Week 6- A CofP I belong to

Think of a CofP to which you belong (or have belonged) explain in your seminar forum how your example fits into Wenger's model.

I used to spend a lot of time around horses when I was younger (both riding and looking after them). Although I never competed in competitions or events, I still feel like I belonged to a CofP with other people at the stables.

Everyone that was there visited on a daily basis (to look after their horses) so it was easy to become familiar with them, although at first you didn't speak much, apart from polie conversation. A lot of the time, people would work together (e.g look after each others horses for a few days). This created a community over time (no one would ask a 'new arrival' to look after their horse, as it is a big responsibility, particularly if they required any medicines etc), so trust had to be built up over time, when people knew each other. This helped bind people together, as people had to explain things to each other, and help each other. It also meant that you were trusted.
There were not set 'leaders' in the group, however in certain domains, some people took control. For example, on woman (Linda) owned the stables and the land around it, and people paid her to use her facilities. In this respect, she was the leader in terms of what land we could use, and what size stable we could rent etc. However, she could not control other aspects, such as what each individual fed their horses, etc.

Another person who could be seen as a 'leader' was Sally, a girl who had her own horse at the stables, yet also offered riding lessons to people. I had a riding lesson with her every week, and she was in control during this time on how and where I rode my horse, however at other times she was just as equal as everybody else.
As Wenger states, members of a CofP are 'informally bound together' and this is exactly what the case was at the stables. We weren't officially part of a riding society etc, however our knowledge and interest in horses helped bind us together- I was one of the youngest members, therefore I often had to as other people for their help or advice. This is how I became friendly with most of the people there. Aslo, once we were 'bound' and familiar with each other, we often went to places together (to buy a new horse for someone, or to buy new riding gear etc).Their knowledge helped me learn how to look after horses, and i gradually built this knowledge up and even helped other 'new' people when they arrived. Like Wenger states 'knowledge is created, shared, organised, revised and passed on'. So although there was no set leadership within the group, there were some people that were known for having more knowledge than others, or being a better rider than others, and although people tended to ask these people for advice, there was still a sense of equality among the group, because we all shared more knowledge than most people about horses, and our interest in this is what brought us together.
I believe this fits Wengers argument, as we were there with the intent to learn together and put that learning into practice. We all wanted to know as much as possible about horses, so we could enjoy them as pets, and to ride.