By Karen L. Waite, Ph. D. I was minding my own business…scrolling through Facebook as one does when avoiding laundry, and I came across a post that got my attention. It seemed innocent enough at first…two young ladies in the show ring, one in the foreground who appeared to be riding a horse that perhaps…Read more »
Category: Life skills and such
There Aren’t Prizes for the Things That Matter Most…But There Should Be
By Karen L. Waite, Ph.D. A week or so ago, I judged an open show. I mean, it was sort of an open show, but also, sort of an Arabian breed show at the same time, which is pretty cool. It also had some half-Arabians, and some Pintos and a wide range of things, but…Read more »
Maybe Participation Trophies Aren’t The Problem
By Karen Waite, Ph. D. In the last few weeks one of my (least) favorite topics has come up several times…that of the “participation trophy” and the fact that the world is obviously doomed to fail because some organizations have chosen not to place kids (gasp), but to focus more on learning and motor skill…Read more »
What to Do When The Fair Isn’t Fair
Photo by Jaye Nevins By Karen Waite It’s that time of year again! If you live in the Midwest, you may have noticed that it’s county fair season…that age old bastion of tradition, education (intentional and otherwise), drama, intrigue, teen romance, and corn dogs. Don’t get me wrong, I love county fairs and 4-H…Read more »
Grit Isn’t Just For Chickens
By Karen L. Waite, Ph. D. If you are a friend on my personal Facebook page, I’m sure at some point you’ve thought “Why does this insufferable woman post so much? And why does she always post about her FAILURES? Who DOES that?” Great news. I’m hoping to clear that up for you with this…Read more »
Work Smarter AND Harder
Photo credit: lpatuscon.org A lot has been said about Goal Setting. If you Google goal setting or SMART goals, you can spend weeks going through the 18, 800,000 hits, if you’ve got that kind if time. And little wonder…it’s an important skill. It’s hard to accomplish much of anything worthwhile if you don’t set goals…and…Read more »
When Your Mom is “That Mom”(Ok Not MY Mom)
It was bound to happen sooner or later. I’m not sure why I wasn’t more prepared…in hindsight, I should have been. I was speaking at a scientific section meeting on the topic of the human aspect of show horse welfare (part of my “day job”, so to speak). The conversation turned to educational programs to…Read more »