Friday Night
I drove out to my leasers place around 2. It was predicted to be quite cold so we had bathed horses on wednesday and thankfully they stayed pretty clean. We trimmed whiskers, bridal paths, and did the last minute touch ups. Then we packed the trailer, cleaned tack. and triple checked everything before we headed inside. We ate dinner and played Uno while my leaser did all of our nails in our team colors. They looked amazing!!! Then we headed to bed pretty early.
Saturday
We all got up around 3am, and we had all 5 horses loaded and we were off by about 4:30. Bo was
very unhappy about being left behind and was very vocal about it. Cut right to my heart and it took all I had not to start crying. We stopped at the gas station for drinks and breakfast. I got some electrolyte water and a muffin. I definitely was less nervous than last year so I had more of an appetite. We got to the events center at 5am.... We were the second trailer there and a half an hour early...oops. The barn wasn't even open yet so we had a little time to relax and eat. I made a few trips from my car to the trailer to condense the unpacking. They opened the barn at 5:30 and we got to start looking for our stall. Much to my disappointment I was stalled with Crimson. Even though I am sharing with someone on crimson I was hoping the would put me with my team since I was graduating... but oh well. My stall was BEAUTIFULLY decorated by my monitor, ribbons, crowns, streamers, amazing. I had also made a picture board that I hung up as well. My stall cards got little covered up but it was fine :) We had to wait awhile to get shavings because we were so early but we got all the tack set up and organized and checked in with our teams. No one had any idea what was going on, there was no schedule up yet, and compared to last year it was just so hectic and disorganized. Finally they started handing out shavings. Since I had planned for Bo to come we ended up having 6 shavings.... We put in three because jack has bad shoulders so we figured the extra cushion wouldn't be a bad thing. The renters began to arrive and schedule was finally put out around 7 so we had some time to warm up. My partner and I took turns and made sure he got stretched out afterwards and show groomed. We had a meeting at 8 am, walkthrough 8:15, saddle covers at 8:30 (I also ran around like a chicken and got my red liberty costume and red ropes costumes set up and checked those line ups) then flags at 9:15, mounted and ready at 9:30. Once you get going it just goes so fast and you have no time to think. We spent forever walking in circles in the back. Royal wore clown costumes because it was quite cold. Then we finally got to go line up in the paddock. My knees and ankles hurt already hahahaha. After what seemed like another year we got to go in for serpentine! Holy moly Jack was EXCITED!!!! He wouldn't trot and was whipping corners like a lunatic. He was so happy hahahaha I'm surprised I stayed on. Royal was 4th in the line up so we got to stay in the paddock and get ready. I was 4-7 for this show. Royal had a pretty good drill overall, definitely rough around the edges but I always call the Sat. Morning show the dress rehearsal :) Jack had definitely settled down a little and did much better listening but was still very amped up. I only had one act to get ready for ropes but that's what quick changes are for. My tricks all went pretty well, 60 was a little rough but I still got it out pretty far. Texas was stellar :) and then I ran out and had two acts for Liberty. I had to run the whole length of the arena (I was in GPA 4 for ropes) and then the whole length of the paddock because my quick change was in the back. I was definitely winded lol. I couldn't believe I was finally getting to perform with Red Liberty. I was 3-8 for this show and Reno did amazing. We took off bridles in the line and he did awesome through the whole thing. A little slow on our thread and through jump but his passthrough one was awesome. The speed is intense but it was a lot of fun. SO much faster than white liberty and I loved it. Then we hit snag. We forgot Reno had a quick change to Red Roman so I had to run and find his bridle in the pile and race it back over. Luckily I had put a sparkly dog tag on it for that reason. It all worked out. Then I tidied up my area and out my costume pieces away.
There really isn't a lot of time between those first two shows but I had time to eat and check on Jack and make sure the horses were all good on water and had their feet picked. I also had to find all my ropes because a teammate carried them out while I did 60.
