Re: RC: A little chicken soup for endurance riders

[Bette Lamore <woa@stormnet.com>]

Hi Bobby
I sure wish I'd see more posts on ridecamp like yours and less of the
bashing stuff.
Thanks
Bette

Roberta Jo Lieberman wrote:
> 
> I've long believed that part of our responsibility as horsepeople and
> trail stewards is to foster good public relations with the general
> public. How often have you been riding along, perhaps along the edge of
> a public park or on multi-use trails, and encountered hikers or families
> with young children? How often do those kids cry out "Horsie!" and plead
> for an opportunity to "just pet the horse"?
> We often do, especially at the end of a ride, when the horses are in
> their (quieter) cooldown phase. Recently in Southern California, I
> encountered a classroom of kids out doing nature studies. I was riding
> alone and stopped briefly to let the kids (who were actually on a trail
> just below us) have a look at April, who seemed to soak up their
> admiration. They called out her name and a greeting in unison.
> In Maryland, my riding partner would sometimes even put a wide-eyed
> youngster on top of his 21-year-old Saddlebred, who would stand like a statue.
> Of course, not every horse is suited for such interactions, and I know
> that liability is an ever-present concern (we always instruct the kids
> to approach slowly, from the front, and pet the shoulder or neck first).
> And I'm not suggesting that you abort an intensive interval training
> bout to give every kid the warm fuzzies.
> But all of this hit home with a story in today's Los Angeles Times about
> a 12-year-old girl struck and killed by a train. What stood out in her
> brief life was the youngster's love of horses. "She wanted a horse," her
> father told a reporter, as he broke down in tears. "She was saving the
> money we gave her to buy a horse." He said Elizabeth rode a horse only
> once..."and remembered the experience fondly."
> So the next time you are riding past those young pleading eyes...think
> about taking three minutes out of your life to give a young person a
> potentially life-changing experience...and who knows, perhaps play a
> part in the creation of an endurance rider of the future.
> Bobbie (we now return to normal RC programming)
> 
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-- 
Bette Lamore
Whispering Oaks Arabians, Home of TLA Halynov
http://www.stormnet.com/~woa
I've learned that life is like a roll of toilet paper, the closer it
gets to the end, the faster it goes. Smell the roses!