Sunday Stills ~ Where You Sit

Lefta

 

Probably my most favourite seat... with the queen <3

(and yes, I'm late again *facepalm*)

Wordless Wednesday ~ Hopes and Dreams

 

Sunday Stills ~ Your Favourite Colour

Fuegos Cuda Girl (Sarita) and On The Money Girl KR (Lefta)

While I love horses in general, I'm a sucker for a bay.

My original intent was to take a photo of Lefta in her purple boots (purple also being my fav colour) however they were dirty and we went with a different pair in a different colour.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Finally!!!

Barrel racing!!

This past Saturday we finally had our first "real" (aka not virtual) barrel race.  A group of local barrel racers had been planning a series since fall, Grace & Grit.  They had worked hard to put together a fun series with some good prizes and then covid19 derailed everything.
Now that Sask is finally opening up enough to have some equine events they were able to go ahead.  And what a great day in barrel racer land it was!  Lots of smiles, some really nice runs, and beautiful weather.
The weather itself is almost it's own story lol  The G&G committee had rented Rafter K for the event, and early in the morning I woke up and heard rain.  Now after several drought years in a row I'm not going to curse rain, but why that morning!? ;) I started the morning in sweats and a bunnyhug to do chores and move horses because the mosquitos were SO BAD.  But it was so humid that when I went into the barn to sit down and check messages my glasses fogged over :o  I changed into a tank top and shorts, and was eaten alive.  A bit later when the day was really starting I put on jeans and a t-shirt, and felt damp and hot the rest of the day.
The committee pushed the start time back a few hours and we all watched the forecast.  So far we had somewhere between half an inch and an inch of rain, and for 1pm on it was saying 70-80% chance of more.  Then sometime between 10.30 and 11 the forecast changed to 20-30%!  Not long after that things were under way... banners and signs being put up, trailers pulling in, horses being tacked and warmed up.  That bit of rain turned into a blessing, the ground was pretty much perfect!
I had only entered Lefta because Frosty was a bit sore due to the heat causing his IR to flare up a bit (he's ok, it's something we manage every summer)  We were deep in the draw, almost at the end so I saddled Lefta and tied her by the barn but took my time waiting to get on.  In the meantime I took a turn working the gate, one of the best spots to watch runs from ;)
When it was time to warm up I popped into my tack room and changed my t-shirt for a competition shirt.  With how muggy it was I was not looking forward to long sleeves!  I know the MSport6 shirts are great in heat, but I haven't really had the occasion to wear one in humid/muggy conditions.  Well I was sure surprised when I put it on and felt not only cooler but drier!  Dang I should have been wearing that all day!
We warmed up with some trotting and loping in the barrel patch.  Lefta was working nicely but starting to get a bit hot mentally so I took her over to the arena and we just walked a big loopy path through the parking area in the pasture.  As long as she was moving she was relaxed. I used the time while the five before my set were running to thoroughly visualize our run. Then just as they were finishing the drag before our set of five I brought her closer to the gate.  Again just walking around, staying out of the way of the girls going in ahead of us.  Then it was our turn!  She was a bit hot going to the gate; I reminded myself to breath and stay relaxed, keep my hand forward and talk softly to her.  A few little changes of direction but she always came back around to face the gate and closer each time, and then we  were in and off to first.
I was really happy with first, she almost always inhales that barrel and she did so again.  Second I remembered to help her finish a bit better than I usually do and we didn't bow out a bunch to third. And third!  It was the best third barrel we've had in ages.  She went in at a great spot in our pocket, wrapped that sucker and came out neat and tight on the other side.  For quite awhile now we've either rainbow'd the whole dang turn or gone in nice but not finished it well and come out really wide.  This was almost perfect!
I came out of the arena patting Lefta and a big smile on my face.  I had no idea how my time would hold up or what my run looked like but it felt great!  Neat, tight turns and an ok time on the clock.

WELL

For starters I did see a video of my run and it looked as good as it felt.  It was pretty much what I'd visualized :)

(run was not added to this post because it's low quality and jumpy)

And it turns out I'd misheard my time.  It was faster than I'd thought by about a half second!  So instead of landing in the money in the 3D like I thought we might, we finished up 8th in the 2D!!  Don't get me wrong, money would have been nice but I was so happy to have ended up in the 2D with some pretty tough competition!  And I do have points in the series now lol
Now, to keep legging up Lefta and try to improve that time!  Unlike some people I have been working through covid, and my schedule has been a tough one to deal with getting anything done.  But for the remainder of the summer I'm pretty much part time so although that will hurt the pocketbook I'm going to make use of my time and get back to riding, take care of my garden (I do NOT have a green thumb!), and do some work on little stuff that needs attention around the house.

Times have changed...

... and while I don't think we'll see "normal" as it was before I do hope that things become closer to that than the strange new world we've been living in since covid (SARS-CoV-2) came to us.

Canada had some general rules for how things were to be handled, a lot seemed to be left to individual provinces. We've been fairly fortunate here in the grand scheme of things, at least as far as how many casualties there have been. The social & economic toll has been pretty bad though.

