Our History
By: Sara Mason, Owner-Trainer

It all started in the 1800's in the mountains of Northern Idaho and Montana. Back then, logging with horses was a way of life. Horses needed to be reliable and safe. The key to success was understanding the way that horses and mules worked. Great grandpa Card logged this country with horses for many years, until he was no longer physically capable of doing so.

Millie Peterson, his daughter, my grandmother (now in her young 80’s), moved to Western Washington and used her knowledge of horses to survive. Making a living training and showing, she made it to the World Competition several times and was honored with the Appaloosa Hall of Fame award.

Millie Peterson’s Granddaughter, Sara Mason (that's me), had the same love of horses. I admire my Grandma Millie and dreamed of nothing more than to follow in her footsteps. At age of 14, I began training horses and giving lessons professionally. Over the next 21 years, a steady stream of horses gave me the opportunity to learn and perfect the techniques my Grandma Millie used.

Returning to Northern Idaho, my family and myself opened                 Mason Training Stables and Children's Equestrian Center. Our goal was to use the heritage and principles passed down through generations to help the children of our community. Refinements in the training techniques resulted in "The Foundation Method". This is the method we created and use for the education of our future horseman.