How We Sleazy Liberals Are So Different From Conservatives

If you happen to be conservative and have somehow wandered into a this bastion lefty thought, I'm going to open up the hidden and sordid world of what we liberals do when no one's looking. Can you handle it?

We had set the alarm for 5:30, but when I'm about to travel I tend to beat the alarm clock. I was up by 5:08, showering and getting our stuff ready. We had a 3+ hour drive to east Texas where our daughter was riding in a horse show.

We got there and began doing what we always do on horse show days: remind her to put her number on her back. Fetch water. Ask her if she was sure she had her dressage test memorized. Pronunciation of dressage is dr-säzh, if that helps(?).

Dictionary.com defines dressage as
"The guiding of a horse through a series of complex maneuvers by slight movements of the rider's hands, legs, and weight."

A dressage test is ridden in a rectangular arena which has a series of letters from the alphabet posted at specific points all around it. A very exacting set of moves committed between the letters (say E and M) which showcase the rider's ability to cause a horse to accomplish those moves reveals the skills of the rider and horse to a judge, who grades everything in minute detail.

So yesterday, our daughter had a very good test, and was first in her division at the end of dressage. Next came stadium jumping. This test is given in a larger fenced arena which has been set up with a series of jumps. Riders have to ride a specific route without variation, jump each jump, and not knock down any portion of the jump. Our daughter did that and had no time penalities, so she remained in 1st place.

Lastly was the Cross Country portion of the competition. A Cross Country course is set up over about 20 acres of land, wherein logs have been set up, jumps built, ponds created, up and down-hill jumps built, and riders have to traverse the course, inducing their horses to jump them all. The course has to be completed within a certain set time, and riders are given time penaties for too large a variation.

My kid completed the course, and all within 10 secs of the optimum time. In short, my daughter was best in her division, and came home with the Blue Ribbon.

So...while you may not have a daughter who rides horses, I'll bet that the time and effort (and Lord knows the money) that we've spent on our daughter is a lot like that which you've spent on yours. And you didn't do it for the pleasure of spending money, but to try to give your children a hobby, perhaps a passion, something positive to do with their time, and something which gives them self esteem. The lessons they learn through their hobbies is something that they can take into adulthood.

Okay, so my title might have been misleading. Sorry about that. Seems to me the lesson here is that we're made of the same stuff. And that our hopes and dreams for our kids are probably a lot alike.