Last Junior Ride!!!

So my White Star ride for today was cancelled due to the possible presence of VSV. But my last junior ride ROCKED!!!!!!!!!!!! I GOT MY BABY CEDAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was so happy I couldn't stop smiling! So we groomed and saddled. Cedar literally opened her mouth and waited for the bridle. We mounted up and rode down. Only one outdoor arena was in use. It looked so empty. So it was our choice day and I chose no saddle of course! I took her saddle off and my spurs. She's better without them anyway. So I tried mounting up twice and failed. So my instructor gave me a leg up. Cedar was just a tad bony but I was actually quite comfortable. She is perfect for bareback. So sensitive so she listens to body cues pretty good and she has enough bone that you don't slip and smooth enough so it doesn't hurt. So we warmed up the horses at a trot with some thread the needles, pass throughs, and a dosi do. Then we played a game called Catch Up! The rest of the team is at a trot then the front rider lopes to catch up with the back. It's super fun! Cedar had a funny lope going today. Definitely not her normal self but we caught up to the back. I mentioned it to the wranglers and they said they would keep an eye on her today. But she wouldn't stay on the rail she kept cutting corners. We also got to drop our reins. Cedar is so smooth! I was able to get comfortable with bareback again after my first two unpleasant rides. Then we played sharks and minnows! Cedar was great! I dodged this one JI 3 times by stopping and speeding up. It was super fun! I got caught eventually because I was boxed in. Then the ride was over. I was so sad. I wanted to keep riding Cedar forever!!!!!!! She is even more my favorite horse now than she was before! Then I re saddled her and took some pics. Then home I went. Thanks for the amazing year J1!!!!!!!

Ropes 8/23

So summer schedule is over :(  Which means back to the weekends and no more weekly rides. So I came early in the morning to help T1/T9. I went out to the pasture early and hung out with my baby girl Cedar and took some great pictures of her. I got to groom Stretch this morning!!!! The tallest horse out there. It was really fun. He is SO tall I had to stand on tip toe to reach his back haha. Then I watched T1 and some got to ride bareback finally. Then I watched Varsity, Precisionettes, White Liberty 4, White Dressage, Crimson, and Royal. Then it was finally time for ropes to start. We warmed up with flat loop. It started raining on us so we went into the White Arena. Then I was sent with a few other riders to be taught new tricks. We learned butterfly wrap around??? You have to butterfly while spinning in a circle. It is a lot harder than it sounds. Then he taught us some really good techniques for lazy butterfly and I GOT IT!!!!! Then we also learned up the arm and I am learning it on the other arm and repetitive since I could already do it. My shoulder was absolutely killing me by the end of class. Then up I go to help unsaddle. So a girl on Shoshone called for a wrangler and I came and helped her with his hooves because he was SUPER hyped up cause he wanted his grain. Guess what!! It was WesternaireForever!! So I helped her walk him around cause he was being really pushy then got his grain. No one else really needed help. They're moving to Sophomores so they don't really need us anymore. Can't wait for the new tenderfeet!!! Overall it was a VERY exhausting day and I am sooooooo ready for a nap.

Tenderfoot Induction Show!!! 8/22

So tonight all the brand new tenderfeet came and got admitted into Westernaires. I was one of the 6 White Ropers chosen to preform. SO HAPPY! So then we warmed up and learned the tricks we were going to preform. For me it was large butterfly, tandem spoke hop, drag, and accordion. Pretty soon serpentine was over and in we went. It was a really short show. Only like 8 acts. Ropes did really well :) Tandem went pretty good and we got to use the trick board again. The rest went fairly good too. It was weird only having 6 instead of the whole team. Then we remained in costume and hung out in the white. After the last act all the riders went out for a meet and greet. Mostly the tenderfeet just wanted to touch the horses and I don't blame them :) Then we left and got out of our costumes. Pretty quick but really fun night. Welcome Tenderfoot Class of 2014/2015!!!!!!!!!!!1

Show Pictures!!

Guess the Horse #14

Last week's answer was Maverick #70

Maverick #70

Your riddle for this week. I am a 16 year old gelding mustang. I am on the smaller side and my mustang brand sits high up on my neck. Almost in my mane. I have a not straight blaze and one rear left sock. I am black and my number is between 80 and 85. Who am I?

