OVCTA Presents Fran Severn

author of Riders of a Certain Age: Your Guide to Loving Horses Mid-Life and Beyond.

Friday April 18 at 6:30pm.

It’s Never Too Late for Horses:
(Quick headline: A look at the challenges and fun of being part of the horse world when you are ‘of a certain age.”)

The fastest growing segment of the recreational horse world is women over 60. Many women have been around horses all of their lives while others are either coming back after yes away due to schools, careers, families, and other obligations. Then there is the huge number of women getting to horses for the first time. They are usually *finally* living their dream.
No matter the situation, the horse world for ‘women of a certain age’ poses challenges that the rest of the population does not face. The obvious ones are physical – from replacement parts to aching joints to uniquely female issues. But there are other matters – how we think, how we learn, finances, and dealing with partners and families who don’t share our enthusiasm.

It’s OK Not to Ride Your Horse
(Quick Headline: The possibilities and pleasures of the equine world without being in the saddle.)
While riding is the focus for most horse people, there are many other ways to enjoy the equine world. Hanging out together and taking trail ‘walks,’ participating in equine agility and ‘liberty’ groundwork, helping at rescues and therapeutic programs, and creating Pasture Paradise farms are ways to show that it’s OK not to ride your horse.

The Care and Feeding of Riders of a Certain Age
(Quick Headline: An interactive session that explains the changes as we become that “certain age.”
Our bodies go through major changes at 40 and 60. First it’s muscle. Then it’s bones. We need to adapt our lifestyles to deal with that. Nutritional and exercise needs are essential to that. Balance is also critical as we age, so be prepared to learn exercises to evaluate and improve that skill.

About Fran
Fran Severn is a freelance writer and broadcaster who grew up in the city but was determined to get horses in her life. After earning her degree in Mass Communications, she worked in Louisville, KY, where she covered the Kentucky Derby, events at the Kentucky Horse Park, and finally bought her first horse. Moving to England with her Air Force husband, she discovered dressage and continued her training when she returned to the states. She is the author of “Riders of a Certain Age: Your Guide to Loving Horses Mid-Life and Beyond,” “Creating Your Journey,” “Barn Fires: Preventing a Disaster,” and “The Riders of a Certain Age Book of Barn Hacks.” Her work has appeared in Horse Illustrated, USDF Connection, Newsday, The Trail Rider, Western Horseman, Dog Fancy, and Games. She’s written about the exclusive ‘tailgate’ party at the Royal Enclosure at the Ascot races, shipping horses to the Olympics, riding on Civil War battlefields, and the chuckwagon races at the Calgary Stampede. She lives in Newark, Delaware with her husband and fox-and-deer obsessed dog.