My Own Horse At Last

 The update I have dreamed of for 10+ years!!!

March 17, 2023 I brought my first horse home! She's a 6 year old grade mare. I can't wait to tackle horse ownership and see what adventures are in store for us :) 

Back at the fairgrounds!

 Well, I am officially back at the fairgrounds with my 1/2 sister. 

She graduated off of T7 last year and is now currently on J4 and Chaparrals, Blue Liberty 2, and Blue Whips. I am also instructing a specialty now!!! It is strange to be out volunteering as an adult but still quite fun and rewarding!

3 years!

 Crazy that we are approaching three years since my graduation from Westerniares! I still go to adult ride from time to time. I have ridden Alumni at two annual shows now, and just finished my third season on the Evergreen Drill Team. My goals for the next two years are to graduate from college, finally buy my own horse, and eventually I want to do an Extreme Mustang Makeover, but that’s further down the road! I miss having updates for this blog, but I’m happy to continue answering comments :)

New Team - New Life!

It has been a very long time since I last posted. I finished out the adult ride season last May. And in March of 2018 I tried out for the Evergreen drill team and I made the performance team. We had a wonderful summer performing and I’m having the time of my life. I participated in my first alumni week. I rode Stax for Red Liberty and GoldDust for Royal! She killed it on the outside of propeller and I miss her so much. Adult ride has started up again and it’s been fun as always. I also rode Alumni for annual show and I rode Star and Hoover. Sorry that the update is brief but not much interest has been shown and I think this may be my last post as college is hectic. Just know that I am still riding and performing!

Not in the mood for Attitude

Tonight I chose one of m favorites, Rock! I was one of the first people in the pasture and the last one out. Rock would not be caught. Never in 5 years have I had an issue catching him. He started a mini stampede. Who knows what his deal was. He was pretty tolerable for grooming, a little obnoxious but manageable. He was really good for the ride even though we didn't do a whole lot. We trailed a new white grand entry drill but I ended up in serpentine by unlucky counting lol. Then we tried our drill a few times but it was just super messy.

Bareback Night!

I was so excited to ride bareback again! I haven't ridden bareback since annual! That's four months ago!!! How crazy is that!? Anyway I rode Warrior who was very comfortable but very bouncy and uncoordinated haha. So many forgotten muscles but I had fun and nobody fell off!

Why Winter Why

Of course after I skip a week we get cancelled a bunch of times, ugh. But tonight we were finally back and I rode Stax! His saddle is painfully small but he's such a smooth responsive horse that I can forgive him for it. Such a sweetheart

Priorities suck sometimes

Well I decided not to go to adult ride this week, I couldn't justify it with my crazy homework load

WOW!!!

Well tonight was crazy, first I barely got a horse since we are limited due to Stock Show. But I ended up getting Rayo #85! I was really excited to ride him. I had very few issued catching him since I helped wrangle a lot. He was an easy groom and I was ready very quickly. He wasn't a fan of walking to the volunteer arena in the dark. He kept spooking and just stopping randomly. Once we got in the arena he improved immensely. He can be a bit forward and anxious but its not unbearable. His trot is quite bouncy but his lope is amazing and HIS LEAD CHANGES ARE AMAZING. All you have to do is shift your hips. I really loved him and I think I've found another favorite. So we rode our drill and I continue to call it since no one else has volunteered. Rayo LOVED IT hahaha he had so much fun. We tried loping it again and it was amazing!!!!! It went so well and our propellers were so fast! I haven't smiled so much in a long time. Rayo was VERY sweaty so it took me about an hour to get him dried off but it was worth it. Then he slimed me with his mash so that was fantastic hahahhaa.

Trying something new!

Well tonight was Adult Ride #5 and I chose to ride Rock! He was an angel for grooming he only tried to bite me once and he was an angel for drills. His lead changes are awesome. We tried to lope our drill tonight....it did not go so well. Everyone tried really hard we just have such a wide array of ability it was hard to get everyone included. I had fun calling on Rock, we got to be outside of propeller and we actually took it pretty fast so that was fun! He rolled so many times which was nice so I didn't have to towel him off as much. We are cancelled for next week due to the predicted low temperatures so I'll see you guys in two weeks.

Adult Ride #4

Tonight I chose Jericho #107! I rode him for my AAA white olympics where we won 1st place! So it was great to ride him again. I've always enjoyed his smooth gaits even though he can be very forward sometimes. We rode our drill and I got to call again. We also did lots of warm ups and maneuver practice. A lot more alumni have come out now that colleges are going on break so it's been nice to catch up with friends :)

Getting Back to Drills!

Tonight was my 3rd adult ride! I got Dodger #6! He was just as fun as I remembered him :) Awesome gaits, speed control, leads, etc. We had a fairly small class. It was pretty cold so sadly we had to keep the speed down. I got to call our drill twice and it was a lot of fun getting to work on drills again :) Dodger was a little frustrated but did very well. I really like him, definitely a favorite rental horse and so photogenic. He was hardly sweaty so I got to go home pretty quickly. Although the speed and difficulty are comparable to AA its still great to get horse time. I also like being able to focus on my equitation more.

