I do not talk down to my little riders. I explain what needs to be done, show them how to do it, and expect them to do it as instructed. They rarely disappoint me. Many of the things that I call on my little riders to do in clinics and other public venues surprise the audience. I am not referring to skills demonstrations, (everyone is surprised at how skilled my little riders are at handling green or wild horses), I am referring to communications demonstrations. I regularly call on little girls to speak off the top of their heads to explain natural horsemanship skills to the audience.
For some people, public speaking about how to halter train a wild horse is scarier than actually halter training the horse. I called Ashley up at a meeting of the Corolla Wild Horse Fund Board of Directors to speak with absolutely no advance notice. She did great. I seek out the opinions of my riders as to what steps we should next take in training a colt. I do not mind if there answers are incorrect, I simply want them to be able to give a coherent, well thought out response.
I delegate a lot of responsibility to my riders. They see that I respect their opinions. Over the years I have often found myself deferring to the judgement of Rebecca, Katie, Ashley, and Brenna. (At this point I am sure that Rebecca would like for me to point out that she actually is a grown up. So noted. However, being such an important part of what we have done with our program over the years is part of what has made her such a reliable grown up).
Riley cancelled a movie trip one Saturday because, as she explained to her father, "Steve, needs my help with the donkeys!". Jordan, after having ridden for a very short period of time insisted on bringing her helmet and rib protectors with her to her first clinic, "just in case" I needed some help in the ring. Lea, without being asked to do so, helps new little riders tack up and catch horses. Katelynn takes a very active role in promoting the preservation of the Corollas. Brenna, Danielle, and Amanda have worked hard to become effective trainers.
I am sure that I have missed out on mentioning some of the significant accomplishments of some of my little riders. I believe that it is accurate to say that everyone of my little girls has become more mature, reliable, and confident since they have been riding with us. I think that all of my riders have maintained or improved their academic performance after riding with us.
With all of that being said, yesterday I got a chance to look at things from the outside for a few moments and I was very pleased with what I saw. We attended a BLM auction in Lexington. We looked over the horses and I got input from my riders concerning which one we might want to make our next training success.
At the auctions there are many horses with nearly identical markings and they can only be identified by a number that is affixed to the collar that circles each horse's neck. I asked Lydia to prioritize our selections and to make sure that she did not mix up any of the numbers.
The Roanoke Times was covering the event both in print and with a video feed. My favorite part of the video is the scene where Lydia is reviewing our choices with me. With paper in hand she quickly goes over the numbers with me. She is obviously focused on the task and there is nothing in her manner that suggests that she is anything less than a highly motivated graduate student intern making sure that the job gets done right.
She comes off as the picture of confidence and competence. Highly impressive for a little girl who is only about 13 years old.
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