Things are starting to open back up, which is a relief. However here in Saskatchewan some of the decisions being made are not just confusing they're also frustrating. For example you can go fishing, and with members of other households in the boat, yet equine events are a no-no.  Although the government has decided that individual private lessons can take place (which previously they were saying NO to). Still, no clinics, group lessons, or events. Which brings us to this:

I think I can say prior to covid I never thought I'd see this, let alone compete in one. However here we are.

Lefta & I entered in one that ran this past week. Not being sure if I'd enter or not I ended up leaving it to the last day for my run, which ended up being the hottest and windiest day yet.  I set up the pattern* in my arena and had a friend pop over to stopwatch & video for me.

 After it was all set up I changed into one of my MSport6 "air conditioned" shirts (like I said it was hot!), tacked up and brought Lefta to the arena. I think she thought it was the lamest jackpot eeevvveeerrr with no one else there. But heck she had her 'work clothes' on and she knew she was there to make a run. Warming her up... she was spicy. I had no idea what to expect for our run since I don't make runs at home (unless there's an actual jackpot there) but she went in hard and we kinda blew first a bit. Second was nice although we did bow out a bit to third. Third was also pretty good but again we bowed out a bit on the way home, not out of third itself though which is something we've had a bit of an issue with.

I reviewed the video and thought well heck *maybe* I'll place in the 4D lol Then I sent it in to one of the race organizers for approval before sending in my entry. So to say I was shocked that we won the 2D is an understatement ;)

With it looking like virtual events are here for the next little while, possibly the summer, I reached out to a neighbour about co-hosting one (possibly more if it goes ok) and donating part of the entry fee to a local charity. My original plans before all this had been to host a gymkhana or two this summer, again to raise money for charity.

Hope y'all are keeping well and your return to normal goes smoothly.

* pattern size was a 44' score from the timers to 1st and 2nd.  57' between 1st and 2nd.  70' to 3rd.  To say it was tiny in my arena is an understatement lol

Wordless Wednesday ~ Lefta

First Ride!

Of 2020 that is :)

I rode Lefta on NYE at dusk.  It was my first ride in months, after district finals the horses pretty much got a big vacation/break while I tried to let my leg heal (torn/bruised groin muscle from earlier in the season).She was pretty well behaved but I could tell she really wanted me to let her open up some instead of walking/trotting.  My leg felt the strain of getting on though (should have used a mounting block!) so we stuck to quiet slow work.

Frosty got the call for the first ride of the year and he was so good!  You'd never know he'd had so much time off.  We wandered around the arena playing with a few things to work on softness.  It was the perfect start to the day.

-2C on January 2nd!! :o

I wasn't really dressed for riding, I had gone out to grain and maybe play with the horses a bit but man these fleeced lined leggings are nice for milder winter days!  I may wear them some more, but I either need to find bigger stirrups or wear different boots.  I've been hung up in a stirrup before and once was enough!

While I really like these milder temps I sure hope we get some more snow.

Crew Update

Its been awhile since I posted about the crew here at Rafter K, and there have been a few changes...

Super Raincloud (aka Applejack, Appy) crossed the Rainbow Bridge :(

Smudge was sold.  Mr Tim bought him back and resold him.  He was a nice enough horse, he just wasn't being used a lot and was too nice to sit around getting fat. 

Tavi (JLS Shock N Twist) grew up into a nice young horse, he ended up going down south with BEC when we made a trade.  Her Frosty horse for Tavi.

Odin (JLS Ima Cool Threat) grew up nice as well... and really GREW UP.  Holy smokes, he went from a tiny yearling that we hoped would hit Voodoo's size (approx 14.3) to 16.1 when I sold him :o 
He went to a ranch in Saskatchewan, the plan was to ranch and team rope off him.

Saskatchewan has been in a drought cycle which resulted in the Dexters being sold off as well.  I miss the homegrown beef but it just wasn't financially feasible to buy hay for a hobby herd.
Those scruffy little things I introduced y'all to 8 years ago matured into very nice Dexter cows.

We added a nice bull to the little herd, purebred but the papers never did come :/
He was such a nice tempered bull.  With his build and size he got bought to be a heifer sire by a commercial cattleman. He was pretty happy with him, said he sired really nice calves and of a good size.

But before we sold we had our own calves for a few years.  The Dexters were really good moms and calved easily.  I miss the seeing the calves play in the spring and summer.

So, that's the update on who is gone.  Now for who is here...

The three amigos, Rootbeer, Carlos!, and George are still here.  Rootbeer's estimated age is 30! :o He's getting a little grey in the face now.

We can't really call them the three amigos any longer though, Albie joined the Rafter K fam last fall.

Voodoo is still King of the Universe ;)

And Miss Lefta (On The Money Girl KR) has matured into a very nice mare.  She is definitely The Queen, she's so subtle with her "herd boss" status that it took some watching the herd to realize she is most definitely in charge.
We've had a lot of fun together, and some frustration too (but isn't that usually the truth with horses?) We've also won some cash and prizes, and a couple buckles :)
 

Frosty (Docs Frosty Command) settled right in as a "new Canadian".  He's taken me to the short go every year in our district finals and the only provincial finals short go he didn't make was the very first year we were together, and in all fairness I had just started to feel comfortable actually running him then (and he didn't miss the short go by much).  He's the first horse that I won money with at provincial's.  And he earned a buckle too at district finals last year :)  
He's quite the guy and I'm very grateful he's with me.