Zoom Zoom - Adult Ride #2

Well tonight was eventful, for the ride I got Wyoming #95. I was super excited because I'd only gotten to ride her once as a tenderfoot. She was super energetic. I helped everyone find their horses and still got Wyoming groomed before a couple people. It's a slower pace but it's not too bad honestly. Wyoming has really nice gaits, so smooth and fluid so that was a nice treat. We didn't get to do a ton of loping and that really started to aggravate Wyoming. She just wanted to run so bad. We did some individual criss cross cone patterns and then we did it in pairs as well. We got copies of the drill and we will hopefully start that next week. Wyoming really didn't want to trot the cones...but we tried too. Looking forward to maybe getting to ride some drills again.

First Adult Ride!

So our ride on Nov. 7 was cancelled due to the cold. (We don't ride until 6 and since it gets dark so early temp is really important.) Then our ride on Nov. 14 I was scheduled to work. The beauty of Adult ride is you can go as little or as often as you'd like. So tonight I was finally able to go. It felt really odd showing up on a weeknight in regular clothes to go ride at Westernaires. We got in line for horses and I got Warrior #134 - just like old times. Glad it was a horse I had some familiarity with. We caught and saddled. Then the monitor comes around to collect money. The ride actually wasn't awful. I'd compare it to AA. We did a lot of trotting maneuvers and practicing riding as a unit. Then we got to do some loping on the rail so that was nice. There are three levels to adult ride. Beginner 1, and Beginner 2 who ride on Wednesdays. Then Intermediate is the highest one offered and is the class I attend, we ride Tuesday nights. We eventually will work on a small drill. It's pretty laid back so it was nice to socialize and have a little fun while riding and not have it be all work. I forgot how awkward Warrior's gaits can be hahahaha but he was still a super sweet boy and he did a very good job.

First Saturday as an Alumni

Well last week Red Division got the week off and it was move ups so I didn't go out. But today I finally mustered up the courage and headed out to watch the first Nighthorse ride, and watch 3 from Crimson and 2 from Royal move up to Precisionettes. I stayed and watched Royal. Which was definitely a little hard. I just kept thinking why am I riding the rail? But I think I'll get used to it. I felt very very weird being out of uniform. I kept waiting to get in trouble. I had to leave quickly to get to work but I'm glad I ventured out. It was really good to see everyone again, even if it had only been a few weeks.

Orientation for.....

ADULT RIDE!!!!!!

Tonight was adult ride orientation. Honestly it was super boring but its required to participate in the program. They go over attire, rules, classes, all the basics. Then there is a grooming demo but they let alumni leave for that. I filled out paperwork and was honestly only there for about 35min. I know it's probably gonna be a bit boring but ride time is ride time! I won't complain.

Last Annual and Graduation! I'm an Alumni!

After five incredible years, my final show had arrived.

Friday Night
I drove out to my leasers place around 2. It was predicted to be quite cold so we had bathed horses on wednesday and thankfully they stayed pretty clean. We trimmed whiskers, bridal paths, and did the last minute touch ups. Then we packed the trailer, cleaned tack. and triple checked everything before we headed inside. We ate dinner and played Uno while my leaser did all of our nails in our team colors. They looked amazing!!! Then we headed to bed pretty early.

Saturday 
We all got up around 3am, and we had all 5 horses loaded and we were off by about 4:30. Bo was
very unhappy about being left behind and was very vocal about it. Cut right to my heart and it took all I had not to start crying. We stopped at the gas station for drinks and breakfast. I got some electrolyte water and a muffin. I definitely was less nervous than last year so I had more of an appetite. We got to the events center at 5am.... We were the second trailer there and a half an hour early...oops. The barn wasn't even open yet so we had a little time to relax and eat. I made a few trips from my car to the trailer to condense the unpacking. They opened the barn at 5:30 and we got to start looking for our stall. Much to my disappointment I was stalled with Crimson. Even though I am sharing with someone on crimson I was hoping the would put me with my team since I was graduating... but oh well. My stall was BEAUTIFULLY decorated by my monitor, ribbons, crowns, streamers, amazing. I had also made a picture board that I hung up as well. My stall cards got little covered up but it was fine :) We had to wait awhile to get shavings because we were so early but we got all the tack set up and organized and checked in with our teams. No one had any idea what was going on, there was no schedule up yet, and compared to last year it was just so hectic and disorganized. Finally they started handing out shavings. Since I had planned for Bo to come we ended up having 6 shavings.... We put in three because jack has bad shoulders so we figured the extra cushion wouldn't be a bad thing. The renters began to arrive and schedule was finally put out around 7 so we had some time to warm up. My partner and I took turns and made sure he got stretched out afterwards and show groomed. We had a meeting at 8 am, walkthrough 8:15, saddle covers at 8:30 (I also ran around like a chicken and got my red liberty costume and red ropes costumes set up and checked those line ups) then flags at 9:15, mounted and ready at 9:30. Once you get going it just goes so fast and you have no time to think. We spent forever walking in circles in the back. Royal wore clown costumes because it was quite cold. Then we finally got to go line up in the paddock. My knees and ankles hurt already hahahaha. After what seemed like another year we got to go in for serpentine! Holy moly Jack was EXCITED!!!! He wouldn't trot and was whipping corners like a lunatic. He was so happy hahahaha I'm surprised I stayed on. Royal was 4th in the line up so we got to stay in the paddock and get ready. I was 4-7 for this show. Royal had a pretty good drill overall, definitely rough around the edges but I always call the Sat. Morning show the dress rehearsal :) Jack had definitely settled down a little and did much better listening but was still very amped up. I only had one act to get ready for ropes but that's what quick changes are for. My tricks all went pretty well, 60 was a little rough but I still got it out pretty far. Texas was stellar :) and then I ran out and had two acts for Liberty. I had to run the whole length of the arena (I was in GPA 4 for ropes) and then the whole length of the paddock because my quick change was in the back. I was definitely winded lol. I couldn't believe I was finally getting to perform with Red Liberty. I was 3-8 for this show and Reno did amazing. We took off bridles in the line and he did awesome through the whole thing. A little slow on our thread and through jump but his passthrough one was awesome. The speed is intense but it was a lot of fun. SO much faster than white liberty and I loved it. Then we hit snag. We forgot Reno had a quick change to Red Roman so I had to run and find his bridle in the pile and race it back over. Luckily I had put a sparkly dog tag on it for that reason. It all worked out. Then I tidied up my area and out my costume pieces away.

