For the horse show mom who has everything, except a clue

Written by Susan S. Daniels and illustrated by Harry Weber, The Horse Show Mom’s Survival Guide offers an informative introduction to the wild, wacky world of equestrian competition.

From the back cover:

At some point in a mother’s life, her child-most likely, her daughter-will smile sweetly and say, “Mommy, I want to learn to ride a horse. And then I want to win lots of blue ribbons.”

What’s a mother to do? Or for that matter, a father, since he’ll become involved, too. Even people who rode when they were younger may not remember the ins and outs of equestrian competition, especially the way it’s done these days.

Riding to the rescue comes Susan S. Daniels, an experienced and accomplished Horse Show Mom. Taking the perplexed parent under her wing, she provides advice on locating a suitable lesson stable, including determining whether a particular instructor is right for your child (and what to do if not); deciding when-or whether-to buy a horse or a pony; outfitting horse and rider (must the animal’s leg wraps and the child’s ponytail ribbons match?); and understanding and coping with stable politics and diplomacy, such as when it’s appropriate for barn managers and instructors to pay more attention to one youngster over another.

When it comes to horse showing, Daniels explains how to tell when your child is ready for competition, what’s expected of horse and rider at various levels of proficiency, which supplies moms should always have on hand (safety pins, hair nets, and tissues head the list), how to deal with your child’s triumphs and tears, and how to understand complicated but crucial point systems for regional and national championships.

With warm and encouraging humor, sound advice, and illustrative true-life adventures from the worlds of Western, hunter/jumper, combined training, and dressage competition, The Horse Show Mom’s Survival Guide is an essential “leg up” for any parent whose youngster has that blue-ribbon gleam in her eye.

Available from Amazon.com.