Kaua‘i Saddle Club Grows By Leaps

Lucinda Michetti (left) and daughter Francesca

As a teenager, Lucinda Michetti was lucky enough to get her first horse. Lucky because it helped her get through a tough time in her life.

“I had a troubled past,” she says. “My first horse saved me from getting into a lot of trouble.”

And now, with some 30 or so years working with horses under her belt buckle, it’s become her passion.

“I get a lot out of seeing someone having a goal with a horse to better their skills,” Michetti says. “It makes me happy to see someone wanting to challenge themselves with working with a horse and getting better.”

This passion has slowly cantered into the creation of Kaua’i Saddle Club, which aims to give equestrians around the island a chance to further their own knowledge of these spectacular animals.

It all began last summer, with Michetti, Robin Kurtz, and Ron and Gina Challisher just giving lessons to a few people.

Now with about 20 members, Kaua’i Saddle Club, a nonprofit organization, is looking to trot toward more opportunities.

“We’ve worked with special-needs children and it was such an amazing experience,” Michetti says. “Each child was presented with a specially made awards plaque. We want to get the community involved with this.”

Their first show was held last September at Silver Falls Ranch, but if you missed that one, there’s another coming up in April at CJM Country Stables.

Gina Challisher’s students go through their paces

Kaua’i Saddle Club also hopes to add dressage and reining to its list of programs.

“Even if someone does-n’t have a horse, we may supply them with one to use,” Michetti says.

The Kilauea resident was inspired by the best , legendary horseman Buck Brannaman, whom she calls her “main mentor.”

“When I was young, I realized I didn’t know much and I wanted to be a better rider, so I took lessons and I just got better and better,” she says.

Michetti knows well the benefits of working with horses, and now she feels it’s her turn to teach others about her passion.

“We’re just a group of people who want to further people’s horsemanship skills, building that quality of relationship between a person and a horse,” she says.

For more information about Kaua’i Saddle Club, go to kauaisaddleclub.com.