There really isn't a lot of time between those first two shows but I had time to eat and check on Jack and make sure the horses were all good on water and had their feet picked. I also had to find all my ropes because a teammate carried them out while I did 60.

Then at 12:30 we had our next walkthrough, 12:45 saddle covers, 1:00 Costumes (Vests for this show), 1:15 Flags, and 1:30 Mounted and ready. For this show I had Red Liberty first so I got ready for that team. I was the only Red Liberty rider who didn't have an act before it so I was the only red liberty rider in serpentine so that was kind of funny. Reno was awesome for serpentine, he's a very mellow horse except in the paddock or stall when he is away from his buddy Blaze. Then it was a long waiting game to get the team lined up. I dropped my bridle in quick change this time and went in without it. We were 1-8 for this show and somehow we ended up in 3-8 but it didn't matter too much. It was still a lot of fun, I'm really thankful I had the chance to be on this team. This show was quick change nightmare. I only had one act between each of my teams, still better than none though. I quickly costumed for Royal and my partner had Jack ready for me and we mounted up. This was my 4-6 position, OUTSIDE OF PROPELLER! Jack did awesome, he got his left lead and went into it well and then spooked at some tinsel or something shiny in the dirt but recovered well. We were a little out of position and it definitely wasn't our fastest most impressive propeller but it was still fun! Out of that team and race and change too ropes! We had to cut a few tricks to keep our drill under 6min. None of my tricks were cut but I had less time to rest between tricks and I was so tired from the two acts before they definitely weren't my strongest. My favorite part of Ropes the whole weekend was getting to Solo perform Texas, with my name announced, and all four spotlights on me. Total adrenaline rush that I can't even begin to explain. And that was the end of the 2pm show. Finally a breather hahaha.

So it was about 4pm, I got to go up top and shop a little. I ordered a leather bracket with Bo's name, got my team charms, and some buttons for my soon to be delivered Alumni jacket. Then back down and wait for dinner. Shortly after dinner I made sure I had my quick change area set up for the next show, printing out the different line ups definitely helped. Royal was in the pre-show for Saturday night so we had a shorter period of down time because we had to be ready earlier. We wore the pirate shirts for this show. I was 4-3, so not one of my better positions so I was glad it was in the pre-show. Overall it was our best drill of the day, and the Final Countdown is our new drill music so that's freaking amazing!!!! Then we got to go in for Serpentine and Jack was calm as can be, probably a little tired. I know I was. Then I helped get Reno prepped for Liberty and it was a lot of waiting time in the paddock. Sitting on a bony arabian for a long time frame, definitely tires your muscles out without even knowing it, especially after a long day. I was supposed to ride 1-9 (point) for this performance but my instructor asked me to move up to 1-8. Although I was looking forward to having a breather I wasn't going to say no to a semi-team four. Reno was definitely running out of steam but we still pulled off a good drill. He definitely does better not jumping in a four. I helped get him ready for Roman and got myself ready for Ropes as well. I had a nice breather so I was able to perform more four tricks actually very well! I think I was running on adrenaline because I got REALLY tired after that act. Thankfully I was done for the day. Don't get me wrong, Annual is incredible and one of my favorite shows. But doing three 2hr long performances, among the stress and early wake up call. You are so exhausted that there aren't words to describe it. I wrapped Jack's legs, put away costumes, cleaned up my area, made sure the tack was secure, water buckets were filled, Jack was stretched, checked out with my monitor, made sure all the other leasers were okay, and finally got to drive home. I crashed out very early.

