A Lesson in Perseverence

In 2009, MP rode in her first horse show. She was scared to death, with a belly full of butterflies, but she did it. It just happened to be the last show of the year, and they combined it with the year-end award ceremony. MP rode well, got through it and settled in to watch the awards. You have to ride in at least two shows to win, so she was one of the few people who didn’t qualify.

THIS year, they combined the Fall Festival with the awards ceremony. Because MP had competed in THREE shows, she was sure to win something in her division! Try Foxberry Riding Academy 2010 Champion!

Her instructor, Miss Kim, was very encouraging about how MP’s skills have improved. I should say so! Last week, when her lesson was finished, Miss Kim came walking up to me. I’d heard her yelling instructions to MP and the other girls, but frankly, I hadn’t been paying attention. I’d be talking to the other mom’s and enjoying the beautiful weather. Anyway, I noticed that Miss Kim was looking a little frazzled. So I asked if she was okay?

Ummm. It seems that MP was riding a new horse, Chester, and asked him to canter. Because MP’s legs weren’t tight against the horse, they began to flop up and down against Chester’s sides. So he’s like, “What the shezizzle?” and starts going faster. Which causes MP’s legs to bounce even HARDER. Chester is looking at her like, “Oh no you DIDn’t!” and continues to fly around the arena. I don’t know WHY Chester speaks like SnoopDog, but he does. So around and around he’s going and MP is hanging on for dear life. Her feet come out of the stirrups which is NOT GOOD, and her eye glasses are half way down her face. She’s got one hand on the saddle and the other hand around the reins. Miss Kim is about to have a heart attack and is screaming, “PULL THE REINS!” Finally, MP pulls Chester to a stop, looks over at Miss Kim and says with a smile, “That was CRAZY!”

This might explain why Miss Kim was praying for rain this week.

The bottom line is that MP is really into horses and is gaining confidence every week. Pretty soon she’ll be ready to lease her very OWN horse.

I have seen the future. And it’s very expensive.