Little Miss Sarita (Fuegos Cuda Girl) was started by the husband of a friend I met through barrel racing, and so far I'm super happy with her.  This spring I plan to start her on barrels (maybe work on it some this winter depending on weather).

Shine (Little Chrome Dually) is turning into a pretty little thing.  When I bought her I had been considering trying Working Cowhorse but for a variety of reasons I'm putting that idea on the shelf.  She may be a barrel horse, but if so I don't think it will be with me.  Current plans are to sell her.

Reya (Fuegos French Jackie) is a little bit of a diva so far lol.  The plan is to have her started this spring/summer by the same guy that started Sarita.  It'll be interesting to see the differences and similarities between the two once they're both under saddle.

And then there's... ? A currently unnamed weanling filly off the stud Two Page Pal.  Her AQHA registration isn't back yet and her barn name is narrowed down to a couple choices - she's a recent, unplanned, purchase.  No joke, part of the reason she was bought is I said to Hubster "well I've never had a palomino" lmao  She's going to be  CBHI and Super Stakes as well as Sask Barrel Bonanza eligible.
Seriously though, TPP is an aged stud and there may not be many chances to own one, I like the temperament of the ones I've been around, they do decent in the barrel pen, and at my age this may well be the last youngster I buy.
Her winter coat came in kinda creamy yellow however she was very gold this summer.  The last pic is the day I brought her home, she's not dirty her legs are that dark.  There's a good chance she'll either be a golden palomino or a sooty/chocolate palomino!  I'm good either way, those are my favourite versions of palomino!

Ponoka!

I spent this past weekend at a barrel race in Ponoka, Alberta.  I hauled there last year with one of my good friends, M.  The Calnash Centre is just such a great facility and that race was so well run (and affordable) that we decided to do it again this year.  This arena can fit a full standard pattern indoors as well as holding pens and an alley for the next five up, AND an indoor warm up area.  There is a barn right next to it that has stalls to rent and is clean and modern.  We really have nothing of this calibre in Saskatchewan.

This year I decided to bring both Lefta and Frosty.  Frosty runs about .5-1 second off Lefta, I was pretty sure he wouldn't be fast enough to be competitive but I thought it would be a good experience for me to have him there and would also be a good race to keep him sharp for district finals.

We arrived Friday for time onlies and a warm up race, which was a fundraiser for cancer.  M and her mare won the 4D (cash and a blanket).  Lefta placed out of the money in the 4D and Frosty... well he just wasn't quite himself.
You see, when we arrived Ponoka was in the middle of a ridiculous heatwave.  I swear stepping out of the truck was like walking into an oven.  Frosty's IR makes it hard for him when it's that hot and the ground is hard (which is why he's shod).  He was fine loading at my house, he was fine transferring to M's trailer for the trip, and he was fine when we unloaded in Ponoka.  We walked the horses, offered water, tied them to the trailer while we went to sort our stalls out and pay for them, signed waivers, then came back to the trailer to saddle for time onlies.  As I ponied him to the arena there it was, the limp he gets from heat and hard ground.  This was the first time this year that it's happened and once we were in the arena where the ground was softer it wasn't as bad but he still was NQR :( 
M and I managed to squeak into the last few time onlies.  She worked her mare then bridled Frosty while I worked Lefta, I swapped out horses and Frosty wanted to work but he just felt a bit wonky strided so we cruised through very slowly.
When the race started I was still iffy on running Frosty, but I figured it was a good chance to see if I should run him in the weekend race or scratch him.  M and her mare ran a 19.0, putting them into the bottom of 3D.  Lefta ran a 19.5, putting her out of the money in 4D (and reaching a secret goal I've had this season, which was to be within a half second of M and her mare), and Frosty... he tried.  He was fired up and wanting to go but still felt a bit weird in his stride... and clocked a 21.5.

Frosty got a muscle rub and a bit of bute.  It cooled off a LOT into the evening... from something like 35C to 21C.  Later both horses were put to bed with their BOT blankets on.  In the morning the temps were pretty much normal and when I pulled Frosty from his stall he seemed back to his old self.
Saturday was day one of the event we'd come for.  Lefta usually hits a slump and goes downhill performance-wise at these multi day things.  Instead she pretty much maintained, running a 19.6.  Frosty sped up a full second running a 20.5.  M knocked which put her out of the average :(

