Nighthorse 12/26

Westernaires was cancelled it wasn't safe for horse trailers or any cars to be on the roads. I was excited to start Kaleidoscope and it would've been nice to be able to do diagrams without school. I also wanted to know my final score for flag. Oh well saftey comes first 

Calling Flag!!!!!

Wow. Yesterday was absolute insanity! I actually made it to all my classes which was huge! I had training and we took our Final for Flag, received a homework assignment, the Kaleidoscope sequence, and did our walk throughs. I was 1-1 for the first drill and CP for the second one. I GOT TO CALL! I was so excited. I really want to go to Royal and getting to call their drill was amazing. I felt good on the final and then headed to Batons. We worked on some elbow and wrist twirls which was so fun! It was nice having a challenge and something new to learn. I went and signed out Stretch and moved his pad. Because of the mud we walked the horses to the Volunteer. I tightened his cinch twice on the way down. I mounted up and did my exercises with him in the center. I had a flag dad tighten it again after warm ups were over. We lined up the first drill and in we went! It was the best drill we rode the whole year. Because I was focused on calling I didn't focus on Stretch as much and that seemed to help. It went so well! The second drill was good but it definitely was not our best. Stretch did okay as CP. He wasn't sure why everyone else was running and he wasn't. We cooled them off and I raced to ropes. I'm finally getting Step Through which is great! I want to master that and darn Jump the Honda before I go to red ropes so I can try and learn the 60ft so I can preform that at annual. I've got a mission again!!! I decided not to JI which was a good thing. I relaxed a little at 2 before I signed out my horse for Liberty. I had summer. She did really good! She tried to dodge the first few jumps but I had my reins on so I was able to steer her towards the jump better. Once she learned it wasn't worth dodging she did every jump like a pro! I was bummed we didn't do the drill but it was great to do jumps again. I took care of Summer and raced to Vaulting. My partner and I rode Ringo because her leaser couldn't have the horse out that late. He did so good! We rode the butt vaulting position and I did tricks for the second drill. It went really well! We have some areas to work on but we have a few months before show season. We unsaddled and my day was done!

Horse Training...

I hate the cold. Horse training was cancelled tonight because it is going to be too cold to work them. Its what's best for the horses but its still sad. Oh well there is always next week.

Mustang Training!

OMG!!!!! I asked to bring Stretch back into Mustang Training and they said yes! I'm so ridiculously happy! I think it's going to really help him and I to learn some more. I'll be sure to post and tell you how our first class goes on Thursday. I'm hoping I'll get to be an official trainer before I graduate so this is like a dream come true! We are also going to look at getting him a new pad because the other one almost fell completely off last ride :/

I Can't Horse Today....

Base team weekends are so nice and relaxing in comparison to specialties, oh my lord. I helped find horses in the morning because my sister rode early. It started snowing pretty hard so going inside for classroom was a relief. There was no t-shirt on my desk so I was point this drill. I got 100% on Quiz 3! We went out back to do our walk throughs. I was GPA 4 point. It went okay and the second drill I was 1-8. Then we went back inside. Nighthorse then handed out candy and it was so fun to see the kid's faces light up. I signed out Stretch and he was so much calmer than last week. We put cool out blankets on the horses and all of them were to small for him so it just looked silly. I worked Stretch in the middle and it really helped! He was so responsive and his stops were so much better. We actually clicked some more! I was so happy! There was one moment where a horse charged and if stretch hand't moved I would've got collided into. I also got Stretch into a flying left lead change which was huge! I was so proud! Overall so much improvement from last week for me and as a team. This coming Saturday will be our final for Flag so we only get to ride it one more time. Juniors was cancelled so I got to watch Crimson and Royal. Not a bad day but it was snowy and cold.

Falling down...down...down

So sorry for the delay! I've been super busy. But last Saturday had it's ups and downs. I had all back to back classes from 9-4 and a conflict so I didn't go to batons. I had training first thing in the morning. For the walk through I was 4-1 and GPA 1 point. I was so excited to be in first four. The walkthroughs weren't awful and I DIDN'T FALL!!!! LOL it was super funny. Then we got our scores back. I got a 97% on Quiz 2. I missed one question and I have passed all 3 sequences so I didn't have to take one. I also only had one correction. Very easy day as far as classroom went. I felt good about Quiz 3 as well. So then I raced to Vaulting. My partner and I decided to try more tricks on her horse. He would buck if I held kneel too long. But I put my knees further apart and he stopped. I just needed to remove some pressure on his spine. So we tried one leg hang. That horse has no spine so you just slip everywhere. I slid off upside down but we were at a walk. It was an actually slow motion fall lol. It was so muddy though. I got Stretch from a JI and headed to Nighthorse. The second I was mounted in the arena he took off. I one rein stopped him and it was all okay. The first drill was interesting shall we say. Stretch not having breaks made my life difficult. Plus our caller got a little confused but she tried so hard. I was proud of her. I got another scare when we started the second drill and I was a point. As I turned into my GPA stretch overshot so I pulled back and he turned instead... I only had one rein. I was in a bad location so I called a halt ho. Then a few moments later Stretch unclipped them again but i was in the quadrant so my teammates helped me fix them again. Riding point wasn't too bad. It requires more effort than people think. I really got to watch the drills though. They were scary at some points. It's hard to believe we only have two more rides to work with this drill. Our Flag final is on the 19th. At 1 was ropes. It was too muddy to get good practice in so we tried our best. I wasn't paying attention to my mouth and had to run a lap for saying can't. Guess what!? I wiped out lol. I baseball slid in the mud. The only thing that was really hurt was my pride. I changed Bandannas and JI'd for T7. I got Stretch! The weather drastically changed and it got SO COLD! I felt so bad for the little kids. I had signed out my liberty horse earlier and my teammates took him to the white for me. I had Dodger! We warmed up and my instructor told another girl and I that we were calling. I was #2 of 1st pair for the first drill. It wasn't great. Dodger did fairly well though. We ran out of time so I'll get to call at our next ride. I'm kind of glad I'll get another chance to study some more. I unsaddled him and sent him home. I was chilled to the bone and hadn't eaten all day. I crashed early that night that's for sure.

