RJ

RJ's Adventure

RJ’s adventure actually starts with a horse named Lily.

While I was working for camp we had a great summer camp horse, Lily, that did not appreciate being worked at all in the cold months. She would absolutely refuse to do anything until about May and then stop performing at the end of September. This does not work well for a lesson horse. The camp I was working for decided that Lily would finish camp and then she would need to find a new home for the winter. My neighbour had previously worked for another camp that only used their horses for the warm months and they had their winter’s off. I was hoping that this would be Lily’s ideal situation so I got in contact with them. They wanted Lily! Knowing that I would soon need more beginner safe trail horses I asked this other camp if they had any horses that were not working well in their program that they thought might make a good trail horse. They picked out RJ and sent me his photo.

On the day that I trailered Lily to her new home I was shown RJ. He didn’t like to stand still to be tacked up and was fidgeting through the ride I watched. He was described to me as being “sour,” when a horse clearly is not happy with the type of work they are being asked to do. That he was, and he was also listening well and keeping his rider safe. RJ was shown to me going walk, trot and I was very surprised that when I asked to see him canter that the rider’s response to me was that they weren’t sure that he knew how. They had not asked that of him in the last five years he had been their camp horse. The rider asked for a canter from RJ and being the good boy that he is, off he went at the faster pace. I was sold! RJ made the trip back to the barn with me that night. It was very late when we arrived and he was immediately put in a stall, fed and watered and left for the night. When I got back the next day his bright, happy face met me, he had settled in wonderfully. He went outside to meet his new horse friends.

I rode him for the first time the day after. I had another staff member walk beside me just in case RJ was a little nervous in his new home. RJ was perfect. He walked around the whole property with me on his back, he was curious, looked around and was safe the whole time. I had faith in this new horse that had been picked out for me. The next ride took us around the back hay field, alone this time. RJ was perfect again. I could tell that he wanted to push the pace faster than our last ride that had been just a walk. I asked RJ for a trot and he was more than happy to oblige. After a bit of trotting and slowing back down to a walk to see how our brakes were working, I asked RJ to go even faster. If horses could smile I’m sure RJ would have been grinning ear to ear, he put his whole heart into that ride and he was officially “my horse.”

RJ started trail rides not long after our rip through the hay field. When Tranquil Woods started we would go from where the horses were boarded (living on someone else’s property) and trailer over to the forest when we had appointments. He has been with me through three different moves until we found our current location. RJ is quick to adjust to his new surroundings, something that makes him the slow, steady, reliable boy that he is. We can always count on him to be safe for our smallest newest riders to our most experienced riders! He will oblige us with our slow, steady pace for our hour or hour and a half trail rides with a little fuss and a bit of a grumpy face but he is happiest on our Private trail rides for those riders who have some more experience and would like to pick up the pace. This boy has a fast engine when you ask for it and you will get to see him smile ear-to-ear when he gets to run!