P O N Y
T A L E S
Pony Tales THE GRANDAUGHTER CHRONICLES MEETING THE BIG GUYS
rider, what horses they ride, who owns them and what their show record is. Not a thing goes by her when it comes to knowledge of the success or failure of any given horse or rider in any given competition. I don’t mind her spending her time dwelling on this since she is getting older, a big ten this year, and it keeps her busy. As the California “winter” hit the LA region, her thoughts
M
y granddaughter has been riding a little over a year and a half but knows the name of every big time
lined up for awards. Being the patriotic little rascal she is, she was the first one on her feet, hand over her heart for the playing of the playing of the Brazilian national anthem. Eduardo’s horse was more then squirmy so he dropped be- hind the line, removed his hat and walked quietly, facing the flag. As the anthem proceeded I felt a hard tug on my sleeve,
turned to Thermal and our yearly trek to the great HITS Desert horse show circuit. She researched online and made her own determination of which week would be best, ar- riving at the decision we would go Saturday of week three and stay overnight for Sunday. That way she could see the World Cup qualifier Saturday night and then get to see the top hunters go on Sunday, covering a double whammy of spectating for her. Saturday night was a bit sensory overload for her with
all the big name riders walking the course right in front of her seat at a VIP table and on occasion stopping at the rail to say hello. The Antares Company had graciously offered us a couple of seats when we had stopped by their booth. Thierry Guiberteau and she had become fast friends. The table was actually a blessing as she could see all of them and squeal with excitement without bothering their concentra- tion. The class was a great one with Eduardo Menezes winning, and she was beside herself when all the International stars
it was my granddaughter. “Look at all the riders from the other countries standing so still, look at Meredith she is so still. But look at some of the USA riders, they are talking and hitting each other with their crops. Can someone stop them? Tell them to look at Meredith and “them”!!” She was so determined that the proper respect be shown by the American riders. Obviously nothing could be done at that moment but she was outraged by it. We found a friend who knew Meredith and volunteered
to go find her and see if my granddaughter could tell her how proud she was of Meredith in the line. Meredith was told, “You are a class act, I have a little friend……”, but Meredith was busy and didn’t have time just then. OK, that didn’t work in the flurry of the back gate but
thankfully at that very moment Eduardo made his way back into the tent, saw this bewildered child and stopped short to talk with her. His respect in the victory line, along with the generosity of spending time with a child fan at the back gate of a Grand Prix, will imprint her impression of how winners behave.
jpequine@jetpets.com (310) 823-3731
Around the world, around the clock! 20
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