BRRRRR - The "Graceful" Day

Yesterday was great! I came early to watch a bunch of my friends and old teammates ride in glory then I checked in for diagramming. We got our scores for Quiz 1 - 100% I was so happy! Then we headed out in the icy cold for a walk through. I was 2-5. So I peeled off for a maneuver and hit a patch of icy slush tried to save myself and ended up face planting and drenching myself from head to toe. It was super embarrassing but the whole team was laughing with me so it wasn't soooo bad. Now I was super cold though. We then switched to our second line up. I was expecting not point but I got put at 2-7! I was so happy to ride team for both drills! The positions are basically the same just opposite sides of the arena. We went back up and took sequence and Quiz 2. I have passed 3 sequences so I am done! Yay!! Then we finished diagramming Flag for 16 more diagrams plus corrections. I went to sign out my horse and I had Stretch! I was pretty happy to have stretchers back :) he was hyped up yesterday though!!! I turned his pad around backwards and it stopped the whole slipping problem! I was so happy. He wouldn't stand still for me to mount or at all for that matter. He does well once he has a job. When you start loping he gets soooo excited about loping that he forgets everything else. Our first drill actually went okay! We did it at a slow lope trot sort of. Stretch almost crashed into the points because he couldn't turn his big body in time. Then the second drill was a disaster. We couldn't keep our box for the star so all of them collapsed and it was just everywhere and out of control. For our first time though I guess it wasn't horrible. Stretch loved it. I actually got him to stop on a halt ho once!!!! Improvements!!!! Then I rode OD for JI at 1 and raced to our NHR pizza party at 2. Watched Colorado Stampede ride at 4 and headed home at about 5:30. It was sooooo cold by the end of the day.

First Cold Saturday

Saturday was hectic. There were last minute cancellations due to some snow. It was a pretty cold Saturday morning but it warmed up as the day progressed. I helped bring horses up and groomed Ringo before I checked in for training. We started out with a walk through and nighthorse has cool color coded t shirts. It really helps visually. I walked 3-7 twice and only slipped once. It was very humorous. Then I walked GPA 1 point for the last two. Then we went inside and took Quiz 1 and a sequence test. I felt amazing on both. We finished out with 16 more diagrams and I had about 5 corrections. After was batons. We did some partner tosses that were super challenging. I went to sign out my horse and I had Amigo. I think Stretch got hurt and went to the pasture for the day. I'm not sure. But amigo did absolutely wonderful. I basically rode the whole ride without stirrups though. His lead changes are amazing!!!!! We loped Spanish bowline and did thread in fours and worked on alternating. It wasn't a bad rise just some mishaps with people not paying attention. I honestly would be fine with Amigo or Stretch. I finally got to go to ropes! We worked on exchanging with partners and tie dances. Pretty boring. I watched Royal to help me study. For vaulting my partner declared owner so we rode her horse. We didn't try to many tricks on him. Mostly focused on getting him used to double and me moving  around. He did really well! I didn't get to JI this week because of scheduling and my liberty ride was cancelled.

Nighthorse, Cleaning, Diagrams

Hey sorry about the delay. I got caught up in life and school. Friday night I went to help at grooming. I found stretch laying down sleeping and got some super cute pictures. That went well and my kids did awesome. Then Saturday was interesting shall we say. I helped with grooming in the morning. Turbo laid down...darn weather stop making the horses colic! He is okay though. I found Stretch in the pasture and babied him. I also groomed his mane and tail while someone else groomed him. Then I checked in for Nighthorse and turned in my 20 sequences. For class we reviewed our quizzes. I got 100% and 98%. Then we watched some videos of Royals drill before taking a sequence test. I passed!!!! Yay :) to finish out class we officially started diagramming Flag. We did 5 maneuvers for 16 total diagrams. I finished mine on Sunday which was part of my delay in getting this post out. Now the fun part! I went to see who I had for my ride and I had Stretch!!!! I'm doing a three in a row rule before I call him my assigned horse. I picked his feet before the ride and started tightening his cinch while he was on the rail. I also tightened his cinch while I was waiting outside the volunteer. I didn't want his pad falling forward again. His stirrups are either too short or too long. I went with too long because the shorter ones cramped up my ankles and bounced me out of the saddle. For the ride we worked on not breaking gait during circles and reverses. Stretch favors his right lead but he will switch to the left with coaxing. Then we tried a full team Spanish Bowline and that was really fun. Stretch was super fired up and wasn't listening very well. I need to work on his stops lol. His pad also slipped again. I talked to my instructors after class and we are going to flip his pad around to change the build up and I also got some exercises to do with stretch before warm ups start. We also got to gather around the crows nest for the first time! EEK! Then we sang happy birthday and had to leave for the tractor. I handed off stretch to a JI and headed to clean. I was assigned to the lobby. It honestly didn't take too long. Once dismissed I headed up to JI at 2. I got OD (OverDrive) He was really good. Then I unsaddled him and watched my sister's first Colorado Stampede ride. Weird not being in there hahaha. Overall not a bad day but Stretch's trot makes me sooooo sore.

RIP - Sally

Yesterday Sally coliced and had to be put down. I am very upset as she was one of the first horses I loped a full drill on. Such a sweet horse any Tenderfoot would feel comfortable. She will be greatly missed. 

Sally #53

11/8/15

Dun Kyger Mustang

Age 14

First Nighthorse Ride!!!!

Stretch!!!!!!!

Yesterday was amazing!!!!!! I had training from 9-11 and we had a parent meeting and got assigned to our trainers. Then we took our first quiz and did four practice sloppy copies. So only 4 diagrams this week :( After I raced to batons and we played some games. It was honestly boring. I did get a new red bling belt though!!!! SO PRETTY! I got to leave batons early to go get my horse! I checked the list and I HAD STRETCH!!!!! The tallest horse out at Westernaires and he's only 4! You can tell when you ride him that he's really young. Clumsy oaf. Hahahaha. The ride was amazing! Getting on was a challenge though lol. I had two cinch malfunctions during the ride. I was sure it was tight! We figured out that he lets his air out only when the rider gets on him. So as long as I have someone tighten it again I'll be good. It was just really embarrassing because it looked like I couldn't tighten a cinch. I've never had a saddle slide on me before...ever. You can see it in the picture above how his pad slid way forward. Stretch was amazing though! His trot is really bouncy and uncoordinated so that sucks. But it does force me to constantly adjust my equitation. His lope is to die for though! It's not graceful but it's fun to ride. I really hope I get him as my assigned horse because I think we could teach each other a lot of things! For the ride we just worked on drill maneuvers and basic circling and such. But it was so much faster and a lot more fun! We tried a whole team propeller and that was a train wreck but we ended up pulling it together. At the end of the ride we got Royal's Flag sequence to study for next week. I JI'd at 1 on Fast Eddie and then had Hickory for WL3. We rode our drill. I'll just say I'm glad I studied because hickory darted to the side at one point so I lost my position and ended up leading most of the drill! Hahahaha. It wasn't terrible but I did need my spurs on hickory. I had to take him home and unsaddle. I stayed up in the Red and got Skeeter for Vaulting. I rode trick for warm ups but could barely hold a stand so my partner rode trick for all the drills. I actually volunteered to call the drill! It wasn't terrible for my first time. Then we took care of Skeeter and that was my long exhausting first day in red division!!!!!!!

PROMOTION SATURDAY 2015!!!! I'm Now On....

