janebuddy
Originally uploaded by kgranju.
When Jane started riding, about five and half years ago, we were able to draw on some family funds (her father's family) to pay the costs. Hunter-jumper lessons and showing are incredibly, embarrassingly high.
For three years, this was the case, and Jane grew increasingly interested in her chosen sport and got really good at it.
Then family members decided that money would no longer be made available for Jane to ride.
(Don't even get me started)
We scraped by for about a year on money I had tucked away, but increasingly, her trainer, who had become one of my dearest friends, began basically letting Jane ride for free. The debt I owe SPK for what she has done and continues to do for my daughter and for me is really something I can't explain. When I can afford it, I will repay her in some way and I will also fund the riding for some other little girl who has a single mama who cannot pay for it. I will.
But anyway, this year, we began encouraging Jane to trade work at the barn for what amounts to a tiny fraction of what SPK does for her. This makes Jane feel really useful and competent. She loves being part of the "team" at the barn and the college-age girls who are actual paid employees are so, so good to her. They treat her like a little sister.
Three or four mornings a week this summer, I drop her off at 8 am. She has her lunch money and snacks and drinks and she stays busy playing and working.
She has a task list of things she is supposed to accomplish each week for her "job," including training rides on at least two ponies, grooming Hazel the overstuffe Corgi, cleaning a certain number of pieces of tack, dusting tack trunks and brushing ponies.
It's great. I am so proud of her.
6 comments:
It's unfortunate the extended family doesn't have the funds any longer or they don't see the value of continuing to fund your daughter's passion. There is a sliver lining to not having the funds. Kids love working in exchange for anything valuable to them. It makes them feel very grown up. By your example of working hard you have set a wonderful work ethic for your daughter, she will not begrudge you for having her work in exchange for lessons or riding time. Jane will grow tenfold for the experience.
My daughter always worked in exchange for lessons and riding time at our local barn during the summers and school holidays. Not because we did not have the funds, they let a number of kids do this because they did not own their own horses. One summer during high school, she went to her riding instructor's family horse farm near Oxford Mississippi to break green horses and work in the barn in exchange for lessons and room and board (she even showed down south).
Hi, Katie,
I'm sure this experience will be incredibly good for Jane in the long run. Both my kids (and I as a girl) had riding lessons and then boarded our own horses, and finally in October we bought a small horse farm and now have 3 horses and a pony that we ride and care for... my daughter (9) and son (11) have learned SO MUCH more about horses than when all they did was ride them.
Me too! It's a huge time commitment and a ton of work, but we get so much more out of horse ownership now that we're the primary caregivers.
If Jane's passion for riding and horses continues, she'll have such a huge amount of knowledge and experience from the barn work and exposure to horse professionals and the horses themselves. It's not something one can pay for - she'll get it for free and I'm guessing she is loving every minute!
billie
Katie,
This is an amazing opportunity for your daughter, and here's to you and Jane for finding a way to make it work.
Best,
Kathleen Z.
I'm so proud of her. Nanny
I think it will turn out to be a blessing in the end... she will so appreciate the riding having worked for it herself.
this is a wonderful story. your daughter's a lucky girl.
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