WHITE OLYMPICS 2014

Wow... What a crazy fun filled weekend. This is the first time I have been able to rest and get a break so here is the long awaited show post.

Saturday

So I stayed with a friend after ropes until it was time to check in for grooming. All AAA teams and White Star groom and saddle. I got Ringo #69. He was perfect and I finished super quick. Not all of my teammates got horses so I got super lucky. We rode down and checked in for some walk throughs. We did 3 I think. They went super well. Then we had a little bit before costuming. Once serpentine was done we made a circle and did our chant for Olympics.

Who are we!?
WHITE STAR!!
Who are we!?
White Star!!
Are we ready to kick butt!!??
YEAH!!!!

It got us all pumped and you could just feel the excitement and energy. We were ready. We got our saddle covers and headed to get horses. I got Patches #104. WesternaireLover got my baby Cedar. So we got up and lined up. Then I got the team flag stuck into my flag boot. OMG. All my hard work had lead to this moment. White Olympics, tenderfeet watching, judges, parents, teammates depending on me. I couldn't wait. They opened the gate and my team and I rode the best, cleanest, most precise drill we have all year. Our propeller was absolutely perfect!!!! I had a hard time pushing it to a fast trot without breaking gate because patches collects herself so much so she would be loping while everyone else was trotting. We did go overtime. 7 minutes 30 seconds. So that/s not great but we kind of knew it was going to happen. Patches was great, my team rocked!!! and we pulled a perfect drill. Everyone was happy coming out of that arena. We couldn't stop smiling. It was absolutely perfect. Then we went up to the stands and presented our 1st lieutenant with parting gifts as this was her last show with us. Everyone was sobbing. I had never felt so close to my team. All too soon it was time to find out the winners. In we run and find a spot on the rail. Wow am I really in here??? Wasn't I just watching this as a tenderfoot?? Then the results...

Sportsmanship

Glory Riders (AAA)

AAA

3rd: Shadow Riders

2nd: Indian Braves

1st: Colorado Stampede

AA

3rd: Lancers

2nd: Vaqueros

1st: Gauchos

A

2nd: Colorado Rangers and Chaparrals

1st: Trailblazers

Congrats to all riders!!!! Everyone worked very hard. Then we went to the trailers and I grabbed Shoshone #126 to unsaddle. He was good except for trying to get his bridle untangled from his halter. Then he didn't roll and once he was cool I took him home. I was at westernaires from 6am until 11pm. WHAT A DAY!

Sunday

So today was Day 2 of show weekend. I arrived checked in and got costumed pretty quick. It started raining so we had to hide under the tarp to keep our costumes dry. It only lasted for a little bit. All too soon we were lined up at the gate. The brought in the trick board and in we went!!! It was SO HOT! Now I know why we practiced outside on Saturday. All my tricks went really well. Large Butterfly, then my friend and I got Tandem Spoke Hop on the 3rd try. I love that trick it is so much fun. Then also preformed Drag Accordion and Accordion. It went great!! Everyone was struggling with the ropes a little due to the heat but we kept going. Out we went and watched the rest of the teams. Huge improvement from White Show. Not nearly as many Halt HO's. Then it was awards time again. They awarded the trick riders and then the rest.

Ground Specialties

3rd: ROPES!!!!

2nd: Batons

1st: Belle Star (Girls Whips)

Riding Specialties

3rd: Dressage

2nd: Harness 2

1st: Harness 3 and Horse Roman.

It was a great day but I am so exhausted. White Olympics was so much fun!!!!!!!!!!! Way to go White Ropes we placed 3rd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Junior Equitation Testing

Testing went really well!!! So I got Chey#119. Again :) I was really happy because it was a horse I knew and was comfortable with. I was in the lay testing group so I had to wait a while but I think I absolutely nailed it. Chey was perfect. Then our written test was super easy and I finished almost right away. We also had to demonstrate maneuvers with pennies. Then ropes went pretty good. We had to practice out in the heat today for some reason. My friend and I got to use the trick board for tandem spoke hop. We are gonna use it for show. We are super excited. We did 3 or 4 drills and that was that. I also watched a trick class.  I didn't really leave. I went to my friends house for an hour then came right back for show. This concludes post 1!

