And the horsey gene surfaces in my grandchildren, even without my help!
Jessica, our daughter in Virginia, sent me this picture this morning of her daughter, Cambria.
Jessica texted, "Cambria decided to make a stick horse all by herself. I didn't know what she was doing, but she kept asking me for tape and crayons. Now she is galloping around the house."
(I helpfully offered to buy her a pony for Christmas, but for some reason, my daughter declined. Go figure.)
Then earlier this week, our Tennessee son, Cole, sent me this photo of two of his daughters at a local festival.
Cole used to show model horses with me when he was little, but he outgrew that by the time he was in middle school. I am glad to see Kate and Julie getting an opportunity to have some horsey interaction - it will help that horse gene grow!
(I have also noticed that that miniature horse does not seem to have a lead rope or handler. Docile it may be, but I would hate to see it step on one of the girl's feet, shy and knock into them, or even kick them.)
Mila lives across the river from me in a different town, but she's close enough so that I do still get to encourage her horsey gene. But, I had nothing to do with this!
She came over for a visit Saturday afternoon and brought this picture that she had colored with her. I spy a unicorn horn and wings - isn't that called a "pegacorn"? For the past couple of visits, Mila has brought pictures of horses that she's colored to hang on my fridge. A fridge covered in pony pictures? I love it!
Granddaughter Trinity is a teenager and loves horses so much that the word "horse" is part of her social media name.
That's her on the left riding in Estes Park, Colorado. (Where is her helmet??) She lives in Aurora, Colorado, and while she loves horses, she also plays the harp, and that is a very expensive instrument to purchase as are lessons for it.
She had to make a choice between harp and horse, and she chose harp. I get following your passion, and that is what Trinity is doing. And who knows? She may come back to horses as an adult.
Finally, there is Addie, who lives in Florida. She loves horses and she loves to read, so naturally for her birthday I sent her some books to encourage that horse gene.
Misty of Chincoteague, Born to Trot, and
Brown Sunshine, all Marguerite Henry classics, were added to her growing collection of horse books.
Will any of my grandchildren grow up to love horses as much as I do? That's hard to tell. So many girls go through a horsey phase, which they often outgrow. Boys don't seem to go through that, but you do find men who are passionate about horses throughout their lifetime. (And, if you read
The Chronicle of the Horse and other magazines, you will see that the top tier of horse sporting events has a greater percentage of male riders than female ones.)
I would love it if someone in my family became an avid horseman or horsewoman. But I would hope even more that, whatever their passion is, they follow it and find happiness.
Just as I think Trinity is doing with her harp. But I will still cross my fingers and hope.