OMG!!!!!!!!!! If this is a dream NOBODY pinch me cause I never want to wake up! The day was finally here and I arrived at the livestock arena around 9:45am and found my team. We signed programs and sat together one last time. I had to remind myself that it was okay to breathe. We waited for what felt like forever then our monitor gave us our papers. We held our fate in our hands but had to wait. I took off my Captain bars for the 2nd year and placed them in my pocket. I sat anxiously with my teammates. I don't think I was breathing very well. Eventually we were told to open our papers. I frantically opened my paper and in the corner of mine was a 72. Everyone frantically began comparing with their friends. Mine matched almost everyone's. Unlike last year this was a good thing! My heartbeat began to race... Could it be??? The whole room hushed to silence as they began listing numbers and mine was finally called..... and told to meet all the way at the Mountain View Room. OMG... COULD... IT....BE???????????? I definitely wasn't breathing because now I was racing up the hill with the majority of my teammates. My feet wouldn't move fast enough but I finally reached the fort. I couldn't even breathe!!! I could hear my heartbeat in my ears. I climbed up the stairs one by one. I paused for a moment at the top, embracing it, held my breath (fearing the same disappointment from last year) and turned the corner. I then saw two black, red, blue, and white flags sitting in the corners and WELCOME TO NIGHTHORSE RANGERS written on the white board. OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'M IN RED DIVISION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I MADE IT!!!!!!!!!!! I burst into happy tears and took a seat. There was a bag of information tied with red, black, and blue ribbons and the first thing I pulled out was a crisp new red bandanna. I sort of stared at it for a little while in shock and disbelief but my hands finally remembered how to work and I took off my blue bandanna one last time and put it on. I started crying even harder, it's real, it's real, it's really real. This is really happening! More girls came in and more tears and squeals of joy were given. Once everyone had arrived (58 girls total) we went over how the year would look and what was expected of us, how things work in Red Division and so on and so forth. I cheered so loud. I remember being in the room across the hall last year listening to them scream and now it was my chance :) I must have taken a dozen pictures already. We were excused and I numbly climbed down the stairs with my red bandanna on my head. My friends and I all started screaming and hugging. We did it!!!! We took more pictures of course. Last year I watched riders come down those honored steps wearing red and now it was me!!! I really lost it here and started bawling. All my hard work over the past two years has finally payed off. I'm in Red Division!!! I still can't believe it. Wow!!! I am so nervous and excited for this new experience. I have my first ride on the 7th and two hours of diagramming. We will diagram Royal Rangers Drill (Flag) and Crimson Rangers Drill (Kaleidoscope) before stock show and maybe be promoted to those teams afterwards. (I really want Royal I'm not gonna lie!) If not then I will remain on Nighthorse and diagram their drill, Dreamcatcher. It's gonna be intense but I'm so ready! I will also find out what horse I'm going to be assigned to ride. I hope I get a somewhat consistent horse so I can develop a connection with them. I can't wait! Ahhhhhhhh! It still doesn't even feel real! Please comment below and tell me your teams!!! I've been dreaming of this moment for 3 years now. I still feel like I shouldn't have a RED BANDANNA!!!!!!! BUT I DO!!!! I was so disappointed last year when I didn't skip AAA but I am so so so so grateful, I learned so much and I am way more prepared for the challenges this year will present me. So to those of you who lateral or didn't get the dream team you wanted, make the best of it! Usually it'll turn out in the end. Then I raced and got to choose my JI horse. I chose Dodger! So I got him to JI for S6 and S4. He was perfect. BEST DAY EVER!!!!!!! NIGHTHORSE RANGERS HERE I COME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Annual Show 2015!!!

What an amazing yet exhausting weekend. On Saturday I checked into the White Barn at about 10am and found my team. We were scheduled to costume at 2:45 but they had us costume at 1 saying they moved our position on the show. So we raced and costumed, line dup and got flags. We waited forever and then they told us to go back inside but stay in costume. They had moved our position back. It was real annoying :/ So we actually lined up this time went into the paddock. Went it walked done. SO MUCH FUN.... not :( Cavalcade is soooo boring. The 7pm show was more fun for me because I was selling programs! I costumed at 6 and checked in at 6:15. I ended up selling 28 programs. The show wasn't very busy so selling was hard. I got my patches and raced to the barn to meet the rest of my teammates. Repeat cavalcade, tidy up, go home. Sunday went about the same, we cleaned the stands at 10, had an all westernaire meeting at 11 and drew for the horse and saddle. A blue ranger won the horse and a tenderfoot won the saddle. Once we were back at the barn my team did presentations. We all got little colorado stampede pins. I had to do my instructors presentations. I only got about three words out before I started sobbing. I'm really gonna miss this team. My instructors also pulled us aside individually to show us our promotion scores. I'm VERY happy with mine and can't wait for move ups :) Then we went and shopped around. I got my team charms, and a teammate bought me a Rock pin and bracelet. Cavalcade went well for Sunday and I removed my costume for the final time. I cried a lot but it was still a pretty good weekend. Honestly boring....I can't wait to preform next year!!!!

Ticket Turn In 10/22

Ticket turn in went well, my total was 32. This officially marked one year of beginning to learn texas skip.

Last Colorado Stampede Ride!

Today was amazing!!!!! I got Hunter #23 for the ride. He was actually very well behaved! We talked in the middle forever about ticket sales and calculating the cost of maintaing the horses. We are 3rd in White Division though. Then they said get out on the rail in 8s. I booked it to the rail and guess what! We were playing CATCH UP!!!!!!!! When they told my group to go I let Hunter fly! Oh my lord were we hauling! It's the fastest I've ever gone. He was full on galloping, it was sooooooo much fun! Then we gave the horses a rest and set up for Freeze Tag! The officers were it :) I tagged a bunch of people but it was hard to catch some of them. Then one of my teammates was hunched in the middle, I immediately called a Halt Ho. A horse had rammed into her knee. I walked over and steered her horse to the gate, dismounted and helped her down. I walked her horse and mine on the ground to cool them out while everyone else rode. She seems like she will be okay. I can't believe that I just rode probably my last ride ever in White Division! AHHH! Then I raced and got Betty for JI!!!!! I was super excited she was so fun to ride. She is like a Cheyenne and Jericho mix. SO smooth. It was a good day. Cavalcade was at 5 but was unable to attend so I left at 10.

Last Specialties Before Annual

Wow.... where do I begin?? I got to Westernaires at about 6:30 so I could JI for my friend on T9. I got Rolo! I was excited because he is such a gorgeous horse and I enjoy riding him. The class went well, I forget how stubborn some of the horses can be without spurs. Then I raced to JI for T2 and I got TomCat! I finally was able to give him his bright orange halter, he looks so good! That class went well but was pretty slow. I had a break before batons at 11. It was super boring. We greeted the new girls and played some games while Red division worked for annual. After that I had a LONG wait until Liberty at 3. It conflicted with Ropes so I was a little sad but it was my FIRST WHITE LIBERTY RIDE! I was so excited especially because I had Lacey! Oh my lord I fell in love. She was amazing, her gaits were good, her wire response was incredible, and her jumping was fabulous! I took off my bridle almost immediately. I got complimented multiple times on my lifting :) So I was off to a good start. We made a line and did a wave while lifting so that was pretty fun. Then we did a jump in fours going up the center. We would split at the rail and did another jump down the sides. Lacey never dodged unless a horse stalled in front of her. When we split Lacey would take off and charge the side jump which was super fun!!!! I was so tired after, we got a lot more jumping in because we went a lot faster. Then for vaulting my partner and I had star. We welcomed thirteen new girls and showed them the drill. I held my tricks better then I have in a long time and trotted most of propeller with no hands. It was a pretty good ride! Then I unsaddled and went home.

