Circuit Champion

uWe got back from Reno last night, tired but happy to be home! It was a great trip. The NQHA spring show at the Reno Livestock Events Center was a treat. I went there hoping to get enough points to qualify for the AQHA World, and happily, I did it!



We got in late Wednesday night. Before leaving, we got the oil and transmission fluid changed in the truck, as well as filling up with a full tank of diesel. The day of leaving for a show is always a busy one, and I am used to working non stop, cleaning the trailer, making sure all the stalls at home are clean, all paperwork is in order, (for out of state trips), all horses are schooled, all horses that are staying at home are turned out and worked, hay is set out for the feeders, and a million zillion things I forgot to mention. It is good to get in a rhythm and not worry or stress. I have seen a lot of people who are not good at travelling and get to running around all scattered, getting in each other's way, stressing about being on the road. I am lucky to have learned from my trainer how to travel in an easy, efficient manner. It is good to have a set plan of how to pack and who does what. After almost six years now, we work like a well oiled machine; we know our jobs and perform them with little fuss, staying out of each other's way, and not forgetting anything.



Of course there are always things you don't plan for. Like getting halfway up the hill on I 80 (Donner Pass---Sierra Nevada moutains) and realizing the kids at Jiffy Lube put the wrong transmission oil in, and we have a bad tank of diesel that is slowly killing the fuel filter. We limped up the hill in third gear, with the pedal to the floor, going 25mph. I think I got us there with sheer force of will! So needless to say we didn't get there very early. Luckily, some of our clients beat us over the hill and were the ones who got to wake up the stall guy, locate our stalls, get the shavings put in, etc. It sure was nice having them do that! Although I'm used to it by now, it isnt' always fun rolling in somewhere past midnight knowing you still have at least an hour's work ahead of you, and that you have to be up at five the next morning to get ready to show.



The mornings at a show are always my favorite time. I dont' care how little sleep I got; once I am at the trailer, grooming and saddling the horses and warming up in the frosty air as the sun comes over the horizon, I am in heaven. The day brims with promise. The horses are all fresh and playful in the crisp morning air, in the vast outdoor warm up space at the Events Center. The cutting is in the semi covered arena where we usually warm up during the Snaffle Bit Futurity. Some of the other horse show classes are inside in the great big colleseum. I have gotten to compete in there once, on Cheyenne, during the Snaffle Bit Futurity in 2005. I can't wait to do it again!



I got on Hal and loped him in his bronc halter, listening to his distinctinve "phhhh, phhhh, phhhh, phhhh" as he blows out his lower lip in time with his lope stride. He felt like a winner and I was grateful to be there. It was my idea to come to Reno and to do AQHA shows this year, to go to the World Show. For the past five years I have worked hard to become a good apprentice for my trainer, and all that time, my showing has been on the back burner. I got to show if there was room in the trailer after all the clients horses were in, or if there was some extra money, but not too often, and I certainly didn't dictate what shows we went to. Of course this is all fair. Nothing like what I have comes free, or even cheap. It is a road lined with hard work, effort, dedication, and most of all, patience. I had to earn it.



Well it sure is fun when things start paying off. It is pretty well accepted now that I will eventually take over the business, and I have proved that I will stay around and do what needs to be done without complaint, no matter how late at night it is, or how tired I am. So now my show career is important, too, as a means for me gaining the seasoning I need to someday become a professional. So when I mentioned I was tired of doing just club shows and it would be nice if we all qualified for the AQHA World this year, my trainer agreed. I set out an itinerary of AHQA shows to hit, even ones in other states, and so far, we have hit them all. Hopefully there are enough shows to make sure everyone gets qualified. My trainer's clients need to be qualified too, so we can all make the trip together. Otherwise, it is too pricey.



