Maple Lane Farms

Maple Lane Farms English and Western Riding Lessons
Day Camp
Trail Rides
Boarding

This big cool dude is ready to find his riders! Owen is one of our new horses who has been in training for past 2 months...
05/27/2026

This big cool dude is ready to find his riders! Owen is one of our new horses who has been in training for past 2 months getting him ready to find his riders in the program! He is a big guy with a huge stride. Owen is a Dutch harness cross, standing at 16.2hh. He is still green so is looking for a strong rider. He is fantastic on trails and is calm and willing in the ring.
If you’d like to try him let your coach know.
Owen is ideally looking for a part boarder but is also available for weekly lessons.

Nic got to go for one of his favourite activities today, a splash and a water graze 🥰 I love this little hidden gem of a...
05/18/2026

Nic got to go for one of his favourite activities today, a splash and a water graze 🥰
I love this little hidden gem of a spot on this farm

05/13/2026

As riding instructors we spend a lot of time managing the gap between what new students expect riding to be and what it actually is. Most of that gap could be narrowed significantly with one honest conversation before the first lesson ever happens. So here is everything I wish every new student and every new riding family walked in already knowing...

1. Riding is harder than it looks
This is the one that surprises people most. Watching a good rider looks effortless but it is not effortless. It is years of muscle memory, feel, balance, and body awareness built through consistent work over a long time. Your first lessons will feel awkward and uncoordinated and that is completely normal. Every rider you have ever admired felt exactly the way you feel right now when they were starting out.

2. The horse is not a bicycle
It is a living animal with its own personality, its own opinions, and its own good days and bad days. It does not always do what you ask the first time and that is not always your fault but it is always your responsibility to figure out the communication. Learning to work with a horse rather than on top of one is one of the most valuable things riding teaches and it starts from the very first lesson.

3. Progress is not linear
Some weeks you will feel like you have jumped forward three levels. Other weeks you will feel like you have forgotten everything you learned last month. Both are completely normal parts of learning to ride. The students who improve consistently are not the ones who never have bad lessons but they are the ones who show up anyway and keep working through the frustrating ones.

4. One lesson a week is a start but not a program
A single lesson per week gives you exposure to riding. Two lessons per week builds skill significantly faster. The riders who progress quickest are the ones who ride consistently and frequently enough that their muscles and nervous system have time to develop real memory around what correct feels like. If budget allows for more than one lesson per week it is worth it.

5. Your position will feel wrong before it feels right
Correct position in the saddle feels deeply unnatural to most people at first. Heels down feels like you are pushing your foot through the floor. Sitting tall feels like you are leaning back. An independent hand feels like you are doing nothing. Trust the process and trust your instructor. The things that feel strange now become automatic eventually but only if you commit to doing them correctly rather than defaulting back to what feels comfortable.

6. The time around the lesson matters as much as the lesson itself
Grooming your horse before you ride. Learning to tack up correctly. Understanding how to read your horse's body language in the cross ties. This is not the boring part before the real lesson begins. This is horsemanship and it makes you a better rider than an hour in the saddle alone ever will.

7. Bad rides happen to every rider at every level
Including the ones you look up to most. A bad lesson does not mean you are not cut out for this, it just means you are learning something hard and doing it on the back of a living animal that is also having a day. Come back next week and it will be different.
Your instructor is on your side.

8. Every correction we give is in service of your progress and your safety
We are not pointing out what is wrong to make you feel bad but we are pointing out what needs to change so you can get where you want to go faster and more safely. The students who improve fastest are the ones who hear a correction as information rather than criticism and apply it without taking it personally.

9. Riding changes you in ways you will not expect
The patience it builds, the confidence that comes from communicating with an animal ten times your size and being understood. The resilience that develops from falling short of a goal and coming back for it anyway. The community you find at the barn. None of that shows up in the first lesson or even the tenth but it will show up at one point. For most riders it becomes one of the most significant things in their life and not just what they do on Tuesday afternoons but part of who they are.

If you are a riding instructor share this with every new family who walks through your gate. If you are a new student or a parent of one - welcome. You picked something genuinely worth doing!

What do you wish someone had told you before your very first riding lesson?

Feeling grateful to have this old man still enjoying his retirement ❤️ 🌾 You never really know when the last day will be...
05/06/2026

Feeling grateful to have this old man still enjoying his retirement ❤️ 🌾 You never really know when the last day will be- so be grateful for each one.

The world feels a little less bright today. We lost a good one.Yesterday, we had to say goodbye to Belle. She was the de...
05/02/2026

The world feels a little less bright today. We lost a good one.

Yesterday, we had to say goodbye to Belle. She was the definition of a mare with heart—everything she did, she gave 110%. Right until the end, she was tough as nails.

Looking back through photos from our 12 years together, I’m so proud of the life you lived. From a show jumper across Canada and the U.S. to settling into a quieter life alongside a young woman just trying to find her place in the world—you were always there, ready for whatever I asked. We explored this property before there were trails, galloped every straight stretch we could find, and through it all, I trusted you completely to take care of me.

When it was time for me to step back, have my kids, and focus on other horses, you stepped up for so many other riders. The bonds you built were deep—you truly were one of a kind. You had a well-earned reputation for being “hard to handle” unless someone was in your inner circle… and if they weren’t, you made sure they knew.

As we grieve this loss, I’m also so grateful. You had a beautiful final year—loved by a teen who gave you joy, consistency, and partnership, alongside your lifelong friends.

The farm won’t be the same without you, my friend 🪽

Belle took an extremely unfortunate misstep during a lesson and broke her pastern. No one could have seen it coming or prevented it 💔

Join us on June 7th for our first schooling show of the year! Class list:Adult Hunter HackBeginner Lead LineBeginner Fla...
04/22/2026

Join us on June 7th for our first schooling show of the year!
Class list:
Adult Hunter Hack
Beginner Lead Line
Beginner Flat W/T
Beginner Crossrail W/T
Open Crossrail W/T/C
Open Hunter 2ft
Open Jumper Table II 2 (b)
Open Trail Course

Show starts at 10 am
Outside barns welcome!
School horses are assigned first to register so get your form in early secure the horse you’d like.

https://www.maplelanemuskoka.ca/shows

Unique Clinic Opportunity!! VAULTING ON HORSEBACK!Michelle Wilson will be joining us for an incredibly unique opportunit...
04/21/2026

Unique Clinic Opportunity!! VAULTING ON HORSEBACK!

Michelle Wilson will be joining us for an incredibly unique opportunity to Muskoka riders- vaulting! Vaulting is often described as “Gymnastics on Horseback” This clinic is appropriate for riders who have never vaulted before as well as those with some experience. Michelle will be bringing 2 seasoned vaulting horses.

Participants must be 8+

May 10th 9 am start- end around 3pm

Cost is $240+ hst

Potluck Lunch

Outside riders welcome

To register - visit our website- https://www.maplelanemuskoka.ca/shows

Address

1120 Frasurburg Road
Bracebridge, ON
P1L0A1

Opening Hours

Monday 7am - 10pm
Tuesday 7am - 10pm
Wednesday 7am - 10pm
Thursday 7am - 10pm
Friday 7am - 10pm
Saturday 7am - 10pm
Sunday 7am - 10pm

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