HILLSBOROUGH — It's one thing to ride a horse. It's another to connect with the horse being ridden. Such is the case for those who find their way to the most serene of places in Orange County — the Orange Grove Community in general, the Blue Skies of Mapleview farm in particular.

"My husband and I connected to this land immediately and he built this in a very caring and compassionate fashion," says Deborah Pearson-Moyers of how she came to be a farm owner with her husband, Peter.

Pearson-Moyers does little to disguise her fondness of horses and when that love affair began. "I was a child and the way I feel about horses now is how I felt about them then," she says.

Life took her from the Midwest and to England and eventually because of her husband's work, locally; they found a place where passion and a desire to further a love of horses began at Blue Skies. "There is something intrinsically special about the relationship between rider and horse and that is what I want to develop," says Pearson-Moyers.

"We teach the natural relationship between horse and human," says Pearson-Moyers. "This relationship begins with understanding how to communicate with a horse, not just in body language but also understanding how that horse communicates to its rider," she says.

This passion will be carried forward in an upcoming workshop, Wisdom of the Horses, with noted animal communicator, Carol de Poix. "We held a similar workshop a few years ago and it was greatly received and appreciated as it demonstrated to those that participated, just how important it is to be able to understand and read into what a horse is saying. The demand for this type of workshop, is why we are offering it, again," says Pearson-Moyers.

During the workshop, attendees will have the opportunity to connect with horses in their natural pasture settings and learn characteristics of communication and how to appropriately learn about a horse in a natural manner.

Blue Skies of Mapleview offers a different kind of venue for those who enjoy horses in terms of how it approaches and guides people into natural relationships with horses.

The farm offers boarding, lessons, birthday parties, summer camps and holds a women's intuitive riding seminar in February and August, where women learn to connect with horses intuitively.

In November, the farm hosts its annual Holiday with the Horses event. At it, riders young and old alike participate in a ride and event on the farm grounds.

"We really try to foster an environment on our farm that is different than other horse barns and horse facilities. Our boarders and those that come here are relaxed and open to learning and the atmosphere is conducive to learning about the horse and about the rider together. This is how I developed my love for horses and it is how I teach and encourage connection between horse and person," says Pearson-Moyers.

For more information or to register for the Wisdom of the Horses workshop, contact Deborah Pearson-Moyers at 919-933-1444 or dpmblueskies@hotmail.com or visit www.blueskiesmapleview.us online.