Friday Night Grooming

I went and helped test T1 and T9 my kids did really well, it was a good night.

Liberty Move Ups!

JUST GOT THE CALL!!!!! I'M NOW A MEMBER OF WHITE LIBERTY 3!!!!!!!!

WL1 - Royal Rangers
WL2 - Crimson Rangers
WL3 - Nighthorse (Occasionally Blue Rangers will add in for size)
WL4 - White Division

So they moved all AAA riders to WL3 because Nighthorse is most likely in our future!!!!

Guess the Horse #34

Congrats to 2nd Lieutenant Legionnaires 2015 for winning the last riddle. The answer was Quixote #56.

- sorry I forgot to get a picture

Your next riddle is I am a Gray 11 year old gelding. I can be kind of slow but I do ride in Crimson right now. My number is between 45 - 50. Who am I?

Equitation Testing - AAA

Yesterday was my equitation testing for Colorado Stampede. I got Ringo! I was super excited because I hadn't ridden him since my Tenderfoot Interclub. The improvement was obvious. He did really good. I got the pink horse flag for testing. Ringo has a good trot but not great and he does weird lead changes but otherwise he was perfect and I felt really good about my test. Then I rode TomCat again for JI and it went well. I raced to stall card decoration and my design won!!!! I tried to make mine look like Rock and it totally failed. The rest looked good. I also signed up to JI at 12 but I forgot it was the boys team :( it was interesting. I got Banjo and that horse has the weirdest gaits alive. But the class overall went well. I watched Crimson and Royal then went home. Only one ride left with Stampede :( Liberty move ups should go out this week so stay tuned!!!!

Will I Ever Go To All My Specialties?

So yesterday went really well! I had vaulting at 8 so we had to groom and saddle. I groomed our Vaulting horse Rusty and my partner groomed my baby boy TomCat. Vaulting went really well, we worked on tricks and then vaulting while moving and butt vaulting. I almost butt vaulted on a really short owner horse, I was soooo close. Then my partner was able to mount while we were moving, I just worked on mounting standing still hahaha. Then I re saddled Rusty and watched Varsity. At 10 I got to go to batons in what felt like forever. I learned a little bit of the fire routine while the red division girls worked for Annual. At 11 I JI'd for T4. I got Squirt! Unfortunately the girl I was helping was on Molly and the two of them didn't work so well. I did the best I could I guess. Ropes was at 1 and it was a ton of fun! Danielle called out tricks so she could watch red division for move ups. Then we played a relay game but we ran out of time so I didn't get to go. Oh well. It was still a fun class we laughed and goofed off. Then I got to watch my friend in Royal at 2! She did amazing and at 3 I watched my friend try out for Red Trick, I'll just say she fell and it didn't go well but she is okay and so is her horse, nothing overly serious. At this point I had to go home because I had homecoming. Soooooo I HAD TO MISS LIBERTY :( I would've ridden TazToo and we worked on no hand jumps. It's a miracle if I ever make it too all my specialty classes.

Standard Drill Show 2015!!!!!!!

Today was a good Saturday (which one isn't to be honest). I rode at 8 for stampede and I had Skeeter #62. We just rode Standard so no loping which kind of sucked. Then I raced to JI at 9 and I had Amigo #54. I did soooo much better with him this time. I got complimented a lot for how well I helped the kids so that made me happy. I left for a little bit and came back. I gave TomCat a name tag. Then we had "grooming" for show. Basically we just brushed off the dirt and show bridled. I groomed wyoming and molly then took hunter down to the arena. Then the show began! We costumed during white star. I put on my chaps for the last time. I got Sue #128 for the show. She wasn't so sure about me mounting in chaps but after she was fine. The show went pretty good! Sue would spaz in the corners, she didn't like being alone or waiting. It wasn't our best but Standard Drill is harder with a bigger team and we didn't have as much time as we needed to practice it. We quickly uncostumed and watched glory riders. They were AMAZING! Like I can't even describe it. Then it was time to wait on the rail, the show was in the Volunteer.
Single A
3rd: Chaparrals
2nd: Trailblazers
1st: Legionnaires
Double A
3rd: Gauchos
2nd: Cowboys
1st: White Star
Tripple A
3rd: Blue Rangers
2nd: COLORADO STAMPEDE
1st: Glory Riders
I was so happy that we pulled off second place :) We had 87.65/100 points. Glory finished with an amazing 99.85/100 - that's how amazing their drill was. Then I got to unsaddle my baby boy Rock and my day was done :) I submitted my stall card design and I think I may have won :)

Ticket Rally 2015

Last night was the ticket rally and my birthday! I wore a tiara lol. It was short which was nice and a lot of fun. The ticket horse is a quarter horse mare named ruby but she won't be here for another week or two. Stampede got challenged by shadow riders. Whatever team sells more as a whole wins and the losers get to clean the winning teams boots. Should be fun. Annual show here we come! 

Guess the Horse #33

Congrats to RidingWithPride the correct answer was Cinder #34. 

I am a 9 year old dark buckskin quarter horse mare. I run precisionettes and down. I have a star and three white socks. My number is between 55 and 60. Who am I? 

1/2 Day of Specialities

Last night I went to grooming to help teach the new T1/9 kids. I got two T9s and I picked Sally as our horse. Both of them did really well. Then this morning I was back to help again. We got them out on time so yay!!! I ran to ropes and we just worked on specialties. Then I got Cisco for my JI at 9. We walked the entire class so Cisco got REAL impatient.  I had an hour before Liberty so I signed out my horse and I had Skeeter. He was on the rail so I unsaddled him and watched precisionettes. Skeeter was really good for Liberty he just has a lot of energy and doesn't respond to the wire very well. He is a lot more leg cue. I didn't take the bridle off but I didn't use it. It was more to keep skeeter from going totally crazy. We worked on hopscotch jumps were we have two in a row. It took a few tries to get the timing down but it was super fun when I did! Skeeter only dodged one jump and then he was fine. I had to miss batons again for Liberty. I had to leave right after for family so I missed vaulting. I was pretty bummed but oh well :( Liberty move ups are getting turned in next ride so two weeks. So we won't know until the first week of October or so.

