Horse riding club offers English speaking instructors

Lance Cpl. Daniel A. Flynn
OKINAWA MARINE STAFF

When Toshihiro Nakahara’s friend, who raised horses for food, asked Nakahara which horse he would like to eat, Black King caught his eye. But when Nakahara returned home from his friend’s horse farm, his plans soon changed.

Now, eleven years later, Black King, the oldest horse at Nakahara’s Mihara Horse Club in Uruma City, is the grand daddy of the stables.

“He decided to feed him instead of eat him,” said Sachio Yamashita, a riding instructor for the club. “And the horse club grew from that first horse.”

The club offers riding lessons and access to horses and horse-trails for members and interested parties. The club has about 100 students, nine horses and three ponies and is the only horse club on Okinawa to offer English-speaking instructors.

Club member Teresa Stultz said she found out about the club through the internet, and she and her family now frequent the club.

“Every time we come, it is very hard to get my 2-year-old daughter to leave because she just loves to feed and pet the horses,” Stultz said. “We all have a lot of fun when we come.”

The club hosts two horse shows per year, one in the spring and one in the fall. Most recently, the club hosted the 15th Mihara Horse Club Riding Event March 29, which was the farewell event for club manager Jacquie Kubicki and assistant manager Katherine Hamill, who will leave Okinawa soon. Kubicki and Hamill are the club’s main English speaking instructors. Samantha Straub will take over as the primary English-speaking instructor May 1.

The riding event drew about 60 spectators who watched 30 Japanese and American riders
from the club participate in events such as a Dressage Class (where riders display skills at controlling the horse), relay races and Show Jumping.

Membership to the club is open to the public and offers many different activities such as village treks, beach treks and pony rides for beginning and experienced riders.

“We teach our students not only how to ride, but also how to feed, water, wash and brush the animals,” Kubicki said.

For more information about the club, visit www.mihara-horse.com.