Showmanship 101

Sam competed for the first time as a Class A rider last weekend in the Equestrian State Special Olympics at the Brazos County Expo Center in Bryan, Texas. He's been riding at the Riding Unlimited stables in Ponder since he was five.

Life with Sam teaches me something everyday, but this past weekend was full of beautiful little life lessons, similar to Robert Fulghum's book, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.

For example, a potluck becomes a team dinner when someone brings the giant bowl of ramen noodle salad.

At Saturday night's dance, I learned from Connor Bateman that it's good to ask everyone you can to dance with you, and to always say yes when someone asks you to dance.

From Brett May, I learned to avoid using many words when one, well-chosen word takes care of it.

From Anna McArdle, I learned that you keep turning Mr. Big around until the gate is within your reach.

And from Sam, I learned Showmanship 101 -- just because everyone in your class (ages 8 to 29) might be half your age, doesn't mean they're half the competition.