Specialties 9/5

My first class on Saturday was ropes at 8am. I got there at 7 and practiced for an hour before class even started. During class I worked on Step-Through and double spoke hop. Danielle also had a few others and I try drag hop with a 30ft rope. It was really hard. Then I had to miss batons because of Liberty. Since it's move ups my instructor let me go. I got Pepper! I was so happy :) I VAULTED BY MYSELF FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!! The class wasn't what I hoped though. We just played games and only did two half jumps and one full. We played a game where you had to keep a card under your thigh for the full jump and I did it!!! I was very proud. I have my phone next to me now hoping for a phone call.... we will have to wait and see! After I saddled Pepper I had a break until 2. I got TomCat for JI again! AHH! I was so happy. That little horse and I have really clicked. He's such a sweetheart. We played a lot of games because it was their last Tenderfoot ride. We also rode standard drill with them. It was super hard for me because I had on girl who could't get her horse to move and the other had count who was biting everyone. We played the boot game where they take one boot and scramble them all up. Mine got dirt stuffed down it and I had to sing my ABC's, cartwheel, and summersault before I could get it back. It was a very fun class overall. Then I raced to Vaulting and my partner had WitchDoctor. We got a leg up because he was huge!!!! He was great for vaulting though. We played games with the tricks and just had fun before we hopefully greet some new girls next weekend. So nervous for Liberty move ups!!! I want to move up soooo bad

Great Saturday! 8/29

Sorry for the delay! I've been really busy. My Saturday started out with Colorado Stampede. I got Cheyenne #80! I was super excited because I'd never ridden her and she has a smooth trot. Which is great because we are working on standard drill. She was amazing for the ride! She did really well. I'm not calling Standard however :( Kind of sad but excited to ride a new position. I rode 1-6 and 2-6 so I have to build on the star weirdly. Then we played catch up in 8's and Cheyenne took off and kept up! Until she decided she was done and planted the breaks. Then I raced to get a horse for J2 and I GOT ROLO!!!!!! OMG I was so excited :) I think I was the first White Divison JI to ride him. He is still learning how to circle but listened so well. I watched Precisionettes and headed to my JI meeting at 12. They announced Top 10. I'm hoping to make it on there this year since I wasn't eligible this time. My last activity was JI at 2 for J7. I rode TomCat! I love that little boy. He does start bucking when you lope but nothing I couldn't handle. I really would like to be assigned to him next year except he doesn't like to lead. JI was pretty boring to day because they were doing equitation testing. Then I unsaddled TomCat and put him away. I was super tired by the end. I also bought my Jr. Wrangler and Jr. Instructor patches, now my blouse is complete!

Tenderfoot Induction Show!

Totally forgot to post about this but August 28 was the Tenderfoot Induction Show! It went really well and I never get tired of seeing the excited new faces. Ropes was interesting because the arena was SUPER muddy and I didn't have the trick board for Texas Skip again... To bad because I was on a roll! I was getting through like 10 times consistently! I finally have that trick nailed and it makes me very happy. Overall it was a good show and I had fun :)

Insane Day of Specialties 8/22

Yesterday was a great start to Winter Schedule. I had ropes at 8am and I worked on a new trick that I don't know the name of but I call it the running trick. I also worked on Tandem and Drag Hop with WesternairesForever, and of course Texas Skip. After class I was invited to preform at Tenderfoot Induction on Friday! I'm super excited to get to preform again. We got 8 spots this year so that was nice! I hope I get to preform Texas again. I had some time before Liberty at 11 so I watched Varsity and Precisionettes. I got Molly #102 for Liberty. At first I was a little apprehensive about having her again but I forced myself to take off the bridle anyway and OMG best decision I ever made. That little mare is now my favorite liberty horse. She responded so well to the bridle and took every jump like a pro! She tried to go back and jump again she liked it that much. I fixed my lifting a little and should have it down next ride. My instructors said I looked amazing today. I was on fire. I lost count of the jumps I did :) we also ran a drill and I got complimented again! I was super happy because they are looking for moves ups to white liberty this ride and next. Either way I'll be happy. I wouldn't mind staying on blue for the winter and moving up in the spring but I also would love to spend the winter on white for cancellation and conflict reasons. Plus I feel ready. I really do want to move up. I skipped batons for Liberty with permission of my instructor and it sounded like we just had a party so I didn't miss much. At 12:30 I headed over to JI for T6 at 1:00 and I got Sue. I was pretty excited seeing as I had never ridden her before. She was really sensitive and you could tell she ran red team because she would trot super fast instead of lope and would only lope super fast. Her gaits were pretty smooth though. It rained on us halfway through the ride. We worked on 8s and they can't guide but they'll learn especially next year. They didn't do terribly though. Immediately after I went to JI for T7. A girl on Royal took Sue so I got TomCat. He is a newer horse like scout. I was told to keep my spurs out of him or he would buck. He really didn't want to leave the rail. I had to literally drag him to class. He is really short! He was confused as to what leave the group of riders and go forward meant. After a little bit we started figuring it out, he needs a little spur so I gave it to him and he was fine. His trot wasn't terrible and neither was his lope. We basically played games the whole class so it was really simple. Then I ran to help my partner saddle our horse for Vaulting. We had Bingo. He was acting up in T7 and boy did he act up for us in vaulting. After we mounted in the middle we tried to get him out on the rail and it resulted in a rodeo bucking fest anytime we kicked him. All four of his feet were off the ground a few times. (Not gonna lie it was kind of fun!) We finally got him on the rail and tried a few tricks on him. He took it well until we did a pass through and their wasn't a horse in front of him. For class we played games and he didn't like having to leave the group. It resulted in more bucking unless a buddy went with him. We also tried a steppes pyramid and the owner horse next to me started bucking too so I had to bail onto Peppy. It was an interesting ride. The horses were just tired I think and ready to be done. That was the day!

Final Grooming Class

Tonight was dusty! We had our meeting and then went and looked inside the big trailers they use to haul the horses for shows. It was actually really cool. For class I got Outlaw #68. He was perfect. I got 100% so yay! Then we had saddle bag races and OMG HEAVY!!!!!! It was a lot of fun though. 

WHITE OLYMPICS OMG!!!!