Sunday - Graduation Day
I woke up and realized... this was it. Last time. I doubled checked my speech, packed all my gifts, and made sure I had everything I needed to conquer this emotional day. I got there about 8am, a little later than I had intended but I decided a little extra sleep was necessary. I was getting Jack's equipment out and I was filling his water buckets when I heard a BANG! and Jack was coming out of his stall, he figured out how to open it since it wasn't latched. I just yelled JACK! and he slowly backed into his stall. It made me laugh so much. He was EXTREMELY impatient. He wanted out of that stall asap. I tacked him up as quick as I could and got him out for warm ups. Especially with his stiffer shoulders he definitely needed a good solid warm up. We did 15min of walking just to get the blood moving for both of us after a long night. Then we did 15min of just walking and trotting with a few circles (there isn't much room in the arena with everyone warming up) I did lope a couple laps just too make sure he was moving okay and we were picking up both leads. He checked out and by then his other rider showed up so she hopped on him a little too. Overall he got a solid hour of light work just to get him all ready for the day. There is this incessant buzzing sound that I think comes from the lights in the arena or something but it drives me absolutely crazy. You can only hear it when there is no music or anything playing. Then they let the draft horses and mules out to run and its always hilarious to watch Ben, Jerry, and Gill run and buck. Then we had breakfast and took roll and headed up to the full organization meeting. We talked over how the show went yesterday, tickets sales, awards, parking space auctions, horse and saddle giveaway, and then finally we were done. The seniors raced down and got something to eat and got ready for our speeches. All my family came down so I got to show them my stall and the area I was calling home for the weekend. Then the rest of the team got their lunch and ate while we did our speeches. Thankfully I was 4/5 too go but I was bawling so hard during the first one that by the time we got to mine I could barely read the paper. My hands were shaking and thankfully tissues were readily available. There is so much you want to say in your speech. So many people and horses you want to thank, and quite simply there just isn't enough time to fit it all in. We then did instructor and monitor gifts. Showed off our senior hoodies (I designed them) and received our goodie bags. We got so many gifts, it was truly a great way to make the day more of a celebration and an easier goodbye. My alumni jacket got delivered....I'm now regretting my choice on sizing and I think I ordered it too big.....oops. But I still really love it and I'll just have to deal with it. There wasn't a lot of time because we had to get going and get costumed and I had to get quick change set up. One issue was Blaze was already gone and I hadn't gotten Reno ready so he was whipping circles in his stall while I was trying to pick his feet, put on sport boots, and bridle him. I finally found a few barn dads to help me and we got it done. I put on my red liberty costume one last time and got ready for serpentine. After what seemed like years we got to wait in the paddock for another 30min. Finally serpentine started, and then commenced another couple years of waiting....so much anticipation for such a short time in the arena. They called Red Liberty into the arena ( I was 3-8, I rode 8th four all weekend which I was incredibly happy about as it was my only show) and I think Reno knew it was special because he was flawless. Although I'm sad I didn't get to ride good senior positions, and I was only on the team for 5 rides and one show weekend, I'm so happy I did it. Getting the patch on my jacket, achieving a goal that I had been turned down from, and just having fun and celebrating my accomplishments made it one of the most memorable performances of my career. All to soon we were exiting and Mr. Keller announced all of the graduates names. There was no time to be sad because today was quick changes all over the place again. I had one act to get into line for Royal, I got up and in line and realized, I didn't have my cuffs on for the Clown Costume, but the ends of the sleeves were red anyway so I decided it was fine, there wasn't time to fix it. I went to the front and got lined up in the alleyway, in the tunnel on horseback one last time. And I checked my team and got the go ahead from the posse. I took a deep breath, In. Ho. and my final drill was off. Our entrance was controlled, our speed was good, Jack was anxious but listened and behaved. It was without a doubt the best drill of the weekend. The kinks had gotten ironed out yesterday and it was all about having fun. And did I ever. Through the tough maneuvers, the spot lights, the music, the announcer, you get absorbed in the joy of the performance that all the sudden I realized we were getting ready to exit. The team pulled away, and after watching so many teammates leave I took my place with the rest of the seniors and looked down the alleyway, up at the crowd, soaking it all in and trying not to cry. Then my leaser called my name and she was standing right at the rail. I broke and a few tears escaped. I know we both wish it could've been Bo standing there with me in that moment. But I couldn't be more proud of how well Jack and I did after having almost no practice together. 1 down, 2 down, 3 down, and the moment you dread yet anticipate so much arrives in a heartbeat. My name was called, Jack lunged forward, the crowd fades away, it's just you and the thundering hoofbeats being escorted out of the arena by the spotlights. It's such an indescribable feeling that I will treasure forever. It definitely wasn't the fastest I've ever gone. Jack was a little unsure, I was probably a little anxious since I don't know him all that well, but it let me savor the moment just a little bit longer. He kicked it into gear about 3/4 of the way out though hahaha. Through the pumping adrenaline I had to dismount and quickly change for ropes. No time to recover, be sad, or think. I ran and got into line. I tied my shoes while we were in the alleyway and got my ropes sorted. I will not miss having to run that whole arena though. So. Far. Tandem spoke hop went great, step through went the best it ever has, Texas wasn't my best but it was solid and clean so that's all I can ask for, and 60 kept getting caught on my head for whatever reason! Which sucked because it was really strong too and probably would've gone all the way. But did I have fun? Yes. Did I smile? You bet. Did I start bawling when they announced my name for the 3rd time as a graduate? Absolutely. I made it out of the arena and stopped. That was it. I'm an Alumni. I'm really done. My ropes instructor came and hugged me. I've been with her since my second year of westernaires. It's just so crazy that something that has been such a huge part of my life is just over. So many goodbyes but I know it's not totally the end. While it's sad it opens so many doors to a whole big world out there. Westernaires will always be there for me when I'm ready to return someday. Enjoy it. It goes faster than you can ever imagine. I raced to help clean up as much as I could but I knew I had to get up to see all of my family and friends who were there to support me. I helped get most of the shavings out. There were a lot 4-5 bags. Then my partner selflessly offered to clean so I could go see my family. I was very very grateful. It took about an hour to get our horse trailer around and get loaded up and headed out. All of the renters and most of the owners were gone. I bade farewell to the little trailer group that had become my family and packed up my car. I think it will take some time for it to settle in but I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. Thanks for the ride :)

Settled in at 5:30am

RED LIBERTY AT LAST

Outside of Propeller one more time!

