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We got'r done!! We didn't place, but I call it a success!

Trotting into the arena up to the judge for inspection.

My man has the list of entrants, so I don't know for sure, but there were approximately 20-25 entries in the class. A LOT of nice horse flesh out there!!

As everyone knows if you compete in anything, there's a lot of preparation that goes on. Yesterday, was a full day of getting the trailer and Pierce ready. I was able to use Colt's first sheet...it fits Pierce perfectly! And, I decided to use the same halter I showed Colt in seven years ago...ahhhhh...sweet memories!

Last evening after his first ever bath.

Our success was just gettin' in there and doin' it. He was pretty good for the clipping, bathing and me fussing with his skinned up face. Patience...that's where he lacks...but will come with time.

I went out at 5 AM to feed, and he was happily laying down snoozing in the middle of his stall...shavings stuck between every mane and tail hair! Rise and shine young man!

Standing for the judge...NOT! This is one brief moment he stopped moving.

So, the process was to enter the arena one at a time, trot to the judge, set the horse up for inspection, and trot away into line. Pierce couldn't hold still, but he did trot nicely with me. As the judge came behind Pierce, he was looking at his hind legs and saying something to the ring steward/secretary...I knew this would be his fault. Amanda had mentioned that his hind legs are quite straight, and most likely, he's not going to have a very big stop. I'm quite sure that's what took him out of the competition.

Attempting to "stand" in line...we walked LOTS of circles!

But, like I said...it was a success!!! We did lots of things perfectly...loading, hauling, letting me get him ready at the trailer. It was his first time to go anywhere besides Amanda's for training...so, we'll be going LOTS of places in the next year. I'm planning on going to the saddle club events (showing western pleasure and reining class), the local cutting club for herd work...

...and we'll be going to our first Mike Bridges clinic in three weeks!! We'll be doing three days of in-hand training...which will be wonderful for the winter months when we can't ride.

So, who won the class?

~

This very handsome horse won...and well deserved I think! BTW...even though My Man chopped off the horse's head, it also had a nice head to match the body.

Allrighty then...moving on to the goal for next year...the 3 year old class!

OH yes...thanks to My Man for the awesome photos and all your support...love ya!

Pierce (aka ScarFace) Goes to the Futurity

Today is clean up day for the lil' boy because tomorrow is the 2 year old halter class at the Harney County Reined Cow Horse Futurity...but there's a lot that I can't do much about...

Oh bother!

Amanda worked so hard on trying to get him healed up from his face playing over the fence when he was in training at her place...and the lil' bugger comes home and can't keep himself out of trouble...everywhere I put him, he gets bunged up.

I'm trying to have a positive outlook for tomorrow, but Pierce just doesn't have what Colt had. I've wanted to blame it on Pierce being born at the end of May, but Colt was born just one month earlier...so it's not an age thing. Pierce is just taking longer to mature.

Seven years apart.

I'm sure Pierce will grow up and fill out...and look very similar in build as Colt...but today, he's just not like Colt was seven years ago.

Colt 2007 (LOL...standing very cow-hocked!!)

OK...want to know what's really on my mind? At the end of the day of Colt's final Futurity show, I realized that we had placed 2nd or 3rd every year...which I was told is very unusual, as horses have their ups and downs. But I was also told that it would be a long time before another Colt came along. That statement has haunted me since.

I try not to compare them. I worked very hard to get where I did with Colt, but I've got to work a lot harder with Pierce...he's not nearly as forgiving.

My original goal with Colt was to "not make a fool of either one of us." Colt helped me succeed and surpass that goal.

Now I'm just trying to have the guts to try it again.

Harney County Reined Stock Horse Futurity~Part 3~Final

~I have some clashes with my horse, 

but we're both high-strung as can be.~

~L. H. Wheeler 1899~ 

It was a pretty hot day, and it felt good to take a break after the dry and fence work. Colt and Whisper were at the horse trailer sharing a hay bag and relaxing. Cindy Sue and I headed into the fair in search of something to eat. We found a good hot dog with delicious grilled onions and peppers.

The Ranch Horse class was being held and it was fun to sit with friends in the grandstands and watch. I think the most exciting to watch was Whisper's owner's grandchild...10 years old and fearless. That kid makes us all look like a bunch of wimps!!! He can rope like he's shootin' an arrow...amazing!

But time was closing in on me...I got Colt bridled up again...time for the final event...roping.

Last spring I had asked my good friend Mary if she would be one of my two heelers (you get two in case the first heeler misses). She'd been coaching me at the brandings, and I felt really comfortable with her in the pen with me. Stewart Severe had been giving me a couple of roping lessons...he offered to help in the pen too, so I had a good crew to help me.

Of the six - 6 year olds in my class, one rider chose not to rope, so that left 5 horses. We were last in the draw. The rule is that once a cow had been roped, it's marked and can't be roped again. There is a 2 and 1/2 minute time limit.

My first two shots were misses...and I totally wasted my second shot because of my lack of patience to wait for the cow to present itself properly...but my third shot was a catch!!!

Makin' the catch!!

With my first two shots, I was trying for a smaller cow, but Stewart said "catch the big one"...she was set up just right...so I did. My gosh...poor Colt didn't know what to do with her...she was probably 700 pounds, and he'd only dragged 200 pound calves before!

