers) and keep them dedicated for the whole session because you simply cannot afford to pay them,” said Clarence. 

“Something has to be said about the volunteers because they bring the energy. The horse is obviously good, but those volunteers are what make it.”

“They bring the life and they know everyone. We’re like a big family, it’s like a Humblehorse family,” said Becky.

The volunteers are all well trained with the horses and safety.

Angela Hitch and her daughter Sara have been involved with Humblehorse for five years. 

“My daughter started going out and watching a friend of hers ride, and was hooked. Sara is now is very much part of the Humblehorse family, taking lessons, volunteering, and now she even has her own horse,” said Hitch. 

With her daughter being so involved it was only a matter of time before Angela became involved too. She had grown up with horses, helping her uncle exercise thoroughbreds on his farm in Saskatchewan. It didn’t take long to reignite her passion for the animals, and she soon became a volunteer. 

“My favorite classes are the lead line classes, or the ‘Littles’, as we call it,” said Hitch.  

“These classes are for the first time riders, and usually around three to six-years-old. It’s amazing to watch the kid’s confidence grow around the horses, and watch the confidence in themselves blossom. Grooming and saddling a horse is a pretty big job, and these little ones try their best to get the job done.

“Becky is by far one of the best riding coaches I have had the pleasure of working with. Everyone who experiences the Humblehorse Ranch feels her skill and passion for the sport. She customizes the classes as the kids advance … it’s always moving forward in Becky’s lesson plan.”

Hitch said she always looks forward to going out to the ranch. She said she is always welcomed with a smile and gets to enjoy the company of the other volunteers and caregivers. 

Humblehorse Ranch took a bit of time off to train from new horses; they currently have 30 horses at their 140-acre property. They are located just a few minutes west of Strathmore, off of Highway 1. To find out more information about the ranch go to http://www.humblehorse.com.