Coupeville Library and Big Rhed Barn bringing horses to the people

A horse meet-and-greet gives families a chance to experience these awe-inspiring animals

By Allyson Ballard • June 27, 2025 8:00 am

Horses have a way of stripping people of their ego. Witnessing the childlike wonder they inspire is something Rhed Locke loves most about her job.

“People just get this sparkle in their eyes,” she said, smiling. “It’s like a little baby looking at something jingling.”

Community outreach like the kind Locke is doing this week — hosting a horse meet-and-greet from 2-3 p.m. Wednesday at the Coupeville Library — gives families a chance to experience that awe for themselves. The event will teach participants about horse care, safety, riding, nutrition, and more at various themed stations, attended also by two of Locke’s own horses.

Wednesday’s meet-and-greet will be the second of its kind thrown by Big Rhed Barn at the Coupeville Library this year. The first, held in April, drew around 75 people. Locke said the library expects “two to three times” that turnout this week.

But nothing about that comes as a surprise to the native of Inglewood, California.

Recalling exactly where her passion for horses and riding came from is hard for Locke — the movie “Spirit” and Medieval Times, a restaurant chain famous for entertaining its guests with knights jousting on horseback, are two of her guesses.

What Locke can recall is falling in love with friends’ and neighbors’ horses growing up, and “bouncing” from farm to farm, “trying to figure out what horse stuff I like to do.” Out of the seemingly countless horse-related jobs, she realized colt starting was her calling. That is, teaching horses how to be ridden.

Locke moved to Whidbey Island in 2023 and opened Big Rhed Barn, which provides riding lessons and educates horse-owning hopefuls on caring for the animals, a little over a year ago. The barn’s popularity quickly exceeded the capacity of its original facility in Oak Harbor, pushing Locke to move her work to Coupeville. Today, the barn hosts six horses and a donkey.

Many of Locke’s students are beginner riders of a range of ages, reflective of a local interest in horses.

Locke explained dressage, an English form of riding, is popular on Whidbey, as are eventing — riding through obstacle courses — and gaming — competitions like barrel racing. Participation in those activities requires an “interconnected system” of farmers, veterinarians, farriers and horse boarding facilities found on the island, all necessary to the sustainability of the horse-loving community.

“In order to have a horse,” Locke said, “you have to learn how to be a part of a team. There’s no way for you, as a horse person, to take care of a horse by yourself.”

Events like the horse meet-and-greet at the Coupeville Library are a crucial step in that process, because as Locke has observed, “most people spend time doing things that they’re good at, and most people are not good at horses.” Everybody has something to learn when it comes to riding and caring for such captivating creatures.

And that is another thing Locke enjoys, too.

“I get to experience them being new to something, and it’s one of the coolest experiences to be a part of — seeing someone’s genuine reaction to stuff, seeing their genuine emotions about it,” she said. “It’s just my favorite.”