Guess the Horse #13

The answer to last week was Patches #104

Patches #104

Your riddle for this week is I am a 21 year old bay quarter horse. I am used mostly in Tenderfoot and Junior classes. I have two back socks and a squiggle on my nose. I am very slow unless you have spurs then I move quite nicely. My number is between 70 and 75. Who am I?

Last Summer Ride :(

So tonight was good but really depressing. Also it was Alumni week so it was super weird seeing people riding out of uniform. I chose Cruiser #67. He is such a cutie!!! He was in a special pen and he had a fly mask on. WesternaireLover helped me take it off. He was great for grooming except for his feet again. I had tricks from last ride so I was able to get it. Then we mounted up and down we went. We spent a good bunch of time listening to information about ads and boosters for annual show. Then we got flags. I got a red one. My favorite. Then we got started right away and lined up. I was 1-1. Surprise surprise. We actually came out of the arena again. Cruiser has a OK trot. He is kind of slow. He has no in between gate. It's either a normal trot or slow lope. So our drills went much better tonight as far as organization. We got a little scrambled in the second drill cause we had some crazy horses. Almost all our owners were renting due to their horses being on lock down cause of the virus. So all our drills were being done at a TROT. I'm really really bummed. They didn't even call a lope once the whole ride. Or give us a chance during the drills. I did get to do some loping to catch up but barely. I am super super bummed. We were supposed to lope this show. Maybe we still will but I doubt it. Then cruiser got taken so I helped my teammates unsaddle and ended up taking Blue home for another rider. I found an old picture I took of cruiser a couple weeks ago and thought I would post it. 

White Ropes 8/9

Today was really weird for me. So I didn't help wrangle in the morning so I literally just showed up for my 1 hour class and left. It was so different not being there all day. Ropes was in the Volunteer again! I love it in there so much. So we warmed up with 3 flat loop routines. Then we lined up our drill. We did it 3 times. Looks like a good bunch of tricks for Olympics. Then we worked on specialties. I showed Danielle butterfly reach thru and she checked me off for it but we are not putting it in show. Then my friend and I showed her Tandem Spoke Hop. We got it put in show!!!! I'm so happy! We then lined up one more drill. So the tricks are butterfly, lay down, spoke hop, drag, drag accordion, accordion, and double wedding ring. So during butterfly I am preformong large butterfly with my 15ft. Then during spoke hop my friend and I are doing tandem. We may get a trick board brought down. It's a piece of plywood so we have a flat smooth surface to preform on. We will try it out next Saturday. My other tricks are drag accordion and accordion. I can not believe that white Olympics is next weekend already. It's just insane! Didn't this year just start??? Then after ropes I went to the volunteer lobby and signed up for the White Divison Gymkhana in September. I signed up for pole bending and barrel racing. I'm super excited for it! Should be fun!!!! 

Guess the Horse #12

Last week's answer was Wildfire #78

Wildfire #78

This week's riddle is I am a very energetic paint mare. I am 13 years old and a Quarter horse. I have a hackamore instead of a bridle and I pop when I stop, unseating most riders. My number is between 100 and 105. Who am I?

