There are things you don’t prepare for when becoming a parent. One of these things, horse shows. Laine was asked to be in the C-Fair Charity Horse Show last weekend, where she rode in two events. It was an experience. Much like Island Time, there is Horse Time. Nothing happens on time. As Laine’s trainer kept saying, anything horses is mostly a hurry up and wait experience. We waited. And waited. With all four kiddos, not nearly prepared to be there five hours. We arrived at 10am, figuring Laine would ride around 11am, and we’d be home for lunch. Wrong. We arrived around 9:45am and ended up staying until close to 4pm. Lesson learned for next time… take Laine only and call the other parent to bring the rest of the gang when it’s closer to riding time. Man, that was a long day.
Bitching about the experience aside, it was great for Laine. She was all smiles. The kid loves horses. And she loves riding them. Taking home a ribbon and medal was a bonus. I’m not certain it was her best debut performance… her outfit was awfully large, hindering her movement; she was on a horse she doesn’t have experience with (the horse she normally rides was done for the show); and she didn’t know what to expect. None of that really matters though, she had a blast and wants to do more in the future. The things you do for your kiddos, and it’s totally worth it.
Killing time with snacks.
Laine’s trainer does hair (better than me). She loved the pink bow.
Killing time climbing a tree.
Laine in the riding suit.
Serious Laine waiting to ride.
Ready to ride.
On the way to the arena.
Rider Laine.
Post-ride.
Happy horse rider.
Jumping Raccoons 