Ivy League or Community College?

The perfect weather we are currently enjoying does push the nagging thoughts “what about winter” in the background, but just temporarily.

We’ve been contemplating on how to go about winter work with now three horses. Boarding all three boys for four or five months seems pretty cost prohibitive. There really is no ideal solution. I feel like a parent with limited funds having to decide on college for several kids: Ivy League or Community College?? Saumur really should continue with consistent work, he is the ‘senior’, so giving him extended time off and then bringing him back would be hard on his body. Also, with the goals of a 3^rd level freestyle and successfully hitting 4^th next year neither he nor I can afford a prolonged break. Ergo Saumur will be slated for Ivy League = Sandy’s. That leaves Chambord and Remy. Chambord and JP have so much fun with their lessons, and they should continue, but they do not need a full training program. Remy is just a baby, and can also have a ‘reduced program’ in the winter.

 So… options…the riding club down the road from us offers ‘social memberships’, which means for an affordable annual membership fee we could use the large indoor arena. That would allow us to keep Chambord and Remy at home longer, and trailer five minutes (instead of one hour) to the indoor. Good plan, but with drawbacks (of course!). The place has a very active lesson program for western and jumping. I was told that “things sometimes get really crowded” in the evenings. It’s fine if the lesson is Western Pleasure, it’s another thing if the arena is full of jumpers. Guess we need to go there several nights on a ‘fact finding mission’ – also to see how we would be received by the people there. When I talked to the manager I could hear the gears grinding in her head “German accent, dressage… oh no, not a dressage queen!” - and I hadn’t even fessed up to the Quarter Horse with the dressage saddle yet!