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I'm an Eventing Mom, AND I LOVE IT!
June 3, 2017 07:24:02 PM
I am the mother of 16 year old girl who LOVES Eventing.

It wasn't always this way.

My daughter, we'll call her Callie for safety's sake, was introduced to her first horse at two weeks old. You read that correctly. ;-) Around 2 years old, she "owned" a children's safety saddle with a "handle" and a 14 hand chestnut Quarter Pony mare named Dixie. I taught Callie how to groom, pick hooves, clean stalls and ride. Since her little saddle was more of an English persuasion, she also learned how to post at the trot as well as sit. She got her first surprise of the lope/canter when she was about 4. At the far end of the 200 foot arena, Dixie decided she wanted to come back to the gate and quickly. Callie stayed on and loved the sweet rocking motion.

Yeah, she was hooked.

When we were forced to move our horses because our barn was bought out and given a year to close down, we had to sell Dixie. It was a sad moment, but one of great importance to help Callie grow in her riding: she rode several different horses of varying heights: a 13.2 hand POA gelding named Drifter, a 15 hand Quarter Horse mare named Cameo, and a 16.1 hand Thoroughbred gelding named JJ. JJ was the one who snuffled her when she was two weeks old. JJ was the one she was always able to go back to. Even now, JJ is her "other" horse - technically because my mother, Callie's grandmother, owns JJ.

Forced to move to a different barn yet again, Callie was able to get her "own" horse on a free lease. His name is Paint Me Blue, barn name Blue. Blue is a 15.1 hand chestnut Quarter Horse gelding who has literally done it all. When we first acquired him, he had already been trained to do the barrel racing cloverleaf pattern, arena race, and keyhole. He had already been trained to jump and go dressage. And, he had already been to a number of Hunter shows. Callie pretty much had it good, but she couldn't let her guard down, or he would just poke along. He made her work for those ribbons.

Callie knew that because of his previous training, Blue could handle being both English and Western. And that's what she did with him for a year. We bought her western tack and encouraged her to enter the 4-H shows around the county. They did well, just not as well as some of the other horses who were strictly western. When she went into the Hunt Seat arena, they did place in the top 6 in every show. It was an exciting time.

Then something extraordinary happened.

In 2011, the AEC's (American Eventing Championships) came to our town, and Callie and I were able to be jump judges for the cross country part. Don't know what Cross Country is? Think of a VERY large pasture with excellent grass footing and huge jumps strategically placed throughout. Kind of like a fox hunt, but without the fox and hounds! (:-) Anyway, we pretty much roasted in the hot August sun, but we got to see some big names come through - some of them multiple times - and jump over "our" jump. Allison Springer, Buck Davidson, Becky Holder, Lauren Kieffer to name a few. This sparked a new riding interest in my daughter that I *really* had hoped she would one day want to do. See, when I was little, I had a 14 hand Connemara gelding named Rascal Mike. He took me to so many eventing shows, and I really did want *my* daughter to know that thrill. YAY! Here's her chance!

Callie was able to do two years of eventing on Blue. She eventually gave up western (silent "whoo hoo!" from me), and focused on dressage and jumping. Thankfully, we live near enough to several venues that have cross country fields, so we could trailer to those places and practice her cross country. One of her last events on Blue, Callie and Blue placed second out of eight. She was thrilled. We were all thrilled!

But time marches on, and the time came that Blue's true owner wanted him back. (Remember now, Blue was on a free lease. He wasn't ever really "ours.") Her daughter showed an interest in horses now that she was turning 8, and Blue was getting a bit older - if you want to call a very fit 22 year old QH "old." Yet, Callie knew Blue had taught her everything he could. There really wasn't a way to take her any further.

Fast forward a couple of months, and we find her now "forever" horse Will. Will is a 16.2 hand bay Off The Track Thoroughbred (OTTB for short) gelding. He's a handsome fellow. He was almost fresh off the racing track when we adopted him in October 2015, and as a 4 year old, both he and Callie had a *lot* of learning to do. He has taught Callie so much, and she has taught him.

Now, a six year old horse, and sixteen year old rider are setting their sights to any horizon that has a field full of cross country jumps. Sure, both horse and rider are working together to do the dressage and show jumping phases
correctly, but once you get them out on that field, there's no stopping them.

I am the mother of an Eventer, and I LOVE it!

P.S. Please know that I am NOT trying to put down other types of riding such as western, hunt seat, or gaming. Those disciplines are great if you like them. They just weren't *my* cup of tea, and Callie realized she didn't like them either. I did, however, allow Callie the chance to try all types of riding when we had Blue so when she finally found her forever horse, she would have a direction.

I hope you enjoyed reading a snippet about me. ;-)

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