The Girl Child has taken to the sport of equestrianism with exceptional enthusiasm. She has taken group riding lessons at camp and yesterday she experienced her first private one-hour lesson. She already sounds like quite the little pro, telling me when I got home last night that her lesson started with her "tacking up" her horse. The correct use of the insider lingo makes you sound like you know what you are doing.

She expressed great interest, it was reported to me by the Viking Bride, in acquiring her own horse. Uh huh. She had the following conversation with her riding instructor. I admire her ability to keep driving at an answer:

GC: If I wanted to buy a horse, how much do they cost?

RI: You would have to save up your pennies.

GC: How many pennies?

RI: A lot.

GC: Well, how long would I have to save them for?

RI: A long time.

GC: Ok, how about this horse? How much would it cost to buy this horse?

RI: He's not for sale.

Like a good litigator taking a deposition, she just kept on going to try to get her answer. I am really quite proud.

The instructor told the Viking Bride, by the way, that the Girl Child is absolutely fearless. I gather that this is meant to be a good thing.

The Girl Child is already speaking with great anticipation about getting to canter so she can start jumping.

Interesting aside, I have noticed that when it comes to sporting activities, the Girl Child is not so much of a team player. She has shown a marked preference for the individual sports: swimming; riding; tennis; and martial arts. Not a team sport in that entire list. She's going to have us sign her up for the local YMCA swim team for the winter. She's keen to acquire another team swim suit. I don't know quite what lessons to draw from this observation but it is clear, as it always has been, that she is quite comfortable living inside her own head and playing by herself. I guess her sport interests are an outgrowth of this.

Either way, I find her to be a creature of endless interest and boundless fascination. I am so lucky to have a daughter.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 02:12 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
Post contains 395 words, total size 2 kb.

1 You make the whole idea of being a parent sound much less scary. You just seem to enjoy every aspect and see the humor in all of it... and how much you adore your kids is obvious. I hope I'm going to be as good a parent as you, one day.

Posted by: Hannah at August 07, 2007 04:09 PM (lUH62)

2 My daughter was - and is - exactly the same way regarding the preference of individual sport over team. I think she much preferred the idea of challenging/outdoing herself vs. that of having to rely on a group of others to quench her love of conquering. That said, she has recently joined an adult kick-ball team. They won their city's championship and played in a national tourney in D.C. !!

Posted by: Jennifer at August 07, 2007 06:58 PM (RlFqM)

3 I suspect she gets a great deal of satisfaction from personal accomplishment... and a great deal of frustration from relying on others. Save your pennies, Dad. :-)

Posted by: caltechgirl at August 07, 2007 07:38 PM (qPLLC)

4 Uh-oh. Forget the pennies; save the nickles, dimes, quarters and the occasional sawbuck, Dad. You be in some deep, deep trouble.

Posted by: Kathy at August 07, 2007 10:25 PM (ufifB)

5 She obviously has great perseverance, my oldest is like that... even if you tell him that it's not going to happen, if he wants something enough he will bring it up days down the road. He also doesn't forget if you promise him something, even if he didn't appear to be listening, I found that out the hard way.

Posted by: Oorgo at August 14, 2007 01:48 PM (ZUQGo)

Hide Comments | Add Comment