CENTRE WELLINGTON – Mother/daughter duo Judith and Cindy Johnson are in the process of packing up 50 years of memories.
After decades of owning and operating Travis Hall Equestrian Centre on Sideroad 30 just south of Fergus, it will be closing as of May 1, meaning dozens of horses and their riders have had to find new places to go.
The rural Centre Wellington property has been sold and thousands of equestrian and farm items are being prepared to be auctioned off as Judith retires.
Travis Hall Equestrian Centre first opened in 1974 by Judith and her husband Dave Johnson.
In an interview at her home, Judith explained she and Dave previously were part owners of the Guelph AirPark but ended up opening an equestrian centre following a dispute with one of the partners at the airport.
Both were avid horse riders and ended up with a number of horses at a barn Dave built himself, including a standardbred named Travis — a hall is what horse riding schools are called in Dave's home country of England.
“He went on to be a top endurance horse and competitor,” Judith said.
She recalled Dave having an amazing way with horses, hardly even having to touch the reins when he rode them.
“He was the magic man … he says ‘if you listen they will talk to you, they always have something to tell you,’” Cindy said.
People began to ask Dave to show their horses at competitions and from there Travis Hall Equestrian Centre grew to boarding, training, lessons, camps and just about everything horse-related one could think of.
“We used to have a bunch of youngsters that he taught how to ride and show and boy they used to clean up,” Judith said.
A countless number of horse owners and riders have come through Travis Hall over the years but they aren’t all necessarily coming from “deep pockets” even if, as Cindy said, when all aspects are considered a horse can cost someone as much as a mortgage every month.
“My dad and my mom always said they wanted it to be affordable for everyone so they geared their school and their programs for everybody,” Cindy said.
“Horses are expensive, they’re very expensive but my mother and father always had it so they gave the kids that didn’t have the wherewithal that their parents couldn’t do it, they gave them the opportunities ‘you come and clean stalls, we’ll help you ride,’” Cindy said.
Some of these children are no longer that because they’ve stayed for a long time, for example two girls who started at ages 8 and 10 are now 40 and 41 and were still with Travis Hall to the end.
Beyond the confidence riding horses gives, Cindy said those who have come through Travis Hall gain a sense of team and camaraderie with many going on to “do everything together.”
“It’s just a huge family, we don’t have any bad kids, we don’t have any bad boarders, we have a family here,” she said.
Cindy, who has been around horses her whole life through her parents, ended up taking over for her dad when he got sick.
Dave died from pancreatic cancer on Aug. 6, 2020 a few months after being diagnosed.
“He was loved by many, he touched so many lives,” Cindy said. “He asked me to get my coach’s certification and my level eight before he died and Ontario Equestrian and Equine Canada were gracious enough to let us test right here so he could watch. And he watched me get it.”
“What made him the happiest was the horses that we used for the testing, they were bred here and raised and trained here,” Judith added.
Judith, now 80 and not as mobile as she used to be, was looking to downsize and retire which meant the difficult decision to close Travis Hall Equestrian Centre. She has bought a house in Arthur and will be moving there in the near future.
Cindy, a level eight competition coach certified instructor, will continue coaching freelance and is able to follow a lot of her students to other equestrian centres. Most of the horses are still on the property but all have found other homes.
What will they miss most about the equestrian centre?
“The kids … the kids were sort of like my own,” Judith said.
