Most people have heard of horseback riding or just seen it on the Olympics. Well, substitute coordinator Meg Flach and English teacher Deana Tennill not only ride horses, they race them. But they have gone in separate ways as Flach mainly focuses on English horse riding while Tennill focuses on western cowboy horseracing and doing equine therapy with kids.

In the spring, Flach is going to ride horses in Spain while Tennill will be competing in a competitive horse race in the spring.

Flach explained how English horse riding is different from western style.
“English is something you see in a movie set in old England where the sattle is small,” Flach said. “And the horse jumps over stuff.”

Flach said horse riding is a lot of fun.
“There is a lot of freedom with being involved in having a relationship with an animal,” Flach said. “It is also a good exercise and you get to be out in the open.”

Flach said she started riding at 6 years old and she has been doing it for 24 years now.

“I got my own horse at 13, and I rode him until college and had to sell him,” Flach said. “Now I don’t have my own horse because there is a lot of time, energy, and money involved in owning your horse and right now I kind of like not having one of my own.”

Flach said girlhood fantasies got her into horse riding.

“I think that every child goes through a phase where they are into horses,” Flach said. “Some people never lose it and I was one of those people.”

According to Flach, the best part of riding is being around the horses.

“The horses are neat animals and once you get to learn how to act around them and work with them, they are really cool,” Flach said.

Flach also acknowledges how dangerous riding can be.

“Even people in the Olympics will fall and break their necks,” Flach said. “There is a saying where they say you are not a real rider until you fall 100 times.”

Flach is really looking forward to going to Spain and riding horses there.

“We are staying in Treafa, which is in southern Spain and it is on the beach and there are a lot of sand dunes,” Flach said. “We are given a horse for a week and you can do whatever you want with it, so I am really looking forward to riding in front of the beach. I am also excited about eating all the Spanish food.”

Flach is not sure whether she ever wants to be a professional rider.

“I don’t know if I have the time anymore to devote to being a professional rider,” Flach said. “I will continue to compete and I will try to improve, and I think one day I may seriously consider owning a horse again.”
Flach has a lot of good advice for kids who want to be riders.

“It is a sport that is kind of deceptive,” Flach said. “If you look at it from a point where you don’t know anything, you will think it is easy. But the more you know, the more complicated it gets. It builds on itself and so you need a lot of patience. There is also a lot of mental challenges to riding, so stick with it and enjoy your self.”

Tennill took her love for horses in two different directions. First of all, she uses equine therapy to help others. Equine therapy has to do with using therapeutic horsemanship to help people with both physical and mental disabilities.

“We work with kids who deal with emotional difficulties, who don’t have diagnosed physical or mental problems,” Tennill said.

Tennill said that each kid does different things in equine therapy.

“Some of the kids are getting over problems and building confidence because they have difficulties in having faith in themselves,” Tennill said. “The kids sometimes just learn how to lead a horse and be a leader. It is also important for other kids to learn how to ask without being pushy and mean.”

Tennill said that the organization, Building Dreams Ranch (BDR), has been around since 2007, and Tennill first got involved in 2009.

Tennill has a lot of favorite things in equine therapy.

“Most kids don’t think of it as a therapy, and it is something totally different from sitting in a room with a therapist because the kids have to actually want to do it,” Tennill said. “There is also learning skills that apply to their lives, like leadership, positive communications, and patience. But, I guess for me personally the best thing for me is that it is outside and doing something that I love to do.”

Tennill said the biggest downside for equine therapy is the weather.

“We have not been able to do things all winter and the spring gets so muddy,” Tennill said. “Our program right now doesn’t have anhy indoor facilities, so our program is really limited to summer.”

Tennill gave advice for those who want to do equine therapy.

“If they are interested as a client, they are more than welcome to visit our website” Tennill said. “We are always, especially this time of the year, happy to have volunteers to come out to the facilities and get the program ready.”

Tennill’s other interest with horses is cowboy racing.

“Cowboy racing is really fun and it is a time event, which makes it a race and also an obstacles course,” Tennill said. “It tests the rider’s communication with the horse and tests the horse’s bravery and willingness to do things they might not be familiar with. There is a part of the race that is in the arena like a regular horse show and there is another part that is outside.”
Tennill said that she likes cowboy horse racing for many reasons.

“My horse likes it for one thing and he gets really excited about doing it” Tennill said. “It is also just a combination of years of work.”

Tennill said she started cowboy racing because her trainer suggested it to her.

“My trainer a few years ago had gotten involved in a ranch close to a start of hosting a cowboy races, and in the fall she it and she encouraged me to get involved,” Tennill said. “At first, it was more of a social thing. Then it really went well in the first year, and I enjoyed it and keep pulling back to it.”

Tennill has been doing cowboy races for about three years now. Before that, she did some regular horse shows and she took her horse to dressage shows too.

Tennill said she rides about once a week. She would like to start training three times a week because of a competitive horse trail ride. She hopes the weather will be nice soon.

Tennill said she is looking forward to the competitive trail ride in the spring.

“I am looking forward to seeing how well my horse goes through the obstacle. And I am looking forward to what our team will look like,” Tennill said. “I don’t care about winning, in fact, I don’t even know where I was placed in the cowboy races. For me it is more about how I feel we did and making through the obstacles and feeling good about the ride.”

Tennill said the coolest thing in cowboy racing is that it challenges you in a way that is both an individual challenge and also a team challenge.

“It is like a team sport because you are in a team, and also you are the individual competitor,” Tennill said.

Tennill said the biggest obstacle was that no cowboy races are held locally.

“So, if you don’t want to travel really far, you are limited to a couple of races year competition,” Tennill said.

Lastly, if any students are interested in horse riding, even if they don’t have any experience, please see Mrs.Flach in the main office for more information on the equestrian club she sponsors. They ride twice a month on Saturdays. The club would love to have new students come out and experience what is like being a horse rider.