A SUCCESS STORY FROM A MOTHER’S PERSPECTIVE

A number of parents can relate to this scene……our daughter would like to have her own horse.  My husband and I found ourselves in this situation.  We knew our daughter was ready for the responsibility.  She had taken lessons for about seven years.  She had experienced all different kinds of horses and their unique temperaments.  Some horses were quiet and laid back, where as others were crazy in my book.  She loved to be at the barn and help with any kind of tasks at hand.
	
One day while I was working, Courtney’s Grandmother took her to Purple Haze.  They walked through the barn and there was one horse that Courtney was drawn to.  Simon was his name.  As she stood in front of his stall petting and admiring him, he gently nibbled on her hair.  That evening she told us about Simon.  For about a month, we discussed the details of this adoption and carefully considered the expenses.  In November 2010, Simon became Courtney’s first horse.

Courtney has competed in the Hunter / Jumper divisions and loves it.  Her ambitious idea for Simon was to get him into that type of competition.  She knew she had a lot of work ahead of her and she was up for the challenge.

At this point in our story, you are probably thinking that I am going to tell you that training is going well and that she and Simon are happily cantering around the hunter course and placing in the top six.  This is not the case.  I wanted to share with you a different kind of success.

About 5 months ago, Simon managed to injure himself.  He cannot be ridden right now.  We have had a few different professionals look at him and they have not been able to pin point exactly what is wrong.  So as time marches on, we are trying different things, and praying for wisdom.

We truly believe that all things happen for a reason.  Our success story lies not in the fact that my daughter’s dreams have been fulfilled, but rather that she has learned that things don’t always go the way we plan, and that life can be disappointing at times.   She has learned patients in waiting to ride her horse again and endurance to continue on when things are tough.  Commitment is not always easy.  

So, as we move forward one day at a time, we will continue to hope for the best.  To everything there is a season.  Our journey with Simon has been successful in reminding not only Courtney, but our whole family, just a few of life’s lessons.