Riding & Writing...: HorseHaven Ohio: An Interview with Solange

Solange @ HorseHaven Riding Stable, Ohio USA

“I find the misogyny against mares so perplexing, especially when so many women

ride and perpetuate that ‘marish’ narrative.”

~ Solange

HorseHaven Ohio: An Interview with Solange

by Gina McKnight

Archived from the September 20204 issue of Florida Equine Athlete

No Duplication Without Permission

In the heart of Ohio horse country, Solange is the president of HorseHaven, a riding stable that embraces quality instruction and the joys of horsemanship. Solange, an Equine Affaire presenter, is the creator of the Stable Riding System, “designed to keep the rider stable on the horse’s back, using physics and gravity to align both their skeletons so that the horse can move forward freely. Solange’s goal is to bring stability to anyone who ever sits on a horse regardless of their age, athleticism, experience, or goals, so that she can help horses by helping their riders become more confident.”

Welcome, Solange!

GM: Solange! It’s super nice to connect. After visiting your website and social media, I am intrigued by your riding methods and goals – to make horse and rider more confident! When did you meet your first horse?

S: When I was five years old, my parents had me skip a Friday of first grade to go to the little local circus that came in for the weekend. I rode a pony for the first time ever on one of those circular pony rides. And it was at that second I knew I understood horses.

GM: A magical event, riding a circus pony! Now, you are not only riding horses, but helping others to see their riding dreams come to fruition. Take us through a day in your life with horses...

S: First thing, someone has to go down to check on the sixteen horses in my barns, feeding, watering, and just seeing how they’re doing and feeling. I boop a lot of snoots and feed a lot of treats!

By far I spend the majority of my day teaching riders. There is a high demand for the type of instruction Stable Riding provides, so I am rarely not busy.

I really enjoy teaching in my mind, my job consists not only of teaching my students how to ride, but also to translate for them what their horses are saying so that they can communicate more clearly with their aids. I teach so much that sometimes I will go days and days without riding myself.

GM: Do you prefer one breed of horses over another?

S: I have no real breed preference. I have owned, ridden and trained all types of horses, including Appaloosas, Arabians, Hackneys, Morgans, National Show Horses, Percherons, Quarter Horses, Saddlebreds, Standardbreds, Tennessee Walkers, and assorted minis and ponies.

Personally, I ride a lot of Arabs. I enjoy their speed and how easy they are to train. I find riders who have a strong dislike of certain breeds tend to lack riding skill. If you have the technical skill to ride that type of horse, you like it. People don’t like horses they cannot ride. Can I also talk about people’s dislike of mares? I find the misogyny against mares so perplexing, especially when so many women ride and perpetuate that “marish” narrative. I make it a point to say “I have no breed, color or gender preference” in my horses.

GM: A nice quote about mares. Owning a mare myself, I find that she is very intuitive and more intellectual than a gelding. But your quote is true and we find ourselves diminishing the loyalty of a mare. You work with a lot of disciplines and riding scenarios, including fox hunting, cross-country, and trail riding. How do you place riders into specific disciplines?

S: My instruction is non-breed and discipline specific. I view the rider as a human on a horse; this allows me to create riders who are able to competently be able to ride multiple disciplines and then I tell them to try them all. Then I tell them to pick the one they like the best! I deal often with riders who feel pressure, judgment and guilt surrounding their abilities or their horse’s actions and abilities. I have taken to saying, “When you ride next, ask yourself two questions. Did I have fun? Were my horse and I happy?” So I would say I place riders into what they think is fun and makes them happy.

GM: Wonderful! If we’re not having fun, what’s the point? Living in Ohio, we are in the heart of the horse world, surrounded by so many horses! What are your thoughts about the current equine industry, the kill pens, and the Ohio horse scene in general?

S: Ohio is huge horse country, which I think surprises people! My barn and Rider Lab are in Hinckley and I tell people that there are 30 horse barns within 30 minutes of me. It’s wild!

The horse industry is alive and thriving here in Ohio. We have an incredible Metropark bridle trail system that I am eternally grateful for. This time of year I am on the trails up to five days a week so I love that about where I live.

When it comes to any aspect of horse welfare, abuse, neglect, or slaughter I come back to the same root issue: poor quality lesson instructors, specifically beginner instructors.