The first day, the cattle were great! I looked at those cows and knew it was our day. My trainer schooled Hal on the mechanical flag just before our go and I was confident in how I felt. The key to success at a show is overcoming fear. If one puts a lot of effort into really building a good foundation of skill, getting those skills down pat, then when one gets in a stress situation, one can rely on those skills to be there. So much of it is technical, meaning what one has to learn and master, but so much more of it is mental...having the faith in the skills that have been learned, that they will be there, that they will work. So many people get to a show and immediately go on the muscle with their horse. And then things fall apart. It takes some time to get it to where you can just relax and rely on your foudation, your training, at a show. That goes for horses and people. It doesnt' work perfectly all the time, but I feel it is getting more consistent for me, at least.



I was late in the herd but it didn't matter. I went in and did my job and stayed soft and communicated with my horse, and walked out with first place under both judges and 2 AQHA points. It wasnt' the most spectacular run I have ever had but I was happy for several reasons. One, I made great cuts. Two, I got long on one side but then was brave enough to kick and send Hal over the other way to center us up. It takes some guts to do that in the show pen, trusting that once you get there you can stop and come back and everything will work. The coolest part was Bobby Ingersoll was there, and I asked him to turn back for me, and he did! He is one of my heroes. The man is a horseman, straight up. His brother Doug Ingersoll, also very well respected, sat in my corner, and Dale Tingle turned back for me, with my trainer in the other corner. It's cool going in there surrounded by living legends. It used to intimidate me; I didn't want to look like a fool in front of so many master horsemen. Now I realize that in cutting, I don't care who you are, everyone has "been there done that." The cow is the great equalizer.



It was really great when Dale Tingle told me I rode really good. He has seen some of my less than great runs so it meant a lot to me to know he noticed some improvement!



I think it was mostly the chaps.



I sold my cutting chaps to Peg. They didn't fit me any more and I think I want shotguns anyway. My trainer thinks I probably don't really want shotguns so he let me wear his pair for this show to see if I do. Well all it did was make me want them more. They fit me well and were very flattering. I never liked my old chaps; even though they are super cool, I always felt like they made me look heavier than I really am. The shotguns were cut in a slimming way and I could walk around in them so much easier.



Saturday was good, too. I had a better draw but the cattle were very numb. I had an okay work. It was kind of frustrating, because I felt finally ready to jump out and stop cattle, but every time I would do that, the numb cows would just look at Hal and keep going the way they were going. Oh well; I don't care who you are or how good you are, you can't make a winning run out of bad cattle--but you can stay in the cutting! I got a good enough score for second place, which was good enough for the extra point I needed to be qualified for the World. Peg won first; her first win at an AQHA show! Actually, only her second win ever! I was so proud of her. She rode so well and really deserved the win. Now she is halfway qualified.



Well with my second place the second day, I had enough accumulated points to be hi point cutting circuit champion. The bad part is that I also had enough points to be hi point cattle event champion...the prize was a beautiful set of silver engraved spurs...but to be eligible for that award I would have had to show in halter. Ha! Could you imagine Hal in the halter class? Lower lip drooping, tongue hanging out, maybe swinging around suddenly to call out his super silly whinny, stepping on the judges foot in the process, or maybe whacking one of us with his head? His long skinny pony looking head? Sheesh! Well we did get our circuit award, which was a pink slinky for Hal to wear, like a halter horse! He was so embarassed when I put it on him.



My trainer also got hi point Junior horse circuit champion on Pepto. I am so glad he has a nice horse to show now. Last year he had no nice horses to show. He often doesn't get to go down the road like some trainers do. He is so good, as a trainer, as a showman, and so underrated. People sure notice when he shows up to the show with Pepto though! She was awesome. She even got down on a cow and patted the ground with her front feet, back and forth, dat dat dat dat dat, daring that cow, eyeball to eyeball. Everyone hooted and hollered. He also won a pink slinky! Of course it will disappear into the depths of the trailer never to be heard from again.



The ride back was less eventful than the ride there; having gone to a mechanic and gotten the fuel filter and transmission oil thing straightened out. The one problem was that on Saturday night we ate at the El Dorado buffet, and I got food poisoning. Thank heavens it was after I was done showing. I was sick as a dog. I kept puking even after there was nothing left to puke up. My back hurts so bad from puking so much. (sorry; I know that's gross. that's not even the half of it.) I am still sick. I am weak and sore, and can't seem to eat anything except vegetable broth (organic of cousre) and peppermint tea. I certainly learned my lesson. I always bring food when we travel, and usually we eat in. No more buffets for me. I seem to have lost my taste for any "outside" food. Colicing is definitely not fun!



