Four year-old Violet Petroules laughed while coaxing Kaleigh the pony into a bouncy trot with the command “Popcorn!” on a recent morning as Rosewood Equine instructor Lora Hedrich followed alongside to talk the young rider through her next set of commands. “Pretend you’re wearing a beautiful necklace, and you want everyone to see it!” Hedrich said, as Violet straightened herself in the saddle. Violet’s mom, Nicole Petroules, watched their progress around the sandy arena in Greenfield. It was her daughter’s fifth weekly “Tiny Tots” lesson, a half hour lesson program that gives children ages three to five a taste of horse care and riding. “She’s fearless,” Petroules said, and that Violet was riding with her arms in the air on her second-ever lesson. Petroules herself grew up in the city, and enrolled her daughter to get her comfortable around as many animals as possible as the Greenfield family grows their home menagerie. Petroules hoped Violet could have a horse of her own by the time she was in her teens. In the short term, the lessons are something her daughter can get excited about, with kindergarten prospects still so up in the air, Petroules said. Violet calls the horses by name when they drive by the farm.
Hedrich has been running lessons for very young children for years, but formalized the program after observing a recent need for safe, controlled programming for young horse lovers, she said. “It helps a lot of them with confidence, hand eye coordination, listening skills, and following directions,” she said.