It was a sunny Thursday lunch hour when staff and campers from Cloud 9 Ranch, south of the city, were spotted riding along Steinbach streets.

Tara Reimer, owner of Cloud 9 says, “Well, it's a beautiful day and this week is our advanced teen-riders week at Cloud 9 Ranch. And they were doing such a great job with their horses, I thought we would treat them. I'm always up for new experiences. None of us have ever done this and so yeah, we're riding through town and coming through the drive-through at A&W for lunch today.” 

Reimer noted they had 8 campers and 2 staff on the ride, ordering “all sorts. Chicken fingers, teen burgers and root beers. This is great practice because we have our horse show this weekend that we are hosting both Saturday and Sunday, and so we've learned a lot about our horses today. They are so calm and just taking it all in. It's been really a great experience for everybody.” 

When asked about the public's response to seeing 10 horses and their riders making their way down Steinbach streets Reimer says, “Well, lots of people are waving, but the funny thing is, the people that actually pretend that they don't see us and I'm not sure how you can drive by us and not even look at us when there are ten horses walking within 3 feet of you, so it's those people that I laugh at 'cuz I'm like, they must be having a really rough day if you can't even smile when you see ten horses walking through Steinbach.” 

That said, Reimer suggests that if you do come upon their group of riders, “Smile and wave.” 

She notes city drivers have been very polite and “very good with giving us space. Actually, better than at home (south of Steinbach), on the gravel roads, to be honest. So, they've been really good in that way, but smile wave say ‘Hi”, we'd love that.”