I really love this team!

The final run - Royal 2017

60ft Rope

Step Through

Trusty Texas Skip

My Last Practice at Westernaires :(

Despite my best efforts the day had arrived. I sat in my car for  few minutes once I arrived going, this is really it. Then I headed to the trailer and got Reno ready for Red Liberty. I had a bunch of blue ribbons and stickers because his tack color and sports boots are blue. He looked very fancy, especially with his swirly face jewels. Just as I'm getting comfortable on the team it's time to leave. But I wouldn't have traded it for the world. Although my positions weren't fantastic for my last practice Reno seemed to know it was special and he was a rockstar :) I'm so thankful he was able to help me achieve my dream of red liberty. I don't think it will feel real until I'm at annual in costume. After class I took off his decorations and spent the next few hours getting September and Bo decorated since Red Ropes was at 12 and Royal's walkthrough was at 1, so it was now or never. I used Royal colored ribbons and stickers ( I will attach photos below because they both looked so gorgeous) I also brought a sparkly red saddle pad cover that I used at my second interclub for Bo. He also got to wear his brand new angel tack set that I got him. It made me cry. I had so many people helping me and I made it to ropes on time. We solidified our drill and made sure we were okay on time. Then we went to walkthrough, we did all of the saturday drills and we practiced graduation lines, I cried because it started to hit me. The team got close enough together so we could high five them all as we ran out :) Gosh I'm gonna miss those girls :( Then we all raced to get our horses ready. September really doesn't like having stickers put on but after the application she tolerates them very well. She was PHENOMENAL for my last practice ride and my last ride on her. (I rode Jack last week - who I will be riding at annual, his other leaser has been riding him in crimson which is why I've been using September). I was offered to take her to annual but I really wanted to use one of my leaser's horses since she's done so much for me this year and I know her expectations at shows. I smiled and had the most fun I've had in a ride in a long time. When we exited into the white arena after the third drill, I moved up to the front to get ready to call one more time. I could barely choke out the words who we be? I started crying so bad, I'm not ready to be done but at the same time I need the time back for college. The last drill was so surreal and we ran a really good one too. We really pulled our drills together today and I feel ready for annual. At the end of the drill when we formed graduation lines, I steered September back towards the gate, where my friend was leading Bo in....all decorated out and ready for one last run for the both of us. (This is the little surprise I mentioned last week) Since Bo wasn't able to come to annual show my instructors allowed me to bring him at the end of the last drill so we could do my graduation run together. I had made it through the whole ride without completely loosing it, but seeing Bo come into the arena made my crack. I was shaking so bad and I just held his head and sobbed. I managed to climb on and take my flag and with very little prompting he ran up the arena to take our place. They had me run out last and while the other graduates were leaving I could barely keep Bo from following them. He's definitely not as fast as he used to be but he still has the heart and he wanted to run so badly. He could hardly wait his turn. I leaned down and gave him a big hug while sobbing into his neck. Man I've missed him, I don't think I had realized how much until that moment. After what seemed like an eternity my instructor announced, "And we also have a double congratulation today the first goes to (my name) and this is the last time Bo gets to run out of our arena" My heart shattered. I had NO idea that they were going to honor Bo with his own announcement. Through the foggy glasses, and the tears, I trusted Bo to run out that gate. It definitely wasn't a fast graduation run but it was so perfect beyond words. It was the closure that I needed to finally let Bo go. I'm honestly glad that we got to do it at practice instead of at the show because it made it so much more special. It was so poetic and meaningful. Bo had been in westernaires for almost his whole life, and he had carried so many girls through so many different teams. It was an indescribable honor to be the one to graduate off him and take him into retirement. You could tell he enjoyed it too :) At the trailer I took out his decorations, helped clean up, and left the fairgrounds as a rider for the very last time.

On a side note :) Thank you to all of you who have followed this blog since I first started it back in tenderfoot. It has been so much fun to document my westernaires career and I hope it'll help you as you advance through the ranks :) Do you all want me to continue it for when I do the adult ride program?

Heading up to line

Reno's decorations

Bo's Butt

I adore this photo

Bo

Where I broke down and cried

Entering the arena

One last assembly at the crows nest

Bo's decorations

September being a model

Spending our last saturday together

Royal seniors 2017

The graduation/retirement run!

You can see he new tack set :)

Bo's Mane (lots of Bows)

September's Decorations

My last red liberty practice

The final few rides

So my last few weeks at Westernaires have been pretty similar, so I've grouped them into one post. Ropes has been going really well I will be performing Step Through, Tandem Spoke Hop, Texas Skip, and 60ft! I'm really pleased with the tricks I'm getting to do as they are difficult tricks that I've been trying to perfect :) Liberty has been a blast - it's been making me really sad though because I've been loving it so much and I only got a short time on the team. Then royal has been having walkthroughs and okay rides. We are definitely not as prepared as we could be but still ready none the less. My positions are Sat. Morning (4-7) Sat. Matinee (4-6) Sat. Evening (4-3) and Sunday (1-1). September has been flawless and we are really starting to work well together, very glad she's been able to help me out and fill in.

On some sad news.... Bo has made TREMENDOUS improvement, and he is able to walk without a limp now. With a good warm up he can lope and trot almost completely normal. However, his owner, my instructors, and I have agreed that it is in his best interests not to perform at annual show, even for just the graduation drill. I am heartbroken that I won't be able to graduate off of my best friend but his comfort is more important to me. We have worked out a little surprise that I will share with you later though!

