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 Meet the Instructors  Natalie Ranchuk, owner of Natural Beginnings Riding Lessons and head riding instructor, has loved horses her entire life. She is a graduate of Michigan State University’s Horse Management program.  While at the University, Natalie gained advanced academic and hands-on experience related to horse riding, handling, and management. Through a University internship, she served as a riding instructor at Riverbank Farm in Davison, Michigan, where she gained valuable experience related to offering riding instruction and running a stable on a day-to-day basis. While there, she also learned how to turn her teaching interests into a small business venture. Upon graduating from MSU in December 2006, she continued instructing at Riverbank Farm until she was able to open Natural Beginnings at Dream Catcher Farm in South Rockwood, Michigan.  With Comet, Rascal, and other lesson horses, Natalie is also pursuing advanced study in Natural Horsemanship through Parelli International®. It is with great enthusiasm that she invites you to join her and her schooling horses at Natural Beginnings Riding Lessons. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Gabrielle, like many little girls, has loved horses her entire life. After many years of nagging and bugging her father, she began riding lessons at about age 8 or 9. She was hooked after the first one. Over the years, Gabrielle gained experience in both Western types and numerous English types of riding, but is most knowledgable at what is called hunt seat riding. At age 13 Gabrielle finally acquired her own horse. He was a huge 3 year old National Show Horse gelding named PSH MotorOla (no, she didn’t have a choice in his name). MotorOla was a very difficult horse at first, but he taught Gabrielle many new things. After many years of riding and horse handling, Gabrielle has chosen to share her knowledge with others through Natural Beginnings Riding Lessons. Gabrielle is very excited for her new position as a riding instructor and is very eager to meet you! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meet the Horses  Comet   Comet is a 13 year old bay Arabian gelding who stands 14 hands high. His small size makes him technically a "pony", but he thinks he's a big boy. He loves attention and has wonderful ground manners. While riding him he has a little bit more "Go than Whoa", so riders who have been riding for a little while are better suited to him. He has enjoyed participating in six local parades so far, with more parades in his future. Sparky Sparky is a small, 10 year old gray pinto pony mare. Because Sparky is a pony, she will never grow any taller. (Pony refers to height, not age.) Natalie did most of Sparky's training back during her internship at Riverbank Farm during the summer of 2006. Now, Sparky has joined the Natural Beginnings family and will teach small children how to stop, steer, and trot. Roxi  Roxi is a very sweet and friendly 9 year old paint mare. She is blind in her right eye from a stall accident at a previous barn. Roxi is a black and white Paint horse mare, and she stands somewhere roughly around 14.2-14.3 hands high. Roxi has very smooth gaits that are comfortable to ride. When bored, Roxi will yawn and make faces to get her younger riders to laugh :) Rascal Rascal is a 16 year old grade Quarter Horse gelding who stands 15.1 hands high. He has been giving lessons the longest, and is one of the first horses most students learn to ride on. Rascal teaches (and has already taught!) countless students how to stop and steer at a walk. He also gives many students their first trotting experience on the lunge line. He is a very lazy horse, and is much more likely to stop and take a nap than to be scared and run from anything. Strawberry Strawberry is an older Arabian mare who is in her mid-twenties. She has given lessons for most of her life, and is a very sweet horse. Strawberry is in her retirement years, and mostly gives Runt Rides to very small children. Occasionally, smaller timid children start their lessons on her. Strawberry has an equine disease called Cushings, which makes her grow a long fur coat that does not shed out each summer. She is currently in an MSU research program that provides free Cushings medication for her. Through the medication provided, Strawberry has lost her winter coat for the first time in years. Strawberry also has limited mobility in her hind legs due to arthritis, but steroids given during the research at MSU have helped. Regular exercise helps as much as the steroids, so giving short pony rides and the occasional lesson is the best that that can be done to keep her mobile and healthy right now. Strawberry loves little children, and meets each child happily at her stall door. Please call (734) 678-2480 with any questions that you may have. Serving Wayne and Monroe Counties from South Rockwood, Michigan.
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