Our Equine Staff
Jazzman
Festival Jazzman is our “been there, done that” horse. Smarter than your average bear (or in this case, horse) he has many things to teach his rider, and he does it all. He’s Fairdawn’s baby, a wonderful horse for driving (pulling a cart), great for barebacking (if you have a comfy pad!) and as close to “bombproof” as one can get on the trail. He’s also our Christmas Parade Ambassador, allowing many kids to approach him along the route to touch and pet him. He’s been doing this a long time – in fact, he helped teach one of our instructor’s to ride and drive!
Mardi Gras
Mantic Mardi Gras is special for many reasons. She’s a Broodmare Hall of Fame Recipient and has produced many World Champion babies. She came to us at age 15, and we’ve had her for about 10 years. In that time, she’s had lots of babies and taught lots of people to ride, so she multi-tasks. Mardis Gras has a wonderful, smooth trot and is one of our go-to therapy horses, she is so kind and patient with her therapy students.
Kappy
Atakapa Windsong, a.k.a. “Kappy,” was born on a Native American reservation in Louisiana and was purchased at the age of 7 to be a brood mare (for breeding). Well, Kappy wasn’t so great at producing all-star Morgan babies, but it turned out she had another talent – teaching kids to ride. She is a wonderful lesson horse who excels at teaching kids to post with her bouncy trot. She is also an awesome trail horse and cherished for her hard work. We can always count on Kappy.
Willow
Willow has an interesting story. We got her in the month of March a few years ago from a horse rescue, and by summer she was teaching summer camp. Towards the end, we noticed she wasn’t feeling well. While observing her, discussing her symptoms, we saw a small hoof kick her from inside her belly. Willow was going to have a baby! And a baby she did have – 3 weeks after camp, on a Tuesday, so we named the foal “Tuesday.” Since coming to us, Willow has become an integral part of our lesson program – thank goodness for horse rescues!
Orlean
Orlean was donated to us lovingly by the Jacobi family. Orlean is our newest therapy horse, she has a very sweet and gentle spirit about her. she is great on trails and is a rock star with the kids already. She is proving to be a wonderful lesson horse especially for the 1st timers. We will be using her for therapy as well as summer camp for our young campers who are unsure about horses. Orlean has a way about her that calms even the most hesitant of riders. We look forward to starting this new journey with her and look forward to her many years of service with us.