I Miss My Baby Already!

I said a tearful goodbye to my daughter Caitlin this morning because she is on her way to a ranch in Colorado that is in some wild country. I gave all the last minute motherly instructions..."don't get eaten or mauled by a bear, don't get attacked and drug off by a mountain lion, and don't get bit by a rattlesnake"! I'm willing to bet most moms don't say that to their children when they are getting on a plane.

My baby(she's 14) is off on the adventure of a lifetime to learn how to train horses, as well as learning sales and marketing of them and matching animals to potential buyers. She might even learn how to rope cattle. Her Uncle Tim is of the philosophy "Why chase cans(barrel racing), when you can chase down a cow running full speed whilst on a running horse and rope that cow while everything is in motion". Hmmm, and here I was worried about lions, snakes, and bears!

It's true that she wants to go into an occupation that is hazardous, but she has the heart and drive for it and a natural ability to do it well. Horses are her passion and always have been ever since I gave her a set of plastic horses for Christmas when she was about 7 years old. I had no idea at the time what I started or where it would lead to.

There aren't too many female horse trainers in the equine industry but it's not unheard of and I'm happy knowing that she will be learning from one of the best horse whisperers the world has to offer. Her Uncle Tim is the real deal and she couldn't get a better mentor anywhere for this way of life. It is a huge possibility that Caitlin will live in Colorado with her Aunt and Uncle through her high school years and not be returning home. This saddens me greatly to think about, but opportunity is knocking and people don't get amazing opportunities very often in life. I can't hold her back because I'm fearful of her getting hurt or because I'll miss her. I need to let her go on this journey and am excited about the possibilities for her future.

I'm sure she will have many stories to tell and I look forward to hearing them all. I went out and got her a cell phone yesterday so I can talk to her as much as I want. I can't wait to hear of her first impressions of the ranch, her cousins, and of all the fabulous horses she will be constantly around. In fact she is getting her very own horse to train from the ground up. The horse has no name yet, but it's a pretty two year old palomino filly that's never been ridden. I know Caitlin is going to do well with this animal...inside of my girl is a real horse whisperer waiting to emerge.

The filly Caitlin will be training. I can't wait to find out what Caitlin names her and I can't wait to get lots of pictures of Caitlin working with her! Sorry the pic is so small, but there will be others...