Carla Sabourin, who was born and raised in Victoria, has been horsing around with equines since she was just a young filly herself.
Describing herself as an introvert at that age, she discovered her attraction to horses through books and seeing them out in the fields while out on her lone bike rides and would venture in to pet them.
"I wasn't even allowed to have a cat, so my parents were mystified where my love of horses came from. I don't think either of them ever touched a horse in their life," laughed Sabourin. "I would ask stables if I could help clean out their stalls and that eventually that transitioned into me working for my lessons."
Sabourin started at the age of 10, and by the age of 19 figured out on her own how to offer lessons to others. After a stint of working with the government her heart led her to Saanich where she worked at a riding school from 7 a.m. to noon each day, turning nearly 50 horses, and cleaning stalls.
Sabourin's favourite lessons to teach are dressage, a world she's been competitive in, for the last four decades. It's described as the highest expression of horse training where both the horse and rider are expected to perform from memory a series of predetermined movements.
Dressage training entails a number of things including learning proper posture, different patterns, having soft hands, as well as different gaits such as walk, trot and canter as well as extended and collected canter and some sideways movements. Sabourin has competed in all dressage events including levels such as the Prix St. George (PSG).
"It is an Olympic sport and very competitive and popular across the world as well as Canada," said Sabourin. "Out of the thousands who ride on the island there are only a handful who ride at that level. Riders who compete at that level start at the basics and then build on that as you train with your horse and it takes at least six years to advance to that level as long as you know what you are doing and have some coaching on the ground."
Sabourin has ridden a myriad of horse over the years, and sold her upper Grand Prix horse last year as it was going on 20. Her last two personal horses were imported from Spain, and she is also in the midst of starting some younger ones up the ladder again.
While Sabourin has never ridden her skills into the Olympics, which she said requires a lot of time, money, and sponsorship, she has competed in the B.C. Games, which she recalls as really fun, and last fall competed in the Concours de Dressage International (CDI) which was held in the Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver.
"That was a big highlight for me because it was my first time on my young horse from Spain and I hadn't competed in the CDI in over five years," said Sabourin.
Sabourin first started her family-run stables in the 1980s where she kept quite busy with competitive coaching and had up to 60 students at one time. She made the decision to step away from teaching as much, as well as some of related politics. So she dug in her spurs and made the call to relocate in Cobble Hill in 1998 and focus more on trail riding, while embracing a quieter lifestyle.
The name Alpine Stables came about as it reflected the more mountainous and picturesque trail rides Sabourin can now offer.
"I wanted to be more in the country and slow down," said Sabourin. "I wanted to do more trails, and I really liked the area, so I moved up here and got this place."
Alpine Stables currently has a staff of seven, not to mention the several students who lend a helping hand around the stables. There are 26 horses on the property, which include some borders, around six trail horses that have hoofed it up from Alberta, as well as six horses for school lessons which Sabourin said is a big part of this riding business.
Sabourin said after 47 years she has grown out of teaching little ones and now leaves that to her junior instructors but has really found a love for adult lessons, which she said are actually now the most popular.
"It started mostly with kids but now we are seeing a lot of adults who really want to get back in the saddle again," said Sabourin. "We see a lot coming back in their mid-20s and also have a lot in the age range of 45 to 75 who maybe used to ride as a kid and want to get back into it again. I'm really starting enjoy that."
While dressage may be Sabourin's favourite lesson style to teach both adults and children she said she has taught jumping just as much as kids always seem to enjoy it.
"Typically, I may have a new student who is starting from scratch start jumping over a little cross pole after 10 months, but of course there are some after just a few months. I can tell that I can do all kinds of things with them while others just won't simply have the coordination for it."
Sabourin teaches three or four lessons a day, seven days a week, and has 35 students with a waiting list, even though the plan was to only take around 10 when she relocated.
Since starting Alpine Stables, Sabourin has made fond memories of taking her students to compete at the Cowichan District Riding Exhibition Grounds when they used to host more shows there.
