My daughter loves horses. She loves other animals too, but riding horses seems to really be an interest right now. I shudder at this a little, since I realize that horseback riding lessons can be very, very expensive. I think that I may be about to become a cheerleader for soccer practice, or anything but horses. Maybe not hockey, though. That requires getting up early in the morning.
However, since I do enjoy supporting my daughter’s interests in spite of all of my protests and machinations to the contrary, I’ve been scheming about how to get her riding horses. The thing is, riding isn’t cheap, not by a long shot.
I took a look at riding camps. Most of them are not for almost five-year-olds, and the ones that are have me flat on my back from the sticker shock at the price. Fancy camps these are, with fancy prices to boot. I only have one child and my desire is to provide the best for her, but I balk at those prices.
I’m going to go for the plainer option. At a small local farm, they offer horseback rides. These are pony rides, really, just around a little pond and back. I’m arranging a few mornings of group pond rides this summer. Thirty minutes ought to do it. They’re comparatively inexpensive, and you know what? When I asked my daughter if she’d prefer to go for a short pony ride or to a horse camp, she thought that a pony ride would be grand. She just wants to sit on a horse, really.
Sometimes I get carried away with my enthusiasm at my daughter’s interests. What a four-year-old wants is to sit on a horse. She doesn’t want to be taught the basics of show jumping in hundreds of dollars worth of equipment.
At least not now. Who knows what’s coming next year?
(Image courtesy of gretheb at stock exchange)