In The Groove

Tonight was magic. Sometimes it just is. There are nights when the barn is still and the energy is right and everything just flows. We got new buffalo and we worked them tonight. Buffalo are great to work in some ways, and I am glad we have them in addition to cattle. I have gotten brave from working buffalo. They are quick and not quite as easy to read as cattle, and so getting good at working them is like "overpreparing" for working cattle.

When the buffalo are new, they have to be trained. They are wild and need to be eased comfortably into a routine in order to work well for training cutting horses. First, they need to feel comfortable at the new place, in their new pen. Then they need to feel comfortable in the arena without being worked. Then they need to be introduced to working in a way that gets them to relax and learn how to stop and look at the horse.

If it is not done correctly, you can get them running through fences, or diving around the horse, etc, and then they are not good to work.

It is important to use a horse that is quick and trained enough to stop the buffs and not chase them or be pushy and put too much pressure on them. Of course Hal is good for this job, so I got to "break in" two of the new buffs.

Earlier today I was watching the dvd we got from the Buffalo Ranch. It displayes all their stallions and shows their winning runs. There is something about watching those good runs... after a while I just watch the rider, and say it in my head as I'm watching...ride, stop, wait, wait, wait, ride, stop, wait....

I got that in my head and tonight I was lucid. Everything in the world made sense and I could feel each cell in my body being aligned, and Hal and I were as one. Even before I got on him I could tell the energy was right in him, too. He was happy and content, licking my arm as I groomed him, telling me he was ready to be a star. We warmed up on the mechanical cow and were in the groove from the first move, the first jump we were together. My trainer saw we had it handled and upped the speed a little, shortening the run, and I stayed with it, visualizing Beau Gaylean and Lloyd Cox in my head, how they sit, how those horses move under them, how it is fast and slow at the same time, the horse splattered all over the place and their head, there in the center, still enough to balance a plate on top of. Ride, sit, wait wait wait, sit, belt buckle right behind horn, soft back, I can feel my feet, my legs wrapped around Hal's sides like my legs are just part of him and his feet are my feet, I feel those back feet spread out, holding us steady.

Two minutes on the mechanical cow and I didnt' even pick up my hand once. That's all we needed and then it was on to the buffs. I used to be scared of the buffs, scared of being slam dunked, scared of not being able to hang with it. Fear fades with practice and repetition of course. I find I can read the buffs better now, and am not so worried about getting beat. Just hunt those stops. Hunt the stops and stay soft. When it is right there is a body awareness that I have also felt in yoga class, deep in a pose, my body singing, energy shooting out of it every which way. And it's fast, but it is slow, no little detail is missed. It is amazing the amount of concentration this takes, but when it is right, how little effort is expended. When trying slips into doing, and all tension is gone, things just flow.

These are the sort of rides a rider lives for, of course. And perhaps the horse, too. When we were done, Hal wasn't even sweaty. For him, as well, it was an effortless night, even though we made some huge moves. I walked him out a bit and then dismounted in the arena, pulled his saddle and bridle off and let him roll. When he was done rolling he came and stood next me with his head relaxed, eyes soft and content. He reached over and licked my arm and then let me know he wanted to go finish his dinner. We walked together (him free next to me) over to his stall and I opened the door for him and in he went. It is a friendship beyond words and we both know how good tonight was.