Lee Horner has been teaching kids how to ice skate for a long time – for more than 40 years, to be exact.

Currently, she has a program at the Travis Roy Rink at Tabor Academy every Saturday morning for children aged 4-14. The program teaches beginner skills for both figure skaters and hockey players.

“All children need a foundation of basic skating,” Horner said. “It’s a great program. The people are fabulous.”

The program at Tabor runs for 12 weeks, with children getting a 25-minute lesson, and 25 minutes to practice on their own. Though it has already started, Horner said children can still sign up for the last eight weeks of the program, starting after Christmas.

Horner started figure skating herself as a fourth grader and never stopped.

“It was just so much fun,” she said. “Once you start it, you’ll do it forever. It’s just in your blood.”

Since then, she has taught a synchronized figure skating team in Warwick, Rhode Island and led them to a national championship, taught a team on Cape Cod and worked with a skating team in Hamden, Connecticut.

Horner has been teaching in Marion for “at least 15 years.”

“We’ve been here ever since the new complex was built,” she said. “We’ve had about 1,800 kids through the years.”

For Horner, one of the perks of learning how to skate is that it can be a hobby for life.

“Once you learn how to skate, you can always do it,” she said. “The secret is well-fitted skates.”

For 12 weeks of classes the cost is $170, plus a $15 fee per child.

“We try to keep the cost reasonable so families can afford more than one kid,” Horner said.

For more information, contact Horner at lee.lmh2006@gmail.com or 508-274-5218.