Our group of 17 horses and riders had taken shelter from the brutal midday sun beneath a massive overhang created thousands of years ago when water roared through the valley, and our chosen lunch spot was also home to several rattlesnakes.

When Tracey Klettl is on the back of a horse on a beautiful woodland trail, her mind is always clearer and she feels so much more at peace. “I always hope that people feel that same peace that I do,” says Klettl, co-owner of Painted Warriors Ranch, located in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies about an hour-and-a-half northwest of Calgary, Alberta. Painted Warriors creates authentic outdoor experiences from an Indigenous perspective, based on Klettl’s Cree and Mohawk heritage and on the Ojibway heritage of Klettl’s partner and business co-owner Tim Mearns. Guests learn a variety of skills, from riding to natural navigation, medicinal plant identification, and backcountry basics.

Pivoting for Lifelong Learning Opportunities - Riders often pursue the same horse sport for years, competing up and down the levels depending on their horse and how life unfolds. But some riders choose to change disciplines altogether — by choice, necessity, or because their horses want to do something different. It’s something riders at all ages and life stages may experience but the learning curve for a new sport can be steep. We interviewed three riders who are embracing new-to-them horse sports and meeting the challenges that brings.

We breathe more than 20,000 times a day. Most of the time, we don’t give it much thought, since we do it automatically and all seems to go well… except when it doesn’t.