1st Blue Ropes Practice!

Wow! Ropes was really fun! I went to the store and bought my 10 foot rope. They weren't expensive at all. $ 5.22 It was just a length of stiff rope 10 feet long. That was about 1:30 pm then I went and watched some Tenderfoot classes and found my friends horses. So we hung around at the trailer area opposite the 3 outdoor arenas and played with her horses. I went and checked in with my monitor and waited for Danielle to arrive at about 2:45. She is my ropes instructor as well as my White Star instructor. Once she arrived she and some Red Ropers helped us learn how to tape our ropes. We used black electrical tape. We had to loop one end tightly around to make the Honda then taped the other end to prevent fraying. We spaced out into a big circle. She told us to wear tennis shoes from now on because it will be easier to do ropes with shoes instead of boots. I wore my tennis shoes anyway so I was fine. Then she taught us how to hold the rope before we start. You grasp the tail and loop in three fingers, separated by your index finger and held on the outside with your thumb. Now for twirling our Flat Loop you can't just move your wrist and arms. It's not that easy. In fact it is all twirled by your fingers. You start the loop inside towards yourself and twirl with your fingers. It took a little bit to get the hang of but I got it. Man your lower arm muscles just start burning! It will take awhile for my arms to get used to it. Danielle is a good at multi - tasking she was pushing a baby stroller spinning a loop and instructing the class. Then we played a little game. We had a giant rope going as a jump rope, then we each individually had to jump in, jump rope, and spin the loop. It was really hard! I absolutely failed but I was laughing. So much fun!!!! Danielle made 2 people run laps because she will not allow us to say, "I can't" She will let us say,"My rope is not cooperating with me." But she will not take I can't. It was so much fun getting to do my first specialty. She said I was doing very good :) We were just having a great time goofing off. Soon Horse Roman riders started lining up to go in the White Arena and our class was over :( But I get to ride again in 1 week! GO BLUE ROPES!!! Here are the pictures.

Honda

My 10' Rope

Horse Pasture

Danielle talking to the class