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I don’t think that you will ever feel 100% ready to become a mother

A look into the future
So, what does the future hold for Nana and her little family? It may be hard to predict, but one thing is for sure - competitions will still be a part of Nana's life.

“I will definitely continue to ride competitions. There will probably be fewer trips that last all weekend, but it is still something I want to prioritize and plan for,” Nana says. She and her boyfriend have planned their summer holiday, so that Nana can participate in Bækgaarden Horse Festival and in “Danmarks Cuppen”.

However, Nana is not entirely sure whether her life with horses should be merged with her life with children to an even greater degree.

"If my son wants to ride, he is definitely allowed to do so. It could be nice and fun to share the sport, just as I did with my mother. But I do not want to push my son at all, and I will neither be upset nor disappointed if he does not feel like riding. Because on the other hand, it can also be really nice to have something that is just mine,” Nana explains. Nana highlights riding and the stable as one of the only places where everything has not changed since she became a mother, and that it is nice to have a place like that in her otherwise quite new life.

It is all about planning, asking for help and not feel guilty
In the end of our talk, I ask Nana if she has some good advice for other expectant mothers who would like the role as a mother to be united with being a rider on a competitive level.

"First and foremost, I think it's about telling yourself that if you really want to, it can be done. It may well be that you must compromise on some points, but as a whole you can find a solution that you can be happy with.”

To Nana, it's also about not having a guilty conscience about going riding.

"I have said many times to myself that it is important to do something that makes me happy. It gives me good energy, and it makes me an even better mother when I am at home,” she explains.

One of the most important things Nana has learned is how important planning is if you want all ends to meet.

"My boyfriend and I make a plan for one week at a time, form an overview of what our plans are and how we make it work,” Nana explains.

Furthermore, Nana has taken advantage of her network when she and her boyfriend needed help. "We are lucky that both me and my boyfriend's parents live nearby, and they have been a great help," says Nana. In addition to helping make the week's plans fall into place, Nana also believes it has other beneficial effects.

"Our son already has a really good relationship with his grandparents, and I'm sure it's going to be easier to let other people take care of him in the future because he's been used to mom and dad not being around all the time. For example, my mother has looked after him in the stable while I have ridden. Then I am nearby, if he needs me, but otherwise he learns that others can take care of him too.”

"When you have children, they take up a huge part of your life, and I think it is very normal that you therefore automatically put your own interests aside," says Nana. However, she is very aware that it should be like this: "Of course they take up a lot of space, but I believe that you can stick to your own interests and hobbies, and still be a good mother," says Nana.

In the past, I might have taken my me-time for granted. I certainly don’t do that anymore

When priorities change
Although Nana has always held on to that becoming a mother should not mean that her life as an active competition rider was over, Nana nevertheless had to lower both her expectations and ambitions.

“During my pregnancy, I thought I wanted to go back and jump as well as participate in competitions as soon as possible. But in reality, when I had just given birth, I was quite happy to be in this baby bubble, and it actually surprised me a little that I was not quite so busy getting back on the showgrounds. However, I was busy going riding again.”

However, Nana also says that it has not only been a bad thing for her to change her priorities. Because even though jumping training and competitions are still important to her, the time together with Cliff and the time in the stable have taken on a whole new meaning.

“I really enjoy the quality time I have in the stable in a completely different way after I became a mother. In the past, I might have taken my me-time for granted. I certainly do not do that anymore.”

Ambitions and dreams about competitions
Although Nana does not have the same expectations for the weekly jumping training, and although quality time in the stable today has a different meaning, she is far from ready to give up shows and competitions completely.

"When I had just given birth, I knew I would ride competitions again. However, I was not so busy that it should be right here and now.”

Competitions, however, require a lot of planning, which can make it difficult to get going. It is especially the larger shows that require overnight stays that Nana today must compromise on.

"It can be really difficult to get to the competitions that require overnight stays, because I simply depend on having a helper who can take care of my son while I ride," Nana says.

“For example, I would really like to have attended the national competition at Absolute Horses. But since neither my mother nor my boyfriend could get time off, it was just not an option.”

However, it is not because the support to go to the shows is not there. And when it can be done, it can certainly be of great benefit to all parties as well. This is how it happened, for example, in February, when Nana went to the Scandinavian Jumping Tour in Odense. Here she was away with both her horse, baby, her boyfriend and her mother.

"It was actually a really nice little family trip, where there was a lot of energy and time for both jumping, spending time with Cliff and family fun," Nana says with a smile.

Riding during pregnancy
The beforementioned haven was definitely also present during Nanas pregnancy – actually all the way until the very last day.

