New riding pardner

[3equines]

I am so excited! A nursing college classmate of mine has a daughter in her early teens who has been struggling with life in general. The girl is really passionate about horses, so her mom is sending her out to ride with me throughout the summer. I had a really rough adolescence back in the day, so I hope I can be a good mentor for the girl.

She and Mom are finally coming out Friday to meet the horses, I'll figure out what her riding skills are and match her to one of my horses for starting out with. We have a 5-page liability waiver in place (just in case), but Mom is a lot like me and is as excited as I am to have this opportunity for her daughter. We've allready been talking a lot, the girl and I get along really well and I think this is going to be a real win-win situation.

It is going to be great to have somebody to ride with on a regular basis. We've allready discussed doing some backcountry rides in the Olympic National Park this summer. I am just really thrilled to be able to be 'there' for a young person, and that my horses are safe enough to do this, too. It is a huge accomplishment for me and my horses.

[Gypsy Rose]

Wow! That's fantastic! Please let us know how it goes.

[zoel_222]

Fun! Let us know how things go for the two of you.

[PoniesRock101]

awww...that is really nice of you! I wish there were more people like ya! :)

[~*Domino*~]

How exciting for the both of you! You are a very special person to take her in and give her this experience!:)

[carla]

Wow, win/win is right! I cannot WAIT to hear stories over the summer. Way to go, 3equines! :D

[Dakota Sunrise]

That is awesome!:)

When I was eleven years old and had just sold my first (disaster) pony (she bit/kicked and was 4 years old- hindsight is 20/20:rolleyes:), I thought I'd never get to ride again and was just really having a rough time. To make a long story short, my mom met this lady who lives really close to us and they started talking about me. This lady had three horses at the time, a Morgan/QH (Shadow), an Arabian (Cruiz), and a mini (Dude). She invited me to come riding with her and soon we were were riding 2-3+ times a week. She taught me so much and my riding skills really improved, as did my cofidence level. She and her awesome horse Shadow were exactly what I needed, and I was sort of what she needed too. I became the riding partner she'd been wanting, company on trips to tack shops, TSC, and horse shows, and also the horse-sitter for when she went away, as well as a helping hand whenever she was putting in a new electric fence or putting new sawdust in the barn, etc. Now, almost 6 years later (I'm 16 now), we still ride together all the time and we're really, really close.:) Cruiz (the arabian) was sold and I ride my own horses now, so she finally has Shadow to herself once again. But not much else has changed. She calls me her "Sunday/Monday Daughter" because we pretty much always ride together on those days.:) We still do other stuff together too, and I'm budies with two of her little grandkids.:) We just took them with us to the local tack shop on Monday and we all had a really good time.:)

Anyway, sorry for the long story, but reading your post made me think about how different my life would be right now if I'd never met Donna and Shadow. They made a huge impact on my life, taught me so much, and were friends and mentors when I needed them the most. I think you're doing a really great thing for this girl.:)

[valleyrider]

How thoughtfull of you to do this for her.. Hopfully it will be good for her cause we all know how great it is to be around horses.;)

[3equines]

That is awesome!:)

When I was eleven years old and had just sold my first (disaster) pony (she bit/kicked and was 4 years old- hindsight is 20/20:rolleyes:), I thought I'd never get to ride again and was just really having a rough time. To make a long story short, my mom met this lady who lives really close to us and they started talking about me. This lady had three horses at the time, a Morgan/QH (Shadow), an Arabian (Cruiz), and a mini (Dude). She invited me to come riding with her and soon we were were riding 2-3+ times a week. She taught me so much and my riding skills really improved, as did my cofidence level. She and her awesome horse Shadow were exactly what I needed, and I was sort of what she needed too. I became the riding partner she'd been wanting, company on trips to tack shops, TSC, and horse shows, and also the horse-sitter for when she went away, as well as a helping hand whenever she was putting in a new electric fence or putting new sawdust in the barn, etc. Now, almost 6 years later (I'm 16 now), we still ride together all the time and we're really, really close.:) Cruiz (the arabian) was sold and I ride my own horses now, so she finally has Shadow to herself once again. But not much else has changed. She calls me her "Sunday/Monday Daughter" because we pretty much always ride together on those days.:) We still do other stuff together too, and I'm budies with two of her little grandkids.:) We just took them with us to the local tack shop on Monday and we all had a really good time.:)

Anyway, sorry for the long story, but reading your post made me think about how different my life would be right now if I'd never met Donna and Shadow. They made a huge impact on my life, taught me so much, and were friends and mentors when I needed them the most. I think you're doing a really great thing for this girl.:)

Thanks so much for sharing your story. The best part about horses is being able to share them with somebody. Horses teach us so much about our selves, and life, and friendship. It is also hard to find 'adults' to ride with on a consistent basis, because our lives get so busy. So, it is awesom to have a young person who has the time and motivaiton to saddle up and go ride every chance they get. I don't have any kids of my own, and really don't plan to, but I enjoy working with teens because I remember how hard it was to be that age. I like to tell my boyfriend he might think twice about marrying me, because I'll always be bringing home stray animals, waywared young people, and unwanted old folks!

[Steelhorserider]

Sounds like a win-win situation for both of you. Wishing you the best of luck--please remember us with pics of your rides.

[Arrow]

Great story, Dakota! And 3 equines, we'll be awaiting some great stories from you! Oh, you're going to have a great summer!