It's Move Up Time!!!!!

I just got a phone call telling me I moved up to WHITE VAULTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was 1/8 to get moved up. I'm so nervous and excited for this weekend! I'll post if anymore calls come in :)

The Final Score is Revealed! - Flags :)

So on Saturday my team rode in the White again :( it was such a nice day out but at least it was nice and cool indoors. I got to groom and ride Outlaw #68. Typically he doesn't go to AAA cause he has some leg problems but he has been really hyper lately so he's been doing one a weekend or so. I was super excited. He was perfect as usual and I finished really early. We warmed the horses up and worked on equitation and 4 work. Then we had to pull in and adjust flag boots. Mine was on correctly :) Then we picked up flags. I got a white one. Man have I missed that! It was great getting back into that. Then we worked on loping and staying together in fours. We need a lot of work on that. Outlaw was amazing. He is so responsive. He was really hyped up though. Our instructors said that don't worry about not riding the drill yet, (cause all the other teams are). The drill is the fun stuff. Everything we worked on today is part of riding the drill, so when we ride the drill it'll be way easier. It made a lot of sense. I got to pony Cheyenne up to the arena cause the rider got hurt or something. Then I watched White Star ride with Flags for the first time. It brought back so many memories!!! Then for classroom..... The moment arrived!!!!! We got our finals back alphabetically. I got mine and turned it over to a 86/85 - 101%!!!!!!!!! I was soooooo happy!!!!!! Then we went over the final and did some walk throughs in the fort. A bunch of boys kept jumping in and throwing us off but then we had to react under pressure. It went okay we still have a long way to go. Then I watched Nighthorse and practiced ropes with WesternaireForever. I also watched Crimson and Royal. Then I watched WGE and JGE and Shadow Riders. I helped unsaddle and went home. A very good day!!!

Here are my scores for Stampede!

Diagrams: 100%

Test 1: 87%

Test 2: 100%

Final: 101%

A Day of Falling and Move Ups

Saturday - 3/21
So this was a rough day for me. I arrived around 7:30 and ended up grooming Dee so my friend could go to her class. She was SUPER dirty so it took me almost an hour to get her cinch area clean. Then I got some breakfast. I practiced for vaulting on the barrel horse with my friend and then headed down to the arenas. I was hanging around the wrangler table. I saw the new horse Scout come in! He's a black and white quarter horse, draft 10 year old gelding. Then the wranglers asked me if I wanted to go ride Sonny. He was acting off and seemed to be walking weird so they just wanted me to warm him up and see how he was doing. So I took him to the Moore and walk, trotted, and circled him around. He was definitely walking different so the wranglers gave him the day off. I checked out my horse for Liberty, I had Dodger #6. I was a little nervous because my friend had fallen off him in Red Liberty that morning and was hurt pretty bad. But his trainer came up to me and gave me some tips. I tried mounting and failed. It is sooo hard!!!! Why can't I get this!? So I played around with his wire position and he would put his head down anytime the wire wasn't at the base of his neck. So when they asked us to remove bridles if we wanted I took a chance. I'm getting good at taking my bridle off from the horse! So they set up two half jumps in the middle. Dodger charges the jumps oh my goodness! It was really fun!!!! Then they put one of the jumps up to full!!!! I was so excited :) So Dodger and I came down the center and I went for the full jump Dodger picked up the lope, I cued and lifted, and off we went! Full jumps are so fun!!!! It was like flying :) Even if the jumps are only knee height. I did the full jump like 15 times and only knocked it down once. I came over the jump but people were clumped at the gate dodger panicked and darted multiple directions I felt myself slip and saw the dirt rush at my face. I rolled and got to my knees. I sat there for a minute due to the rush. I went down on my left hip rolled to my shoulder, and then my head (Basically me just laying into the dirt) My hip really hurt. I got up pretty quick and said I didn't want the bridle. I got about 5 more jumps in after that before class was over. It was so fun! I saddled Dodger and got some Ibuprofen and an ice pack. I missed Ropes for Liberty because it was move ups. I don't know if I'll go to White Liberty though. Then I rested until about 2. I went and watched White Batons. I helped Blue Ropes at 3. Basically they did flat loop because they were looking for move ups. So my friend and I went to the corner and practiced our specialties. I am really getting closer with Texas Skip. A bunch of my friends moved up to White Ropes, including WesternaireForever. CONGRATS! Then I had Batons at 4. I am so bored in that class. I hope I move up to White. We learned a new routine the others I had already been taught. 5 was Vaulting which got moved to the Moore. My partner and I got Rocky #129! I was getting all the horses I have always wanted to ride. My partner and I decided to try out for White Vaulting. Rocky is pretty smooth. No one could keep the circle big enough to trot. It is hard! For our first time trotting I feel like we did okay. Rocky likes to smash into the rail. So when I switched to trick rider I was doing arabesque and Rocky shifted his but to the center really quickly. I felt myself slip and then there was a sharp pain in my right hip. I was on the ground. I was just breathing in and out very steadily. My instructors came over. They helped me roll onto my back. They pushed at certain points, it didn't hurt. They helped me sit up then I stood up and hopped back up again. I did some more tricks but at that point I was so exhausted. My partner let me ride Rocky up to the arenas where we unsaddled. I found out why he was so hyper during the ride. He gets grain in the evening. I got home and crashed. I assessed my injuries. My right elbow was bloody and had road rash. Both hips were bruised and other random bruises were appearing in other spots. My neck was sore from bracing my head during the falls. Other wise okay!

