Random Pensées

How tough is my daughter?

She rode in her third horse show this weekend. She competed in four events and got ribbons in three of them. The trainers were very pleased with her outing. She kicked the heck out of that horse all the way around the ring and got him to move much faster than he usually does. After her fourth and final event, she asked permission from the trainers to take her pony into the schooling ring to continue cantering. The trainers just lit up at that request and off she went to canter around for another quarter hour or so. Eventually, however, the pony got tired and he had to be brought back to his stall. My daughter untacked him herself, brushed him out, gave him a treat, and put him away. Then we had breakfast with my parents who had come up to watch the Girl Child ride.

Then I took her to the doctor. The doctor said that the left ear was an example of the worst ear infection she had seen in two weeks and the right ear was the worst she had seen all day. She was shocked that the Girl Child was not totally incapacitated. She was stunned to hear that the Girl Child had actually ridden in a horse show. She then turned to me and said, quietly, that if pus starts to come out of the Girl Child’s left ear that I should call her back because they will need to prescribe some special ear drops.

What, might you ask, were the Girl Child’s concerns? Whether she could still go sledding with her friends that afternoon and whether she’d be able to take her regular riding lesson on Sunday. No to the sledding and yes to the riding.

This is one tough kid.