The Horse Show Mom's Survival Guide

By Susan S. Daniels

Book Overview

At some point in a mother's life, her child--most likely, her daughter--will smile sweetly and say, "Mommy, I want to learn to ride a horse. And then I want to win a blue ribbon."
What's a mother to do? (Or for that matter, a father, since he'll become involved too, even though ferrying the child to and from lessons and competitions is far more often the equivalent of a Soccer Mom.) Even people who rode when they were younger may not remember the ins and outs of the sport, and especially the way it's played these days.

Riding to the rescue comes Susan Daniels, an experienced and accomplished Horse Show Mom. Taking the perplexed parent under her wing, she provides advice on locating a suitable lesson stable (including how to tell whether a particular instructor is right for your child, and what to do if he or she isn't), determining when - or whether - to buy a horse or a pony, outfitting horse and rider (must the animal's leg wraps and the child's ponytail ribbons match?), and understanding and coping with stable politics (such as when it's appropriate for barn managers and instructors to pay more attention to another youngster than to yours).
When it comes to horse showing, the author explains how to tell when your child is ready for competition, what's expected of horse and rider at various levels of proficiency, which supplies Moms should always have on hand (safety pins and hair nets lead the list), how to deal with your child's triumphs and tears, and how to understand the complicated but crucial national and regional championship points systems.

With pages of warm and encouraging humor, sound advice and illustrative true-life adventures from the worlds of hunter/jumper, Western, combined training, and dressage competition, The Horse Show Mom's Survival Guide is a valuable "leg up" for any parent whose youngster has that blue-ribbon gleam in her eye.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1592283942
• ISBN13: 9781592283941
• Release Date: March 2005
• Publisher: Lyons Press
• Length: 260 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.2" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Horse Parents NEED this book!

I taught riding lessons for several years, and was always appalled at the parents who would never learn anything about horses, horse behavior, horse shows, etc. They put their children on 1000+ lb beasts with minds of their own, and yet never educated themselves about that 1000+ lb beast. This book at least helps parents wade their way through the horse show business (a very BIG business), and does at least hint about the mild fraud that is at the heart of all horse shows (your kid's trainer is not well-known, or, worse, is not well-liked? then your kid won't get the top ribbons). Ultimately, when the kid wins ribbons, and the number of ribbons is divided by the amount of total dollar outlay by the parents, they learn that each ribbon could cost them as much as $500 at some of the bigger shows. In any event, this is a nice, cheery intro into this world, and I recommend it.

Informative/Fun

Loved the book. Lot of information explained in a fun, creative way. A must have for horse show Mom's at all levels!