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Taking The Reins

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By LIZ BLEAU

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 25, 2008

Updated: 06/25/2008 11:31 am

VALRICO - In the cool, early morning country air, Haley Fabrizio, 10, freshened up a stall and then moved on to feeding and watering horses at Waterford Stables.

By midmorning, she had saddled up Princess, the paint mare assigned to her for the week, and the two were in a training ring as Haley learned how to navigate obstacles such as a wooden bridge and vertical poles.

After a break for lunch, she was back on the horse, minus the saddle, for a water bucket relay - a favorite game for all seven girls who spent a recent week entrenched in equine education at Waterford Stables' horse camp.

Though she had rarely ridden before, by midweek Haley was at ease riding and grooming Princess and tackling other camp tasks and activities.

"I just like horses," she said. "They're beautiful and fun to ride."

Kate Waterford, who operates the stables on nine acres off Stearns Road, said she has loved horses since she was a young girl growing up in Washington state and spent time at her grandfather's cattle ranch.

She was away from horses for many years working in an office before establishing the stables three years ago.

Her husband, Al Waterford, a U.S. Coast Guard retiree, recently built a new barn for the 18 horses stabled there. The couple boards some and owns others to lease to clients for shows.

For Kate Waterford, the work is exhausting and the days long - 14 to 15 hours most days.

But it has its rewards.

"This is the hardest job I ever loved so much," she said, noting that it's hardly a lucrative way to make a living. "You don't get into the horse business to make a fortune."

The success of the summer camp, now in its third year, enabled Waterford to quit her job as an executive assistant and turn running the stables into a full-time job.

"The first year I had camp, I had a job still," she said. "But by the second year, encouraged by the mom of one of my riding students, I quit my job."

She accepts seven students a week for five weeks each summer. Camp begins at 8 a.m. and lasts until 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Horses dominate activities all day - even during breaks, when the girls often play their favorite game, Horseopoly.

Many of the campers are regular students who take lessons year-round or know Waterford through the 4-H group she leads.

Two counselors help her each day: her son, Alexander, 17, and student Shannon Smith, 11.

Shannon is at the stables almost every day taking lessons or caring for the horse she leases, Whiskey, a spotted saddle horse.

"My friend is jealous of my horse because I never have time for her anymore because I am always here," she said.

"My mom is happy I am here," Shannon said, "because she had her own horse when she was young and is happy to have passed that on to me. She's happy I love horses, just like she did when she was my age."

Mom Laurie Smith said she became enamored with horses at an early age, when she took a pony ride at a petting zoo.

"We moved around a lot, and finally, when I was 13, we moved to Pennsylvania and had enough land for me to get a horse," Smith said.

So it's only natural that Shannon would love horses, too, she said.

"I tell everybody that when we decorated her room as a baby, it was all done in horses, so it's inevitable for her to be interested in them," she said.

Waterford said Shannon's devotion to horses is one of the reasons she spends so much time with young people.

"I want them to have the same passion I have for horses," she said.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Summer camp at Waterford Stables

WHERE: 3233 Stearns Road, Valrico

WHEN: Weekly summer camps are held through the end of July; Young Rider's Camp will be held mornings Monday through July 3 for ages 5 to 7

CONTACT: Call (813) 220-6056 or go to www.h2oford.com

Reporter Liz Bleau can be reached at (813) 865-1557 or lbleau@tampatrib.com

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