The next AQHA show is Paso Robles, in May. Then back to Fallon, NV, end of May. The great thing is now that I'm qualified for the World, there will be no stress!

Critter is a... well...critter :)

Critter was difficult enough to ride when she was here in training! She is what would be referred to as a "hand" horse. Meaning you need to be a hand to be able to get along with her. She has an abundance of energy, a silly streak, and hormone issues. It seems like she is in heat all the time. She has a lot of running blood in her and is accordingly hot. She is a phenomonal athlete when she is right, and she is super cowy and can read a cow quickly and accurately. Getting her right... that is the challenge.

I liked riding Critter when she was here, even though it was often frustrating and not the most fun ride of the day. I liked it anyway because she would always teach me something. Learning how to get with a tough horse like her without getting in a fight, getting the point across, getting her dialed in...well that takes skill. There were times I was not up to the task and I would hear those devastating words from my trainer... "okay let me on her."

After her futurity debut, Critter went home. She is now being ridden and shown by her owner, a 19 year old semi-beginning cutter. He is showing her in two handed cutting for practice for a year before cutting on her. While my trainer can go through a good run with Critter, she is young and green and riding her two handed is a good confidence builder for both her and her owner. It will allow both of them to get some show pen seasoning while keeping things at a doable level for both of them.

Well he is a great kid, and he is a good rider. I told him that when Critter was here I loped her every day...even on our days off. Critter is the type of horse that needs consistent exercise. She isnt' getting it. I can't blame him for being the type who isn't interested in riding every day at this point of his life. He's busy being a college kid. (I understand that not every kid is a freak like me who lives and breathes horses horses and more horses).

Anyway, his parents bring Critter over when they come for their weekly lessons, in hopes that my trainer will school her. Lately, he has been making me do it. This helps them, since then they do not pay. It also helps him (hahahaha) since he doesn't have to ride her! And, it helps me. It helps me learn. It isn't always fun though.

So I get on her after she hasn't been rode in a week or so and of course she is completely silly. Luckily it was 92 degrees yesterday so it didnt take too long to get her tired. I can feel her owner in her, his bad side, his unsteady-ness. I could feel her wanting to be in a fight with me, waiting for me to muscle her around. How easy it is to fall into that trap and start hanging and dragging and pulling and fighting. But there is another way. A horse like Critter could get so bad if that is the road the rider takes. She would be the one rearing up, bucking, or just turning into total crap. It takes a lot to rise above that and figure out how to get through to her, overcome the fight and just do what I do. It takes faith in the fundamentals. Even when the horse is on the fight, and has been getting sloppy, isn't mentally ready to perform, a rider who has faith in their fundamentals, who can practice good fundamentals even when the horse is not cooperating. What it takes is singleminded focus on the task and what it takes to get the horse right, no matter what is wrong with the horse.

It seems so easy to start making excuses. "my horse isnt' doing this, my horse is throwing her shoulder, she's stiff, she is in heat, she is being an idiot, etc," but at the end of the day, the excuses dont' really matter. What matters is whether you were able to communicate and get points across despite all those particular circumstances. That is what I have learned from riding here with my trainer, and riding Critter.

Sometimes I am able to ride her great, despite circumstances. At the show last weekend, it was super windy and an open, "scary" environment, near a pond filled with noisy geese, but I got her dialed in anyway, even though she hadn't been rode in more than a week prior. Yesterday I wasn't as good. I started out getting in a fight with her. But then I "checked" myself and stopped fighting, and fell into my fundamentals, just doing what I do. Then I overcame the fight in her and we started working as a team. She got tired enough to stop being silly and accept my hands and legs. And I got soft enough to ask her light and help her do things right. We ended up looking like pretty good cutters!