This weekend felt and still does feel like a dream! Saturday practices went really well! I JI'd for J1 and J7 so I saddled in the morning and unsaddled in the afternoon. I also had Vaulting practice and my partner and I had Rusty. He was good except his trot was a bit bouncy. Then we ran through our drill in batons and Ropes. I also tried Texas Skip the drill. But I still have to show her on Sunday before she would put it in the lineup. For the morning JI I rode amigo. I did much better on him this time actually got through the cones and had a perfect rollback. His stirrups just don't fit me though. Then for J7 I got the honor to ride scout!!! he was really good except he would not pick up his right lead no matter what I did left lead was fine. You can tell he's still in training but he's very responsive and it was a lot of fun to ride him. I went and took a nap and the volunteer and then headed back up to groom and saddle for the show. I groomed Hickory. Once we were at the show my team did a few walk through a and watched the first few acts. Then we headed down to costume during white star. My anxiety was setting in. I costumed and put on my chaps. We lined up to get horses and I got JERICHO!!!!! Omg I was so excited I've always wanted him for team and now I got him for Olympics!!! I put my saddle cover on and mounted up. The flag dads asked who had team flag and I raised my hand :) The team flag was put in my flag boot and we were at the gate before I knew it. Jericho was very excited and didn't want to stand forward. I called In HO! And away we went!!! Jericho was amazing! A little excited going in but settled down nicely. I focused on calling and watching where my team was. Our star was perfect!!!! Then the next thing I knew I was flying through crossover and headed into salute lines! And we were out! It went SO fast!!! I got out and started bawling. It felt amazing and the adrenaline was pumping. We did so good. I don't know how I knew but the whole team did. We all knew that was an amazing drill. Jericho turned into a giraffe and tried to eat leaves off the tree. Then we headed to un costume. We ran a 5min 18 second drill in an arena twice the size. That's how fast we were moving!!!! I was still crying because I was just so proud! We headed up and watched glory riders. They did really well. My team and I felt like they would get first and we would get second. Then we headed down to the paddock and raced in! We found a spot on the rail and waited in anticipation...

Show Attendance - Mustangs (AA)

Single A

3rd: Hoedowners

2nd: Trailblazers

1st: Legionnaires

Double A

3rd: Cowboys

2nd: White Star

1st: Mustangs

Triple A

3rd: Indian Braves

2nd: Glory Riders

As soon as the announcer said Glory my whole team stopped breathing. OMG could it be?? Then he said," and in 1st place with 124.7 points is a great team, a lot of fun to watch. The carry blue flags..... let's bring down the COLORADO STAMPEDE!!!!!!! OMG!!!!!! My whole team ran down screaming and I was handed the plaque! I was trying so hard not to cry as our picture was taken. Then We ran back and I was group hugged by my team and I lost it. I was full on sobbing. Two weeks ago we couldn't even do a star or get through our drills and we just won WHITE OLYMPICS!!!! I was so proud and it was just so many emotions running through my head. I unsaddled Molly and went home. 

Specialties

Sunday was another great show! I helped set up costumes before I went to show my instructor Texas Skip again. I got through 5 times and she said she'd put it in!!!! OMG! The only problem is we didn't bring the trick board down... oh dear. So I costumed and in the gate we went! I called the drill and the tricks. I preformed butterfly up the arm, double butterfly, large butterfly, spoke hop, in-out-through, handshake, and accordion. They all went really well. Then I stood up alone and went in front of my whole team and that giant crowd and jumped through texas 2/3 times. I saluted out of habit. I regret not trying a second time but 2/3 jumps isn't bad for having to suddenly deal with clumpy dirt. I still met my dream of being the first white roper to preform that trick in a show. It took 10 months but it was sooo worth it to hear the announcer say my name. Quick change to vaulting and onto patches. My partner butt vaulted and we switched in the corner. I went into one leg hang and felt brave and let go with one hand. This put more weight in my feet so when I went to pull up I slipped off. Only problem is I can't vault back up so I had to run a crossed the whole arena before someone finally got off and helped me back up. I missed my favorite tricks though :( I was really embarrassed. I finished out the drill strong though that's all that matters. Batons went amazing! I didn't drop my baton at all and we were ion sync most of the time. Time for awards! 

 Ground Specialty Sportsmanship - White Belle Star + White Bull Whips

Horse Specialty Sportsmanship - Indian Braves

Ground Specialties 

3rd: White Batons (YAY!)

2nd: None

1st: White Belle Star + Indian Dancers

Horse Specialties

3rd: Harness 2

2nd: Harness 1

1st: White Dressage

Then Vaulting had to clean up after the rental horses. I was bummed ropes didn't place but I had fun. I've never been so tired, dirty, and happy at the same time. 

Colorado Stampede Grooming #2

Tonight was easy. We learned how to pack a saddle bag and trim the bridle path. I had Ashley #71. She was perfect. Leg wraps were easy and she was very tolerant of the scissors and having her whiskers trimmed. My yest is next week wish me luck!

Last Ride Before Olympics!!!!!

So tonight was amazing!!!!!! I got Bandit #1 and had to saddle Blaze #11 for a teammate who was running late. They were both fine. We got to ride outside even though it was storming before but it cleared up. We rode Standard Drill for warm ups. It went well but not as good as last week. Then we lined up our drill. I was 1-1. We also got flags. I finally got one of the horse flags! I was very excited. The wind was very strong so it was hard to hang on. WE ACTUALLY GOT OUR STAR!!!! It was such a great feeling :) I actually trotted at some points and I was on the inside! We pulled off three amazing drills tonight. It was amazing! We also shaved a minute off our time we rode a 5:14 drill tonight :) We also got to do a victory lap for two of our riders birthdays. Bandit loved it! He was being a brat with his lead changes though. I just had to pull his head a little more and then he would switch them. I was so proud of my team. Our instructors said if we do exactly what we did tonight we could win olympics on saturday! GO COLORADO STAMPEDE!!!

Guess the Horse #32

The winner last time was indigoisawesome! Congrats :) The answer was Levi #88

This week's riddle is I am the definition of mare. I am 21 years old and my daughter is Dixie. I have really smooth gaits and run white division and tenderfeet. My number is between 30 - 35. Who am I?

Summer is almost over :(

So yesterday was fantastic! My morning started out with batons where we just worked on our drill. Then I had Nugget for liberty and omg was he amazing!!!!! So smooth and so responsive to the wire. We worked on drills so the instructors could see who was ready to move up. I took off my bridle. It was kind of annoying because the horse in front t of me kept knocking the jumps over so I only got two full jumps but I fixed my lift :) I then found out my JI test score. I got a 93% I passed!!!! I'm officially a JI :) I'm so happy :) I went and met indigo is awesome and rayogirl. Then my last JI class I had Sampson and he did okay we had to put cards under our feet and try not to loose them and we worked on runaway horses. After I had to unsaddle quioxtie and Sampson. Then was ropes. I have to get through Texas skip two more times to get it in show. Vaulting I got Dakota :( he bucked me off in star but it was a tiny one. We got him loping though!!! It was an exhausting way to end the day. 

