Maybe it’s all the Western movies consumed as kids, or the “Yellowstone” television series, or just a dream city folk have to fully experience the West.
Despite age, gender or one-time fears, the urge to saddle up and learn horsemanship seems to be stirring in many Wyoming transplants.
From Cody to Evansville to Riverton and beyond, the opportunities for older wannabe cowboys and cowgirls to scratch that itch provides stable owners plenty of tenderfoots to school in the proper Western protocols of riding and caring for a horse.
Cody’s Meredith Zajac said her Wyoming Horsemanship Academy sees 60 to 70 students come through every week. She estimates 25 of those are adults who want to be schooled in the equine ways of the West.
She immerses them into the basics such as leading a horse, and she teaches them advanced skills where they can recognize a horse with colic and know basic first aid for their animal.
“I have quite a few adult students who have been in my program now for three years and went from really not having any experience at all to now owning a horse and being competitive at horse shows,” she said. “So, that’s been really rewarding. And then they bring their kids and their family into it, so we’re pretty close knit.”
Count Megan Robinson of Cody among that number. She moved to Wyoming five years ago at age 45 with her fiancé from Denver. Before Colorado, Robinson lived in northern Virginia and had taken a few riding lessons.
Becoming proficient at horsemanship was “always on my bucket list,” she said.
Her fiancé used the lessons to convince her to make the move from Denver to small town Wyoming. She’s glad he did.
“I found Meredith Zajac, took lessons from her and totally was involved from that moment on,” Robinson said. “I got to lease a horse, her name is Sally, and then I got to buy Sally from Meredith. Ever since then I’ve continued lessons every week. I trail ride with Sally now, I take Sally to shows, Sally and I won a buckle division this past year, it’s been really eye opening.”
Robinson said Sally is a full-bred mustang and she has enjoyed adopting a Western lifestyle in the Cody community and developing friendships with horse lovers of all ages.
At C Bracket Horse Barn in Evansville, the adult horsemanship classes are a popular choices with several transplants to Wyoming among them. (Courtesy C Bracket Horse Barn) 
Angie Valcarce, left, became Meredith Zajac’s first student at the Wyoming Horsemanship Academy. Here they are at a horse vet check. (Courtesy Angie Valcarce) 
Megan Robinson moved to Cody from Denver due in part to a promise from her fiancé that she could take horsemanship lessons. (Courtesy Megan Robinson)
From Fear, To Horse Owner
Angie Valcarce said she moved to Cody from the state of Washington in 2011. While growing up, she had been discouraged about riding or having horses by her parents because they were “dangerous.”
But that desire to ride and interest in horses continued to surface. When she turned 50, Valcarce decided it was time to act. She met Zajac at a wedding in 2021 and learned that she had horses. Valcarce took a step forward.
“All I wanted to do was just pet them and see them,” she said. Zajac was just starting her horsemanship business and Valcarce became her first student. She scheduled a slot once a week and at first just adjusted to standing by a horse before ever actually getting on its back.
After she did, she has no regrets.
“I bought my first horse last year at age 56,” she said. Valcarce, who builds tiny houses for a living, has 28 acres for Tucker to roam and found him online in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana.
When she moved to Wyoming, Valcarce thought having a horse and learning to ride and care for it was “an out-of-reach dream.”
Valcarce credits Zajac with giving her the confidence to own a horse by teaching her horse care, hoof care and all essentials of ownership. She said Zajac would take her along on trips to the veterinarian so she could learn more about the “ins and outs” of horse health.
Her new lifestyle also has involved some different fashion choices. Her gradual transition into a cowgirl now includes 10 pairs of cowgirl boots in different colors and hats that color coordinate.
“It’s a whole fashion world,” she said.
80-Hour Weeks
Zajac said she puts in 80 hours a week in her horsemanship offerings between adults, children, and other services. But she “loves it.”
People who want their kids or themselves to learn horsemanship after moving to the state can be compared to people who live by bodies of water who want to ensure their children or themselves know how to swim, Zajac said.
Wyoming has horses.
“The fact that there are adults that are trying something totally new, making a fool of themselves, and having fun doing it, like those are my kind of people,” Zajac said. “These are the transplants we want … that are really seeking knowledge and wanting to do right by the animals that made the West.”
In Evansville at the C Bracket Horse Barn, owner Christy Martinez sees similar enthusiasm and interest from adults — many of those are transplants. Her fall riding session for adults boasts 14 in a beginner’s class and 10 in an advanced class. She also does some private lessons.
“I would say we have probably 30 right now actively involved between the group class and the private lessons,” she said.
One of those private students surprised her. Martinez got a call from a traveling nurse in Lander that was looking for a place that would teach her “all the details” of caring for and riding a horse.
The woman drove more than two hours to learn some basic skills.
In the beginner’s class, Martinez said she starts her adult students with the fundamentals of how to go out and catch a horse, how their tack should fit properly, the proper way to tie a halter, and lead and groom a horse.
Martinez said it is important to groom a horse before saddling, and students learn that as well as the proper way to saddle, how the cinches should fit, and how the latigo — the leather strap attached to the cinch — should finish.
“So, in all of the things we get very detailed, and it’s all very hands-on,” she said.
Debbie Kister of Rockin’ K Riding Stable in Riverton said she does one-on-one lessons with students on horsemanship. She currently has a 70-yer-old man who wants to learn how to ride and be authentic in his cowboy hat. (Courtesy Debbie Kister) 
At C Bracket Horse Barn in Evansville, the adult horsemanship classes are a popular choices with several transplants to Wyoming among them. (Courtesy C Bracket Horse Barn)
Variety Of Occupations
Her adult students come from a variety of backgrounds, including medical workers, retired oil field workers, bookstore employees and natural gas companies. The age range is from the 20s into the 60s.
“So, it’s really a wide array of occupations,” Martinez said. “And we have quite a few husband-and-wife pairs that are coming, too. So, these couples will come out together and take the class together.”
Her adult fall session offers 15 classes of hour-long instruction for $500 that includes the horse, equipment, and riding helmets. All the rider needs to provide is a pair of cowboy boots.
The C Bracket Horse Barn has sessions all year long and has a covered arena for the winter months. She said there are several “diehard” students who ride year-round and others who just saddle up when it’s warmer.
In Riverton, Debbie Kister, owner of the Rockin’ K Riding Stable said she regularly gets calls from people wanting something more than a horseback ride along a trail.
Kister typically offers one-on-one lessons for those who want to dig their spurs into the reality of horsemanship and horse care. She said she starts with the basics of riding and moves into the other aspects of horsemanship in weekly or twice-weekly classes.
Calls from people who have transplanted to Wyoming are a “common theme,” she said.
One thing she tries to impress upon her clients is that horses require a lot of effort.
Many of her students start by just wanting to be authentic with their choice of apparel.
“I actually have students that say I want to learn to ride a horse so I can wear a cowboy hat,” she said. “I have a 70-year-old student right now that wants to learn to ride a horse and wear his cowboy hat proudly.”
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
