Meet me, Mary Homicz, the owner/operator, trainer, instructor, receptionist, and accountant of this here operation of shenanigans. My experience ranges with all equines and many disciplines over the span of 20+ years.

I was born and raised in Trinity County, just in view of the Trinity Alps. The first time I was on the back of a horse was with my Mom, before I was born. I’m a third generation horsewoman, thanks to my grandma who begged her parents for a pony, thank you again grandma. My Shetland Pony Patches was the first to teach me. She carried me through my first AERC (American Endurance Ride Conference) ride. She once even made it 30 miles with poor sore little 6 year old me. We competed in gymkhanas, obstacle challenges, parades, etc. earning many awards together. once I outgrew her it was the plan to teach her to pull a wagon. But life decided to through me a curve ball.

in 2015 I was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, cancer. It started in my right shoulder, in my bone, and spread to my lungs. My Dad described the MRI of my right humorous as a tree shedding its bark. I underwent chemotherapy and radiation for a year as treatment. It was aggressive treatment, but cleared me of cancer by 2016. I was strictly advised not to ride any horses during this time. What did I do? I got on Chief and proceeded to galivant through the woods. I was extremely weak and almost fully wheelchair bound, so I only rode Chief, as he is our most trusty steed. I also only rode him, at most, 5 times. Once I was finished with treatment I surprised everyone with my Make a Wish. I decided I wanted to ride with William Shatner, captain Kirk from the original Star Trek. Him and his trainer provided me with the wonderful opportunity to do so. It was an absolutely amazing experience and I can’t thank him enough for fulfilling my wish. I know it was an unusual request. Something I remember is when we rode for two hours in the arena and he rode up to my mom and said, “wow, she has great endurance!” I was still weak and discouraged from the remnants of treatment so that helped give me a little ego boost.

Back to the pony. Once I was well enough I began her ground driving training. She was a stubborn little pony, but was ready to pull a wagon in no time. We needed to save up to purchase a proper safe wagon. Unfortunately by the time we could Patches passed away from old age. She was a loyal pony for a little girl and I’ll always remember as such.

From 2012 to 2019 I had competed in the California State Horseman’s Association royalty program. This is a spokesperson/ambassador title held by individuals that undergo a competition with multiple categories. A horsemanship test, written test, speech, and interview. It’s similar to that of a rodeo queen. By 2019 I became the first to earn all three titles at state level. It was a long road to achieve those goals. During my year as Junior Miss CSHA I was undergoing my cancer treatment. This program motivated me to keep going. I went to Cow Palace in a wheelchair representing the association I so dearly care about.

I continued doing many equine sports, from endurance, gymkhana, packing, advanced cross country trail riding, wagon/carriage training, etc. In 2021 I worked at Coffee Creek Ranch. I trained horses, guided trail rides, taught lessons, and lead and assisted pack trips into the Trinity Alps. Unfortunately a wildfire burnt the ranch down at the end of summer that year. I moved on a created my own business in Weaverville.

I worked with a total of over 100 clients in 2022. Something I had, and have, a passion for is helping children in need. There are quite a few students of mine that benefit from the mental and physical therapy benefits of my horses. A child with cerebral palsy can learn and build their motor functions on a horse, it’s called Hippotherapy. A child on the spectrum can learn to ground themselves back into reality by focusing on the five senses while with a horse. Name three things that you feel. The fur of the horse between my finger tips, the saddle moving beneath me, and the movement of the horses legs shifting back and forth. Grounding can help nervous students as well. These are great examples of the benefits of equines in children’s, and even adults, lives. Chief brought me back after treatment with mental and physical therapy. Horses gave me a purpose to keep going, I may not have been here without them. There is so much more that can be delved into as well. Horsemanship lessons were my primary focus, but I also worked on retraining quite a few rescue horses with a bad past. That’s always been a specialty of mine. I love to be able to help and connect with those equines that need more help, patience, and guidance than the others. A bond of trust has to be re-established and built upon. It’s a long road, but if done right you can end up with one of the best partners in your lifetime.

In the fall of last year I moved to Humboldt county. I lived in a townhouse at first so I didn’t have my horses until I found a boarding facility the following summer. Due to having my ponies in a facility it was very difficult to continue lessons, so I focused on traveling the county to train and teach people on their own equines. Fast forwarding to now we’ve recently moved to a new place in Carlotta with all the room for me to continue horsemanship lessons consistently again.

it’s of the utmost priority for me to train people and equines to have a solid foundation. In my lessons you will learn everything I can offer in my knowledge of equines. We’ll focus on building a relationship of trust between horse and rider. Balance, confidence, communication, problem solving, and learning to care for an equine from brushing, feeding, wound care, hoof care, tack maintenance, etc, are all focused on in my lesson program. I aim to create independent and confident riders with a bright future in any equine field they so choose.

This is still very much a summarized version of my history and experiences, but I hope I relayed a good chunk of info to anyone curious. Thank you to anyone who has taken the time to read this far.