Here’s the latest installment in our “Parent’s Perspective” series, this week written by Katie Graham. As mother of advanced rider Fiona Allen (nee Graham) now living in North Carolina, and PC Volunteer (Eventing Organizer at Champs this year in KY) Katie has a lot to share after 15 years as parent, watching Fiona grow up Eventing in California.
If you have a story to share, please send it to [email protected], with “PARENT” in the title.
Metamorphosis
Child + Pony = cute. See the picture of Fiona Allen (nee Graham) on Cinnamon.
Parent: Notice we managed a helmet and boots, but the swimsuit and skirt are kind of novel!
Child: Fast forward a year or two and you have a happy child and happy pony going to Pony Club camp.
Parent: Takes one look at the required equipment and asks, “We need what?”
Child: learns dressage test at camp, walks over planks on the ground in a field, and steers between standards in the SJ arena.
Parent: Asks, “What did she just do? Three Day Eventing?”
Child: Takes a Jimmy Wofford clinic and learns to stop her horse before jumping over Jimmy.
Parent: We might need TWO saddles?
Child: Asks for a Point Two Air Jacket as a graduation present.
Parent: “Are you kidding?” But once I saw the videos, we each have one!
Child: Passes her A Traditional in Pony Club
Parent: First DC, RS and then USPC Eventing Chair. How did I become an event organizer? Not only in California but at the VA Horse Park and The KY Horse Park 2011 with 277 competitors and 56 teams. Wow! What a privilege.
Child: Advance Level Eventing on Darren Chiachia’s Power Ty in 2007, wins T3D at Twin Rivers 2010 and come third at Bromont CIC* 2011.
Parent: Robert Kellerhouse teaches me the difference between CIC and a CCI. Realize that the 3 hour trip to an event is simply a jaunt. Now we go Montana, East coast AND to Canada.
Child: The whole point about being 8 – 18 is you run around doing stupid stuff and you learn from it!
Parents: often don’t let their kids fall down. Kids lose their resiliency if you don’t let them make mistakes. For an excellent article on Teens and Resilience: How we’re depriving teens of a sense of purpose Go to http://www.paloaltoonline.com/
Go Evening and learn from it!