Next week is my last practice....so ready to leave but so not at the same time.

Five weeks remaining.....

Well this morning I had the realization that including today I only have 5 rides left before I graduate.....not prepared at all. My morning started out with Red Liberty and it went MUCH better than the first ride. I was more comfortable and remembered my spurs too. My stall card design also won!!!! I was super excited. I rode 8th four all three drills so that was super exciting. I helped get the horses set up at the trailer and headed to costuming at 10. With move ups we have to refit the entire team. It felt really pointless as I'm only riding in the costumes one more time. But it's okay :) They put the senior boards up in the cafeteria too so that was super sad but exciting. Costuming finished pretty early and I ordered my Alumni jacket and senior ad.....very emotionally exhausting day, but it has to happen. Graduating is inevitable. My leaser surprised me by bringing Bo out. I broke down into tears, I was just so happy to see him. It's been almost a month. I got to take him into a tenderfoot class and climbing back into his saddle was a feeling to amazing for words. I also bought him a brand new tack set (Sparkle Angel Wings) but I haven't gotten to try it on him yet. He's walking without a limp now, but we have decided he is only going to be able to do Sunday's annual show. Walkthough went well, I was 3-7, 4-6, 4-7, and 1-1. Those were tentative annual positions. I'm absolutely fine with them but I would prefer not to ride in the same four twice. I finally got to go to Red Ropes after a few conflicts, I really need to put in some practice time before annual though, yikes. We had some people trying out for Red as well. The ride was kind of a mess. We have the maneuvers down but we really need to focus on polishing the details to make it show ready. September did really well, she was a little less jumpy but still a spazz. My stall card also won for royal! But they chose another submission for the seniors that is also super cool. After class it started to drizzle and eventually turned into an absolute downpour. Everything got soaked but we loaded the horses into the trailer to keep them dry. And with the end of this post I am down to four rides, I guess I should get started on my speech.....

My Birthday Ride!!!!

Wow, what a day. I got out there early that way I could watch my friend's first ride on Red Team, then I had walkthrough at 12 and I rode similar positions to last week. I wore a birthday sash and it was nice and cold so I was happy! Then it was a race to decorate September for Royal. I put purple ribbons all over her hair, jewels on her face, and glitter words on her butt with flowers and butterflies. The ride went really well! We actually got four drills in so that was incredible!!!!!! September tripped in the last drill and was limping a little but she walked out of it just fine. It was a good birthday ride. Then I raced over to the JI trail ride on Gypsy and she was FANTASTIC. She adores the trails, definitely her happy place. We had a lot more people than last year so we couldn't do as much. But it was still a ton of fun and I'm glad I got to go.

First Official Red Liberty Ride!!!!

THE DAY WAS FINALLY HERE OMG!!!!!!!! I was so excited to get to go back into the class and actually be a member of the team. I got the email with the diagrams and nearly died of excitement. Getting to actually ride the drill was phenomenal. We are riding the drills with 9 fours. 1-8 are team and 9th is points. I rode 3-8 twice and 3-9 once. Reno definitely needs spurs just for some added speed so I will remember that for next week. Fours 1-4 are the main team spots 5/6 are secondary team spots, and 7/8 are like a team point combo mix so I'm pretty happy with my positions, I know I won't get the really good spots since I'm new. Then I had a walkthrough at 12 and was 4-6, 4-8, 1-1, and 2-7. I LOVED my spots. The ride went really well and I rode a horse named Radar because September was unavailable. He was a ton of fun and I really liked him!

A Long Emotional Day

So I woke up at 5:30am, and got ready to head out for the day. I didn't have class until 10am but my friend was giving me a ride since my car broke. I watched Red Dressage tryouts at 8 and got breakfast at 9. My 10am class was just the yearly JI meeting. I knew I wasn't in Top 10 this year but I get to go on the trail ride anyway because I'm a senior so thats awesome and it's scheduled for my birthday yay!!!!! It was pretty brief so that was awesome. At 12 I took my leaser's horse Gypsy into her first class, it was a junior class but they ended up going on a trail ride so I just worked her in the arena. I'm developing a habit of looking down when I'm riding a new horse so I really gotta stop that. She's 100% Tennessee Walker so her gaits definitely take some getting used to but she's come a long way! Then I watched the beginning of Crimson before I got September ready for Royal. She was fired up today holy cow. We also rode with Flags today so that was awesome to get back into that habit. So September likes to jump the pee puddles in the arena and thought it would be fun to do that while we were running down the rail and then get scared of the red door. Oh dear. I stayed on but it kept me on my toes the whole time. I rode 2-1 and 4-5 today. We only got two drills in but then we rode around to YMCA and played catch up! I got to be on the rail and man can September move! I so wish I could've done it with Bo but she was amazing and hugged the rail like a champ and everything. SO MUCH FUN just getting to let them run. They were all super hot and sweaty after so it took me a while to cool her down. Then we let her drink and roll. She worked hard for me so I made sure to take good care of her in return. I had a small break and then I went to my last WL1 ride. Poor Reno was on his third class in a row so he wouldn't go above a trot which was okay since we were in the white anyway. I got to call one last drill and then we rode in the back that way new girls could begin to take the front. It was very sad since a lot of my friends are on that team but I'm so excited for my first red liberty next week. Then I helped with jumps for WL2 and load up the trailer so I left probably about 6:30pm. It was a long day but well worth it :)

Red Liberty Tryout #3!!!!!!!

