Celebrating Pretty Pony Pastures – 2021

The hardest part of this year was not knowing. Not knowing if COVID was on the decline or not. Not knowing if we will continue meeting in person. Not knowing if things will ever go back to normal.

The good part of this experience was that we learned we were resilient. We were able to adapt to the situation and be innovative in coming up with ways to keep us operational.

Our riding programs, Test Ride a Pony(sm), Open Riding sessions, and scout activities all continued. They were scaled back to two or three riders. We kept our distance. We used a ton of sanitizers. We kept going.

We even did a virtual Valentine’s Day Escape! Not sure if “escapes” are still popular but they were certainly a hit when we had restrictions. It’s still available if you would like to try it – https://forms.gle/4CkCkoVLGkQ9AJjq7

Just when we thought things were coming together, everything started falling apart. Our paddock tends to get quite muddy when there is a lot of rain. This year was no exception. I learned that mud-bogging is not an activity I should do. I ended up with a Medial Head Gastrocnemius Tear. Yikes! That meant I had to rest my leg for two weeks, then evaluate. Luckily our great staff was able to convince the horses they should come in, even though I wasn’t calling them. Lessons went on with me sitting on the mounting block. But, at least, we could still ride.

Not to be outdone with time off, Leslie developed scratches on her left, hind fetlock. That put her out for two weeks, then back in with limited riding. At least it was at the end of our season. The bad news was we had to cancel our Annual Horse Show – again. We did not have one, for obvious reasons, in 2020. We postponed the show from August to October because of my leg injury. Now, with Leslie out, we just couldn’t do it.

We did learn a very important lesson. We realized that two riders in a class was an ideal number. This gave me more time to work with each rider. We would allow three riders in a therapeutic class because each rider has a leader that knows our routine.

Even with the setbacks, we ended the year feeling that we were well on the way to recovery and the next year would even be better!

Pretty Pony Pastures, an inclusive horseback riding facility, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
To learn more about their riding programs, volunteer opportunities, and other programs that are available, click this link and visit their website.