Sunday - 3/22
It was the wrangler test. My friend and I walked around and did the ID in our head. We got them all!!!!!! We hung out in the pasture and helped with grooming. That was basically it.

Stampede Final 3/14

Sorry for the delay but on Friday the 13th I had a study session at the fort with my team. It went really well! We ate food, did some walk throughs, and studied with flash cards, videos, and practiced drawing diagrams. My friend and I ended up staying an extra 30 minutes lol. We made a deal. If I score higher she has to do 100 jumping jacks and if she scores higher I have to do 20 push ups. If we tie we both do it and double the numbers. Then on Saturday I got Patches #104 for team. I was really excited to try and ride her again to see how much I had improved since my first ride on Stampede. So she was MUDDY! I finished grooming and only had 5 minutes to saddle and bridle. It was such a beautiful day but my team had to ride in the White :( So we warmed up. Patches really favors her left lead. But I was sitting nicer in the saddle and I felt more in control. I put more weight in my feat so I wasn't riding the saddle as much at the lope. I figured out how to transition patches without pop tarting! Let out your air and feather light touches on the reins. It was so awesome I felt like a brand new rider. Patches and I totally clicked. Once we started the drill though.... my team really needs to study and get their act together. We got through one drill at a slow trot with multiple halt ho's. Most AAA teams are loping or fast trotting already! I was very frustrated. Then I took my final. It was really hard but I felt pretty good about it at the same time. I barely finished. I don't think I got 100% but we will see. Then I wasn't able to go to wrangling on sunday. I was not drawn to ride in Easter parade either :(

Awesome Weekend! - Specialties 3/7/15

3 Days in One again :)

Friday - 3/6/15
I helped out with Hoedowners and Legionnaire's grooming class. I got to bring out Cruiser as a demo horse and my friend and I taught some Tenderfeet who were making up classes. We pulled up Nugget. It was a good class.

Saturday - 3/7/15
So it was inside schedule so Batons and Ropes were cancelled. I came early to help at grooming. I watched T1/9 and Red Liberty. Then I watched White Vaulting. I really hope I can move up. Then I checked out my horse for Liberty. I had Summer #65 I was super excited because she is so smooth!!!! She was on the rail at 10 so unsaddled and brushed her mane and tail. My friend and I also had to pull Levi out of the pasture cause he didn't make it up this morning. So Liberty went really well! I was so close to mounting. Summer responds to the wire pretty wel. We took of bridles and got to do half jumps. I was so excited! Summer doesn't really like to jump. I nearly ran the jump dad over like four times. Eventually we smashed her between splatter and pepper and she went over. I'm getting really good at lifting and jumping is really fun. Then I helped a girl from NIghthorse saddle summer. I then realized I had a giant hole in my jeans. Uh oh! Luckily I had a back up with me. I watched nighthorse and Crimson. I also watch Royal blue trick and blue Liberty 4. I practiced ropes during Crimson. I also met with my baton instructor and learned some more tricks. It took forever but it was finally time for vaulting. I checked in and my partner and I got Yukon. Our class went well and I finally got to do tricks! Then my partner and I were able to switch on the horse! Then we tried lay out over the croup at a trot. Move ups are next ride for vaulting. Eek. I'm feeling pretty good about it. The we ran acrossed the butts and worked on but vaulting. It's really hard! I couldn't even get on Casper!!!! Lol. Then we had to unsaddle. The end. 

Sunday - 3/8/15

It was wrangling class and it was muddier than saturday! We got to chase the horses up from the lower pasture. I held the gate as they all ran at me so I got really splashed with mud. I led Blaze, Zena, and Squirt for horse ID. Before that my friends and I had to go get Nevada. We had to lure him out with carrots and I ended up babysitting him for a half hour. He got nippy with the carrots but it was keeping him from bolting back to the pasture. He's retired so he doesn't like to leave. We did horse behavior and I still love watching the horses interact. Brutus and outlaw are fighting for top spot right now. It was a good class but it was super muddy. 

Wrangler Class #3

So the class took forever to start. The medical lecture took over an hour so we hung out in the tack room and shared horse stories so it was really fun hahahaha. I didn't have to help too many people so I mostly walked to stay warm. The horses were crazy today. We had two pull backs. I had to groom A.C cause I've figured out tricks for him. For horse ID I led Billy, Cedar, and Taztoo. We did the sorrels today. The class ran really late. I am tired so bye bye