8am in the volunteer, walking in there for a third red liberty tryout on a third horse, nerves kicking in, and knowing this was my absolute last chance. I got mounted took my bridle off and did a few warm up jumps. There were 11 people trying out. The instructor then talked to us a little. Some girls would get asked to the team and not ride annual that way they are guaranteed to practice all winter (since white and blue get cancelled more) and be ready for the summer shows next year. I knew this didn't necessarily apply to me since I graduate at annual so I just knew I was making it or I wasn't. We then lined up the first tryout drill which we do without jumps. I was 2-3 and they always pair us with an current RL member to help us. The drill hadn't changed from the last two tryouts so I knew it pretty well. Then we did two more drills with jumps. Reno was phenomenal, never dodged, never hesitated, kept up great. It was so amazing to have such a solid liberty horse after battling so much over the summer. Then she called the 11 girls trying out over to the rail. This is when my heart really started to leap into my throat because this is where I was denied promotion the last two times. I'm so glad they just tell us right away though instead of drawing it out. She asked two girls to stay and talk with her and said the rest of us were promoted to Red Liberty. HOLY COW I MADE THE TEAM!!!!!!!!!!!! I got handed my information packet and I think I was just trying to convince myself that I wasn't making it up and I had finally succeeded!!!!! I"M ON RED LIBERTY!!!!!!!! I was practically in tears and I was so proud of Reno. After a year on BL2, 6 months on WL3, and 1 1/2 years on WL1, I can finally say that I am a Red Liberty rider! Yes I will only get 4 practices and Annual show but for me it was about not giving up and not being defeated by the set backs. Even if I only get to ride point I will still graduate off the team and get to come back for Alumni rides and I'll have fun on the team no matter how short the time may be. My first official ride will be Sept. 9. It is gonna be hard to wait that long!!!!! After all that excitement in the morning I headed to the fort to check in for photos. Royal was taking our head shots for the annual show program. We were wearing pirate shirts which was awesome because we have worn vests for the last several years. They were behind schedule so it took awhile but that was okay. I raced to Ropes at 11 and we ran through all the specialties to start thinking about what we would like to perform at annual show. It was a productive and short class which I was thankful for because it was REALLY hot out. I had a break and watched White Horse Roman and WL3. I also walked Bo to help with his recovery, he is still limping pretty bad :( It breaks my heart. Then I went and found the horse I was riding for Royal. She's a palomino mare named September. I am going to be riding her until Bo can at least handle half of royal since all of my leaser's horses ride at 1 or 2. She is such a sweet horse and does INCREDIBLE flying lead changes. We rode in team the whole ride. 1-5 and 3-7 so pretty good spots :) I had a lot of fun with her we just need to get used to each other. That was it for my day so I got to head home and start studying my new drill!

Tenderfoot Induction Show 2017

Okay so tonight was Tenderfoot Induction show and I always have so much fun performing for the little kids. The 8 of us performing got together with our instructors and did a walk through of our shortened drill that way we were all comfortable. I was asked to call so I was super excited since I couldn't call Olympics. We costumed and got lined up but I realized they didn't even bring Reno's bridle so I rode him at liberty through warm ups and serpentine so he really impressed me. Serpentine went well and then it was soon time for our drill. Reno did amazing. Our drill got pretty fast but we stayed together and all bridles were off and almost all the jumps were taken by all the horses. Reno was incredible and I'm glad I got some more practice on him before tryouts tomorrow morning. I'm nervous but at the same time it'll be my third time so I feel pretty comfortable at this point. Wish me luck!

INCREDIBLE NEWS OMG!!!!!!!

Wow!!!! What a day!!!!!!!!!!! So first I received an email that I was 1/8 WL1 riders selected to perform at Tenderfoot Induction this friday!!!! I'm so excited!!!! I always love that show because the tenderfeet are so eager! Plus it's an extra liberty show!!!! Just as I was settling down from the excitement I got another email titled RED LIBERTY TRYOUTS!!!!!!!!!!! I GOT INVITED BACK FOR A THIRD TRY OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!! I am so grateful that I get this chance as a senior to potentially graduate off red liberty after so many horse issues and failed tryouts. EEEEEEEKKK the nerves don't ever seem to get better but I know Reno will take good care of me :) I will be sure to keep you guys posted for the show and tryouts saturday morning!!!

White Olympics and a Parade!

Saturday was a LONG day. It started with me getting to the parade route at about 6:30. I helped set up while I waited for the trailer and my monitors let me choose the costume because I was senior so I chose the pirate shirts. I got Jack settled in and my instructor came to tell my I was riding Honor Guard up front with the Colorado Flag! I was so excited getting to lead the parade route. I was sad Bo wasn't able to do it with me but Jack was phenomenal as always. We flagged at 8:30 and rode to the parade route and waited until 10. Then the parade lasted an hour. It was fun but I can see why people kind of hate them too. Very exhausting and a lot of time waiting around. Then it was back to the fairgrounds for practice. I missed ropes for the parade and liberty was not so good. Jack started out really well and we did our two individual jumps perfectly but we didn't go over a single drill jump and it was horrible. Especially with a show the next day. I think part of it was we were both exhausted from the parade. After class I lunged him over some ground poles and half jumps and he did really well. After talking with my leaser we decided that I could use Reno for the show. It could be my last liberty show ever so we want me to enjoy it. So I took him over a few jumps just to get the feel for him and I'm confident going into our show on Sunday! I then stayed until 7pm and watched the white division team perform and supported some of my friends! I didn't get home until 9:30 so almost 16 hours at Westernaires.

