Our nine-year-old daughter Lindsay was extremely excited about entering her young gelding in his first schooling show. After riding and taking lessons for several years, Lindsay had some show experience under her belt, but this was the first time she was going to enter with a horse of her very own. And because Snickers was only a three-year-old, it promised to be a big day for both of them. We’d tried to instill in Lindsay the concept that winning ribbons isn’t what showing should be all about. It was a tough message to get across because, heck, she’s just a kid, and what child wouldn’t want to come away from a show with proof of how well she had done? To help her understand this, we’d asked Lindsay to set a goal for herself, consisting of two specific accomplishments that she’d like to achieve with Snickers in the ring that day. That way, if she reached her goal, she’d be a winner regardless of how she placed in the class. After much thought, she came up with two ideas that were pretty straightforward: keep Snickers moving and don’t let him cut the corners. Perfect! About to enter the ring for her class, Lindsay was very excited. Snickers looked magnificent, groomed to within an inch of his life and braided to the hilt. Lindsay was equally well turned out, from her glossy black boots to the top of her velvet helmet. One look at her and it was obvious that she was bursting with pride. I took a moment to remind her to focus on her goal and to just try her best. Because this was Snickers’s first show, I told Lindsay not to expect too much from him, and how important it was that the experience be a positive one. She gave me a big smile and a thumbs-up and proceeded into the ring. As it turned out, they did extremely well in the class. Snickers behaved like an old veteran, totally unfazed by it all. Lindsay kept him going forward nicely and she didn’t let him cut the corners of the ring. Although they didn’t place, she had accomplished her goal, and I was thrilled for them. As I ran over to offer my heartfelt congratulations, I saw that Lindsay was bent over in the saddle with her arms wrapped around Snickers’s neck, hugging and patting him. When she raised her head to look at me, I couldn’t help but notice that her eyes were filled with tears. "Sweetie, what’s wrong?" I asked. "You guys were absolutely amazing!" "Oh, Mom," she replied in a shaky voice. "Snickers did such a good job and I’m so proud of him." Then, just before the tears really started to fall, she managed to add: "I understand all about the ribbons and stuff, but I’m afraid that Snickers is just too young not to be upset about it!"