Alaina Oleson talks about horses and the soul in one breath. The reason: The two – for esoteric reasons – are interlinked.

As the new manager of Golden Golf & Equestrian Club’s Equestrian Center, Oleson says horses have a certain quality that touches the human soul; in fact, the horse-human relationship is therapeutic.

“They say horses heal your soul,” Oleson said. “I’m sad when I’m away from horses. Horses have personalities. They interact with you.”

Oleson wasn’t always so committed to horses. After four very active and stressful years showing horses and attending events as a teenager with her father, she began to lose interest. Following high school, that passion began to wane even further.

“There was a time I was sick of horses,” she said. Between high school and college she took a job selling clothes – for a year. Sometime during those months she had an epiphany of sorts. She soon learned that perhaps working in sales wasn’t her calling in life.

“I decided it was horses I loved,” she said. She returned to college and later received an associate degree in equine industries management. “Horses always brought me joy. I like taking a young horse and training it.”

But her return to the industry took her through some rough terrain. She and her former boyfriend operated a horse business where she spent eight months of the year in Germany for three years (from 2011-2014).

That relationship ended, and so did the business arrangement. Born in Portland, Maine, Oleson returned to Ocala where she had spent some fond years. A friend informed her of the opportunity at Golden Golf & Equestrian Club and soon, with her extensive and varied background with horses, she was offered the job. She began work on July 8.

Despite Oleson’s free-spirited and gentle nature, she is well suited in her role as equestrian manager. She says she has a very logical, detailed-orientated mind that craves structure and organization, two qualities she intends to institute at the Golden Golf & Equestrian Club’s Equestrian Center.

“My goal is to organize things like clockwork,” she said. She admits that might also be her negative quality as well. “That’s my downfall. I like to do certain things in a certain way.”

The soft-spoken woman – always ready with a smile and a deep gaze – said she’s confident her leadership at the equestrian center will be rewarding, for her, her employees and Golden Golf & Equestrian Club. At home, she spends time with her Jack Russell Terrier. She also enjoys buying and selling horses for dressage, which is a balanced form of training between horse and rider.

Call 352-351-4937 for more information about the Equestrian Center and the services the facility provides.

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