show halter, equestrian tackTo be honest I have had only a few opportunities to ride a horse in my life, all of them when I was a younger kid. I grew up in a rural area of the Pacific Northwest where most people had at least a horse acre of land. Those with actual horses had more and their ranches were seen all over the place. There was a point in Junior High when we were required to do community service. I choose to do it at a local equestrian center specializing in teaching kids with special conditions how to ride. There was a large indoor ring, outdoor field and more then enough horse poop to shovel during the few days I invested there. Show halters and conchos hung from the metal hooks on wooden walls, sounds of horse echoed through the large hanger like center and kids from around the area sat in awe as instructors taught them about the magnificent animal.

On the final day of the community service, the center held a ride around for the parents of the kids to come and watch. Equestrian tack, show halters and horse tack shimmered throughout the dusty field. One by one the kids came out sometimes saddled up with instructors and other times in side cars attached to larger horses that reminded me of Gladiator days. I was in charge of snapping some pictures and making sure the parents had water or snacks if needed.

With the camera slung around my neck with similar tools seen with the Olympus FE/Stylus Series Accessory Kit in the picture above, I made my way from the show halters to the kids smiling faces as they pranced around with docile horses. I’m sure that place would have really benefited from knowing about the Jewelry Tack Room at http://jewelrytackroom.com/ where I found the camera kit featured above.

The whole experience while at first I was not excited about turned out to be something I remember to this day. It was about a decade ago but that first meeting I had with equestrian tack and show halters really stayed with me. I think it was the whole atmosphere of horse trainers devoting all their time to sharing their love for horses with disabled kids who probably wouldn’t have ever had such experiences if it wasn’t for this equestrian center. To my knowledge, this place is still standing and countless kids have left with stories they’ll never forget.