Sunday was cool and damp.  It had rained overnight and the forecast called for it to rain all day.  We lucked out and were able to saddle in just a light mist.  M ran a 19.2, Frosty sped up again and ran a 20.3 however while we were in the indoor warmup I looked out and it was POURING.  Dang... I was thinking I'd have to saddle Lefta and warm up in the rain, plus the indoor warm up was likely to be crowded as heck.  Instead it tapered off to a mist, talk about luck!
M took Frosty to the trailer with her mare, I grabbed Lefta and after M untacked her horse she untacked Frosty and took him to his stall.  In the meantime I saddled Lefta and headed to the indoor warm up, which was surprisingly uncrowded.  We had a nice run even with a few mistakes on my part, it was actually our best time of the weekend (take that slump!) and ran a 19.0!!  I was super happy... watching the video I can see where I made a the mistakes and I'm confident we could have been an 18.9 :) 
In the average from Saturday and Sunday Frosty ended up 10th in the 4D and Lefta ended up 13th in the 3D.  I'm pretty happy with both of them.  Also Lefta ended up picking up some day money on the Saturday, so M and I both went home with some money in our pockets - theoretically at least ;)
 
Thanks to Facebook memories I was able to see that Lefta's best run last year was a 19.6, which was her worst run this year!

Wordless Wednesday ~ I'm biased but she's gorgeous

Lefta summer 2017

Frosty & Lefta bought me a present!!

We had a pretty good season this year.  A bit of work on my mental game, a great group of friends that were both supportive and able to give me a kick in the butt when needed, and putting in the work with the horses (riding for training and fitness, tweaking the feed program, regular bodywork by our awesome sponsor Natural Balance Equine Therapy, finding a new farrier, etc) all played a part in that.

While I may not rodeo, and I'm not a high level rider (yet!) #goals ;) I do have a bit of a competitive streak.  My horses are my hobby not my living so fun is the first goal.  But because they're not my living I don't have to watch where I funnel any of those cheques we do pick up, so this year I saved every single one we got.  The plan was to put it to new living room furniture or something equally as fun :/

Instead Frosty and Lefta bought me an even better present!  A couple friends and I took a road trip to Starlight Quarter Horses on Oct 21st and brought this little one home...

A weanling filly off Frenchmans Fuego  (sire of my 2 year old Sarita) and out of a mare with breeding really similar to Lefta.  In fact Lefta and this filly's dam are both daughters of Blue Boy Doc who is a son of Docs Prescription.

I wanted a Spanish themed barn name as a nod to her sire who goes by Fuego, I had done the same when I gave Sarita her name. This little lady came with the name Fuegos French Jackie on her papers and after testing out a few ideas she now has the barn name Reya :) 

Ready as we'll ever be

Well it's here... the 2017 SBRA Provincial Finals! 

Move in day is today, and I've entered both Lefta and Frosty.  I'll take them in and get them settled, then spend some time with Hubster before heading back for time onlies.  Yes they're both patterned, and yes they've both been there before, but with how well they've been doing this year and coming *thisclose* to the short go last year I'm trying to do everything I can to set us up for success this year, so they both get time onlies.

The two long go's are Tuesday and Wednesday and then the short go is Thursday.

I've got all my stuff prepped and ready and while I may be a bit nervous, I'm more excited and yet at the same time strangely feeling calm & centered... there's nothing I can do now to get my horses more fit, they're both trained, the weather will do whatever it does, the only thing I can control is myself and my attitude.  We're as ready as we'll be and whatever happens will happen :)

I'll probably be updating on Instagram (cdn_cowgirl) during finals

blog updates will have to wait until later

Red, White & Gold

So this happened :D

This past Saturday, July 1st, something myself and two friends (MJ and Ash) have been working on for months came to fruition.  The first ever slot race in Saskatchewan took place! 
I am so proud of the Red, White and Gold... from how well received it was by both sponsors and barrel racers, to how well run it was and smoothly it went, and the quality of the event itself (it was a big undertaking for us, we had never produced an event like this). 
The RWG ran Saturday morning, and following that was our annual District 1 Canada Day double header jackpot.  The three of us are also on the district board and for some reason we were the only ones from the board that worked the jackpots :/  However we were very fortunate to have a *FANTASTIC* group of volunteers!  The same people that timed, announced, and worked ground for the RWG stayed on to work the jackpots.  Our photographer stayed and took photos during the jackpot as well.  We had people in place to check/set barrels and to work the gate for the RWG, and someone always stepped up for the jackpot to work the gate and pick up barrels.  So grateful for those volunteers!  Between taking care of and running my own horses and running the time onlies before the RWG, there was still a lot of work for MJ, Ash, and myself that day.  It was so worth it though!  We're already talking about a 2nd RWG next year :)
Now, for the Team Rafter K results... Frosty didn't place in the money (he was only in the jackpots) but we did have our best runs to date, and he even clocked better than Lefta which is not the norm!  Lefta picked up some 3D money at the jackpot and placed reserve 4D champ in the slot race, which came with some pretty nice prizes and $800.  Overall I'm very happy with how both horses worked!
*photo credit to Wild Ting Photography for the photo commemorating the event*

Putting in Time

I'm not sure if it's because I didn't grow up with horses or get to take a bunch of lessons, and I kinda had a late start, but I always feel like I need to make up for lost time with my horsemanship.  And one thing that always bothers me is the poor reputation barrel racers have for horsemanship.  There are some mighty skilled horsepeople out there running barrels, however the stereotype of "whip, spur, kick, yank" is there for a reason... there are plenty of that type of barrel racer out there as well.  While I may love barrels right now, I've always loved horses and want to be a horseperson first and foremost.  
So when I had the opportunity to take part in a clinic with John & Jamie Tilley (Tilley's Custom Colts) I was pretty excited.  I have heard nothing but good things about their program and liked what I saw on Facebook, and this quote from John helped cement that opinion "Of all the things your horse will wear, their expression is the most important".  So I was pretty sure going into it that this clinic would be a challenge for me, but I also knew that if I got anything out of it both my horses and I would be rewarded and I'm happy to say that with the homework I took away to work on I'm fairly confident that will be the case. (as long as I can apply it lol *I* need a lot of work!) 

