Canterwood Riding Center

With the failing health of the aged owner, Canterwood's fate is a signature away from resting in the hands of a housing developer. The once famed lesson program no longer exists and only a couple pasture horses still live on the premises.

While visiting family on a holiday break, Harper Collins hears of the awful future her childhood barn is destined to. Her own future seems bleak and she's been doing a ton of reflection about who she is and what she was expecting out of life. Browsing through a box of momentos, she came across a 'When I Grow Up' assignment she had done - unsurprisingly, it did not include being a banker in a boring cubicle with uptight bosses breathing down her neck about numbers and meeting quotas. The essay described an idylic life on a farm, training horses and teaching lessons. Of course there was the bit about being an Olympian with dozens of gold medals.

Out on a bike ride around town, Harper found herself cruising down the lane of Canterwood Riding Center. She almost missed the entrance and sign post due to so much overgrowth covering both. She hopped off her bike and started walking down the drive. She was abruptly stopped by a locked gate - something she had never seen in all her time riding and hanging out at Canterwood. A glaring sign was poorly hung stating KEEP OUT - No Trespassing. Harper was shocked and upset, this wasn't what she was expecting to see, despite what her mom had warned her. Peering through the chain link fence, she saw that the pastures lining the drive were grossly overgrown with fences down. Even the barn looked like it was falling apart and hoped no one was inside. The old farm had one last surprise instore for the young woman when a flash of movement and noise caught her attention. In one of the far pastures, a pair of yellow ponies were standing nose to tail swatting flies and snorting the pests from their nose.

Her mind was working faster than her thoughts as she raced home and pulled out her laptop. By the end of the day she had talked to the farm owner getting permission to walk the property; she posted on the local social media equestrian pages to raise awareness about the stable's fate; and emailed a few of her past riding friends. Harper's plan was to check in on the owner and the ponies, look at the state of the barn, and hopefully rally a few interested people to help her rebuild and restore Canterwood Riding Center.