White Star Summer Ride 8/5

Well tonight was interesting. It was fun before getting our horses cause us ropers pulled out our ropes and practiced in the red a little. It was fun. My friend on T1 came to watch since she will most likely be on White Star next year. So when we got horses I asked for Skeeter but he wasn't available. So then she showed me the list and I chose Emma #16. I got her again!! I was so happy. So I tied her up and went to go get her grooming bag. I come back and from a distance I see her head up really tense and not how I left her. Then BAM! The second I noticed Honey bucked out and poor Emma got the blow. So they moved Honey and I took Emma of the rail. We watched her walk around then I ran so she would trot a little. She seemed fine so I finished grooming. She was perfect as always. The bonus of having her on Saturday was I already knew where my stirrups needed to be. It was great. During the ride I got a White flag :) I like the Red ones best but it wasn't a heavy one or a baby one so I was happy. Using a technique a JI showed me on Saturday I was able to sit Emma's trot so much better! I'm finally figuring it out :) I am so glad. We warmed up a little and then Loped in pairs like once around the arena. We did 3 drills tonight. The first drill I was 2-5. My friend called. I have ridden 1-1 so much it was so weird being somewhere else. I did like being on the outside of star. The drill was... Eh. We started out pretty strong until we got to out of circle. I was supposed to lead out, but our caller called out at the wrong time and someone else did. But we as a team tried to fix it and I still ended up on the inside of propeller. It was the worst propeller we have ever done. Then we finished the drill out strong. It was all done at trot minus the propeller. Then for the second drill I was moved back to 1-1. It went a little better this time. Everyone ended up where they needed to be. It was still just falling apart at some points. We also kept this drill at a trot. Emma was doing great. She wasn't pulling on me as much and we really clicked and worked together. I like her a lot. SOOO Pretty. Finally we got to our 3rd drill. I stayed at 1-1. We timed everything so much better this time. We actually pulled out a pretty decent propeller and star. It was a good drill to end the ride on. But still at a trot. The ride next Tuesday is our LAST RIDE before White Olympics. We are supposed to lope so hopefully we have our heads together next ride. We want to look good for the Tenderfeet and try to win in AA. We drew our two renters for serpentine and it was not me once again :( Oh well I get to carry the team flag for show so that makes up for it. Then we helped our 4 renters unsaddle. Emma was taken by a Chaparral. So I was helping the girl on Cruiser pick his feet. OMG that horse is talented. He locks his front legs and splays them so they are nearly impossible to pick up. I was able to get them though with the help of my teammates. It took awhile and all my strength. I was so proud I got them though. It's just his front feet. Then I got to go home :) I am really tired. I hope the ride goes better next week or we will be a AA team trotting Olympics. If that''s what it takes for us to be safe.. So be it. But I know we are capable of loping it. The right people just have to be at the right positions. Write Saturday!!

Juniors, Lecture #3, and ROPES

Wow I am so stinking tired. Juniors went really well. I got Emma #16. I had always wanted to ride her since my tenderfoot year. I was the first one back into the arenas. Her hooves were super muddy. It was really empty again because Red Team was on a trip. J1 only took up one rail in the red arena. The ride itself was pretty fun. We just practiced for equitation with cones mostly the whole time. Emma is a spaz!!!!!! Her trot isn't too terrible. While we were loping my stirrup came clean off. I had a JI go back and get it and help me put it back on. One of my best friends JI'd my class. I was able to do the cones good. Emma likes to run them over more than weave. She actually like jumped over the last one. Then I turned and let her run dropped the reins and threw up a trick salute and ran down the rail no reins. It was so much fun!!!!! I was a little sore after the ride but not much. Then was Junior Lecture #3 it was pretty boring today. We had finished everything so it was basically review. After was ropes. We got to practice in the volunteer!!!!! I was so happy. It was really hot out so that was nice to be inside. You feel so small in there on the ground. The arena dirt was a little fluffed up so my friend and I jumped around on it to pack it in. We are getting so good at tandem spoke hop. We may even get to preform it at Olympics. Then Danielle called me over to show her spoke hop. It went ok. I really need to work on it more. It's just frustrating. I am also getting good at bird in a cage. I got an 8ft rope. It's a little different kind it has like pink flecks on it and it's so soft and broken in and it's brand new. I made it blue :) then we lined up to do a drill. It went well. While we were doing it Daniele marked down who could do what tricks. I was so tired cause I never got a rest!!!! I got to sit once and that was during jump the honda. It suddenly was very hot in there. Imagine if we had been outside. OMG. Then my friend came up and asked me if I could do splits. I said no I can't. Uh oh. So Off I went. I had to run the whole volunteer. It was painful!! When I got back I had to take my inhaler for my asthma. Danielle said you know you could have walked it the last thing I need is you passing out. I just laughed.  We got a little more time to practice on specialties. Then we had to do ten toe dances to leave. I am so tired I think I am going to go nap now lol. Good Night