“I stopped riding 2 or 3 weeks before the baby was due. My stomach had simply become too big,” Nana says and explains that it was both too risky, because her stomach was very exposed, but also because it was simply too difficult physically.

“However, I continued going to the stable all the way to the end of the pregnancy. In fact, I was in the stable and lunged Cliff the night before my water broke,” Nana says with a laugh.

At the end of the pregnancy, however, Nana had a helper in the stable a couple of times a week, who could relieve her a little: “In the end, I could not even lift my grooming bag off the floor. Both because it was too heavy, but also because I could not reach it,” she says laughingly. However, there were many days where she did not have any help, and then she just took care of Cliff herself.

The biggest change Nana experienced during her pregnancy, was that her balance point which altered. "That was something I had to get used to. There was gradually more weight in front, so I had to concentrate a little more on staying in balance, " she laughs and says that it is a bit weird all of a sudden to have problems with balance when you have sat in a saddle all your life.

Everybody must feel comfortable
For some, it might sound risky to ride so far into the pregnancy. To Nana, it was very much about feeling safe and comfortable. She had previously been helping other people with riding their horses, but she chose to stop doing that.

“When I was about four months pregnant, I chose to stop riding other horses than Cliff. It was too risky and I did not feel comfortable,“ Nana explains and continues: “I know Cliff inside and out. I know exactly when he gets scared and how he reacts. That way I could predict his reactions and try to avoid situations that could become dangerous.”

However, it was not just Nana, who had to feel safe and comfortable. To her, it was just as important that her boyfriend could feel comfortable while Nana was in the stable.

“I talked a lot with my boyfriend about my riding during pregnancy. Although it was my body, it was his child too, and therefore it was just as important that he felt comfortable with it,“ Nana explains.

Therefore, together they found solutions where both safety and happiness were taken into account.

“I stopped both jumping and riding competitions when I was 3,5 months pregnant. And then I stopped riding other people’s horses, and, in the end, I also stopped riding altogether. These were solutions we were both happy with.”

The many positive effects of life 
in the stable
Apart from the fact that both riding and stable work helped to keep Nana's mood high, it also had many other beneficial effects.

"You can quickly become very tired when you are pregnant, so the desire to just lie on the sofa is quite big. But riding and life in the stable motivated me to keep going throughout all nine months,” Nana says.

The fact that Nana stayed active during her whole pregnancy, she could certainly feel once she sat in the saddle again. And she did so only a week after she had given birth.

“It was actually neither difficult nor hard to get back into riding again, and I think that is largely due to the fact that my break from riding was quite short,” she says.

The responsibility you have when you own a horse, also helps to keep Nana going now she is on maternity leave. "It is really nice to be able to look forward to going to the stable. Sometimes the days can get a little monotonous in the maternity bubble, so it's really nice to have the stable as your oasis,” Nana says.

But the commitments and knowing that a furry friend is waiting makes it easier to get going, even on days when the surplus energy may be a bit low. "I'm also a member of a gym, but I do not come there as often as I do in the stable," she laughs.

”I don’t want to give up my life as a show jumper, just because I have become a mother”
Show jumping and motherhood
It is possible to stick to your own interests and hobbies, and still be a good mother

To 26-year-old Nana Eskestad riding, and particularly showjumping, is a big part of her life. It is a great interest that she has been sharing with her mother, and together they have owned several horses and ponies.

Today, Nana owns the horse Cliff Z, a big black-brown 13-year-old Holsteiner gelding. “I have had Cliff since he was five years old. When I got him, he could only walk, trot and canter, and he was able to do a small jump,” Nana says, smiling.

Nana and Cliff have been on a long journey together, which has taken them from almost nothing to 1.30 classes on national level.

The big question hit hard when Nana got pregnant: What about Cliff?

Is pregnancy the end of freedom?
When you are young and active like Nana, it may be difficult to know if you are ready to become a mother for a small child – and not least, if you are ready to give up your freedom?

Doubts about being ready or not also hit Nana. But it soon got replaced with an enormous joy. “I think it is very normal that both nervousness and doubt hit you. I don’t think that you will ever feel 100% ready,“ Nana says.

In general, Nana almost only experienced received supportive and kind words, when the news about her pregnancy got out. Nevertheless, she did get some questions about her young age.

“There has been a couple of people at my own age, who expressed that they were certainly not ready to become a parent and not ready to give up their current life.”

