My daughter is horse crazy.
It must be hereditary. Her dad is a polo player. I love to ride, and as a child I was mad about horses and ponies.
This weekend she was in the finals of the Winter Challenge, which is a jumping competition limited to the Yvelines department, and involves about fifteen clubs and over two hundred young riders.
My daughter had a clear round, but didn’t go fast enough to get into the top ten.
(Here she is thanking her horse after the show.)
She might have done better, but the horse pecked after landing, and my daughter lost her stirrups and reins. The horse swerved a bit, and they lost time as my daughter gathered her reins and found her stirrups. I held my breath, but she managed to get the horse straightened up for the next fence and then they were clear. The horse, a ten yr. old thoroughbred, is very sweet. Her name is ‘Quit or Double’ (Double or Nothing) and she belongs to an Irish woman at the club, Dee Dee. Dee Dee is an avid rider, but is always busy, so whenever we meet, it’s for two seconds at the most, while Dee Dee rushes one way, and I amble over to the ring to watch the lessons. But here I can take my time and say thank you to Dee Dee for letting my daughter ride her horse. Quit ou Double is a lovely mare, and I know my daughter just adores her.
Jennifer Macaire 
Oopsy Daisy said:
What a beautiful horse. A beautiful girl kissing the horse too. Did she decorate his mane like that or did the owner? It’s cute!
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Rosie said:
There is a vicarious joy and thrill to watch your child pursue something they are passionate about isn’t there? Your daughter is a real beauty.
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Sam said:
Hi Daisy – my daughter braided its mane and did a pretty braid for its tail too – girls just love dressing things up, don’t they? Rosie, yes, it is a thrill. I am glad she is passionate about horses, it gives us a lot to talk about. And I think she’s beautiful too, but like most girls,she hates her looks!
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Gabriele C. said:
I so want a horse. 🙂I really miss riding on a regular basis, but it’s a damn expensive sport.
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Travis Erwin said:
It’s great that your daughter gets to ride the horse and compete.
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Sam said:
Hi Gabriele! I miss riding too – It’s expensive, and time consuming! We’re lucky that the pony clubs here in France are reasonably priced, and we even get an allocation from the governemnt for children’s activities, and we use it towards my daughter’s pony club fees! Travis – I agree! The competition is a program that the club runs, and the costs are kept low because everyone shares them – the horses are club horses, the competition is only five weekends during the winter, and the parents bring picnics and stuff and we all share.
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December/Stacia said:
Lovely photo! How great that she gets to ride.I loved horses too, but Girl Scout Camp cured me of that (I still love them but not like I did.) I was in the special horse-riding program and the horse they gave me loathed me, and the feeling was mutual. The other horses hated her too–one of the got mad and kicked her, and she responded by turning into a bucking bronco. With me still on her. I stayed on, and I kept riding (they finally agreed to give me a different horse) but the joy went out of it for me, sad to say.
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Wynn Bexton said:
My son Steve was horse crazy from the moment he could walk. Later on he did own a horse but when we moved to the Coast it was impossible to keep it so it broke his heart. He later got involved in shares with race horses, working with the horses at the track etc. But even that ‘hobby’ became out of reach. Now he focuses on his music. But his apartment is full of horsey things along with the guitars and in one corner is a beautiful leather saddle he won in a ‘team penning’ competition a few years ago.
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ORION said:
I am another horsey person!I still have my soon to be 27 year old thoroughbred and a 6 year old part Dutch gelding.I love them both to bits!
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