Stampede Grooming #1

Tonight went really well. We talked about showing out of state, requirements, and other stuff. It was pretty brief. We cleaned saddles and my friend and I cleaned Dodgers :) then guess who I happened to get for class!? Dodger! He was perfect. We just show groomed. I finished soooo early though. Next week we will get wrapping and clipping demonstrations. Looking forward to it :)

Finally a Good Ride - Stampede 8/6/15

So tonight went amazing! We got to pick our horses and I finally got to ride Dodger #6 for team!!!!! OMG HE WAS PERFECT :) He didn't move an inch or fuss at all during grooming. Our ride started out with Standard drill as our warm up. Our 2nd Lieutenant called again. *Hold your breath* We actually got complimented!!!! Our standard drill looked sooooo good. I think it really energized our team cause we pulled out 3 awesome drills and I rode 1-1 the whole time :) We still suck at Star and making our "S" for salute lines but we actually could pull off a pretty decent White Olympics next weekend :)  Dodger was freaking perfect! Took the flag no problem he just trotted off instead of walked. His lead changes were so good and his turns were incredible not to mention AMAZING gaits. Ugh I love him. We also had a short meeting about annual show boosters. Then while we were waiting to go unsaddle Cisco took off down the street, blowing right past Dodger and I. He reared up and tried to take off but I wouldn't let him so he just spun and reared and danced around. It was SO FUN!!!!! LOL then he spooked at a tarp on the way up. He took FOREVER too cool down, I was the last one walking my horse not to mention he still had to eat. It took me about 45min to 1hr to be done unsaddling. I'm so happy my team is pulling it together. I have my first of three grooming classes tomorrow so watch for another post :)

Crazy Saturday - 8/1

Well yesterday went very well. Batons was pretty laid back. We worked on our drill and specialties. I finally got to go to liberty and I had Snookie #125! I was so happy. She is sooo smooth. I took of my bridle without hesitation. I was basically told by my instructors that I wouldn't get moved to white because of my attendance but in okay with the winter in blue I can still move up in the spring and be in next summers shows. I have my lift down but I fall forward after the jump. Snookie listened so good. She like to try and eat but went for the jumps so well. We worked on thread jumps the whole time. Then I re saddled and studied in the valunteer with a friend for JI. I took my test at 2 and I felt pretty good about it :) I feel like I will pass. I find out on the 8th. Then ropes was epic! I got the through Texas skip four times in a row consistently!!!! I might actually get to preform it at Olympics!!! Eek! So happy :) then for vaulting my partner and I got patches!!!! Or as white vaulting has nicknamed her Beyoncé :) she was amaozngn. So smooth such a nice break from rebel and Yukon. I actually kneeled and stood at a trot and also let go during star as well :) I really need a class like that after our streak of dying Hahahaha.

Some Catch Up

So last Thursday was okay. I had Rocky!!!!!! So that was totally amazing :) we rode three drills and I was 1-1 for all of them. The first two weren't that good but the last one we pulled it together. One of my teammates un saddled rocky because I had to leave for vacation. So that's why I didn't have any specialties on Saturday but I would have had my boy Rock for Liberty!!! I'm so sad :( so I also won't be at stampede this Thursday or my morning specialties on Saturday.

Western Heritage Show

Whew! What a day. I had to report at 7 for grooming and we got Yukon for vaulting :( oh joy. I saddled Shorty for steppes. He did amazing and was so clean that show grooming didn't take a lot of effort. After we rode the horses down I had to go up and change for Ropes. We literally just practiced in costume but the kids thought we were awesome. It was so cute. Then I u costumes and met up with my vaulting team. We got our horses ready and lined up. My first show riding trick wasn't terrible. Yukon is worse than rebel because on top of bouncy he is bony too. I didn't fall so I'd call it a success. We ate lunch and then rode serpentine for the second show. The second drill was t that great for vaulting. My partner and I fell behind on Yukon but caught up on time for pass through. Then we cleaned the white and in saddled the horses and sent them home. I'm exhausted and soooo sore but it was an okay show day

Weeding and Specialties

Today went really well. I had baton weeding at 8 and class right after. Both went well and double batons extended our drill a bit so that's fun. Then my instructor met up with us and put our officer bars on. Man it felt good to have my captain bars back on my collar. Then JI training went well. We reviewed for our written test in two weeks so that helped a ton. Vaulting and rope weeding conflicted so I only had to do vaulting. After I ran to ropes. I got to work one on one with the guy who made my Texas skip rope and I got lot closer! It's really coming together. I also worked on some new butterfly tricks. When ropes was dismissed I had to book it to vaulting and guess who we had :( REBEL. Nooooo. We practiced for heritage we changed up our exit slightly and practiced two drills without the Crimson girls and I rode trick for those and my partner rode trick for the no Royal drills. Overall they went pretty well. I'm super sore and tricks were awful because rebel is so bouncy. I pray we don't have him for show. Then we u saddled and that was my day. Blue Liberty was cancelled due to Precisionettes shows in Kansas

Colorado Stampede Ride and Officers!!!

Last night went really well! I got Honey #45 which I wasn't really thrilled about. She was fine for grooming. She moved around a lot but otherwise fine. Her stirrups were up as short as they could go but they were still a bit long. For warm ups my friend called. Then our instructors asked Who could call standard. I was the only volunteer. I called pretty well until after Mariners cross. Then it was all new to me hahaha but it went well. Then they called group HO. They said," We normally try to do officers in June but that didn't happen this year. So we are naming them tonight. We have 5" 

Sergeant, Master Sergeant, 2nd Lieutenant, 1st Lieutenant, then it was time to name Captain I held my breath and they called my name!!!! I got Captain again!!!!!!!! I'm so proud of myself! Ahhhh!!!!! Then we lined up our drills. I rode 2-1. Honey loved outside of propeller she just has no brakes so it got very frustrating. I had to shoulder my red flag multiple times. Then I rode 1-1 and we were actually going through our drills fairly well!!!! It was so nice finally being able to pull it together. Then I rode 2-1 for the last drill again. Overall it was the first ride in a long time where I came out happy. My instructors are going to buy our officer bars for us so I'm meeting with them on Saturday. Let's go Colorado Stampede only four rides left till Olympics!!!

Waste of a Saturday

So today I had Marching Band so I cancelled all my classes except JI. I move that to 9am. I got Squirt again! I was so happy. I also groomed Spencer. JI class went well. We all had to wear shorties though. OMG those things SUCK!!!!!!!! Never again. Ever. lol. Then we role played and I got to be a tenderfoot who was buck boarding. Squirt was really hyped up. He didn't drink before or after class so I told the wranglers. Then he went down on his knees on the rail. I think he was trying to get the grass but I checked for sounds anyway. None on the left but good sounds on the right. His gums were pink so that was good and his skin didn't pinch together. I told a wrangler and she double checked everything I just did. She promised to keep an eye on him. I hope he's okay. Then I found out I would've had Trinidad for Liberty. Ugh I never get to have him!!!!!!! So then I left for marching band. I had to miss all my specialties :(

Indoors.....Again

Tonight we got moved indoors yet again. I'm soooooo done with all the rain. It's never been this bad. Feels like summer never began. I rode Star #60. She was a bit of a grump for grooming but I put her in her place and she was amazing for the rest of it. She is such a good ride! Her gaits are all amazing!!!!!! She only tried to kick out at 2 horses and bit one. We did standard drill for warm up and I was in first four. Then we did three drills and I was 1-1, 4-1, and 3-1. Star loved outside of propeller! My team just had another rough night. Our drills were not so great. We didn't do officers either. Overall it was okay. Then I unsaddled and took star home. 

Guess the Horse #31

Last weeks winner was NeonRain and per request of a follower is asked not to guess on this week so others have a chance :) The answer was Shorty #5.

