Trail Guides

She is the heart and soul behind ‘Sunshine Riding Trails’ and an amazing trail master!

Kathy has over 40 years of horse back riding and training experience. She has always been passionate about horses and loves to share her passion with others. She is the founder of ‘Sunshine Riding Trails’.

For Kathy, the wellbeing of the horse comes first. They all get supplements, unlimited hay access and are ridden in hackamores. She has a very soft but steady approach to training horses, starting from mutual respect and actually listening to the horse.

This is very visible on the rides. The horses are very well trained, while still having their own personalities. Her personal trailhorse is Penny, with a quirky character and some spunk, just like Kathy!

Dave had nothing but bad horse experiences until the age of 50. At that time he came across the most wonderful teacher, Kathy. She spent the next 20 years giving him daily private lessons on all aspects of horse riding, training and love for horses. After a very few weeks of this, he became a horse owner and the rest is history.

Dave is the soothing voice behind ‘Sunshine Riding Trails’. If you tried booking a ride over the phone, you almost certainly met Dave. His passion for horses and his love for Kathy shines through every conversation you have with him. If you ever book an overnight camping trip with us, rest assured that you will have an amazing meal, cooked by Dave, after a long day of riding!

CC started riding at Sunshine Riding Trails when she was a little girl. The stables became her second home, and the people became her second family. She has been the head trailguide for the past 4 years, and knows the horses and trails like no other. 

‘Want a little bit of everything tied into one? That’s me, Cecilia!

I’ve been living and breathing horses since the day I could walk. Thanks to my wonderful guide and mentor Kathy for showing me the ropes. I am a proud owner of a horse, Dixie (who you can see on the picture), to call my own.

I’m blessed to be a part of the horse world and all the wonderful people in it.’

Cc is a master in giving people the confidence they need to ride the horse. She is able to explain everything very thoroughly and taps into other people’s energies very easily, resulting in a customized trailride for every person!

Kirsten iis a fierce woman who has been trailguiding for two years. This lady tosses hay bales around as if it’s nothing, can repair basically anything and is a very hard worker. If you come for a trailride, and hear somebody singing in the distance, it’s probably Kirsten.

Kirsten grew up in the panhandle of Florida, where she learned how to homestead from her parents. She was homeschooled and went to community college after graduation. Originally, she was going to work in the veterinarian field, but after working at a clinic for over a year she discovered that she much rather be riding horses.

She started out volunteering at the barn and soon made friends with everyone and never left. ‘I’ve been here 3 years and it has been one of the biggest blessings for me and I am thankful I get to be a part of the team every day.’

Kirsten is a confident rider, who likes to take customers on laidback rides through the Floridian outback. She is always in for some fun, while making sure the horses and the customers are still feeling their best selves!

You will most of the time see her riding Louie, her favorite horse!

Kamryn started volunteering at Sunshine Riding Trails when she was 11 years old. Currently, she is working as a trailguide!

On the picture you can see Kamryn and Mo, her horse. She trained him from the ground up, and their connection is unlike any other. They do everything together: From trail rides, to night rides, learning how to rope, swimming in the pond or cantering through the forest.. Where you see Kamryn, you see Mo!

Kamryn is an aspiring horse trainer. She has a lot of grounding energy, knowledge and confidence, making it easy for -even the more anxious- horses to feel comfortable with her. We think she is going to be great at it!

Furthermore, Kamryn is also a beloved trailguide. It comes very natural to her to make everybody feel comfortable on their horses, mix that in with her sparkling personality and trailhorse Mo, and you have the recipe for an awesome trailride!

Meet Aubrey! ‘My name is Aubrey, and while I have loved horses since I was a little girl, I have only started learning to work with them later in life. Prior to becoming a trailguide, I was a volunteer at Sunshine Riding Trails where I learned a lot about ranch life, horses and horsemanship. I realized pretty quickly that horses were more than just a hobby for me, so I decided to turn that spark into my passion, by attending a horseshoeing school!

I love baby talking the horses and sitting with them in the pasture. My favorite horse is Skittles, affectionately nicknamed “Skeeter”. I also love to chatter on trail rides about anything and everything and hope to be doing that for a while to come!’

Aubrey is very loved at the ranch. Everything they do is at the best interest of the horses, the Sunshine Riding Trails team and the customers. Besides being very sensitive, full of horse knowledge and intuitive, Aubrey loves catching everybody off guard with a good joke.

Aubrey has a very special connection with Skittles (Aka Skeeters / Rainbow Pony), who got saved from a kill pen. So if you book a trailride with Aubrey, chances are pretty high you will see this iconic duo leading the way!