"We'd go there as a team and clean up there," said Sabourin. "Then we'd go to all the dressage show and have the largest amount of people there. It was always great watching my students line up with all their ribbons over the years."
Going forward, Sabourin plans to take Sundays to herself and get back into competing in some of the bigger shows that are held in Vancouver. One of her recent success stories is seeing her student of 15 years Aleisha Petrat, who is a trainer and coach as well as Alpine's barn manager, go on to the big leagues and ride for Canada.
"She showed up at the age of 14 bareback on an old horse and said she wanted to learn dressage," said Sabourin. "From there on she was keen and right in there. She's good. She was groom and has come with me to all of my clinics, which she recorded and she wrote everything down. She went to school in between, and is now a registered nurse and works night shifts to pay for her passion.
"There was no stopping her, and everyone has been like, where did you find this kid? She'll be mostly competing on the mainland over this next year, and then depending on where her scores are she may even go down to Washington. It's just been amazing to watch her grow."
Parents who don't mind ponying up a little money to celebrate their children growing up can do so in fine fashion with up to 10 children for a duration of two hours at Alpine Stables. The first hour the birthday boy or girl takes turns along with their friends being led around on birthday ponies, and for the second hour the picnic table area is set up for a celebration of presents, festivities, food, and party favours with the exception of balloons as they are known to frighten horses.
Alpine Stables also has a lot to celebrate with the build of their new $500,000 covered indoor arena last spring.
"We had it last summer and it enables us to train and ride year round, compete, hold clinics and even host shows if we want," said Sabourin. "We are so thrilled to have it, it has been a dream come true."
Sabourin hosts clinics once a month that are always attended by her own coach which she said allows her to ensure she is on the right track with her students if ever she is questioning things. Aside from teaching, Sabourin also enjoys a lot of the manual labour such as cleaning the paddocks, but her true joy comes from seeing how far all her young riders have come, and seeing that progression. Some of best things to come out of opening Alpine Stables have been getting to interact with the horse loving community, the working students and all the staff who adore working there.
"We are all really close, and we have made great, lasting friendships here," said Sabourin. "It's always exciting to wake up Saturday mornings and know which teenage girls are going to be here, and which adults will be riding that afternoon, or what the work day may look like the following day and think about who will be here to assist with the ring."
Sabourin and her staff are always pleased to accommodate grand romantic gesture proposals, and weddings.
"We see a lot of proposals on our summer rides," said Sabourin. "There was one wedding up on the summit, and we will often get pre-warned through an email about someone's intent to propose, who may be looking for a private ride and a little privacy once they reach the top. We have seen at least a dozen proposals here. There are not even words for it, it just makes everyone so happy, then come back all smiles and there are lots of pictures."
All four of their trail rides offer picture perfect views including their one-hour Beginner Trail Ride ideal for families, their Inspiration Ride, which is an hour and a half in duration, their two-hour Fabulous Rainforest Ride, and their three-hour Spectacular Summit Ride.
Riders of all ages may experience some happy trails with Alpine's seasoned guides like Sam Ellis who has been riding for 20 years and Andrea Gies who has been riding for 15 years and Alpine's main guide for nine.
"Carla and I have known each other for 20 years," said Ellis. "My favourite part has been all the people that I've met over the years, and then seeing them again in later stages of life. I love remembering those rides and knowing every time we take people out we are making an impact on their lives, and giving them enjoyable experiences, it's pretty fun."
"I love being around the people, the horses, and nature," said Gies. "It's always different each day, sometimes you may see a bear or an owl and you get to see different people every day."
For more information on trail rides, bookings, parties, upcoming camps, or lessons visit .
"My biggest hope for all my riders no matter their age or ability is that they are having fun," said Sabourin. "It is always heartwarming to see a lot of our riders leave forming new lasting friendships, and feeling that sense of community.
