A popular Cochrane-area riding instructor said she felt compelled to write a book on her specialized subject after years of persuasion by her clients.

Barbara-Ann King will release her new book in the fall about relationships between people and horses. Photo submitted

Now Barbara-Ann King has finally found the time to put down on paper her successful Relationship Riding philosophy, and the first in a trilogy of books is set to be published by Hoof-Print Publishing, a Victoria-based company out later this fall.

“My clients have been asking me to do this for a long time,” King said.
“And finally the timing was just right.”

King has been working with horses for the past 35 years, and her philosophy is based on learning to ride in a way that partners your body naturally with the horse.

“The horse is not a tool but a teacher,” she said. “Relationship riding explains the whole philosophy of how to ride showing leadership, but treating the horse with respect. It’s not a technique or a recipe but a whole way of being.”

Indeed King has used her method with great success over the years, often working with at risk youth and teen girls.

In 2005, she was honoured by the Calgary Police Service for her work on a wrangler program that aimed to teach children that if they can learn to have the right attitude towards horses, they can easily transfer those skills towards relationships with the people in their lives.

The Calgary police presented her with the award because they believe it fosters self-esteem and confidence in a non-violent environment.

The book is as yet unnamed, but King said it’s a  comprehensive introduction to her technique.

Subsequent books will be a “little more technical” and include stories about connections her clients have fostered with their equine friends.

But King said turning from the crop to the computer wasn’t too much of a stretch for her.

“I’ve always written,” she said. “It’s always been part of my life, and it’s been there for me as a comfort.”

When the book finally reaches local book store shelves this fall, King said she also plans to visit local barns to give one-on-one relationship riding demonstrations and then offer the book for sale.

In the meantime she’s established a foundation to work with teen girls before they get into trouble.

“Riding is expensive, so if we can make this available through the foundation it can make a huge difference in their lives,” she said.

“That’s what I’m really trying to do.”

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