Leolani (Aunty Lani, as she will probably tell you to call her,) is not only a great teacher, she truly becomes part of your family. From taking extra time each lesson to teach the kids (and adults) that while horseback riding is fun, it's not all "fun and games." She teaches her students not only about horses and riding, but about life (make sure you ask her about the history of Kahana and what trees and plants grow wild in that area. You'll learn so much!) My 4 year old has been riding with her for 2 months and not only does she willingly get out of bed at 6:30am (so rare for my late sleeper,) she is practically jumping for joy as we go through our routine before heading out the door. The drive to Aunty Lani's ranch from where we live at Pearl Harbor is breathtaking. Funny how I lived in Hawaii practically my whole life and I never truly appreciated the view until we came back from our 3 years on the East Coast.
Aunty Lani starts each of my daughter's early morning lessons with grooming and feeding the horses. Picking up hooves to check them, brushing, taking pokeys out of their manes and tails, breakfast, and if we've remembered apples, a treat for them. After breakfast and brushing, she moves into leading horses. My once shy 4 year old came out of her shell and can lead horses with minimal direction. Aunty Lani has 3 horses. Playboy, Kona, and Ashley. She also has a beauty named Duchess staying with her, and she is a sweet heart!
Playboy is a lover. He loves hugs, kisses and attention- and he's too dang smart for his own good! He will also steal all your apples out of your bag and sniff around your car for more! He is a character for sure! We love Playboy.
Ashley is so beautiful. She's very gentle, and quickly became my daughter's favorite horse. Ashley has a great temperament, and has never given me a reason to worry about my daughter. She gives us no problems, even with a hyper 4 year old running around her feet (though we've told the kid time and time again she will get stepped on if she doesn't quit doing that!)
And then there's Kona. Sweet, handsome, steal your heart, Kona. I get kisses from him every time we go out there. He is a great listener, and you can tell that he has been trained well. He will move over to a large object to help you get up into the saddle and he moves with a gracefulness you don't expect from such a large horse.
With that said, let's talk about all the other stuff parents want to know before committing to horseback riding lessons. Aunty Lani takes precautions with the kids to ensure that they'll be safe. Helmets are a must. She also will not put a child on a horse until the child is ready to ride. My daughter is hyper and gets very excited when she sees the horses. Aunty Lani doesn't put her in the saddle until she has calmed down and is paying attention. Cost wise, you are getting far more than you're paying for. I had to look at it as an investment in my daughter. I called 4 other places that offered riding lessons for kids on the island and they all said the same thing. It was expensive for group lessons and CRAZY for private lessons. I wanted this to be a weekly thing, so $60/hour for a 4 year old to do chores on a ranch and ride for a bit was insane. I didn't want her in a group setting- I much prefer private lessons when dealing with horses because I know firsthand what happens when you're distracted by someone or something else and the horse decides to bolt. It isn't fun. I also didn't want her to just brush a horse for 5 minutes and then be put on. I wanted her to see there's a lot of work that goes into horsemanship. The other places I called said they don't do that until the kids are older. That didn't work for me. I posted on the local tack page and I was given a name by a few people: Aunty Lani. I was told she was the best for what I was looking for, and she truly is. Like I said earlier, she really has become a part of our family. We love her! read more