From barrel-racing lessons to roping and everything in between, it’s all about horses at the Rocking D Ranch in Kelowna, home to Carl Woods Performance Horses.
The ranch and training facility is run by a husband-and-wife team, Carl and Camilla Woods.
The two split the responsibilities of running the ranch, with Carl focusing on training horses and Camilla running the majority of the lessons.
“Starting young horses is probably 60 percent of my business because lots of people don’t want to put the first few rides on,” Carl said. “Because horses are kind of unpredictable.”
Carl has been around horses since he was a young boy. He feels lucky that his childhood hobby has become his full-time profession.
“It’s kind of a passion. It’s something I’ve had right from the time when I was a kid,” Carl said. “And it can be pretty rewarding when you take something that’s a raw product and actually turn it into something.”
Carl Woods Performance Horses offers all types of rodeo lessons for adults and children, including team roping, breakaway roping, barrel racing and pole bending.
Camilla advises parents to put their children in lessons for at least a year before taking on the responsibility of buying a horse.
“Horses are a lot of work. They’re not just a lot of fun. So I don’t believe in having that horse ready for your child when they get here,” Camilla said “No. You get to do all the work. You get to go on the field and catch it. You get to bring it in and do all the work to brush it and saddle it.”
Carl Woods Performance Horses is open all year long for lessons and training.