Then at 12:30 we had our next walkthrough, 12:45 saddle covers, 1:00 Costumes (Vests for this show), 1:15 Flags, and 1:30 Mounted and ready. For this show I had Red Liberty first so I got ready for that team. I was the only Red Liberty rider who didn't have an act before it so I was the only red liberty rider in serpentine so that was kind of funny. Reno was awesome for serpentine, he's a very mellow horse except in the paddock or stall when he is away from his buddy Blaze. Then it was a long waiting game to get the team lined up. I dropped my bridle in quick change this time and went in without it. We were 1-8 for this show and somehow we ended up in 3-8 but it didn't matter too much. It was still a lot of fun, I'm really thankful I had the chance to be on this team. This show was quick change nightmare. I only had one act between each of my teams, still better than none though. I quickly costumed for Royal and my partner had Jack ready for me and we mounted up. This was my 4-6 position, OUTSIDE OF PROPELLER! Jack did awesome, he got his left lead and went into it well and then spooked at some tinsel or something shiny in the dirt but recovered well. We were a little out of position and it definitely wasn't our fastest most impressive propeller but it was still fun! Out of that team and race and change too ropes! We had to cut a few tricks to keep our drill under 6min. None of my tricks were cut but I had less time to rest between tricks and I was so tired from the two acts before they definitely weren't my strongest. My favorite part of Ropes the whole weekend was getting to Solo perform Texas, with my name announced, and all four spotlights on me. Total adrenaline rush that I can't even begin to explain. And that was the end of the 2pm show. Finally a breather hahaha.
So it was about 4pm, I got to go up top and shop a little. I ordered a leather bracket with Bo's name, got my team charms, and some buttons for my soon to be delivered Alumni jacket. Then back down and wait for dinner. Shortly after dinner I made sure I had my quick change area set up for the next show, printing out the different line ups definitely helped. Royal was in the pre-show for Saturday night so we had a shorter period of down time because we had to be ready earlier. We wore the pirate shirts for this show. I was 4-3, so not one of my better positions so I was glad it was in the pre-show. Overall it was our best drill of the day, and the Final Countdown is our new drill music so that's freaking amazing!!!! Then we got to go in for Serpentine and Jack was calm as can be, probably a little tired. I know I was. Then I helped get Reno prepped for Liberty and it was a lot of waiting time in the paddock. Sitting on a bony arabian for a long time frame, definitely tires your muscles out without even knowing it, especially after a long day. I was supposed to ride 1-9 (point) for this performance but my instructor asked me to move up to 1-8. Although I was looking forward to having a breather I wasn't going to say no to a semi-team four. Reno was definitely running out of steam but we still pulled off a good drill. He definitely does better not jumping in a four. I helped get him ready for Roman and got myself ready for Ropes as well. I had a nice breather so I was able to perform more four tricks actually very well! I think I was running on adrenaline because I got REALLY tired after that act. Thankfully I was done for the day. Don't get me wrong, Annual is incredible and one of my favorite shows. But doing three 2hr long performances, among the stress and early wake up call. You are so exhausted that there aren't words to describe it. I wrapped Jack's legs, put away costumes, cleaned up my area, made sure the tack was secure, water buckets were filled, Jack was stretched, checked out with my monitor, made sure all the other leasers were okay, and finally got to drive home. I crashed out very early.
Sunday - Graduation Day
I woke up and realized... this was it. Last time. I doubled checked my speech, packed all my gifts, and made sure I had everything I needed to conquer this emotional day. I got there about 8am, a little later than I had intended but I decided a little extra sleep was necessary. I was getting Jack's equipment out and I was filling his water buckets when I heard a BANG! and Jack was coming out of his stall, he figured out how to open it since it wasn't latched. I just yelled JACK! and he slowly backed into his stall. It made me laugh so much. He was EXTREMELY impatient. He wanted out of that stall asap. I tacked him up as quick as I could and got him out for warm ups. Especially with his stiffer shoulders he definitely needed a good solid warm up. We did 15min of walking just to get the blood moving for both of us after a long night. Then we did 15min of just walking and trotting with a few circles (there isn't much room in the arena with everyone warming up) I did lope a couple laps just too make sure he was moving okay and we were picking up both leads. He checked out and by then his other rider showed up so she hopped on him a little too. Overall he got a solid hour of light work just to get him all ready for the day. There is this incessant buzzing sound that I think comes from the lights in the arena or something but it drives me absolutely crazy. You can only hear it when there is no music or anything playing. Then they let the draft horses and mules out to run and its always hilarious to watch Ben, Jerry, and Gill run and buck. Then we had breakfast and took roll and headed up to the full organization meeting. We talked over how the show went yesterday, tickets sales, awards, parking space auctions, horse and saddle giveaway, and then finally we were done. The seniors raced down and got something to eat and got ready for our speeches. All my family came down so I got to show them my stall and the area I was calling home for the weekend. Then the rest of the team got their lunch and ate while we did our speeches. Thankfully I was 4/5 too go but I was bawling so hard during the first one that