Photo Gallery

Horse photos

Photo Gallery

How to mount a horse

I was really nervous. I retraced the steps in my mind that led me to this fear. I had driven up to De Soto to shoot a photo essay about horses. I never thought I would be face-to-face with an animal this big. I put on a helmet and pads but still felt very afraid. I had paid close attention as Chelsea Davidson, owner of Dunrovin Farms, demonstrated how to mount a horse, but she made it seem easy. After a deep breath and a couple of botched attempts, I hoisted myself over Winston and kicked my foot into the stirrup. I was on the horse, a lot higher up than I imagined I would be. As I attempted and eventually succeeded to get Winston to walk forward and turn, I started to feel at ease.

I was riding a horse for the first time, and most of the fear left me. My mom had described horseback riding to me, but it was more exciting than I imagined.

* * *

Some students grow up taking care of cats and dogs. Chelsea Davidson, Overland Park senior, and Laura Stephens, Lenexa senior, grew up with horses.

Chelsea and Laura have ridden for more than 10 years and 17 years, respectively. Chelsea recently moved into her own barn, which she lives in with eight horses, four of which are hers. Chelsea’s business involves boarding and selling the horses. Winston, one of her horses, is a 10-year-old thoroughbred. Laura keeps her horse, Murphy, a 14-year-old appendix quarter horse, at the barn. Having horses is a lot of work—Chelsea and Laura have to feed, water and groom them, as well as keep the stalls clean and ride them. They also have to deal with inconsistent Kansas weather to keep their horses from getting sick. For them, horses are not so much a pet as a way of life.

Flash animation by Tyler Waugh