Where did Lance go?

>If you’ve ever driven past Kaukiki Farm in Longbranch, you are probably familiar with Lance. You know, the gorgeous Clydesdale who can be seen stoically watching over the farm in the front field next to the sheep. And if you’ve driven past lately, you might be wondering where he is.

I’ll admit, the first time I came by the farm and he wasn’t there, I was so very disappointed. Let me explain. I’m not what you would call a “horsey” kind of girl. I don’t have much experience with them and would secretly kind of laugh at my girlfriends who were soooo in love with their horses. And then one day, my friend Janice let me go into the field with Lance and Tex (another sweetheart, I might add). I put on a brave face, pretending I wasn’t scared to death. Lance is BIG. He is even BIGGER up close. He walked up to me, did his horsey breath whooshing thing, and I guess decided I was OK because he let me scritch his nose and make babbling goo-goo sounds at him. Then he looked me in the eye and I fell in love. All of a sudden, I got it. But I digress.

So, when I stopped by the farm recently to see Janice and Warwick, I was shocked when Lance was no longer there. Just this short of a whine, I demanded to know where he was! What happened?

It turns out, Lance had found the perfect job — a community service you might say. Sometimes, the stars align in just the right way and a good thing happens. After visiting Lance today (yay!) I believe this is one of those times.

Have you heard of “vaulting”? I had, but was misinformed as to what it was. I thought it was when you rode your horse over jumps. Nope. It’s WAY cooler than that. It is best described as a combination of gymnastics and dance, WITH YOUR HORSE! Lance is now learning how to be a vaulting horse with the Harbor View Vaulters, and I got to watch an hour’s worth of practice. To my untrained eye, it looked like the girls were jumping all over him like spider monkeys. What they were actually doing is so much more than that!

There is a lot of training involved in equine vaulting along with, I assume, a level of deep trust between the horse and the vaulters. Lori Robison, who along with her husband Ed owns Four Winds Riding Center, is training Lance to canter in a neat circle -without stopping – while these incredible athletes jump onto his back and do fluid gymnastic moves and manage to make it look easy and graceful.

Lance seems to be thriving in his new job, and I KNOW he remembered me. I’m sure it wasn’t the treats they let me give him before I left that made him let me kiss his sweet nose.

I can’t image a better Saturday for these kids (and grown ups!) than to be at Four Winds RC training with the horses there.

And because I was so impressed with and liked Lori and the others, I’d like to share with you that there will be two fundraising nights coming up: December 7th and 21st. The club needs the funds to transport of the horses to competitions around the country. Tickets can be purchased online at: www.fourwindsrc.com . I have a feeling I just might be in attendance cheering Lance on.

Teagan Fuller giving Lance ALL of the love

Amy Parker
For Kaukiki Farm