My youngest keeps me young!

My daughter, Jacqueline, or Jackie as she now wishes to be called, has always had a love of horses. This is pretty typical for young girls, so we went along with the horse collections (all types - stuffed, Breyers, etc). Then at age 9 she wanted to join Westernaires. This is a local horse club for Jefferson County residents age 9-18 who wish to learn more about horses as well as ride in teams. She started as a Tenderfoot with early morning Saturday rides in any type of weather. They were tested on parts of a horse as well as grooming and tack. She advanced to Pony Hoedowners, which is riding bareback on ponies while perfoming a sequence. She was assigned to pony cart which she just loved. The following year she was a part of Mustangs - a AA base team and moved on to the AAA team of Colorado Stampede. At the end of Westernaires annual show in November they have what is fondly known as "move-ups". This is a time of drama in the organization as it is mostly made up of teen girls.....well you get my drift. So, last November she was moved up to Red Division. This is very prestigious in the organization. She now wears a red bandana, which is a badge of honor and these girls are looked up to by the younger ones. She joined the Nighthorse Rangers for a time and within a few months was moved up to Crimson Rangers which is where she is now. Throughout her years in Westernaires, they have required much bookwork along with riding. They diagram each element of a drill, often doing several drills for each team. There move-ups depend on many elements of their participation including attendance, diagraming, riding precision and more. They have a program where you can rent a horse from them for a nominal fee which she did for awhile until she got her own horse. She bought it from a neighbor for $300 - I think they felt sorry for her. His name is Woody, a white Tennessee Walker and Arabian mix. He has served her well until she found another horse - one she wanted to train. We added 4 year old Razor to the family in April. She has been training him diligently and as it goes with most horse enthusiasts, they love them all. So, here are a few pictures of my daughter with her first loves.