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| Donna Hakanson riding in Seven Springs Alabama |
Desert Acres Stables:
An interview with Donna Hakansonby Gina McKnight
No Duplication Without Permission
If you’ve ever
wandered past Desert Acres Stables on a crisp morning, you’ve probably caught a
glimpse of Donna Hakanson in her element—boots dusty, reins in hand, and a
horse that seems to understand her better than most people do. Donna’s been
riding, training, and mentoring for years, and her love for the sport runs
deep. She’s not just about ribbons and show rings (though she’s got plenty of
those); she’s about connection, confidence, and the kind of quiet magic that
happens between horse and rider. I sat down with Donna to chat about life in
the saddle, what keeps her inspired, and why Desert Acres feels more like home
than just a stable.
Welcome, Donna!
GM: I’ve seen your
photos and it looks like you know horses! When did you begin riding?
DH: I was a baby. I
all I know is my parents took me to a place that had horses. When I was growing
up, my sister and I would ride the mechanical Pony outside the grocery store
for a quarter. We lived in Sweetwater first, and then my parents got a house
not very far away, in Miami. When I was a kid, Seminole Indians lived behind us
and they had horses. I had a good friend who went to Southwest High School. We
went to Coral Park. She had a horse and we had a pony, we'd ride all over the
place. My friend went on to Sebring, I believe it was, and learned to ride. Her
trainer eventually became my trainer. He taught me so much. His name was Paul
Vanaram. He had five or six horses, a couple had babies, so I got a filly when
I turned 18. She was a Quarter horse and
Thoroughbred mix. Her name was Desert Sand
GM: How long did you
have Desert? Did she teach you a lot of life lessons?
DH: Yes, yes, she taught me a lot. When I was 21,
I moved to Camp Biblia and brought Desert with me. Camp Biblia is no longer
there. It was at 95 and Fiske Blvd. in Rockledge, and I lived in a camper, the
kind of camper that fits on top of a truck. I lived in that camper for two
years and six months with Desert. Finally, I moved.
I broke Desert to
ride, with the help of Paul. You know, when you’re a teenager, you just run,
run, run. We were going to shows and I asked my friend, Elaine, why I wasn’t
winning. She said, “Go home, take lots of lessons.” I get that now. When I started
the lessons, I began cleaning up at the shows. I showed at Live Oak, McCauley’s,
Ocala, Vero Beach, Orlando.
Desert was only 15 hands.
I learned to ride English. I took her on the jumping circuit. That was so much
fun. Desert lived until she was 22. She had Cushing’s. Horrible disease. I had
to put her down.
My trainer would come
up to my place and train. Then he moved to Fort Drum and I would take my horse
to Fort Drum for training to learn to cut. Eventually, he moved to Williston,
Florida, and I would drive there. Desert had a baby named Sonny. Sonny and I
went to shows and cleaned up. He was a bay, half Arabian, the rest Quarter and Thoroughbred
(from Desert). He was 15.3 hands.
GM: Do you still have
Sonny?
DH: Same as his
mother. Cushing’s is hereditary.
GM: Any good
anecdotes/experiences during your competitive years?
DH: I had a good horse, she did anything I asked
her to do, if I asked her correctly. My friends, Dorothy and Roy, really good
friends I grew up with, we went me to a horse show. I was nervous as a cat on a
hot tin roof. They helped calm me down. My horse was sailing four foot over a
little tiny one foot fence. I guess I was nervous. I was just telling her to
jump and she jumped. The riders that were falling off were the ones that the
horse jumped really low. I got pictures of me jumping that high because I used
to do four foot fences.
GM: Tell us about
your riding facility…
DH: I have seven
acres here to ride. I board two horses and the other four are mine. I guide trail
rides, offer riding lessons, and summer camps. We have 22,000 acres outback
behind us for riding. It’s all wetlands and the trails are always different. It’s
where the hurricane waters run before going to the St. John’s River. If they
ever build it, I’m out of here.
GM: What about your
trail horses?
DH: One of our horses
is 30 years old. He belongs to my sister who lives in Homestead, Florida. He is
retired here, and only allowed up to 140 lbs. Mostly children ride him.
GM: Any good trail stories?
DH: I took two riders
out, it was in the middle of the day, about 2:30. We rode down the main trail
and looked down. To the left, there was a coyote carrying a baby pup in her
mouth. She was moving her pup to a safer spot. In all my years, I had never
seen that. That was pretty amazing. She was probably as intrigued by us as we
were by her. We have seen bobcats, wild pigs, and deer, too. We ran into an
alligator once on the trail. It was a six-foot gator. This was about 12 years
ago. It rained so much from the hurricane, the gator was a bit lost.
I just had two people
here riding who live in Florida, but are from Germany. And two people from Ukraine
that live here that like to come riding, too. Not the first time they've ever
come to ride. The folks from Germany are going to come back because they're
going to do a European horseback riding tour over Christmas break.
The best way to
schedule a ride is to call me. I'm old school. I believe in the phone call
method because usually if you talk to somebody, they wind up showing up. If you
don't talk to me, you just text them back and forth. They usually never show
up.
GM: Does the wildlife
bother the horses?
DH: I’ve never had a problem on the wetland
trails. They allow us to ride through.
GM: What's your
favorite riding discipline?
DH: Show class trail –
it used to be jumping when I was younger. But after being in a few car wrecks
that kind of said, oh, let's not do that!
GM: What does today
look like for you?
DH: I already cleaned
up all the barn area, and we took care of the horses. We cleaned up some stuff
in the yard. Two volunteers came by at 10:30 to help with the horses. So now
I'm gonna wait for my student lessons from 3:00 to 5:00 today.
GM: Do you have a favorite
horse that you stable?
DH: Yukon. She’s my Palomino. She used to be my
husband's horse, now she's mine. I used to let other people ride her, but then
she got to a point where she didn't like other people. She likes a consistent
rider so I only ride her now. I have a gaited
horse, Diamond, he's still my favorite too.
GM: What about
breaking horses?
DH: I tried. Well, it
broke me. I got black and blue all over. I said I'm not gonna do that again. So
it's been rough to be trained thinking I could do it. You know you’re a good
horse rider, but training is a totally different thing. Safety at all times is
important. That's what matters.
GM: What’s your best
advice for novice riders?
DH: So kids, listen,
I know that horse is pretty, but don't keep looking at it while you’re riding.
You have to look up. And one of the most important things if you are teaching a
lesson, you say, “Pull up.” Guess what they do? They pull back. They don't
understand what that means. They think it's to pull back. You know what that
does to a horse? Makes it back up.
GM: What has been
your biggest challenge with horses?
DH: Well, to find a man, you gotta have one that
loves horses or loves the animal life. My husband passed away 9 1/2 years ago,
it's hard to find the right guy.
GM: Where’s your favorite
place to ride?
DH: I go camping. I got a three-horse goose-neck
living quarters trailer and we go camping all over Florida. We're going the
first week of November up to Samson, Alabama, and go do a cattle drive up there
– Booger Brown CattleDrive. I been to Utah on the Red Rock ride and so much more.
GM: What does horsemanship
mean to you?
DH: Everything - how
you walk, talk, express yourself, riding is everything, ride and get better. So
just like with anything, learning how to drive a car, your parents had to teach
you riding a bicycle, you had to learn how to do it better. And horseback
riding is like that.
Connect with Donna…
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