After taking gold

By Peggy | April 24, 2012 |
Left to right, Bonanza, Sam and me. Photo taken by Susan Harrell Knoll. Sam just took gold in Class A English equitation. The man rides like someone who grew up on the back of a horse. Maybe he can take it down a notch and try out for the regular Olympics now.  
Posted in getting back on the horse

Position of trust

By Peggy | April 14, 2012 |

Emails have been flying for the past week from Riding Unlimited, although I have yet to see anything official from the board of directors. All we know in the Wolfe house is that two people who have been a part of Sam’s extended family for more than a decade are suddenly gone. And just two weeks before RU is to host regional Special Olympics, we hear rumors of a “new direction.”

Sam is upset that a place that is as important to him as his home, his school and his church now appears to be in jeopardy. Thank goodness he’s a level-headed bloke and he’s not making any big moves just yet.
I have this much to say for now. Nonprofit boards often go through periods of weakness, and so the staff and volunteers get strong, or the entity folds. It’s when boards try to right themselves that things get truly dangerous.
They forget what sustained them in the down time.
And then they do the one thing they shouldn’t. They bite the hands that kept them alive.
How did they get through a down time? It wasn’t money. Nonprofits never have enough money. Ever. Get used to it.
What sustains them is passion and caring and a sense of community.
What sustains them is people.
The things we value most in life have seemed, to me, to also be incredibly fragile. Few people are wise enough to be responsible for those fragile things.
Posted in getting back on the horse, rants

Don’t Spare the Horses.

By Peggy | February 1, 2012 |

When Michael was home visiting for the holidays, we had a shared moment for which the details completely escape me now, but after which my son said, “Wow, Mom. Don’t spare the horses.”

I’d never heard that before. But I liked it. I liked it so much I wondered whether it would make a good New Year’s resolution. One I could actually keep.

In a word, yes.

I logged my 500th mile in in training this month and other things in my life are proceeding at that dogged pace.

Last night, I dreamt something was outside my front door. Unlike all the other dreams of monsters and tornadoes and machines and floods and fire and being forced to get control of a runaway vehicle from the backseat of the car, I didn’t hesitate.

Texas has a castle law, you know.

Posted in getting back on the horse, hope

Belt Buckle Quality

By Peggy | January 11, 2012 |

(The work … not the video. More short and grainy stuff.)

Sam took first in showmanship in Class A today at Chisholm Challenge.

This event gave him fits when he was younger. If you are not familiar with showmanship, here’s what little I know. In many horse shows, competitors are showing the animal to the judge — just like a dog show, for example — so it can be evaluated for its conformation to the breed.

Showing an animal is complicated. You’ve got to get the animal to do things on your lead. People sometimes hire professional handlers to show their dogs. Being judged on showmanship is having someone evaluate your handling skills.

For kids with autism and other disabilities, showing an animal can be wickedly difficult. You have to stay focused. You have to follow directions with many steps. If your animal doesn’t behave as expected, you have to deal with it.

That’s gray-matter growing stuff.

I highly recommend it for kids with disabilities. Some stables will take kids at-risk. Michael rode for a year after he had surgery on his ear to help correct some balance and perception problems. Sam has been riding at Riding Unlimited since he was five. If you can volunteer or donate to a therapeutic riding program, you will be a big part of making amazing things happen in your community. Some volunteer programs will help you learn to ride, too.

Just one caveat: make sure the program, the instructors and the facility are certified by the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship, or PATH International. They used to be known as NAHRA.

Here’s Sam’s showmanship performance. Class A patterns are more difficult. The other classes do simpler patterns for the judge, just walking up, turning and coming back.

And here’s his buckle!

Here is video his performance in trail.

We haven’t heard how he did there. It takes a while for them to run the tallies. Sam was tired. We went home for lunch and rested.

Posted in getting back on the horse

Belt Buckle Quality

By Peggy | January 11, 2012 |

(The work … not the video. More short and grainy stuff.)

Sam took first in showmanship in Class A today at Chisholm Challenge.

This event gave him fits when he was younger. If you are not familiar with showmanship, here’s what little I know. In many horse shows, competitors are showing the animal to the judge — just like a dog show, for example — so it can be evaluated for its conformation to the breed.

Showing an animal is complicated. You’ve got to get the animal to do things on your lead. People sometimes hire professional handlers to show their dogs. Being judged on showmanship is having someone evaluate your handling skills.

For kids with autism and other disabilities, showing an animal can be wickedly difficult. You have to stay focused. You have to follow directions with many steps. If your animal doesn’t behave as expected, you have to deal with it.

That’s gray-matter growing stuff.

I highly recommend it for kids with disabilities. Some stables will take kids at-risk. Michael rode for a year after he had surgery on his ear to help correct some balance and perception problems. Sam has been riding at Riding Unlimited since he was five. If you can volunteer or donate to a therapeutic riding program, you will be a big part of making amazing things happen in your community. Some volunteer programs will help you learn to ride, too.

Just one caveat: make sure the program, the instructors and the facility are certified by the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship, or PATH International. They used to be known as NAHRA.

Here’s Sam’s showmanship performance. Class A patterns are more difficult. The other classes do simpler patterns for the judge, just walking up, turning and coming back.

And here’s his buckle!

Here is video his performance in trail.

We haven’t heard how he did there. It takes a while for them to run the tallies. Sam was tired. We went home for lunch and rested.

Posted in getting back on the horse