And when the time comes for a competition, the horse is the kid’s “partner”. They both need to get a good sleep. If one of them hasn’t, the other one cannot do anything at the competition.
They depend on each other. There are both happy and sad moments in this sport as in any other.
GRREPORTER: What are the dangers?
Alexandra: There are tough moments. Once Nataly’s horse got sick and to undergo surgery. She was there all the time and helped during the surgery. It was extremely hard for her. These things
don’t happen every day but they do happen. This was the worst we had to go through.
GRREPORTER: How often do they train?
Alexandra: Every day!
Emilios: Every day after school we go with our children to the stables to practice, with the schedule being particularly busy from 14:45 to 19:00. A few days ago, I was told during a Parent –
Teacher meeting that Laura can improve her grades by studying more. However, even teachers realize that what we are doing here is certainly not easy and the teacher himself advised us: “Keep
up with your good work! Don’t worry about the grades – I’m here to help your child.” Can you imagine that? Even tutors realize that the lack of time is what stops children from improving
their grades and not their lack of interest in the subject. We often tell our kids that if they don’t do well in school they will have to give up riding. Their own experience has taught them
that we mean what we say and they give their best to be good at both. What is important to us is that they are correct and happy – both psychologically and spiritually – rather than study
too hard for the exams in order just to get into a Greek University. Even if they do not get admitted we’ll be fine with that. There is a number of other Universities and Colleges around the
world that will be happy to have them and offer the sort of future they would like to have. As I’ve said before, we’d like our children to be their own people and do whatever they like…as
long as they do it well! Even if you have to clean other people’s shoes or wash the dishes in a restaurant – you have to do it well.
GRREPORTER: What about your older daughter? Does she have any plans of her own already?
Emilios: She has already completed the practice courses of the British Horse Society and has obtained her first three diplomas in 6 months of hard work. In England, students  have to wake up
every day at 6 a.m. clean the stables, care for the horses, attend lectures, have training lessons, train kids and then work hard until 8-9 p.m. when they put the horses to sleep. It is hard
work indeed and they only have a half an hour break to have lunch if they manage their time well.
Alexandra: Natalie is very much interested in becoming a trainer and at the same time she likes children a lot. At some point in her life, she wanted to become a kindergarten teacher. Her
passion for horse riding and her love for children have made her believe that teaching the sport to children would be best for her. Her first pupil is our own little daughter Paola.
Emilios: Can you imagine our little 8-year old girl climbing onto a horse and riding  around an arena with other older riders? It’s really special for us, especially with Natalie being her
coach.
Alexandra: Natalie already knows that this is what she wants to do and she is building her knowledge around the subject, studying in Warwickshire England. The more you know about horses the
better, especially if you work and live with them on a daily basis. That’s her dream. Our own dream is to establish a horse-riding complex in Koropi offering a range of other sports to
different people. It is still an idea and we don’t have the necessary paperwork but we are getting there slowly.
Emilios: Unfortunately, making your dream come true is never easy. There’s a very long process to follow in order to obtain a permit for our sports complex. It’s a long and sad story. There
is nothing illegal in what we are trying to do but it is still incredibly difficult.  

Alexandra: Our idea is to make horseback riding simpler for our children and share the love we and our daughters have for horses with them. We would like to do this for children in public
schools because children in private institutions can afford more. We want kids from public schools to come and feel the vibe and get on a horse. We want to introduce ridding  to them as
well.
GRREPORTER: This is indeed a wonderful idea. I wish you luck with it.
Alexandra: I hope...
GRREPORTER: What are your wishes for the new year?
Emilios: Health. This is most important. People can deal with everything else. Health, and no evil eyes.