But to Nana, it has never been a question about giving up all the things that she used to spend time on. “Of course, you must be prepared that your life will change radically. But I also think it is more about how you think of it,“ Nana says and explains: “Of course, there will come a baby, which will take up almost all your time. But I also think that it is important to keep yourself happy and hold on to a little bit of your “former” life”.

The entire period of her pregnancy, Nana has been determined that horse, riding and competitions should remain a big part of her life. “For me, it was very important to hold on to the fact that I did not have to put all of my life aside. That realization was a big part of me feeling ready to become a mother.”

Is it possible to have a life containing both horses and a baby?
One of the things that took up most of Nana's time was equestrian sports. That fact was also one of the biggest concerns she had when she found out she was pregnant.

“I knew that once I got pregnant, it would not be the same in the equestrian sport anymore,” Nana says. She knew that both a horse and a baby take up a lot of time, but Nana was very determined – she would under no circumstances give up horses or the sport.

“I know several people who sold the horse when they found out they were pregnant. It can be difficult to find time for both family life and a horse. But it was just not an option for me,” Nana says, who got a lot of questions from friends and family about Cliff and what should happen to him.

Luckily, Nana had a lot of support from both her boyfriend and her mother, so that she should continue to be an active rider. “My boyfriend can tell how happy being at the stable and horses make me every day. He has been really supportive that we would figure out a solution on how I could continue to ride.” To Nana, being able to ride everyday is a necessary haven, which strengthen her both physically and mentally.

The showjumping girl

Here is what it looks like when Nana is entering the jumping arena with her beloved horse.

Cliff is a 13-year-old Holsteiner gelding.
He is around 1.70 meters high and has a lot of body.
His sire is JKH Trucks Commanchi, and his damsire is Nabab De Reve.

Nana is 26 years old and lives in Hillerød, Denmark with her boyfriend and son of nine months.
She is currently on maternity leave, but is studying for a master’s degree in psychology at the University of Copenhagen.
She has always been a show jumper and is jumping classes at 1.30 on a national level.

Meet Cliff Z
Meet Nana Eskestad

By: Mathilde Andresen // Photo: Private

Becoming a parent is without a doubt one of the biggest upheavals one can face. But does that mean you have to give up your past life and throw away all interests because a little new one is coming into the world? Show jumper Nana Eskestad was very aware that it should not be the case. We have talked with Nana about being a young, new mother and at the same time sticking to the dream of being a show jumper on a national level.
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nana eksestad

A look into the future
So, what does the future hold for Nana and her little family? It may be hard to predict, but one thing is for sure - competitions will still be a part of Nana's life.

“I will definitely continue to ride competitions. There will probably be fewer trips that last all weekend, but it is still something I want to prioritize and plan for,” Nana says. She and her boyfriend have planned their summer holiday, so that Nana can participate in Bækgaarden Horse Festival and in “Danmarks Cuppen”.

However, Nana is not entirely sure whether her life with horses should be merged with her life with children to an even greater degree.

"If my son wants to ride, he is definitely allowed to do so. It could be nice and fun to share the sport, just as I did with my mother. But I do not want to push my son at all, and I will neither be upset nor disappointed if he does not feel like riding. Because on the other hand, it can also be really nice to have something that is just mine,” Nana explains. Nana highlights riding and the stable as one of the only places where everything has not changed since she became a mother, and that it is nice to have a place like that in her otherwise quite new life.

It is all about planning, asking for help and not feel guilty
In the end of our talk, I ask Nana if she has some good advice for other expectant mothers who would like the role as a mother to be united with being a rider on a competitive level.

"First and foremost, I think it's about telling yourself that if you really want to, it can be done. It may well be that you must compromise on some points, but as a whole you can find a solution that you can be happy with.”

To Nana, it's also about not having a guilty conscience about going riding.

"I have said many times to myself that it is important to do something that makes me happy. It gives me good energy, and it makes me an even better mother when I am at home,” she explains.

One of the most important things Nana has learned is how important planning is if you want all ends to meet.

"My boyfriend and I make a plan for one week at a time, form an overview of what our plans are and how we make it work,” Nana explains.

Furthermore, Nana has taken advantage of her network when she and her boyfriend needed help. "We are lucky that both me and my boyfriend's parents live nearby, and they have been a great help," says Nana. In addition to helping make the week's plans fall into place, Nana also believes it has other beneficial effects.

"Our son already has a really good relationship with his grandparents, and I'm sure it's going to be easier to let other people take care of him in the future because he's been used to mom and dad not being around all the time. For example, my mother has looked after him in the stable while I have ridden. Then I am nearby, if he needs me, but otherwise he learns that others can take care of him too.”

