It’s the day after Mother’s Day, so what better time to publish this awesome letter of encouragement to all of the moms out there from Wendy Schmitt. Thanks for sending this to us Wendy, and thank you for reading. Happy day after Mother’s Day to all Moms!
Wendy on CMA OTTB Rocket and her six year old daughter, Ryder, on Buck Fitty.
From Wendy:
Background info: I am a 44 year old dental hygienist living in Winston Salem, NC. My husband and I have a 6 year old daughter, Ryder, and live on a small twenty acre farm that the bank is kindly letting us make monthly mortgage payments on. We have six horses, eight cats, two dogs, a rabbit, and a goldfish. Our daughter is finishing up her kindergarten year of elementary school. She and her pony Bucky just did their first English Walk Only class at a local horse show last weekend. Such a proud moment for the Mommy! In the end, it really is so worth the struggle!!
Hello fellow ENer’s:
I know this is not really directly related to eventing sport, but I wanted to submit it to write in the hopes that it will help some other Mommy out there who struggles with the desire to ride and have horses, and the guilt that we often feel for taking some time for ourselves…
On this Mother’s Day weekend I just wanted to take a moment to give some encouragement to all the Mommy’s out there. I often tell my friends that Marriage and Motherhood are like a life jail sentence – with no chance of parole. There are some dark days when I just absolutely feel like throwing in the towel. It is a struggle just to maintain. I can’t seem to keep up with my career, housework, husband, childcare, farm work, horse chores, etc. (Why yes, I believe that is violin music you hear playing in the background). Sometimes the struggle seems overwhelming. And taking time out of a day to actually ride a horse? Really? Is that what those four legged things are for? Wow – who knew! And actually competing/showing a horse? Who wants to feel the guilt of being “selfish” and taking time and resources away from your child/children? I always say “Well maybe I’ll show again when my daughter gets older, when I have more time and/or money”, knowing full well that day will never come.
That way of thinking is stopping now. It really is permissible to have a time out from motherhood – to make yourself happy doing something you love. It makes you a better wife, mother, worker, and human being. My wish this Mother’s Day is for every Mommy out there who’s been putting off riding their horse to saddle up. Get on your horse and just revel in it – knowing and believing that you are so fortunate to be a rider AND a Mommy! So go – pursue selfishness and Go Eventing!!
Wendy Schmitt
