For reasons we can’t actually explain, our daughter has become a very capable equestrian. For the past couple of years she has been a member of a riding team, operating out of a stable near our home.

We think the best part of the whole experience – for her, and for us – is that she did it virtually all on her own.  I am no big fan of horses, and neither is my wife. Neither of us have ridden more than three or four times in our lives.  So we’re not really sure where our daughter acquired her love for horses and riding, but we are certain that it did not come from us.

The equestrian thing is Melina’s deal.  We support her, we pay for it, and we drive her all over Ohio to compete with her teammates.  She’s not the greatest rider ever, partly because she picked up the sport years later than most of her teammates.  But every jump she has completed and every ribbon she has won has been the result of her own effort and dedication. She’s not riding because one of her parents used to ride in high school. She’s not getting any special coaching from mom and dad, who know as much about riding as they know about particle physics. She’s not even riding to boost her resume for college admissions officers.  She does it because she loves it, and she has made herself into a skilled rider.

Our hope is that the sense of accomplishment she feels from her success will be self-reinforcing and will help motivate her in the future.

As a sport, riding is not really optimal.  It’s pretty expensive, the competitions take all day and are almost always a couple of hours away, and there is an element of risk.  Melina’s mom is pretty nervous about the whole thing, especially the jumps.  One of Melina’s friends broke her arm and got a concussion in a fall.  Melina has fallen, but she has never been injured. On the plus side, the kids are expected to take care of the horses, including feeding, cleaning, tacking up, and cleaning up after.  The girls work together to make sure everything is done, they seem to genuinely love the animals, and they bond a bit over their shared experiences. And unlike other youth sports, nobody’s dad is reliving his high school glory days coaching the kids.

August 22, 2018