"When you have children, they take up a huge part of your life, and I think it is very normal that you therefore automatically put your own interests aside," says Nana. However, she is very aware that it should be like this: "Of course they take up a lot of space, but I believe that you can stick to your own interests and hobbies, and still be a good mother," says Nana.

I don’t think that you will ever feel 100% ready to become a mother

When priorities change
Although Nana has always held on to that becoming a mother should not mean that her life as an active competition rider was over, Nana nevertheless had to lower both her expectations and ambitions.

“During my pregnancy, I thought I wanted to go back and jump as well as participate in competitions as soon as possible. But in reality, when I had just given birth, I was quite happy to be in this baby bubble, and it actually surprised me a little that I was not quite so busy getting back on the showgrounds. However, I was busy going riding again.”

However, Nana also says that it has not only been a bad thing for her to change her priorities. Because even though jumping training and competitions are still important to her, the time together with Cliff and the time in the stable have taken on a whole new meaning.

“I really enjoy the quality time I have in the stable in a completely different way after I became a mother. In the past, I might have taken my me-time for granted. I certainly do not do that anymore.”

Ambitions and dreams about competitions
Although Nana does not have the same expectations for the weekly jumping training, and although quality time in the stable today has a different meaning, she is far from ready to give up shows and competitions completely.

"When I had just given birth, I knew I would ride competitions again. However, I was not so busy that it should be right here and now.”

Competitions, however, require a lot of planning, which can make it difficult to get going. It is especially the larger shows that require overnight stays that Nana today must compromise on.

"It can be really difficult to get to the competitions that require overnight stays, because I simply depend on having a helper who can take care of my son while I ride," Nana says.

“For example, I would really like to have attended the national competition at Absolute Horses. But since neither my mother nor my boyfriend could get time off, it was just not an option.”

However, it is not because the support to go to the shows is not there. And when it can be done, it can certainly be of great benefit to all parties as well. This is how it happened, for example, in February, when Nana went to the Scandinavian Jumping Tour in Odense. Here she was away with both her horse, baby, her boyfriend and her mother.

"It was actually a really nice little family trip, where there was a lot of energy and time for both jumping, spending time with Cliff and family fun," Nana says with a smile.

In the past, I might have taken my me-time for granted. I certainly don’t do that anymore

Riding during pregnancy
The beforementioned haven was definitely also present during Nanas pregnancy – actually all the way until the very last day.

“I stopped riding 2 or 3 weeks before the baby was due. My stomach had simply become too big,” Nana says and explains that it was both too risky, because her stomach was very exposed, but also because it was simply too difficult physically.

“However, I continued going to the stable all the way to the end of the pregnancy. In fact, I was in the stable and lunged Cliff the night before my water broke,” Nana says with a laugh.

At the end of the pregnancy, however, Nana had a helper in the stable a couple of times a week, who could relieve her a little: “In the end, I could not even lift my grooming bag off the floor. Both because it was too heavy, but also because I could not reach it,” she says laughingly. However, there were many days where she did not have any help, and then she just took care of Cliff herself.

The biggest change Nana experienced during her pregnancy, was that her balance point which altered. "That was something I had to get used to. There was gradually more weight in front, so I had to concentrate a little more on staying in balance, " she laughs and says that it is a bit weird all of a sudden to have problems with balance when you have sat in a saddle all your life.

Everybody must feel comfortable
For some, it might sound risky to ride so far into the pregnancy. To Nana, it was very much about feeling safe and comfortable. She had previously been helping other people with riding their horses, but she chose to stop doing that.

“When I was about four months pregnant, I chose to stop riding other horses than Cliff. It was too risky and I did not feel comfortable,“ Nana explains and continues: “I know Cliff inside and out. I know exactly when he gets scared and how he reacts. That way I could predict his reactions and try to avoid situations that could become dangerous.”

However, it was not just Nana, who had to feel safe and comfortable. To her, it was just as important that her boyfriend could feel comfortable while Nana was in the stable.

“I talked a lot with my boyfriend about my riding during pregnancy. Although it was my body, it was his child too, and therefore it was just as important that he felt comfortable with it,“ Nana explains.

Therefore, together they found solutions where both safety and happiness were taken into account.

“I stopped both jumping and riding competitions when I was 3,5 months pregnant. And then I stopped riding other people’s horses, and, in the end, I also stopped riding altogether. These were solutions we were both happy with.”

The many positive effects of life 
in the stable
Apart from the fact that both riding and stable work helped to keep Nana's mood high, it also had many other beneficial effects.

"You can quickly become very tired when you are pregnant, so the desire to just lie on the sofa is quite big. But riding and life in the stable motivated me to keep going throughout all nine months,” Nana says.

