Photo Challenge: Happy Lesson Horse Day

On International Lesson Horse Day, we’re celebrating our teaching partners past and present! Here are three reader-submitted lesson horses we love.

It’s easy to forget, when watching video of or reading articles about the great riders of this world, that we all started the same way: throwing our leg over the back of a patient schoolmaster, whether it was down the road at the local lesson barn or on Grandpa’s old trail horse that lived in the backyard. All of us, somewhere along the line, owe our love for horses and this entire world to a lesson horse. We’re honoring lesson horses all day long today, including through this week’s photo challenge!

Michelle Wilson: Lost this sweet pony in November at almost 30 years of age (she was 6 when we bought her), “Sugar N’ Spice (aka Missy) taught 100’s of children how to ride over the years including the children of children she has taught years before 🙂 Miss her everyday, one of the best! (Photo credit Marissa Elizabeth)

Shout out to one of the best four legged teachers I ever had ???? TSF Hilltopper (Topper). Quite the throwback… #goriding #schoolhorse #lessonhorse #internationallessonhorseday @susanardena @southlandsfoundation

A post shared by Natalie Grow (@me_and_my_swheatie_wheatie) on May 21, 2018 at 4:15pm PDT

Thursday is apparently International Lesson Horse Day, and that handsome red devil in the middle there definitely deserves to be included, even now that he gets to enjoy his first year of retirement after a dozen years of serving me and countless small (and medium) children faithfully and kindly, and occasionally a little pointedly, because let's face it – sometimes it is about learning, and not fun. How lucky and deserving for him to be so beloved that his kids threw him a going away party in January, complete with presents and cake? Photo credit Barbara Day @bday823 #goriding #beenjammin #lessonhorse #arabianhorse

A post shared by jenna (@bloodredarabian) on May 21, 2018 at 12:52pm PDT

Keep an eye out for next week’s 24-hour photo challenge! We announce challenge subjects on Monday afternoon on both Instagram and Facebook.

Go riding!