Sunday! - My LAST White Olympics
Since I quit vaulting and batons my only white specialty is liberty so it was really weird only having one team to worry about. The show ran very smoothly and I got to take Reno into serpentine too to get a little more comfortable. He had Dressage with his normal rider right before my class so we had a quick change but it was mostly just strip all the tack and throw me on. He was amazing!!! We nailed every jump and even took the lead when a horse dodged for a minute. I even did a no hands jump at the end to finish it off! I was grinning from ear to ear. I forgot what it's like to have a really good liberty horses lol. I will be very content if that was my last liberty performance. We cleaned up and headed home!

WHAT A DAY OMG!

I still am in disbelief of how Saturday went. Ropes was bright and early and we just did some specialty practice. My friend and I are getting closer to our double texas trick!! Then I went to take Jack into a blue liberty class at 9. I have two practices until Olympics and maybe one last red liberty tryout... lotta pressure. The class was rough. I fell off when he dodged a jump. He was stalling and refusing. It was kinda a mess and it made me very discouraged. So it was finally time for my liberty class and the red liberty people were there evaluating of course. I think I learned a lot in the blue class and Jack knew I needed him because he WAS AMAZING! We didn't even hesitate at any warm up jumps and we even got our bridle off for the last drill. I was beaming with pride, i was so happy. Sadly I had to leave right after for work but it was a great end to the day.

My first ride back after vacation!

Thankfully the impending afternoon rainstorms held out but the arena was still super thick deep mud. So our we greatly decreased our speed which probably helped us tighten up a little. The owners had to clean the volunteer and we didn't finish until 6:10 and I had to saddle Bo and Jack. I rode Bo up the arena and he was hardly limping. We started trotting and he was definitely limping but it was less than before. Loping he was fine. We did half of warm ups and I felt like he had done enough. Especially with the poor footing I didn't want to push him. So I switched over to Jack. The first drill I was 4-8 so that was a ton of fun! Then I was 1-1 and got to call!!!! I was so excited :) Then we lined up a third drill and I was GPA 3 point. I haven't ridden point since February so that was a shift but I know we are giving everyone a chance in team and I rode amazing spots the first two drills so I didn't care. We only got through half of that drill anyway. We rode with flags so luckily it wasn't too windy. Jack did amazing and I'm figuring out how to sit his weird gaits a little bit better :) Overall it was a pretty successful ride.

Rough July

Sorry for the lack of posting but the last month has been pretty hard. So after Estes we had only a few weeks to prepare for western heritage show. On the first of July Bo pulled up lame in Liberty. He started limping really bad on his front left. He got a massage and we found soreness in his top line. We were instructed to stretch him out and do some exercises to help alleviate the stiffness. I rode one of my leaser's other horses Jack for one practice. We then rode Bo around and after some trotting he pulled out of his limp. I rode him for liberty saturday and for royal on Wednesday and he did just fine. Then the next saturday he started limping again. I followed the instructions of work him out of it (just stiff muscles) but it didn't seem to be getting better. I then felt the limp shift to his front right so I pulled him out. I felt horrible for riding him as long as I did but I was doing what I was told. I was in tears when I brought him to his owner as I was so concerned for his well being. At this point Heritage show was in a few days and I had no horse to ride. Jack was being ridden by one of my teammates so I took Karma in for heritage and a teammate lent me her red liberty horse. So I went into heritage show on two horses that I'd never ridden in class and I called the liberty performance and rode no bridle and hit 3/4 jumps. I'd call that a huge success. Then Royal I rode 4-1 and 3-7 and Karma did phenomenal since it was her first big westernaires show and only my third time riding her. The drills could've been better but we stayed together as a team the best we could and got out of the arena together. Performing for red ropes was super fun and we got buttons added to the front of our costumes. The first show was better than the second for everyone. It was just super hot and miserable. Precisionettes promotions happened that night and Nighthorse move ups happened on Friday. They moved 20 to Royal and 28 to Crimson. It'll be nice having a full team with points again since the stock show move up didn't happen. Sadly I had to miss the graduation ride and new girls first ride because I was on vacation. On July 31 Bo went to the vet and my leaser called me with some bad news, Bo has been diagnosed with early stages of Ringbone (arthritis) He is immediately retired from all classes except for Royal and Roman (with another rider) that means all of our hard work in liberty is gone, although I am extremely pleased that we accomplished a no hands jump with no bridle during our last class together. He will be getting treatment to keep him comfortable through annual that way I can graduate off him for royal and I couldn't be more grateful for that. It is kind of poetic that as we run out of the arena together in october it will be his graduation run too, since he will retire from drill team after annual. Although I only have a few weeks to prepare another liberty horse for olympics and possibly red liberty tryouts (although I'm not sure I'll get another shot with a new horse)  I know that not using Bo in liberty is what is best for him and that's all that matters. He has had a long westernaires career and I am honored to be the one to ride him through his last show. That being said I rode a rental horse for liberty yesterday and I got skeeter! He did really well even though he was crazy excited hahaha. I'm not sure if I will use Jack for olympics or rent. We will see!