Before the Ribbon
The part nobody sees.
There’s a lot that happens before your child ever rides into an arena.
The 5am alarm. The muddy boots. The forgotten gloves. The soaking wet days at the barn, endless hours cleaning tack, lessons that end in tears and those occasional silent drives home when it's probably better that nobody says anything at all.
And then, of course, there's the money.
Horse parents develop a very strange relationship with money. $7 for a coffee? Absolutely not. $180 because apparently the horse now needs imported hay blessed by woodland fairies?...Well... if that's what she needs.
Because somewhere along the way, their hobby becomes something you're invested in too. And not just financially. You start to wonder what you're actually supporting. Is this simply something they love? Is it a dream? Could it one day become a career? And how on earth are you supposed to know?Because money doesn't grow on trees, and finding that balance between supporting their love for the sport and supporting what the bank account will actually allow is a skill set in itself.
Sometimes you say yes. Sometimes you say not this month. Sometimes you wonder whether you're doing too much. And other times you worry you're not doing enough.
Then you watch them ride into the arena.
And suddenly, for a few precious minutes, all of that disappears.
Not because the round was perfect, but because you watched your child and horse trust one another. You could see all those quiet hours they'd put in when nobody was watching finally come to life.
The ribbon is lovely. Of course it is.
But if I'm honest, the real reward comes a few moments later.
It's watching them ride out of the arena, seeing the smile and realizing you've been holding your breath since the starter buzzer rang.
You finally let it out too.
The ribbon is almost secondary.
The relief isn't.
And without saying a word, you're both thinking exactly the same thing.
We did it.
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