06/18/2026
Teaching…
For the longest time, I swore I hated teaching. I said I never wanted HPH to become a lesson barn. What I’ve learned is that sometimes perspectives change.
What I hated wasn’t teaching itself. I hated seeing a lack of work ethic, a lack of horsemanship, riders’ wants being put before horses’ needs, unfair riding techniques, and horses that weren’t physically or mentally prepared being forced to do “their job.” The list goes on and on.
What I realized is that it doesn’t have to be that way.
At HPH, we’re building a community of riders who learn the value of hard work, who put their horses first, who understand proper feeding and care, and who learn to ride fairly and communicate clearly. We’re not just teaching people how to ride, we’re helping develop real horsemen and horsewomen, the next generation of cowboys and cowgirls.
Every once in a while, when I see students elsewhere trotting within a few rides or loping within a few months, I have to remind myself that our goal isn’t speed. Our goal is building a solid foundation. We focus on doing things correctly, even when it takes longer.
Because the lessons learned here aren’t just about horses. They’re about patience, responsibility, consistency, empathy, and work ethic, skills that will stay with our students long after they leave the barn.
And if we’re lucky, along the way they’ll develop the same deep respect and love for horses that brought us all here in the first place.