by the time we got to mine I could barely read the paper. My hands were shaking and thankfully tissues were readily available. There is so much you want to say in your speech. So many people and horses you want to thank, and quite simply there just isn't enough time to fit it all in. We then did instructor and monitor gifts. Showed off our senior hoodies (I designed them) and received our goodie bags. We got so many gifts, it was truly a great way to make the day more of a celebration and an easier goodbye. My alumni jacket got delivered....I'm now regretting my choice on sizing and I think I ordered it too big.....oops. But I still really love it and I'll just have to deal with it. There wasn't a lot of time because we had to get going and get costumed and I had to get quick change set up. One issue was Blaze was already gone and I hadn't gotten Reno ready so he was whipping circles in his stall while I was trying to pick his feet, put on sport boots, and bridle him. I finally found a few barn dads to help me and we got it done. I put on my red liberty costume one last time and got ready for serpentine. After what seemed like years we got to wait in the paddock for another 30min. Finally serpentine started, and then commenced another couple years of waiting....so much anticipation for such a short time in the arena. They called Red Liberty into the arena ( I was 3-8, I rode 8th four all weekend which I was incredibly happy about as it was my only show) and I think Reno knew it was special because he was flawless. Although I'm sad I didn't get to ride good senior positions, and I was only on the team for 5 rides and one show weekend, I'm so happy I did it. Getting the patch on my jacket, achieving a goal that I had been turned down from, and just having fun and celebrating my accomplishments made it one of the most memorable performances of my career. All to soon we were exiting and Mr. Keller announced all of the graduates names. There was no time to be sad because today was quick changes all over the place again. I had one act to get into line for Royal, I got up and in line and realized, I didn't have my cuffs on for the Clown Costume, but the ends of the sleeves were red anyway so I decided it was fine, there wasn't time to fix it. I went to the front and got lined up in the alleyway, in the tunnel on horseback one last time. And I checked my team and got the go ahead from the posse. I took a deep breath, In. Ho. and my final drill was off. Our entrance was controlled, our speed was good, Jack was anxious but listened and behaved. It was without a doubt the best drill of the weekend. The kinks had gotten ironed out yesterday and it was all about having fun. And did I ever. Through the tough maneuvers, the spot lights, the music, the announcer, you get absorbed in the joy of the performance that all the sudden I realized we were getting ready to exit. The team pulled away, and after watching so many teammates leave I took my place with the rest of the seniors and looked down the alleyway, up at the crowd, soaking it all in and trying not to cry. Then my leaser called my name and she was standing right at the rail. I broke and a few tears escaped. I know we both wish it could've been Bo standing there with me in that moment. But I couldn't be more proud of how well Jack and I did after having almost no practice together. 1 down, 2 down, 3 down, and the moment you dread yet anticipate so much arrives in a heartbeat. My name was called, Jack lunged forward, the crowd fades away, it's just you and the thundering hoofbeats being escorted out of the arena by the spotlights. It's such an indescribable feeling that I will treasure forever. It definitely wasn't the fastest I've ever gone. Jack was a little unsure, I was probably a little anxious since I don't know him all that well, but it let me savor the moment just a little bit longer. He kicked it into gear about 3/4 of the way out though hahaha. Through the pumping adrenaline I had to dismount and quickly change for ropes. No time to recover, be sad, or think. I ran and got into line. I tied my shoes while we were in the alleyway and got my ropes sorted. I will not miss having to run that whole arena though. So. Far. Tandem spoke hop went great, step through went the best it ever has, Texas wasn't my best but it was solid and clean so that's all I can ask for, and 60 kept getting caught on my head for whatever reason! Which sucked because it was really strong too and probably would've gone all the way. But did I have fun? Yes. Did I smile? You bet. Did I start bawling when they announced my name for the 3rd time as a graduate? Absolutely. I made it out of the arena and stopped. That was it. I'm an Alumni. I'm really done. My ropes instructor came and hugged me. I've been with her since my second year of westernaires. It's just so crazy that something that has been such a huge part of my life is just over. So many goodbyes but I know it's not totally the end. While it's sad it opens so many doors to a whole big world out there. Westernaires will always be there for me when I'm ready to return someday. Enjoy it. It goes faster than you can ever imagine. I raced to help clean up as much as I could but I knew I had to get up to see all of my family and friends who were there to support me. I helped get most of the shavings out. There were a lot 4-5 bags. Then my partner selflessly offered to clean so I could go see my family. I was very very grateful. It took about an hour to get our horse trailer around and get loaded up and headed out. All of the renters and most of the owners were gone. I bade farewell to the little trailer group that had become my family and packed up my car. I think it will take some time for it to settle in but I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. Thanks for the ride :)
 |
| Settled in at 5:30am |
 |
| RED LIBERTY AT LAST |
 |
| Outside of Propeller one more time! |
 |
| I really love this team! |
 |
| The final run - Royal 2017 |
 |
| 60ft Rope |
 |
| Step Through |
 |
| Trusty Texas Skip |
