Saint Halbert

The NCQHA Winter Show in Red Bluff is known for being a muddy affair, but I enjoy it every year we have gone. The fairgrounds in Red Bluff have good barns, a track to warm up on (theoretically; it is usually pouring down rain during the show), and two great indoor arenas. Every year I have gone to this show, I have met people who compete in other disciplines, like roping and western pleasure, who are kind and genuine people. It is one of my favorite shows and a great way to start off the year.

This year was no exception. The first two days weren't bad, except for a few sprinkles, but the last day one of the biggest storms of the year blew in, in a big way! Like usual, the day we left was a long hard day, when all the horses had to be schooled, all the horses we were leaving behind had to be worked and their stalls stripped and bedded thickly. Of course it always happens that every non pro we have wants to come for a lesson and every owner we have comes over and wants to hang around and the farrier comes and Don's mother wants him to fix a thousand things, etc etc etc. I can always count on us leaving around 10pm, hungry and tired. Thankfully Don never makes me drive and doesnt' complain too much when I sleep the whole way there.

It's gotten so we have a well established rhythm for pulling into a show grounds and unloading. We know the routine and things run easily. The trailer was even quieter than usual; no more stallions at this time, and none of the naughty grouchy mares were with us this trip. Four geldings seems like a record or something.

We brought Lizzie with us. She is our rehab horse. She came to us neurotic, with a completely fried mind, eight months ago. In her six years of existence she had gone from a $65,000 dollar horse to a $3,500 dollar horse. Her career as a reiner hadn't gone as planned. She was good at sticking her head to her chest and running off, chomping furiously at the bit, every muscle in her body tense with fear.

The rehab process has gone well, although she is never going to be a horse for a beginner. She has a very big motor and she is super sensitive. But she is now enjoying her job and learning to relax. At home she has gained a whole lot of confidence, but at shows, she is still very nervous, anticipating pressure she wasn't ever taught how to handle.

Hal has been instrumental in Lizzie's rehab. Although a hot type horse himself, with a big motor, he has a rock solid foundation and absolutely no confidence issues. He is kind and reliable and puts up with babysitting neurotic horses. He has become Lizzie's security blanket, especially at shows. I got in the habit of ponying Lizzie with Hal, because it was easier than trying to lope her to warm her up. The act of ponying her, at a walk, trot, and lope, seemed to relax her, and Hal would lend her his confidence and solid, secure and calm demeanor.

Red Bluff's secondary indoor arena, where the cutting is held, is a sort of scary building, some horses seem to think. It is a metal building closed on three sides, and covered on it's open side with tarp-like screens. The panels are covered in tarps so the cattle do not try to run through them. Several horses we have brought there in the past have gotten unduly nervous in this arena and it took them a while to figure out how to relax in it. Lizzie sure was no exception. Thank goodness Hal was there for her.

At seven a.m., before the cattle are brought in, all the cutters warm up in the arena. Hal lopes freely in and out of the other lopers, in his bronc halter, lead rope looped to form reins, toting Lizzie as she hops and kicks, crowding him and biting him on his neck and shoulder. He never flinches, he never fights back, except for an occasional pinning of his little pony ears and a look that seems to say "now now, little girl, please try to behave yourself!"

There is nothing better than loping in the early morning, warming up for a show. Everyone's expectation and joy about being at the show is evident in the energy all around. What's even better is loping with two horses; one underneath me, one at my side, in perfect cadence with each other. I hear only the bhhhh bhhhh bhhhh bhhhh bhhhh, the sound Hal makes when he lopes, even tempo. His steady stride, his loose back, his even tempoed breath, bhhhh bhhhh bhhhh, has the desired effect on Lizzie and soon her dancing around, arch necked, hollow backed, becomes a loose, relaxed, ground covering head down stride. Her jaw relaxes and she stops biting Hal.

When they bring the cattle in, we stand and watch the herd being settled. Lizzie stands next to Hal, her ears sideways, her neck low. I reach over and scratch her ears and she is happy to be there with us, finally enjoying her life!

The third day of the show, the wind comes. There are gusts up to 60mph. The tarps around the arena and the hanging screens fly crazy in the wind; the corrugated steel sides of the arena sound like thunder. The last two days of relaxation are gone from Lizzie's memory. The new arena, flapping and rocking and rolling, is terrifying and she is covered in nervous sweat. Don has tried loping her and finds it to be an exercise in futility. He hands her to me, to pony off her babysitter, Saint Halbert. The first five or ten minutes around the arena are a test of my ponying skills. She tried her best to dislocate my shoulder or bend my arm ways it doesn't really bend. Good thing I do enough yoga to be somewhat supple, although my right shoulder and pectoral muscle is quite sore today. Through all the antics, no matter where she was, shooting in front of him, dancing behind him, biting his neck, biting his butt, trying to crowd him, pulling him and me across the arena, Hal never wavered. The rhythm was there; bhhh bhhh bhhh bhhh bhhh bhhh. Hal's lower lip is in a permanent state of floppy-ness. He has extra stretchy lips. That's where the bhhh bhhh sound comes from.

Soon Lizzie relaxed. She even got through a run in the Senior cutting, and managed to enjoy herself. Now she has another weekend under her belt, another little bit of confidence that will go into rebuilding her cracked foundation.