This weekend was exactly what I needed, a good get away with friends and my horse (we camped at The Valley) and lots of learning.  It was really nice to meet the Tilleys.  John and Jamie came across as honest, kind hearted, well meaning, and hard working and that came across in their horsemanship as well.  And while some clinicians are good with horses but not so great with people John was able to both work with horses *and* teach us humans.

I really loved that we worked in our group and were encouraged to watch the other groups and ask questions.  You learn SO much by watching!  And with so many other types/levels of riders and horses there were always new things happening. Having John teaching in the arena and Jamie on the sidelines was nice because you could ask her questions about what was going on without interrupting what was happening in the arena.

*small disclaimer, this is what I took away from the clinic, it's how I understood things.  So, as I learned from Ed, what I understand isn't necessarily what was being said/taught lol*

Now anyone that knows me knows that I don't like a lot of things about the modern "Natural Horsemanship" trend.  It's too gimicky, there's too much selling you STUFF, and it's too "fluffy" (which in turn is potentially dangerous). Several times this weekend John mentioned Tom Dorrance and Ray Hunt, what I consider the founding fathers or "old school" natural horsemanship.  We may want things to be soft and easy but sometimes things need to get worked through to find that, you have to be willing to be firm but fair to your horse.  He talked about finding your feel and timing and how it would help things smooth out, which was something I struggled with (feel has always been tough for me, and of course that effects your timing).  About making the wrong thing difficult and the right thing easy, which is often said but seeing examples of that while doing ground work and while riding is another thing.  About not getting mad at your horse if/when things go wrong, and while that is an easy thing to preach it is different to follow through with which John did with patience when a mare fired out at him. He just went back to working like nothing had happened.  

We worked in 3 groups of 6-8 riders.  Friday was 2 hours per group and focused on ground work.  I learned a few things, or different ways of doing things, which I'll be adding to my "tools".  We worked on getting your horse to follow a feel, I noticed a difference in Lefta as the session went on and even more so the next morning. 
The next two days we started with some ground work and moved on to under saddle work for about three hours total (with a break for the horses). I liked that John let us work through our difficulties and coached us through things without immediately jumping in, but if things were getting a bit hairy or we struggled too much he'd step in.
Something I've been struggling with is getting Lefta to become softer and rounder and another is  picking up her left lead and being relaxed when loping circles to the left.  The soft is definitely still a work in progress but John explained a few things that started to click.  And probably my proudest 'personal goal' moment was when we were all working on spiraling down and back out at the lope in different parts of the arena at the same time.  Lefta was pretty good going right, but when I tried the left she'd get all tight and stiff and leaning in, I could feel her starting to get anxious and worried.  John was helping another girl so I just stopped for a few moments.  Things were getting worse and I didn't want to end up frustrating myself and my horse both beyond where we already were.  So while Lefta was airing up I sat and waited for a chance to ask for help, and I thought about what we had been talking about and practicing and it clicked... I gave Lefta another moment and then we went back to work and it happened.  She started to get stiff and anxious and instead of doing what I've always done I tried (remembered to try! lol) what we had done earlier.  Use my inside rein to round her and have her follow that feel, outside rein and legs to support the direction we traveled.  Lefta relaxed, she got round and suddenly things felt so much better.
This weekend made me even more certain that this is the direction to horsemanship that I want to take... but it's going to be a long journey with lots of work to put in.  I almost feel like I'm not giving the clinic a completely fair review, it seems like there's not a lot said about it here.  But it's honestly because there's still so much more from this clinic swirling around in my brain that I'm sorting, processing and digesting.  I love it!

I think almost everyone walked out of that clinic with some new ideas and confidence (almost, because there usually seems to be someone that can't accept changes start with them).  I'm already looking forward to next year's clinic and sending Shine to the Tilley's to start when it's time!  I'm waiting until she's 3 to have her started (2019) so that gives me a few more years to get my poop in a group lol  

At the end of each group's working time on the last day John recited a poem he wrote.  I really liked them both and thought it was a nice way to cap off the group.  There were two and I asked for permission to share them with you, so here they are:

Take Time

Take time to take time, you won't get it all at the start

Take time to take time and feel of your horse from your heart

Take time to take time and let it soak into his mind

If you take time to let him digest you'll be amazed at the answers he finds

Take time to take time and let him get ready to go

If you take time to let him shape up when you want him soon he'll just know

Take time to take time and wait on his feet to move back

If you take time to teach him your feel soon he'll go when you pick up the slack

Take time to take time and enjoy him when he's not caught or up in his stall

Take time to rub him out in the pasture for no particular reason at all

Take time to enjoy your horse in moments that won't cost you a dime

If you take time to take time it'll take you less time next time

John Tilley
May 14, 2017 

Making Friends

It's kind of a comfortable feeling,

a goal you work hard to get

To the time he might be called finished from the moment that you first met

The colt is young and wild and doesn't trust people, but he will sometime you know

If you take the time to let him figure things out and be there to direct him and show 

Cause he's not sure about that saddle you want him to wear and the cattle you take him to chase

And it's darn sure a frightening moment when those grouse flutter up in his face

Wire gates and 60 foot ropes are a scary thing to see

But you have to remember that he's just a kid and don't see it like you or me

But if you take the time to direct him along through scary times like these

He will soon become your partner and you'll do your work with ease

It may take a year, a month or a day it kind of just depends

Only the rider that sits on his back will know when he says "let's be friends"

John Tilley

**photos courtesy of Jamie Tilley** 

Always Learning

Now this is just my opinion, but with horses you never stop learning.  At least, if you have an open mind and are willing to learn you keep learning.

(actually, that goes for life in general)

This is why I look for articles to read, take some equine related classes, take lessons with a few different people, go to clinics.  I know some people are hesitant to go to clinics or lessons if they don't know the person, but the way I look at it is if you learn absolutely nothing and it's an absolutely awful experience (and how damn likely is that) you'll at least learn what doesn't work for you.

Anyhow... one of my boarders rented our arena to host a barrel racing clinic this past weekend.  I got a spot in the clinic, which was with Andrea Udal.
Now some may remember I rode with Ed Wright the last few years.  His style was really working for me and Lefta, but I just couldn't quite seem to get it going with Frosty... at least without Ed, with him it may have been a different story.
I have to say that when at the very start of the clinic Andrea said she knew some of us had rode with Ed but her style is completely different I had a few doubts.  I shoved them aside though and sat down to watch the morning group, listen, and learn. 
The main difference I saw, and later rode, was that unlike Ed's 'jockey like' position up over your horses first ribs, Andrea wanted us to sit deep and drive.  However they both want a horse to move around a barrel "in 4 wheel drive" and they both want a horse that is shaped in the turn.  A smooth, flowing turn is fastest and can put you in the money even if your horse isn't very fast was my take away.
Which is funny because that's what I had been thinking to myself just a few days prior.  I had been thinking of Lefta's last run.  How she isn't really running hard between barrels yet, but her turns are just so darn nice that it's helping her start to clock better.
Back to Frosty though... I have only had him a year, but what I've noticed, is he can be a bit of a freight train at times (at least for me).  He's a nice horse, and he knows how to be soft.  But sometimes he just gets a bit frazzled and needs to blow off steam.  Or he'll go into a run and it's like he's thinking "you just sit there, I've got this" and while he may have it some, we are a team and he needs a bit of guidance at times lol
Working with Andrea I found some drills that helped him relax, made a small change to equipment and holy smokes... he was soft, relaxed, focused, and still craving that turn :D 
Fingers crossed for good things this season!

Maybe I'm biased...

... but she's gorgeous! 

Lefta, May 2017 photo credit @imagesbyRoman

 

Once in awhile I'll catch a glimpse of one of my horses, in person or a photo, and almost need to pinch myself.  I grew up without horses but was determined to have one someday.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd own horses of any real quality though... all I wanted was a horse even if it was just a "scruffy backyard" one. 
The above pic of Lefta was taken by my newest boarder (AK), who is a fledgling photographer (imagesbyRoman), I stumbled upon it on Instagram days after it was taken.  It was taken at my place during a jackpot we were hosting.  I had tied up Lefta after her run and gone to grab Frosty for his turn.  AK had stopped in and snapped a few pics, and yes I have her permission to share this :)

Short Go!

I was in the office helping with envelopes while our Chair person, Ash, and another director, Jewls, were getting the short go figured out. Short go was based on the average of your two running times so things got moved around a little bit but not too much. We were taking back 15 in each D, Ash was reading out the names and Jewls was writing them out.  When Ash got to the 13th spot in 3D she giggled and said "Wow, I can't believe this person made it" in a joking voice.  Jewls and I looked at each other and said "Who?" at the same time.  With a sly grin she looked at me and said "You're back on Lefta!"
Shocked to say the least, I asked if she was sure, and yes it was correct.  The 14th spot was read out and then she burst out laughing when she got to the 15th and final spot... I had made it back on Frosty as well! :o
I'll admit my first reaction was "Oh crap!"  Between not having a lot of time to get both horses ready and the fact that he had been humpy earlier I wasn't too sure what to think.  I quickly texted Janelle and she called right away for a pep talk.  She said he had felt great when she worked on him and she was confident he would run and be fine.  One of the other board members hadn't made it back and I really like how she handles a horse so I asked if she'd warm up one of mine and she said yes.  Lefta was first up so CB warmed up Frosty for me. 
Lefta ran clean and pretty, but not fast.  The poor girl was t.i.r.e.d. 4 runs in two days were enough!
I cooled her out and put her up in her stall then went to the warm up ring.  CB smiled and said "He's really nice!  Like, I want him nice".  I told her she'd have to get in line behind MJ's daughter who is in loooove with him lol
As soon as I swung on I felt better, he just felt good.  We walked and loped a few circles to confirm it and he finally felt RIGHT for the first time all week.
We went to the arena to wait for our turn... then we were going in for our run!  I was a bit hesitant to push him to first, so I let him cruise in (oh what a mistake that would end up being!)  He turned nice but hadn't gotten much speed going in and was a bit wide (my fault).  Second was good, pics below:

*Photo credit for these two pics to Humphrey Tam of Wildting Photography*

 

He rocked third and I rode and kicked all the way home* I could hear some cheering from my friends and new we had had a good run :D
*not stopping riding/kicking before the timer has been a mental issue I've been working on.  Riding harder has been something I've worked on this year too, with support/verbal butt kicking from my friends*
I'll admit, I was almost in tears once I had him stopped in the holding pen.  He had felt so good, it was a really nice run and it just felt so damn good to have him feeling right again, I was a bit emotional.  One of my friends ran over and was super excited, congratulating me on my run and then said something that blew me away... She was pretty sure I was sitting in the top couple spots in 3D!  I knew it was a good run but I didn't think it was that good... not for the team that had barely made it back to the short go! :o   Now there was nothing to do but wait.
Once it was all said and done, yes Lefta finished pretty much at the bottom (if not THE bottom) and Frosty, well my golden boy finished 2nd in the 3D.  We missed the buckle by 0.026!!  Not giving him that push to first, and not keeping it a bit tighter cost us the buckle!
Instead he got a swanky BOT sheet with SBRA 25th Anniversary embroidered on it.  Not mad at all, love those BOT sheets!

All in all I am pretty pleased, making the short go was on my goals list this year.  I've never made a short go and I got back with both horses and finished in the prizes with one.  :D  I'm really looking forward to next year... already planning a goal list and game plan!

SBRA District Finals - Day 2

I arrived at the barns on day two and both horses seemed happy and comfortable, which was nice to see because it was Lefta's first time being stalled over night.  I was up on Lefta first so I did chores and a quick walk with the ponies then let them settle for a bit before I started to saddle up.
Lefta mosied over to the trailer when it was time to get ready.  Once she was saddled she knew it was time for business and had her "let's get there now!" walk when we headed to the warm up pen and then to the arena.  It felt like everything was going to be good and I was really looking forward to our run.
We went in with our set of five and our run wasn't good.  We hit first, unusual for us as Lefta rarely knocks.  I bought back, in fact I told the arena director before I'd even stopped Lefta :p 
My rule for myself is that we don't do a buyback unless 1) something goes wrong/we knock a barrel and 2) I honestly think it'll do good to run again (as in we may place) or the horse needs it for training/confidence.
I was heading back to the trailer to untack and beating myself up a bit on my crappy run when a fellow competitor pointed out that my line to first was messed up by another girl in the holding pen and that in the future I should politely ask the other rider(s) to get out of the way when it's my turn.  She also said that if I had had a better run into first that I probably would have been clean.  That made me feel a bit better.
Awhile later it was time to get Frosty ready.  He still felt NQR in the warm up but again nothing drastic and the couple friends I asked said he *looked* fine.
Well, that wasn't quite the case.  He felt a bit better in the holding area and when I came around the gate he was eager to run in... and then on the way to first he felt just a smidge humpy.  Tiny enough that I doubted and second guessed it as we turned first and lined out for second.  And then on the way to third it was there again.  Just the tiniest bit but more definite.  And then again on the way home.  Never a full fledged buck, never even a noticeable hump to anyone watching, but just that feeling like there's a bump under the saddle that could turn into more.  And I have to say, when looking at the photos from that run it was noticeable in the pics (at least to me).

