Do any of your non - horse relatives make an effort?

In my entire family, I am the only one who loves horses... All of them are scared of them, or don't see what the "big deal" is.

But for a while now, they have really been trying: My brother and his girlfriend held our horses for us when we walked our course, and even helped us groom and tack up last show

My grandma, who is absolutly TERRIFIED of horses, comes to most of my shows (she can't always make it, but she tries), and even posed with me and Love when we placed one show:


And my mom, who is also terrified of horses, told me how much she likes Love. She's come to every show, and always loves on Love Story lol:

Please excuse how she has the reins in this pic, it was her first time holding Love without me there:






Has anyone else had these awesome family experiences?

Nope! Never had any of my relatives be that supportive. Congratulations on placing.
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Growing up, my parents were def non-horsey (mom grew up in the city, so thought anything bigger than a lab was pretty scary), but my grandmother was a horse person and she made sure I got to go to 2 week summer camp every year. She wanted to pay for lessons for me too, but mom refused (mom wanted me to do 'girly' things like dance and art). Once I got old enough, I would bike to the local barn and make a pest of myself, cleaning stalls, etc in exchange for riding.

I think mom always hoped I would outgrow horses, but after I graduated college and made horses my career, she finally realized it wasn't 'just a phase!' then she made a lot more of an effort to ask me about what I was doing, etc.

I now live back in the area where I grew up, and wasn't I shocked when my parents expressed interest in coming to a ride to see what it was I was doing! Endurance isn't exactly a spectator sport, but they came to 'help' during the holds and in general experience it.

How to tell who isn't a horse person? Look for the one holding the umbrella ;)

I have very supportive parents! I'm the only person in my family who is an active horse person, my dad is a farm boy, and my mom rode her neighbors horses with friends back when she was younger.
I have been riding for 12 years, since I was 4, and they've done everything they can to help me continue riding...I'm quite surprised they still support me after my ungrateful ' you don't know about horses, stop talking' stage lol

They don't come to shows, at my choosing, but I know they want to. The biggest 'slap in the face' moment when I realized just how supportive they are is how my dad is thinking about giving up his boat storage business so I can keep my horse at home and ride through the winter. They are also working out how to help me pay for a new saddle. ^-^" I wouldn't be where I am now without them

Yep, before I started leasing Maggie (who I no longer lease), my mom was petrified of horses. She -loves- the horses now, she has nicknames for each and every one of them. :P She even holds Major for me when I bathe him and helps me clean my tack during show season. My sister was okay around them, she did take lessons... but she quit. My dad just drops me off at the barn every now and then, and comes to my shows if he can make it... and occasionally he'll watch me in my lesson in the summer.

So yeah, I'd say they're all really supportive... I mean, they pay for everything, right? They provide me with transportation, and they just support me in general despite being non-horsey people. :)

Those are great pictures!! They look so proud of you!! Consider yourself so fortunate to have such a supportive family! Unfortunately my parents were not. They tried to keep me from riding when I was growing up and just tolerate it now.

I've been riding professionally for almost a decade, show on a national level, train horses that win, teach kids who win, ridden with some off the top riders/trainers in the country, make decent money... and my parents will still ask me when I'm going to get a real job. They used to pester me to look into other jobs until I asked them if their office was their favorite place in the world and if they actually got excited to go into work. They didn't have much to say after that.

Well I've only been riding horses regularly for a year. I have quite a non-horsey family. My sister is terrified of them and she isn't that interested. My dad has nothing to do with me or them. My mum is about the only one who helps me, I have to give very basic instructions to do nearly everything but I'm very grateful for her help. She says she kind of likes them but she clearly doesn't have the patience for them.

I never had opportunities to ride growing up because we didn't have much money. When I started high school, and eventually got my license, I began trading labor for riding, and I just bought my first horse! My dad, who hates horses (due to a bad experience with his sister's horse) was actually the one who found the horse for me! He also came down to visit me (I'm in college) and Gambit (my horse) last weekend.

I am so lucky as to have willing and supportive family members. No one in my family knew a fetlock from a forelock. I was the first person in my family to become involved with horses, and still am.
My brother is the "competition" one. He wants me to go to Rolex.
My mom has all the faith in the world in me, and believes I can go to Rolex. She'll be the one on the sidelines crying and screaming, "Please don't fall off!!" She wants me to succeed and excel, but is always concerned with my safety.
My dad.....he is a whole different story.
My boyfriend is also very supportive. He is just now understanding the fact that I want to go far(not necessarily Rolex, but maybe Training ). He buys me any horsey item I could ask for, like boots, saddle pads, bits, breeches, gloves....all of my "needs."


So, to answer your question, almost all of my relatives make an effort. If not physically, the definitely emotionally or financially. I wouldn't be where I am today if I didn't have such awesome family members. I am very lucky.
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I truly don't know what I'd do without my (non-horsey) parents helping me out with my mares! When my uncle was visiting us he did help out with poop picking (even though I was strongly against it as he's older guy).