Our biggest girl is right where she belongs spending her toddler years in Kansas because she truly cannot get enough of all things related to farm animals. It’s hard to drive anywhere without spotting a cow or a horse in a random field, so even the smallest trips across town are often thrilling to her.
A few weeks ago I noticed an event advertised on Facebook called a “Weeride” at a nearby equestrian farm for children ages 2-5 to learn a little bit of beginner information about caring for horses as well as go on a short ride. I noticed another of my girlfriends marked that she was going, so I talked with Jamie and signed Hadley up!
We talked about the event all week long, so by the time we were in the car Hadley was ecstatic!
Hadley was tickled that her two sweet friends Lauren and Kate (who are sisters and are standing to Hadley’s right) were there to ride horses too! She really looks up to Kate and stood by her while the leader of the course gave a class overview and sang a few songs with the kids.
We totally lucked out with a gorgeous, mild morning with temperatures in the low to mid 70s, and I was happy that it wasn’t too warm for Hadley to wear her Texas cowgirl boots (a gift from my in-laws who live in Austin). She looked adorable and loved rockin’ them!
The kids were split into three groups and spent 30ish minutes brushing the horses and learning how to clean out their hooves with picks. Sometimes Hadley gets shy in group settings (especially if Jamie or I is around), but she was Miss Independent and couldn’t get enough of the entire experience. I don’t think Jamie or I stopped smiling the entire time. Watching her enjoy herself was a lot of fun for us.
Sadie snoozed during the 30 minute drive to the farm, so she was awake and happy during the class. It’s hard to imagine that in a couple years she’ll be big enough to do these kinds of things with her big sis.
The woman in charge of the course was incredibly friendly and so patient with Hadley. I think she could tell how excited Hadley was about the entire thing, so she helped make sure that Hadley got to do everything available to her.
About an hour into the class we all headed outside to do some riding! Each child got to do one full loop around this pictured area.
Parents could either walk right next to their child or hang back a bit, so I chose to do a little bit of both while Jamie watched with Sadie.
She looked so precious in her helmet!
She did an excellent job riding and immensely enjoyed it.
After we made the full loop I reached to help her off and she started melting down begging me to “let Hadley ride again!” Obviously that wasn’t an option, but thank the good Lord above that there were some fancy horse-shaped chocolate cookies available for the kids. If there’s one thing my daughter loves more than horses, it’s chocolate. She hopped right off and beelined for the cookie tray. 🙂
The four of us found a breezy spot under a tree and parked it there for about half an hour to watch the other kids ride. You can see that I wore my boots too! Jamie and I threw ours on for the heck of it because we love any good excuse to wear them.
If you’re in the Northeast Kansas area, these “Weeride” courses are available often! Here’s a link to the Ashwood Farm website to read more about the program and future dates.
Hi! I’m Erica, and I absolutely adore sharing my life on this website with you! I come here almost daily to blab about all of the things related to being a regular wife and mother in today’s ever-evolving society. I share about our new home, what’s on our kitchen table, what we’re hanging in our closets, where we’re traveling to next, my crazy 5 a.m. work outs, how I make time for girlfriends, our faith, and much more. We always have a lot of balls in the air and somewhat thrive on the chaos. I believe in the power of story-telling as a form of inspiration and entertainment, so I’m here to do both! I was born and raised in north Alabama and recently re-planted roots here again after my husband transitioned out of the Army (he is now in the Reserve and it’s going so well!) I’m a super proud mom to three little girls (ages 7, 4, and 1) who seem to be the stars of the show around here (for good reason – they’re pretty great!) I’m so glad you found me and are here reading! I hope we can get to know each other here on the blog as well as Facebook and/or Instagram. xoxo
