Trenton is a sassy old man who refuses to retire. So, he continues to perform well in his day job, often working as a model for photographers who love his fabulous mane and jet black color. Trenton is happy to assume the position of follower on his team, letting the young ones take the lead while he ambles through his days admiring the world around him with confidence and style.
Trenton is one in a healthy herd of horses at Serenbe Trail Riding in Chattahoochee Hills where Sandy manages a successful program for kids and adults. “Trenton and I started working together back in 2014 at the local Girl Scout camps,” says Sandy. “He’s 25 and when we tried to retire him last spring, he made it clear he still wants to work.”
That suits Sandy and her team just fine for the various trail rides they lead. The kids’ programs are open to the public and include kids’ intros to horses and drop-in pony rides for ages 3 and up, lessons and mini-lessons for ages 4 and up, family trail rides for ages 7 and up, and Camp Serenbe summer horsemanship camps. Sandy believes lesson and program horses have a special talent for challenging the riders only as much as the rider can handle at that time, or for teaching us the lessons we need to learn in that season of life.
“Horses help us find the best versions of ourselves and act as a mirror,” she says. “The schoolmasters will boost the confidence of the kids that need it and test the mettle of the ambitious kids by holding them to a higher skill level to match their confidence.”
For parents who may be nervous about seeing their kids on horses, she reminds us that good instructors will have good horses. “We test horses for temperament, energy levels, how they react to normal kid behaviors, and how they handle both nervous and high energy participants. Watch how the staff and horses interact with each other, and how the horses interact when either relaxing on duty or out in pasture. If the herd is generally calm and interested in people and seems in good health, you've probably picked a good location.”
At Serenbe Trail Riding, the student's confidence sets the pace until Sandy gets to know the rider well enough to help stretch their comfort zone. They move at each kid’s pace; no child will ever be forced onto a horse against their will just because the guardian wants the picture. “By moving at the kids’ pace whether they actually ride or just touch a horse, we set both the kids and horses up for success in building positive experiences,” promises Sandy.
https://www.serenbetrailriding.com/
470.590.7472
Meet the Horses
The herd varies slightly season to season, as horses here at Serenbe Trail Riding are leased and Sandy says she is “VERY picky about what horses get to stay in my program.”
Ruby is our lead guide mare and queen of the herd. She keeps the trail string in line for our trail rides but also loves the slower paced kids’ programs. She is owned by Savannah at The Farmhouse and was her collegiate rodeo horse so has some of the most extensive training of our herd.
Rocky is our youngest client horse at 8 years old and is the class clown of the herd. A steady ride overall, he will occasionally get distracted when in the caboose spot and will trot/jog to catch up.
Captain Blue is our gentle giant. The largest in our herd at 18 hands high (that's 6 feet at the top of the shoulder), he loves the cooler weather. He typically moseys in the back of the line but also loves being the station horse for paint-a-pony sessions as well.
Vinny is our "introvert Grandpa." He wants to be in the middle of the group so that he doesn't have the responsibility of the front or back spot, and only wants to be petted or get cuddles on his terms, however,he will do almost anything for treats and is one of our best photo shoot horses.
Three is the goofy jock of the herd. He is our dominant gelding and will go almost anywhere in the lineup. Typically he goes right behind Vinny or Blue as their support friend, but he also loves the challenges of lessons and is one of our best kid horses. He and Vinny will often pester each other at the hitching rail like siblings on a long car trip.
Buckles is Trenton's best buddy and has a puppy dog personality. We are helping him to regain his confidence under saddle, so currently he does our grooming and unmounted lessons while staff work with him on his saddle skills.
Rose is one of our newest horses, the sweetest girl you will ever meet. As an Arabian, she has a going places doing things kind of walk on trail, so she is primarily a staff guide horse, however, you will often see her up for our kids’ intros as the station horse.
Jackson, Sassy, and Dakota are proven lesson and trail horses I've worked with on and off since 2016, and Georgia is a rescue mare that loves kids’ programs. They joined us for the summer season.