7 minute read
THE BACK FORTY If you’re looking for a program to build your child’s
Cheers to 4H! By Lee McLean, Photos by Twisted Tree Photography
“I love 4H because…” was on a tee shirt I just saw at the feed store.
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I smiled knowingly, because it’s a great program, created solely with the aim of producing good citizens – and not just show ring brats. While I wasn’t raised a 4H member, I began teaching a local club at age 17... and by the time our third child had made it through the program, I’d survived more than my fair share of windblown, highway clean-ups.
Wholeheartedly, I say, “Here’s to ‘Head, Heart, Health and Hands!’”
If you are looking for a program to help build your child’s character, including his or her horsemanship, consider joining 4H. It’s admittedly a big family commitment and no, the bookkeeping and budgeting, public speaking and community service are not optional. In addition to the old livestock standbys, there are clubs that encourage everything from small engines, to needlework, to training mannerly dogs. All are built on the same premise of creating well-rounded individuals who understand the meaning of ‘service’, of honest-togoodness pitching-in.
I know of so many employers who continue to give the nod to 4H alumni when it’s time to do the hiring. This alone, speaks volumes.
Some families grow dismayed with 4H because they get involved with a club that isn’t a fit. So, do your homework. Get referrals from other horse people about the busy-ness of the local club, the level of achievement of its members, even the number of senior members who have continued to belong until they’ve ‘aged out.’ Kids who stay involved through their teens mean that it’s a good group, that it’s a social network as well as a horse club.
The organization has long offered a unique mix of individual growth opportunities, with learned teamwork. My grown daughter still fondly reflects, “For a girl whose only friend in school was her horse, it was my spot. It was a place where I was safe and could achieve.”
Find out whether the club you’re interested in joining is a competitive showing-based group or whether they’re perfecting their ranching or rodeo skills. Remember, too, that each club’s success is largely dependent on the quality of its instruction and adult leadership.
Most clubs are western-based although I know of those that include some really good English instruction. Encourage your children to take both! If the leadership is there, the riding programs will follow the 4H manuals, taking a logical step-by-step approach from beginning groundwork all the way up through the levels. Testing will be done on a regular basis and there is no ‘sliding by.’
If horsemanship is your only consideration, I would not recommend 4H. Many parents sign up their children because let’s face it, there is no cheaper way to get a kid into lessons. These parents grumble when it’s time to sing carols at the old folks’ home during an already busy Christmas season – and when it’s time to put those orange vests on and hand-pick the ditches… 4H can be hard. It teaches our kids as much about losing well as it does about winning… and such days aren’t easy to watch.
One thing we see a lot of in youth horsemanship is the pulling of kids from good programs, such as 4H, whenever the going gets tough. I wish that parents, who only want what’s best for their children, weren’t quite so quick to interfere. continued on page 54
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continued from page 53
My child has a poor lesson and comes home in tears… my child has to sweep the aisle while other kids fool around… my child is assigned the unpopular horse (again)… my child is struggling and nobody seems to care… my child has to ride without stirrups… my child doesn’t win on the weekend and has to smile while other kids boast… my child is spoken to sharply when he is just trying to lighten the mood… my child isn’t the star but her best friend is….
Yes, all these things hurt.
As a parent of now grown children, I can honestly say, this is life. Not everyone will love our kids and support them. There are no prizes for half-hearted efforts, no rewards for being lazy or rude. We tell our children to dream big but we forget to tell them that they will have to work hard, too.
Next time your child wants to switch programs or quit, please don’t let the tail wag the dog! Have the courage and conviction to make your child see it through. Agree on a deadline in a few months or next year and if she still hates it, she can switch to the saxophone!
Meanwhile, you are fighting for your child’s character. I know, kids still need an environment promoting safety and fun, but perseverance and an ability to roll with the punches are skills worth fighting for! They are so hard, these lessons learned with livestock, but they must be learned. Life skills need practicing, too.
Horse or beef clubs, dairy or sheep or poultry clubs, these kids really know how to represent their generation and the rural life. Years later, I well remember the youngsters, the rollercoaster emotions, the very long hours…
Five species… over 1,000 members and their projects… organizing feed, meals and bedtimes… obscenely early wakeup calls… the stall decorating with constant aisle sweeping and pen cleaning… visiting dignitaries (including royal princes and learning how to curtsey, as well as the Stanley Cup play-offs at the Saddledome on two memorable years)… three full days of livestock showing… the Multi-Judging Competition… Lip-Sync routines and costumes… studying for the Horse Bowl… tears after the Beef Sale… While much has changed at 4H On Parade, I know that the heart of it stays the same.
Yes, I began teaching 4H when I was all of 17.
My new boyfriend’s parents (who were to become my in-laws) had started a light horse club. Wouldn’t it would be fun if the ranch kids in the group could enjoy some culture... that is, in the form of English lessons? Obviously, they had not got input from the ranch kids, whose singular aspiration was rodeo glory at the bucking chutes. This long chapter of my life is but another reason I am grey haired and twitchy.
For me, 4H will always be “the best of times and the worst of times,” all in one.
Dwindling attendance in my English classes was dealt a smart blow, when the club leader decided that all rodeo kids had to attend horsemanship classes, both English and western, or stay home. The kids groaned and set their ropes aside. They warily looked at me and I, at them.
But just when it would appear hopeless, Achievement Day would dawn in June. The kids and horses would be scrubbed and shining, whipcord breeches and leather gaiters pulled from ancestral trunks
Lee McLean started teaching her local 4H group at the tender age of 17.
and somehow, somehow, the horses had learned their leads, the kids had learned their diagonals. A peculiar air of triumph and mothballs would enfold us.
So, they’d been listening! I would be moved to tears of pride while the judge awarded the ribbons. We would lunch on beans ‘n’ wieners washed down with Tang, heartfelt and sticky hugs were shared and then, for another year, it was over.
Lee McLean is best known for the storytelling on her Facebook page, Keystone Equine, and for her good ponies. One of eight women to race, sidesaddle, at the Calgary Stampede, Lee is resolved to write for, teach and represent other ordinary riders… the people who ride despite illness, injury, fear and changed plans! Her first book, HORSE WOMAN: Notes on Living Well & Riding Better, was just published and is available on Amazon. Lee lives with her husband, Mike, in the rolling hills of southwestern Alberta.
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