Small Pens, Big Lessons: What the Backyard Taught Us About Riding
- afenner
- Aug 2
- 2 min read
You don’t need a covered arena with premium footing and grandstand seating to raise a great rider. Some of the best lessons we’ve ever seen were taught in the same backyard arena we’ve used for years — the one with the rolling hills and the sagebrush all around it that still hasn't been cleared and the sand dunes off to the right that provide an amazing workout for both the kids and the horses.
At Rad Rodeo, we believe that where you ride matters less than how you ride — and what you learn in the process.
Confidence Is Built in Tight Quarters
That little open arena and the sand dunes taught our kids how to:
Guide a horse with precision.
Make tight turns work without crowding.
Think ahead about their approach, not just react.
There’s no space to fake it in a small area. It forces awareness and timing — two things every good rider needs.
Horses Learn to Think, Too
We’ve worked horses in that arena and those dunes and they come out of it with:
Better foot placement.
Smoother turns.
A calm, steady mind.
The simplicity teaches them to relax. The familiarity teaches them to trust.
Scrappy Is a Skill
We don’t need fancy to be effective. And we sure don’t wait on perfect to get started.
In that backyard arena, we’ve had:
Clinics with four kids and a set of cones.
Late-night workouts before hauling out.
Hard lessons that ended in tears — and hugs.
The grit you learn in a scrappy setup follows you all the way to the short round.
You Can Grow Anywhere
Our kids have gone from that little area to big indoor shows, and they carry what they learned every time they enter a gate:
Focus, even when conditions aren’t ideal.
Responsibility for their horse and gear.
Pride in doing the work, no matter where it happens.
The arena didn’t have to be fancy. It just had to be ours.
Final Thoughts
At Rad Rodeo, we love an underdog setup. Because the riders and horses that come out of those backyard arenas? They know how to work, adapt, and show up ready.
Big dreams start in small spaces. And sometimes, the best view of the future comes from a dusty corner of home.
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Ann-Marie Fenner
Ranch Manager, Breeder, Rodeo Mom
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