Years after competing, mother cheers on her children at horse and pony show

Jul. 9—GREENTOWN — As 11-year-old Warrick Henderson began to walk over to the judging area during the Howard County 4-H Fair's Horse and Pony Show on Saturday, you could see some of the nervousness of the moment stretch across the young man's face.

After all, it was his first time showing a horse at the fair, and he didn't exactly know what to expect.

"Just breathe," his mother Teresa told him as she stood nearby.

A few minutes later, Warrick and his horse Tyler slowly made their way back to the family's horse trailer after his first appearance in the ring.

Teresa met him there with a few more words of encouragement.

And when it came time for 10-year-old Elizabeth to show her horse Anna, Teresa was again right there to offer her daughter a few words of advice too.

For Teresa, Saturday's Howard County 4-H Fair's Horse and Pony Show felt like a full-circle moment.

"I started showing horses when I was 12 and then showed through my senior year," she said. "I loved horses, but I started out as a horseless kid in the club. There was a family that was a big sponsor of the club back then, and they took me under their wing. I showed their horses for three years. And then they gave me a yearling, and I showed that yearling for my last few years of 4-H."

After Teresa graduated from the program, she gave the animal to another horseless 4-H'er too, she noted, to help "pay it back."

And she thought that the family's interaction with horses all might have ended right there.

But the Hendersons then decided to purchase some horses last year, and Teresa said she asked her seven kids if any of them would be interested in participating in the fair's Horse Project.

"Four of them said maybe," she said, "and then a couple weeks in, one of them said they weren't into showing. I do have another one in Mini 4-H that showed a couple weeks ago, and then these two have also stuck with it.

"And they've grown so much already," Teresa added, referring to the fact that this is both Warrick and Elizabeth's first year showing horses. "The first time we came out here for arena night, I had to do everything.

"They didn't know how to do anything, and now we come out, and they can unload horses on their own. They can get half the tack done with a little bit of help and then out there and ride and get their horses to tack off and load them back up. They've come a long way."

Susan Amatuzzo is Teresa's mother, and she said watching her grandchildren participate now in a project that her daughter also loved is rewarding.

"It's a family tradition I guess," she said laughing. "It's pretty awesome. I know they're all excited about it."

Teresa agreed with her mother, though she admitted that she's more nervous watching her own children compete than she was when she was actually a competitor herself.

"I was never that nervous when I was competing," she said. "But I have a whole different level of nerve as a parent because the reality is, the danger is there. When I was showing, I was fearless. There was no danger of the real risk. I got dumped on my head more than one time, and I just got back up again. But as a parent, it's completely different."

Teresa then looked over at Warrick and Elizabeth, who were continuing to take in the whole scene, trying to stay composed in the moment the way their mother told them to.

"I've just been reminding them to stay calm and to breathe and have a good time," Teresa said. "I'm always reminding them that it's their first year. So it's important to just learn, and I encourage them that when they're selecting classes, enter all the classes that they're interested in, find out what works best for them.

"They're (Warrick and Elizabeth) dealing with animals that are way taller than them and heavier than them, and it's a lot of work to keep them (horses) under control when they're nervous," she added. "But those two are doing a good job. It's fantastic, and I'm just really proud. They put a lot of hard work into this. It's exciting that they're out here, and I'm just really proud of them."