The Riding Family

Bringing together a multigenerational family under one home barn can reap big benefits for all. Here's how one Colorado family does it, what they get out of it, and why it's important to them.

- JENNIFER PAULSON

There's something special about sharing your horse passion with T your family members-parents, grandparents, and children, sometimes even beyond. In today's trend toward multigenerational living (18% of all U.S. households include grandparents, parents, and children, according to Pew Research Center analysis of census data), equine partners help build bonds, provide family fun, and offer common ground for understanding each other.

The Swanson family, based in Sedalia, Colorado, exemplifies this in the family's horse life. Patriarch Dr. Terry Swanson, DVM; matriarch Elaine "Peachie" Swanson; their son, Roy, and his wife, Betsy; and their kids Quincy (12) and Waylon (10) come together to build their dream life with horses while supporting each other, encouraging their budding riders, and letting every family member strive to achieve goals of all kinds.

Here, you'll learn how the Swansons make it work, why it's worth the effort, and tips for navigating your own multigenerational horse life.

Meet the Swansons

Terry and Elaine both grew up horseback, Terry on a ranch in Chugwater, Wyoming, and Elaine around Colorado Springs, Colorado. They passed on their passion for horses and the Western way of life to their son, Roy, bringing him up in youth rodeo and advancing to college and amateur rodeos. Terry and Elaine moved to Littleton, Colorado, in 1968 where Terry became a partner at Littleton Large Animal Clinic (now Littleton Equine) and still practices today. Although Terry and Elaine lived in town, they built an arena and pens at the clinic in 1972 and kept and rode their horses there until their move to Sedalia in 2012.