and no those won't be shared :p

I was pretty worried about my poor yellow horse but then something awesome happened.  I picked up Lefta from her stall as I was taking Frosty to get untacked so that I could get her ready for her buyback run and when I got to MJ's trailer Janelle (sponsor/friend) was there to work on MJ's mare!  Janelle was taking the weekend off to visit family but happened to be in the area and came to work on Lux after hearing she was sore and why (MJ's daughter's gelding put her through the panels in a little argument overnight, no major injuries but the mare was sore!)  Anyhoo... Janelle asked how my runs were that day and I let her know I was doing a buyback with Lefta and that Frosty's NQR had progressed to feeling humpy during his run. 
I had Lefta tied to the trailer with Frosty to the right of her.  As I was finishing saddling and beginning to boot her up I noticed Janelle come around to Frosty but didn't really think anything of it until I went to mount up to re-warm up Lefta and take Frosty back to his stall and instead of just petting on him Janelle was working on him!  Janelle said she'd take him back to his stall and for me to just focus on my run.  Dang it almost made me tear up, if I hadn't been getting into "game face mode" it probably would have.
Lefta warmed up decently, I didn't ask too much of her though because she was seemed a bit tired, I just wanted her muscles loosened up and her brain on barrels.  It was her third run in two days, which isn't the norm for us, plus she wasn't in the best of shape (my bad for sure!  but she wasn't too out of shape to enter or I wouldn't have)
I was up at the top of my set after the rake, and I kept the advice from earlier in the day in mind and used it!  There was a woman circling her horse along the back wall/entry to alley and I gave her a heads up a couple times that I was up first after the rake, and she'd just smile and nod and stay in the way.  Finally I said "could you clear that space please, I'm up first".  She gave me a bit of a snitty look but she got out of the way ;)  then the announcer called and I came down the wall into the alleyway, lined up nicely and off to first for a good run. 
Alas it was not meant to be.  For the first time ever (with Lefta) my reins flipped over so that both were on the inside of first.  She had just a tiny bobble and they swung right over.  Finishing first was no problem but now my reins were to the outside for second and third :o 
I'll admit I hesitated a moment, I probably would have just gone on with it and salvaged what I could with a more seasoned horse.  And in the nanosecond it took for that to cross my mind I came back to myself with "well how the heck is she going to learn to deal with it if you don't just go on!" and I kicked into gear and got riding again.  Another confession, I actually laughed out loud on the way to second when I heard MJ yell from the stands "Switch hands!!" and another person yell back "She can't!!"
Then I was at second barrel and it was time to put 'er to the test, would Lefta turn or blow past.  No fear, she turned but it wasn't pretty.  I couldn't get her rated and shaped quite right (duh!) but she is a turny little thing and turn she did.  Then we were hustling off to third and again she turned but again it wasn't pretty. 
On the way home I had another moment of hesitation, would she stop or should I quit pushing her?  Then I thought "well there is a solid wall and a gate, what's the worst that could happen?" so I kicked her on home.  Oh, and she did stop pretty nice.  But my poor tired, confused horse... she didn't clock too well.
So there we go.  Both long goes done and that second day had been pretty craptastic.  Just the short go left later in the day.  I'd be there due to being on the board, but for me and my ponies finals were done.

Or were they?

SBRA District Finals - Day 1

First off, I'm a tad late posting this... our district barrel racing finals was the first weekend in September (3rd and 4th).  Oops!
This year it was our 25th anniversary and the board had done a ton of work to make this one of (if not THE) best district finals we've ever had.  For the first time it was held INDOORS.  We had a lot of really, really nice prizes and a good cash haul to boot!  
I had entered Frosty and Lefta, and thanks to a good friend I was able to get them there.  My darn truck isn't running so I wasn't going to enter even though I would still be there due to being on the board.  But MJ, a good friend and fellow board member/barrel racer, wasn't going to let me miss running my ponies!  She picked them up the Friday evening while I was at work and I went to Prairieland to help set up as soon as I was done.  Man oh man it was hot and humid in there and setting up panels for the holding area/alley way just about did us in. 
PL is the same arena we had our provincial finals at and we set up pretty much the same.  However our pattern was slightly larger and because of that first and second barrel were quite close to the alley, which meant you didn't really see them until you were out there (kinda made me think of the NFR lol).  And like at finals we set up to bring in 5 racers at a time and rake at 5, I love that!  It gives the horses a chance to settle and their eyes to adjust and it just makes everything run so much smoother and quicker.

Saturday morning I was up early to get to the barn to do chores and help with entries.  I wasn't nervous about my runs really, although I was a bit concerned with how Frosty was feeling because he'd been sore all week.  Thank goodness my sponsor Janelle was able to come and work on him a few times between Monday and Friday, and she said to go ahead and enter him because 1) he wasn't sore enough to vet out and 2) if he wasn't entered she'd be telling me to work him anyway to keep him from getting stiffer.  And like the late, great Ed Wright had told me "we all have to work a bit sore sometimes, horses and humans". (and goodness knows I'VE worked sore lol)

I was up on Frosty first, he warmed up decently but just didn't feel right.  Like MJ said, it was so subtle that it was more I could feel it because I know my horse than obvious enough that someone would see it.  We went in and made our run and it was okay.  Not great but okay, an 18.244.  At provincials he'd run a 16.804 and a 17.217, so I'm not surprised with the big pattern and being a bit off he was slower.  And to be totally honest I probably didn't ride as hard as I wanted to because I was worried about him being off.
Then Lefta came in... she warmed up nicely but seemed a bit distracted.  I haven't run her much this year and while she was very well behaved you could tell she was paying a lot of attention to everything around her, even in the holding pen she was a bit more looky-loo than I would like.  It was funny though, because she knew she was at a competition and was still very business like.  Her little "I need to get SOMEWHERE trot" going to and from the warm up/barn/arena whenever she was saddled just cracked me up.  Once it was time for her to go make her run though she was focused!  She clocked a 17.559, considering she was still carrying quite a bit of extra weight and wasn't legged up as much as I'd have liked I was pretty happy with that :)

We were bringing back 15 in each D on an average.  With Lefta's run I was fairly hopeful, and with Frosty... well that was all going to depend on how he felt the next day.  He got a good rubdown and all his BOT on for the night, chores were done and I just had to wait and see how day 2 played out.