Grandville women brings joy through horseback adventures | Community Spirit

By Angela Klinske

Adventure doesn’t have to take the form of something daring or on the edge. It can be as simple as trying something new, to exposing yourself to an experience that exhilarates and relaxes all at the same time.

If you love horses, you’re in good company with Karin Schmidt. She has loved horses her entire life, starting out as a child visiting a horse barn near her home in southern Germany. She began vaulting (think acrobatics on horseback) at age seven, and in her twenties became a professional jockey, racing the circuit in Churchill Downs, Lexington, Ken., Peru, and on every track in Germany. Schmidt, now 50, purchased her first horse, a Morgan named Charley, just six-and-a-half years ago.

Today, she owns 12 horses and leases stables in Grandville where she fulfills her mission to “bring as much joy to as many people as possible through my horses.” She owns Karin’s Horse Connection, where she trains riders, ages two and up, and provides experiences for people who just want to be around horses – such as a woman who brought her mother on her birthday just to give the horses a bath on a
90-degree day.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” said the young woman as she sprayed...

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