Your riddle for this week is I am a 17 year old gelding with an overly attached girlfriend (literally has broken out of the pasture to come find me) I have a flaxen mane and a star in the shape of an L. My number is between 85 - 90. Who am I?

Stampede July 2

So last night had its ups and downs. The person in front of me in line for Rock :( but I got Squirt #120. I hadn't ridden him since December so I was curious to see how the ride would go. He was great for grooming he's just soooo big! And yet he has this tiny synthetic and leather saddle lol. We luckily got to ride outside :) we warmed up and it was a disaster. No one was paying attention. Squirt is all leg cues. I tried really hard to ride him with a loose rein and it seemed too help. After we suffered through warm ups we lined up our drills. I rode 1-1. We only got halfway through. We had a couple horse issues and just people not paying attention. So we cut it short and lined up a new drill. I rode 4-4. This one went okay. Again just people not knowing the drill. Then we lined up the third drill and I was 3-1. I rode that spot until star then I got smashed to the outside and ended up riding 1-6 so I called the second half of the drill. Overall the drills tonight were just bad it was not a good night for us at all. But I was proud of how I was handling squirt and I even rode him with a white flag and never had to shoulder my flag. He really showed me how far I've come as a rider since December but he also showed me how much room I have to improve. My leg cues are good but I could still use less rein. We also played catch up in 12s. It was terrifying cause I was one away from the rail and our inside kept squishing is and we hit the rail once and got smashed out multiple times. Again just adding to the bad ride. Our instructors were not thrilled at all. Then we cooled the horses off and headed up to unsaddle. It started raining as soon as I put Squirt away. Luckily it waited until after our ride. I think we are doing officers next ride so stay tuned!

Spur Straps!!!!!!

So I actually got very crafty for once and made my own bling spur straps!!!! I'm in love and can't wait to try them out this Thursday at the ride! 

Guess the Horse #30

The winner last time was again NeonRain :) and the answer was Star #60

This weeks riddle is I am a 18 year old quarter horse gelding. I am a tall bay with light brown eyes. I run lower red division down to tenderfeet and am a bit bouncy. My number is between 1 - 5. Who am I?

Sunday Show!!!!!

Base team shows just never stopbeing fun. Sunday was a blast! Minus the heat and boy was it hot. Stampede had to groom and saddle and I originally had princess but she threw a shoe. So then I pulled up amigo so the wranglers could look at his feet but he went home cause he wasn't being used. So I just got to run around and help my teammates. Then we met up at the stands and sat together as a team. I get really bad show nerves for team shows. Like really bad. I'm fine once I'm in the arena but waiting makes me seize up lol. So stampede finally got to go get costumed. I loved walking around in my chaps. They began to give us horses and I got Money! I was soooo happy :) he is a really good horse. So stampede puts their saddle covers under the stirrups so a little different from white star but it was much easier in my opinion. Mounting in chaps was awkward and challenging though lol. You feel so official in costume. I got handed the team flag and led my team to the gate. The announcer introduced Colorado stampede I yelled IN HO! And off we went! The next 6 minutes were almost a blur. Money did amazing and did everything I asked. We had Molly take off and cause a bunch of problems so I ended up in third four at one point. Our star was terrible but everything else was okay. We all ended up riding totally different spots so I was really proud of how we came together as a team and corrected our mistakes. Then somehow I ended up back as 1-1 for the end of the drill. Who knows. I loved loping though omg. It's soooo much better than trotting. I also geek out betting to hold the te flag. I consider it a HUGE honor and take it very seriously. Overall it wasn't to bad. We have a LOT of work before olympics in August but we are getting there. Then I unsaddled Bantaro after the show was over and headed home. First show weekend of the year was a sucess!!!!

Saturday Practice and Specialty Show!

Wow what a long tiring day. Started out with four back-to-back classes and having to miss liberty again. I also had my trial JI ride and I rode Amigo. It went really well and I can't wait to be able to JI consistently.  All the practices went really well and I felt good for show. My partner and I got Rebel for vaulting practice. It was very painful hahaha but luckily we were in the white so it was short. JI training at two went well and we practiced with toy horses. Then my friend and I laid in the volunteer and rested until check for show. This was my first show having to deal with quick changes so that was interesting I had to find my quick change area and set up my costumes. I checked in with the wranglers and found out my partner and I had Rebel for the show. Oh boy! Fitting that our first vaulting ride ever should take us through our first show. So I put our pads on him cause he was only being used for us. Vaulting renters also had to lay out all the teams costumes. Finally the show started. My first act was ropes. My tricks just weren't cooperating :( isk what happened. Butterfly up the arm failed but large butterfly was awesome. Then in out and through sucked even though I'm good at that one :( handshake went really well and drag accordion was acceptable. I called the drill though and that went well. Then from I ran to the quick change area. That is a crazy experience. I was out of my ropes costume and into vaulting in less than two minutes. My partner was next to me and they already had Rebel up. We were in line ready to go before the next act finished. Talk about adrenaline rush! That was crazy. Vaulting actually went really well! My partner and I managed to stay on the whole time and the team actually did really well on pass through!!!! Overall it was a good drill :) I really enjoyed preforming in that specialty. After was another quick change to batons but I had more than one act in between so it was less stressful. For batons our performance went really well! I didn't drop my baton but our star got a little screwed up and had five arms. But double batons went well for me. It's so cool to be in the arena preforming the specialties you used to watch. I was done after that and stayed and watched the rest of the show. Well done everyone :) 

Last Practice Before Show 6/18

Sorry this is so late. But on Thursday we had our last practice before show and we actually got to be outside!!!!!! It was very exciting then I was given Cisco :( Oh dear hahaha he loves to run but doesn't stop all that well. I noticd a really bad saddle sore while I was grooming him so I got to take him home and grab Rocky instead!!!!!!! I was soooooo excited :) I was 1-1 the whole ride and Rocky was born to ride that position. When we got to propeller he kicked it into precisionettes and we ran that propeller sooooo fast. He listened to cues soooo well, it was a dream. We loped 3 drills and trotted one as a warm up. Overal not a bad practice. 

First Summer Ride 6/11/15

Sorry for the delay in this post I've been really busy. We got moved inside yet again so my team was in the red arena. I got Skeeter! I was so excited he is such a fun horse to ride! We loped through 3 drills and I rode 1-1 the whole time. Skeeter and I got to book it in the propeller. We were going so fast!!! We really only have a few areas of the drill to clean up. It's finally coming together!!!! Then we cooled the horses off. Skeeter was soooo sweaty. It was really humid. It was raining when we unsaddled. We have our last ride before show tonight and I'll try and post that one on time :)  

Guess the Horse #29

So nobody won last week but the answer was Westie #4

Your riddle for this week is, I am a 14 year old mustang and am the definition of mare. I have a star on my forehead and am black all over. I have big feathers and am very stockily built. My number is between 60 and 65. Who am I?