Molly Malsbury, daughter of Craig and Emily Malsbury, has been a client of Honey Creek Farm riding lessons since the summer of 2022. She is riding Skippy, the Welsh pony, down the gravel road.
by Bridget Weishaar
Spring is in the air. The flowers are blooming, the birds are singing their morning songs, and horse riding lessons are gearing back up at Honey Creek Farms.
The 135-year-old farm, just northeast of Oskaloosa, is owned and operated by Katie Rhodelander, her husband, Chris, and their two daughters, Kaylee and Kody.
Riding lessons, started roughly five years ago, just made sense for Rhodelander whose love of horses came at the age of just two years old.
“My mom grew up horse obsessed and passed it on to me, she stated. “I haven’t stopped riding since.”
Receiving a really nice horse at the age of 18 helped seal the deal for her. She started with Ultimate Horseman competitions and wanted to become as good a rider as her horse. As time went on she started digging deeper into the training process and learning all about the animal she loved.
Lessons taken with Rhodelander focus mainly on horse safety, but riders of all ages are also taught how to groom the animals along with the tack and saddle required.
Horses, much like humans, read emotions and often have off days. Part of the training at Honey Creek Farms includes discussions with the client on how horses feel and how to control not only the emotions of one’s self, but also those of the horse.
Rhodelander wants her riders to understand how to request respect from the animal and to give it in return.
“There is so much more to horses than just riding,” she stated. “We work in a small area until they are ready, then we go for walks down the gravel road, and eventually lead up to riding on the trails.”
Honey Creek Farm offers lessons Monday through Thursday beginning in early April, but is weather dependent. Lessons are currently available for after-school hours and move to all day lessons starting in May when school is out for the summer.
There are six horses on the farm riders can chose from. The favorite of the younger female riders is 30 year old Blake. Blake is half Arabian, half Paso Fino.
A Paso Fino is a naturally gaited horse breed which are prized for their smooth, natural gait. They are especially popular for trail riding.
The boys and the older kids prefer Huck the quarter horse.
Honey Creek is a fully self-sustainable farm. Along with the horses, the family operates a small Angus cattle operation, raises goats, poultry, a hay crop, and a small amount of produce from their garden.
Besides giving riding lessons, Rhodelander has her hand in judging poultry shows for the local 4-H and is countywide leader in Jefferson County. Along with judging shows, she offers poultry guidance and coop reviews for those wanting to learn more about poultry. She also manages land for rural farmers, and dabbles in landscape and flower bed maintenance.
At other times, the family can be found raising hogs and working their crop ground.
Katie is a native of the Oskaloosa area. She graduated from Oskaloosa High School in 2004. After graduation, she attended Kansas State University where she graduated with a bachelors degree in Animal Science.
After graduating college in 2008, she moved back to the farm to assume the responsibilities. She is currently a full time substitute for the Oskaloosa School district, giving up her job at the county appraiser’s office in 2019 after eight years.
Her husband Chris is a delivery driver for Coco-Cola in Lenexa. On the side, he is a farrier. Kaylee is in the eighth grade in the Belton school district and Kody is a fourth-grader at Oskaloosa Elementary school.
Honey Creek Farms can be reached by calling Katie at 785-231-0413, by email at honeycreekfarms@hotmail.com, or lessons can be booked through the businesses Facebook page.