Lessons are how the majority of riders enter into the sport and the education they are receiving is simply not good enough when it comes to horse care, but also riding. If you have a well-trained riding horse you feel confident on, you are going to take care of it, and if you cannot keep it, there will be a line around the block of people who will. When you cannot ride a horse, when you do not or cannot care for it correctly, it becomes unmanageable and therefore unplaceable.

I don’t like the kill pens – a number of my horses were saved from the pens – but I think the way to get rid of them is to greatly increase the number of good riders.

Riders who can ride any horse and train them to be good equine partners.

We have a terrible culture of education in the US about all learning in general that says New Teachers for Beginner Students. The “best” instructors and coaches are reserved for the advanced students. I constantly hear from instructors “I don’t teach up-downers,” referring to teaching beginners to post.

I never think a rider is beneath my teaching and I believe all riders regardless of age, gender, skill level, discipline and future goals deserve the best possible riding education for them and for the horses they ride!

GM: What is the Stable Riding System and how does it differ from other riding programs?

S: Stable Riding is a practical, real world riding system designed to keep the rider stable on the horse's back. The majority of all riding instruction is designed for the show and competition ring, which is where the majority of the revenue is made for the horse industry. So trainers, instructors and coaches are monetarily incentivised to teach those types of riding.

The way you ride when you show and compete is not how you ride in the real world. I use the analogy of a show or completion position on your horse being like a cocktail dress or a fancy gown: it’s a great dress to go to a party or ball in. But I do not want to hike a trail, go to the grocery store, or clean stalls in it!

I use the four factors of riding: skeletal alignment, weight distribution, grip, and absorption to teach riders how to sit in a way that they stay on the horse's back. Instructors rarely teach all 4 of these factors fully. When a rider early in their education misses these vital pieces of instruction for stability, they often continue riding for years, if not decades, while unstable.

This leads to them losing confidence, their horse not performing as well as they know it can and them not meeting their riding goals.

The next and final step is they begin to think that they are the problem and that they are not good enough. I hear over and over again in my Rider LAB “I am too old” or “I am not built like a rider” or “I don’t have the talent” and all of that is simply not true. They are missing vital information. I want a t- shirt that says: “It’s Not You. It’s Your Instruction.”

I should explain what my Rider LAB is for your readers next. My Rider LAB is a dedicated building on my farm next to my arena filled with tools that riders can learn the hyper-specific body movements necessary for riding without the complexity of the horse beneath them.

I have two Equicizers, a Home Horse, a Mighty Bucky as well as mirrors and other custom tools to help riders learn. I created the LAB for my intensive riders; I give multi day intensives to riders locally and from all over the country. They spend about half the time in the LAB and the other half on horses. Many of the riders are preparing for the world’s longest horse races: the Mongol Derby and the Gaucho Derby. To date, I have trained 6 Mongol Derby riders and 2 Gaucho Derby riders. These riders have taken my Stable Riding system and field tested it in some of the most difficult riding conditions in the world. They have reported back with very little pain while riding, no injuries, and they all completed their races and several without even having a fall. The derby riders have proven that Stable Riding works.

GM: What is your best advice for those looking to purchase their first horse?

S: Take the time to learn how to fully ride first, in your own body. And by that I mean you can sit your walk, trot, and canter comfortably with and without your stirrups. If you buy a horse before you have those skills you will not buy the correct horse for you, as you are still learning. Also, your possible horse choices will be severely limited by your skill set.

GM: Where in the world is your favorite place to ride?

S: I have soared over stone walls behind hounds in Ireland, and I have galloped stallions in front of the pyramids of Egypt. And let me tell you, it was all pretty awesome. However my favorite place to ride in the world is on trail cantering and galloping behind my 12 year old daughter and watching her ride securely and confidently.

GM: What does horsemanship mean to you?

S: Making good decisions. Making logical decisions. Being honest and reasonable about what is best for you and your horse. I watch riders make decisions against their own self-interest and the horse’s interest all the time. When you can consistently make good decisions for yourself and your horse, every second of your ride, then you’re truly demonstrating good horsemanship. And you’ll both be having a great time!

Connect with Solange…

https://horsehavenohio.com/