Deep in the hills southwest of Otter Lake, along a dirt road seemingly leading into the middle of nowhere, two sisters and their parents have started a new venture to teach locals about all things equestrian.
Charlotte Becker is the driving force behind Painted Hilltop Farm, located on chemin du Rang A, just off Rte. 301, and has been around horses for most of her life.
Growing up in Carleton Place, Ont., both Charlotte and her younger sister Emily have been riding since they were very young, though they’re fairly new to the business end of the equestrian world.
The family owned a cottage in Otter Lake, and 15 years ago, a chance trip through the countryside would change the course of their lives.

“One day my dad was just driving around and came across the house. It had been abandoned,” Charlotte explained. “We moved up here and got our first horses, that’s basically how it started.”
Situated on more than 400 acres of rolling pastures and wilderness, the farm was a pristine place for the pair to hone their riding skills, though the rustic house and barn required some elbow grease.
Once both girls had their own horses, they began competing in team penning, a Western equestrian sport that evolved from the ranch work of separating certain bovines from the herd.
“There’s a group of cows, thirty cows,” Charlotte explained. “You have a team of three and you have to go in and get the same three cows … out of the herd in less than 60 seconds and get them into a pen at the other end.”
“We started doing that in Pembroke,” she continued. “It’s very thrilling actually, but yeah, it’s hard.”
Around five years ago, Charlotte said she began the process of turning her passion into a career.
“It was a gradual shift, then I started getting really serious about it,” she said.
She said the name for the business came about rather serendipitously.
“My first horse is a paint horse, he’s black and white,” she said. “He was the first one to come up here with the farm. We’re up, well, on a hilltop, so Painted Hilltop … it just stuck.”
Currently, Charlotte is in the process of becoming a certified Western coach, but offers lessons in both English and Western riding
“We started out riding English and then when we moved up here we switched to Western, so we have experience with both,” she said.
“There’s four levels, so I’m on three of four,” she continued. “I should be certified by the end of the year if everything works out.”
She noted that while it has been challenging to get the word out about her business, she had a big spike in students recently, up to 25 this year, from nine the year before.
“I assist, Charlotte mostly teaches but when I’m here on weekends and certain days, I’ll help watch the kids and be a second pair of eyes,” Emily added. “It’s easier with two people.”
Currently, the Beckers have a stable of 15 horses and offer trail rides and camps in addition to traditional lessons.
“We have about six kids per camp and they learn to ride, [they] do crafts, they learn how brush, groom all that stuff. Basically, [they] learn how to take care of their own horse,” she said, noting that they try to host camps twice a month. “Then we do the riding lessons. We typically don’t do more than four kids in a lesson so that we can keep an eye on everyone and make sure everyone gets the same amount of [experience].”
Charlotte splits her time between Painted Hilltop and two jobs across the river, one doing chores at another farm and another in sales at UnderArmour in Kanata.
“I used to go five days a week, I cut it down to three,” she said.
With the encouraging uptick in clientele, Charlotte and her family have big plans for the farm, including carving out more trails through their property, and becoming qualified in a wider range of subjects. Charlotte hopes to be certified in English riding as well as Equine assisted learning, a form of animal therapy.
“We’re also hoping to put cabins down in the bush so we can do what we call a ‘bed and bale,’” she said. “So you bring your horse and keep it down there and trail ride and all that stuff.”
They also are currently seeking funding to erect a large indoor ring, to allow them to teach year-round.
“There’s potential, it’s just [a matter of] getting it done,” she said.