Riding school to close after teaching thousands of students over 50 years

Jenny Haines has tried to count how many people she has taught to ride at the Ranchlands Equestrian Centre over the past 50 years. Somewhere in the thousands, she lost track.

Now, after five decades running the Townsville school, she's closing the gates on Queensland's longest-running riding school under a single owner.

"I think we're up to the eighth third-generation [student] and dozens of second-generation [students]. So it's just so special," Ms Haines said.

When Ms Haines and her husband, Lew, announced they would retire, the community's response was beyond what they anticipated.

The school's final riding lessons will be at the end of the month, after which the Haines plan to travel around Australia in a caravan.

A chance encounter about a decade ago gave Ms Haines a new appreciation of the animals she has spent her life teaching people to ride.

Brenda Tanner arrived at Ranchlands looking for a place to run a five-day equine-assisted learning program for a group of veterans.

Doubtful about what Ms Tanner proposed, Ms Haines agreed to lend her property and horses.

"She said, 'Well, the horses pick the people,' so straight away I thought, 'This is ridiculous. I don't believe it,'" she said.

The veterans entered the arena while Ms Haines watched.

"I was hiding behind a tree with my arms folded, feeling very cocky. But gradually, as I watched, the horses do pick the people," she said.

There was no riding involved. The veterans spent time with the horses on the ground, observing them, grooming them while considering what their own response to the animals might tell them.

"I had always had a feeling that there was more to them, but I was in such a rush to ride them and make them jump jumps and do dancing steps in dressage … I never took the time," Ms Haines said.

"Since I've stopped and lingered longer, as I call it, I've seen things."

Ms Tanner said the Haines made the veterans feel welcome.

Theresa Robertson, who rode at Ranchlands in the 80s and has since returned as a teacher, has experienced arriving feeling sceptical and leaving with a different view on horses.

"She'll either prove me right or prove me wrong," she recalled thinking.

What stayed with Ms Robertson was a quiet moment holding a long rope attached to a horse, the pair standing still.

"Even though we're not moving forward, we weren't moving backwards, we were standing in the moment," she said.

Ms Robertson said those lessons shaped her teaching in the riding arena.

When Ms Haines told her Ranchlands was closing, Ms Robertson thought she was joking.

"I was devastated. It's a big part of our world," she said.

The Haines's retirement will end the daily work that has ordered their lives for half a century.

"This has been a whole lifestyle," Ms Haines said.

It's not just a job; it's been a whole life."