HORSEPLAY: Horses, riders both ‘Living Well’ at riding school

WHO’S LIVING THEIR best life at Living Well Farm Riding School? It’s the horses of course! I asked owner and riding instructor Nancy McCalab why the name ‘Living Well?’”

“I kind of laughingly say it’s because all my horses do live really well here,” she said.

In addition to good food, quality supplements and regular hoof care, “All my horses have chiropractors, get massage therapy and acupressure.”

This isn’t idle mollycoddling; her horses are her livelihood, she depends on them to be healthy, safe and sound lesson horses for her students — from the very young to adults in their golden years (65 and older).

My hope is for all domestic animals to have owners who treat them as well as McCalab treats hers.

In 2023, the mother and grandmother retired after 42 years of teaching school (the last decades at Port Angeles High School), but has no plans to retire from her other longtime teaching job as a riding instructor.

She teaches hunter-jumpers and some dressage.

“Some of my clients are wanting to do some more dressage, so we’re going to try that and some cross-country courses,” McCalab said.

Earlier this month, she attended the Bainbridge Island Schooling Show End-of-the-Year Banquet during which LWF students brought home four year-end championships and numerous other awards.

She’s helping her show students to prepare to attend more shows off the Peninsula next year by taking them to local riding arenas, such as Kari Payne’s 4-L Arena, to acclimate them to different environments.

“Kari has such a wonderful outdoor riding arena with excellent footing for safe riding year-round,” she said. “We had such a nice day there. I decided I’m going to contact other trainers to see if they’ll let us come and ride at their place. And my arena is open for other trainers to bring their students out to ride here, too.”

LWF Arena ground has a sand and rubber base and built for safe riding year-round, too.

During the winter, lots of her horse owners continue to ride there five to six days a week, and most of her students twice a week. During really bad weather, McCalab falls back to her years of teaching public school and riding, as well as her U.S. Pony Club background, by having numerous lesson plans with worksheets prepared, activities and horsemanship skills, like bandaging legs to teach her students.

“Last week, we learned how to show-clip the coat and pull manes to have that hunter-jumper professional look the judges like,” she said, emphasizing riders can’t learn true horsemanship skills if “all they do is spend their time on the back of a horse.”

Megan Adamier’s daughters, Ellie, 11, and Josie, 7, started taking lessons at LWF when they were 5. She said her girls love riding out there and being part of the LWF team.

Both girls are also taking part in the Facebook Winter Ride Challenge 2025-26. Administered by Port Angeles’ Jen Bond, it’s designed to motivate and encourage riders to get out of their warm, cozy homes to ride at least 50 times during the winter months.

To take part, sign up on the Facebook page and then document each ride by uploading a ride photo, and the ride number, to the page.

For more than 21 years, Living Well Farms has been located at 224 Glacier Lane, west Port Angeles. Phone 360-461-3980.

Hoof class

From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Dec. 28 will be Freedom Farm’s Feet First Hoof Care class with owners Jerry Schmidt and Mary Gallagher.

Learn how to care for your barefoot horse, from cleaning to balancing the hoof through regular maintenance you can do between trims.

Sign up to reserve a spot to bring your horse to trim, or come to observe and ask questions.

Email marygallagher@freedom-farm.net.

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Karen Griffiths’ column, Peninsula Horseplay, appears the second and fourth Saturday of each month.

If you have a horse event, clinic or seminar you would like listed, please email Griffiths at kbg@olympus.net at least two weeks in advance. You can also call her at 360-460-6299.