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Saturday, October 24, 2009

Jaded Little Riders?

I am afraid so. It never occurred to me that receiving too much acclaim and achieving too much could cause a problem for the program, but I am afraid that it has. Perhaps some are taking such acclaim and opportunities for granted. Achievements that would have stunned riders a few years ago now do not even merit a yawn. Jacob, Amanda and Sarah Lin, all recognized by the HOA, Harley being named Pleasure Trail Horse of the Year by the HOA, completion of 20, 38, and 50 mile rides in a day, Holland running five miles in 20:41, being featured in a DVD,being the highlight of an out of state July 4 parade, converting horses from unridden to green trail horses with just a few days of training,receiving the Carol Stone Award from the HOA and the Keeper of the Flame Award from the AIHR, appearing in magazine articles, participating in nighttime woods rides, training the rarest and likely oldest distinct genetic strain of American horses, learning information on the cutting edge of natural horse care, natural horsemanship and natural hoof care--are all becoming a bit blase I fear.

The irony is that all of our adult riders participate in child-like glee. Perhaps one must simply first reach the age of 40 before one can find any pleasure in fixing a fence.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

My brain age must be 40, then. I'd much rather be fixing fence than thinking about what Piaget said about brain development... And I do know how amazing the things are that happen every day out there. Your horses are happy and treated with respect--what more can I say?

The Stevensons said...

Me too - I must be 40 already. Fixing fences is fun!

Anonymous said...

Speaking for my own family, there was nothing blase about receiving the HOA Awards. We could not be more proud of our children, their horses... and the Mill Swamp Indian Horse program.

The 'signature' on Jacob's cell phone reads: "horseoftheyear". I'd say he was more then a bit proud of his horse.

Lisa Anderson

Anonymous said...

I second that. Whats an award without the work, pride, and sacrifice of it??? We are all proud of Mill Swamp and will continue to be. The smiles on your riders faces prove it. Everyone deserves it.