Feb. 25, 2006 - Bad Horse Riding Lesson...
My Horse Lover

 Thursday it just broke my heart to see Princess C (8) have a bad riding lesson.  At 8 she is a novice rider and has much to learn.  My only expectation of her is that she have fun and try to learn something new.  Just to give you a bit of background I had noticed over the course of several weeks that she was struggling on her horse "Poca".  The horse appeared constantly behind in the class and unable to keep up with the other horses.  Princess C also seemed to have little ability to control the horse.  From the car (the most obvious place to have the best vantage point of the entire situation) it appeared that Princess C must not be having fun because she wasn't keeping up with the rest of the class. 

     This week "SUPER MOM" comes to the rescue.  As we at the tack room I ask the owner if Princess C can ride another horse and give her my expert analysis of the situation.  She does agree to try Princes C on another horse so we set to work on the grooming and saddling of her new horse.  I help get her squared away with saddle in place and head to the truck for my relaxation time during the lesson. 

     I did notice that Princess C was off to the side a couple of times but didn't focus too much on what was going on.  The owner came over to me and said she took Princess C aside to see what was going on.  It appears that Princess C is choosing not to control the horse with her commands.  Not sure why... perhaps she is afraid she will hurt the horse or perhaps she just doesn't believe that possibly can control the horse.    The owner stressed to her the importance of letting the horse know who is in charge.  The end result of this evaluation resulted in tears form my tender-hearted drama queen. 

     After talking to the owner I watched Princess C a couple of times and I could tell she wasn't keeping up with the class but nothing seemed to terribly out of sorts.  After the lesson, I met her back at the corral to help her with her horse.  As I walk up I can see she is just in uncontrollable tears trying to talk to one of the wranglers. 

     Apparently she was horrified that the owner came and talked to me.  She was afraid that once I found out that the horse wasn't the problem that I would make her stop taking lessons!  It seems "super mom" made a SUPER MESS of things this time!  Princess C couldn't care less whether or not she kept up with the class or had the fastest horse. 

     To her it is all about the joy of being on her favorite animal on earth.  Princess C just enjoys the privilege of being able to ride every week.  She knows that money is very tight right now and that sacrifices are made for her riding lessons.  To her it is about spending time alone with mom as we drive to the ranch, groom and saddle her horse together and drive back home when the lesson is over.  To her it is the PURE JOY of being around horses.

     This weeks riding lesson taught me a valuable lesson.  Perhaps sometimes I can be too quick to jump in and fix my children's problems- or rather problems I imagine them to have.  It taught me that I need to trust my children and talk to them about their issues before taking off and working on their issues for them.  It taught me that sometimes it is enough to pay $40 just to see my daughter's face light up when she arrives at the ranch.  finally it reminded me that God is in control of my daughter- not me.  He understands her needs even better than I do.  He understands that DD likes to take things at her own speed and when she is ready to take off and advance on a horse she will.  He reminded me that there is a season for everything and no matter how hard I try I cannot and should not rush my children's seasons of life.

Until we meet again...

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