In Elfin Forest, San Marcos, Kay Greenwood teaches 29 aspiring riders at her ranch, and houses 10 horses. At this non-competitive barn, riders are taught how to properly take care of horses, barn care, proper equitation, groundwork, and jumping. 

Every rider is taught how to pick hooves, brush their horses, and put on tack by themselves. They are taught how every piece of tack is used for, and why it is needed when riding horses. Along with being able to identify pieces of tack, and their use, they learn how to be around horses, and notifying them when they get near so as to not scare the horses; and, keep everyone safe. 

When riders first get in the ring they walk laps, on their horses, in both directions to warm up the horse’s mind and body. Doing different exercises in different directions helps to keep a horse’s brain focused, and make it work more. After walking the riders move onto trotting which is the second gait after walking. A gait is a horse going at different speeds either naturally or from training by humans. Then, after the rider’s trot their horses they move onto cantering as seen in the photo above. Once the horses are finished warming up, the instructors will have everyone move onto poles or actual jumps depending on what level they are at: beginner, intermediate, advanced. 

When the riders are beginners they start with no-saddles for the first few lessons to build leg strength, and body centering when they sit on a horse. Over time they move to saddles, and start learning to jump over ground poles. By going over poles on the ground they learn how to properly position themselves when going over jumps; and, then they move onto slightly bigger jumps. Then, they start shifting to intermediate where they learn how to better communicate, with their horse, during riding, how to control them more, and move onto bigger jumps.

Riding takes a lot of multi-tasking, understanding, and constant learning. The advanced students are able to understand the shifts in a horse’s body when they are riding, and what the horse is doing. They understand how to properly handle the horses when riding, and constantly work hard to perfect their riding positions. Being advanced is more than jumping large, as seen in the photo above, but it’s also about being able to understand your horse, build a relationship with them as you ride, and be able to communicate through body language. All riders over time learn how to connect with horses more during riding; it just takes countless hours of training, and spending time with the horses. Out of riding they spend their time with the horses when cleaning their stalls, feeding, changing out water, bathing, or just playing with them. Every moment counts when it comes to these animals, and this barn definitely tries to get every rider to learn these skills; proper riding, horse care, and taking care of the barn.