K. Colfer Sporthorses

10/16/2026

Can’t wait to see how these turnout 😍🧡💛❤️
I love the creative talent of the gals at the barn.
And for real the way the leaves are dying at the farm this year is next level. ❤️‍🔥🍁🍂🐦‍🔥

10/15/2026

My pet peeve toooo! And
Reins reasonably short but not tight
crop in the left hand mounting and dismounting. Rise up with your center of balance over your foot/hips towards the horse like a rock climber
Both feet in the stirrups before you Softly sit.
Every single time.
Mounting and dismounting with care for the horse and safety for the rider is really a skill. Learn it. Live it

10/10/2026

10/09/2026

Fall is my favorite. Opposites collide, light/dark, warm/cold; the crunch of leaves, the whisper of the wind, the smell of the sun in the pines, the clouds. More than other seasons the transition feels like peacefully putting the year to rest. We reflect on the days past and plan for the future, we are grateful for each lovely day to ride outside, and reminded on frosty mornings that everything is fleeting as a rainbow🧡💜🧡

10/04/2026

Walk into one of our group lessons and you might see a 6-year-old cantering for the first time, a teenager working on jumping courses, and an adult rider getting back in the saddle after 20 years, all in the same arena. And the ponies are just as varied: a wise old schoolmaster who's seen it all, a steady middle-aged favorite, and a young pony still learning the ropes. While it can seem chaotic and random to the untrained eye, group lessons are one of the most valuable ways your child can spend their time.

- Riders learn from each other. Newer riders get to watch good habits in action. Experienced riders sharpen their skills by explaining, encouraging, and leading by example. Sometimes the best "aha!" moment comes from watching someone else's ride.

- Ponies learn too. Our young ponies gain confidence by working alongside calm, experienced herd-mates. Our senior ponies stay happy, sound, and engaged with work suited to them.

- Real-world riding skills. Sharing the arena teaches spacing, communication, awareness, and adaptability, the same skills you'll use at shows, clinics, and trail rides.

- Community! Friendships form across ages and levels. Kids cheer on adults, adults cheer on kids, and everyone celebrates each other's wins, big or small.

- Every rider gets what they need. While we tailor exercises to each horse-and-rider pair, so everyone is challenged at the right level, together, everyone also sees the aspiration of the more difficult level of the exercise they are going to be doing in the future and know where their skill will take them once they master where they are.

Horses have always been herd animals. Turns out, riders do pretty well in a herd too.

10/03/2026

Halloween horse show next Saturday! Our last home show of the season.

Concessions available- Coffee, C***r, Donuts, Chili etc. with all proceeds going to support the high school and middle school IEA teams.

10/02/2026

It was a real project getting this yearling here. There were more hiccups and complications than I can list, And that’s only half the story. I almost threw in the towel. BUT he’s home and settled in beautifully. His personality is more apparent every day, he’s sweet as pie and very observant, and thoughtful. Here’s to hoping a rough start has cleared the way for smooth roads ahead. Picture credit to Barb.

09/28/2026

Our first IEA show of the season is complete. It was a busy weekend so not many pictures from me. 14 riders and their families all cheering each other on, working as a team. 💜
Lola and Dreamer went too and were absolute stars.
It’s been more than 20 years since I participated on Dartmouth’s IHSA team. I have always said it was some of the most fun I ever had horse showing. It’s fun to return to a similar style of horse showing from the coaches side.
Proud of the riding, the great attitudes, and horsemanship of all the KCS riders.

09/24/2026

Join us for the 6th Annual Halloween Show 10/10
Enter Online- https://kcsporthorses.as.me/Halloweenshow

09/17/2026

There is a version of horse ownership that looks, from the outside, like devotion, Parker Worthington writes. Pockets stuffed with peppermints. The ritual of the treat before the bridle, the treat after the ride, the treat for standing still, the treat for walking into the trailer, the treat for existing in the vicinity of a human hand. The horse’s lips search constantly, expectantly, impatiently along your jacket, your sleeve, your fingers. And the owner, smiling, interpreting all of it as affection.

It is not affection. It is conditioning. And there is an important difference between a horse who is glad to see you and a horse who is glad to see your pockets.

This is not an argument against treats in their entirety. A well-timed, thoughtfully given treat used as a training marker is a legitimate and effective tool in the right hands, in the right context, with the right horse. But that is a precise and intentional use of food reward that looks almost nothing like what happens in most barns, where treats have become the primary currency of what owners believe is their relationship with their horse. Where the horse has learned, very efficiently, that the human approaching is primarily a delivery mechanism for sugar.

You cannot buy love. Not from your child, not from your dog, and not from your horse. This is a truth that sounds obvious when stated plainly and is apparently very difficult to live by, because the alternative, which is earning love through consistency, fair partnership, and genuine attentiveness to the animal’s wellbeing, is slower and less immediately gratifying than reaching into your pocket and watching the ears come forward.

Children raised on constant treats and rewards without expectation become adults who struggle with the connection between effort and fulfillment. Dogs who are bribed rather than led become anxious, confused animals who cannot settle without a constant stream of reinforcement. And horses who are managed primarily through food, who are never asked for anything without the promise of a reward, who associate the human hand with carrots rather than with a clear and trustworthy energy, often become the horses that are described as difficult, pushy, nippy, or disrespectful. Not because they are bad horses, but the relationship was built on sugar instead of on something real.

📎 Continue reading this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2026/09/16/treats-dont-mean-you-love-your-horse/
📸 © Heather N. Photography