Horsing Around

On Saturday, Jacob attended a four-hour "Equestrian Camp" sponsored by our community's leisure services program. Who knew that there was a riding stable tucked off a rural road only 10 minutes from our house? The camp promised to teach students how to groom, handle, saddle, and ride horses. As I suspected, "handling" included grabbing a pitchfork and cleaning poop out of the stalls in the barn. Much to my surprise, Jacob claimed that tossing horse feces into a wagon wasn't nearly as gross as he had anticipated. During their actual lesson, the teacher initially guided the horses around with a rope before letting the students ride on their own. Apparently, Jacob caught on quickly, and was able to "trot" his mare, which, for some reason, impressed and excited the instructor. When we picked him up after class, Jacob raved about how much he looooved everything having to do with horseback riding. This could prove to be an even pricier gig than his fleeting interest in guitar, tae kwon do, drama, and swimming combined. I will have to be cautious about what classes I sign him up for in the future.