The fact that Nana stayed active during her whole pregnancy, she could certainly feel once she sat in the saddle again. And she did so only a week after she had given birth.

“It was actually neither difficult nor hard to get back into riding again, and I think that is largely due to the fact that my break from riding was quite short,” she says.

The responsibility you have when you own a horse, also helps to keep Nana going now she is on maternity leave. "It is really nice to be able to look forward to going to the stable. Sometimes the days can get a little monotonous in the maternity bubble, so it's really nice to have the stable as your oasis,” Nana says.

But the commitments and knowing that a furry friend is waiting makes it easier to get going, even on days when the surplus energy may be a bit low. "I'm also a member of a gym, but I do not come there as often as I do in the stable," she laughs.

It is possible to stick to your own interests and hobbies, and still be a good mother

To 26-year-old Nana Eskestad riding, and particularly showjumping, is a big part of her life. It is a great interest that she has been sharing with her mother, and together they have owned several horses and ponies.

Today, Nana owns the horse Cliff Z, a big black-brown 13-year-old Holsteiner gelding. “I have had Cliff since he was five years old. When I got him, he could only walk, trot and canter, and he was able to do a small jump,” Nana says, smiling.

Nana and Cliff have been on a long journey together, which has taken them from almost nothing to 1.30 classes on national level.

The big question hit hard when Nana got pregnant: What about Cliff?

Is pregnancy the end of freedom?
When you are young and active like Nana, it may be difficult to know if you are ready to become a mother for a small child – and not least, if you are ready to give up your freedom?

Doubts about being ready or not also hit Nana. But it soon got replaced with an enormous joy. “I think it is very normal that both nervousness and doubt hit you. I don’t think that you will ever feel 100% ready,“ Nana says.

In general, Nana almost only experienced received supportive and kind words, when the news about her pregnancy got out. Nevertheless, she did get some questions about her young age.

“There has been a couple of people at my own age, who expressed that they were certainly not ready to become a parent and not ready to give up their current life.”

But to Nana, it has never been a question about giving up all the things that she used to spend time on. “Of course, you must be prepared that your life will change radically. But I also think it is more about how you think of it,“ Nana says and explains: “Of course, there will come a baby, which will take up almost all your time. But I also think that it is important to keep yourself happy and hold on to a little bit of your “former” life”.

The entire period of her pregnancy, Nana has been determined that horse, riding and competitions should remain a big part of her life. “For me, it was very important to hold on to the fact that I did not have to put all of my life aside. That realization was a big part of me feeling ready to become a mother.”

Is it possible to have a life containing both horses and a baby?
One of the things that took up most of Nana's time was equestrian sports. That fact was also one of the biggest concerns she had when she found out she was pregnant.

“I knew that once I got pregnant, it would not be the same in the equestrian sport anymore,” Nana says. She knew that both a horse and a baby take up a lot of time, but Nana was very determined – she would under no circumstances give up horses or the sport.

“I know several people who sold the horse when they found out they were pregnant. It can be difficult to find time for both family life and a horse. But it was just not an option for me,” Nana says, who got a lot of questions from friends and family about Cliff and what should happen to him.

Luckily, Nana had a lot of support from both her boyfriend and her mother, so that she should continue to be an active rider. “My boyfriend can tell how happy being at the stable and horses make me every day. He has been really supportive that we would figure out a solution on how I could continue to ride.” To Nana, being able to ride everyday is a necessary haven, which strengthen her both physically and mentally.

Here is what it looks like when Nana is entering the jumping arena with her beloved horse.

The showjumping girl

Cliff is a 13-year-old Holsteiner gelding.
He is around 1.70 meters high and has a lot of body.
His sire is JKH Trucks Commanchi, and his damsire is Nabab De Reve.

Nana is 26 years old and lives in Hillerød, Denmark with her boyfriend and son of nine months.
She is currently on maternity leave, but is studying for a master’s degree in psychology at the University of Copenhagen.
She has always been a show jumper and is jumping classes at 1.30 on a national level.

Meet Cliff Z
Meet Nana Eskestad

By: Mathilde Andresen // Photo: Private

Becoming a parent is without a doubt one of the biggest upheavals one can face. But does that mean you have to give up your past life and throw away all interests because a little new one is coming into the world? Show jumper Nana Eskestad was very aware that it should not be the case. We have talked with Nana about being a young, new mother and at the same time sticking to the dream of being a show jumper on a national level.
”I don’t want to give up my life as a show jumper, just because I have become a mother”
Show jumping and motherhood

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