Colt pulled for all he was worth!

None of this roping is the easy part...the catch is just the first part, then you need to drag it for the heeler to catch...and Colt gave it all he had. Stewart came in first for the heels and missed...then he said "It's up to you Mary." Mary came in behind, told me to keep it moving, and scooped up the hind two feet slick as can be!!! That's my girlfriend!!!

I took out the first two missed shots to make the video shorter...

You can tell I was pretty excited, and I had tears again...but we got'er done! I was so happy to see Mary there at the other end of that cow...it was even more exhilarating to me than the fence work...probably because I'd never done it before. BTW, if we had not made the catch or gotten the cow turned within the time allowed, we would have gotten a zero score...and we would not have placed...no pressure at all ;~)

So, at the end of the day where did we land?

1st place total score was 283.5
2nd place total score was  277.5
3rd place total score was 270.5

Colt and I took 2nd place...just 6 points behind the professional trainer...and 7 points ahead of the other professional trainer!!!

WhoooooHoooooo Colt...what a ride!!!

2nd place in the 6 Year Old Class!

Breathing a sigh of relief...we did it...we competed every year since Colt was a 2 year old...we placed 2nd or 3rd every year...we achieved our goal and surpassed all expectations.

Colt is a very exceptional horse. A friend told me that it will be a long time before I find another horse like Colt...and he's right. Colt's willingness to be trained has allowed me to get him here. I can't say how proud I am of this horse...he'll probably be the best horse I'll ever have the privilege to train and ride. Thanks Colt for just being you.

Thanks to all of my personal friends and neighbors who have helped me, and thanks to all of my internet/blogging friends. Your support and comments through the years have helped me so much. I raise my lil' glass of wine to you and say "cheers!"

Of course, last but not least, is a huge Thank You to My Man. He's put up with a lot of stuff...a wife that can be a lil' bit high-strung and a wife that spent a lot of money on getting this horse trained. I didn't hire a trainer, but with all the lessons, shows, and equipment, I'm afraid to add it all up! My Man has been there for me as often as he could. Head photographer, head EMT (equine maintenance technician), driver, gofer, whatever...and the shoulder to cry on when needed. I can't put into words how much you mean to me~

OK...on to our next adventure!!!

Harney County Reined Stock Horse Futurity~Part 2

~No one can tell me what is best for me;

only I know that.~

~Laura Benchly 1900~

Thursday mornin' comes all too early...My Man brings me coffee at 4 AM...in bed...what a Man!!! I get my butt in gear and head to the barn to feed, clean stalls, and brush the horses while they eat. Then it's feed the dogs, feed myself, make the bed and back to the barn to saddle. I only saddled Whisper at home since it would be quite a wait for Colt's class.

We leave at 6:15...right on time. The race track is in use from 6-7 AM, so we can't cross it with our rigs while they have use. I just want to get there early enough to ride Whisper in the arena before the two year old class starts at 8 AM.

She was a star!!! There wasn't one thing in that arena that spooked her...and she'd never seen bucking chutes, the digital scoreboard for the race horses, grandstands...all that normal stuff that you see at a fairgrounds arena. We loped some circles and did a general warm up...she was perfect.

There were 21 horses in the 3 year old class and we were in the middle of the pack. So, we had plenty of time to relax before our go. We're at the gate chatting with friends and watching the other horses do their dry work (reining pattern). That's all she has left to do as a 3 year old.

So, our turn comes up and we trot into the arena and go past the crow's nest and there's a few guys sitting under it and she gave them the one eyed look, but didn't spook! We then make our way to the center, stop and start our pattern. I make my circles and then get to the first turn around and something felt off...like I was turning the wrong way, but I kept going with what I thought was right. We finish the pattern and they announce my score: a zero...off pattern...hmmmm...

I'm racking my brain trying to think where I went wrong and finally found a friend of mine and asked if she saw what I did wrong..."Yep, you started out in the wrong direction...circles started to the right and you went left." Well duh me!!! I couldn't believe I made such a "grey haired" mistake!!! Boy did I feel stupid...but, her owner was fine with it. We wouldn't have made a high score anyhow because she's so green...she was just thrilled that she went in there and tried her lil' heart out!

And I do mean little...

Whisper and Colt...the little and the big! But, isn't she cute?!?
Everyone teased me that I finally found a horse my size!!!

Well, you can bet your boots that I wouldn't make that mistake again!!! My circles on Colt were going to start to the RIGHT!!!

The 4 year old class was next, and they also just did a dry work. The 5 year old and 6 year old classes are required to do the fence work. As each horse finishes their dry work, the rider calls for their cow and they immediately box the cow at one end, make their two or three turns on the long side of the arena and circle up the cow to complete the pattern.

Watching a reining pattern can be like watching paint dry, so I won't bore you with all that. I put in a couple of circles and a turnaround...then the video moves on to the fence work. I think this was Colt's best effort yet with the fence work. It was the same score as what we got in Lakeview the week before, but I felt he was rating much better with the cow...like he was really beginning to understand where he needed to be.

I couldn't help but come out of the arena with a big cheesy smile on my face!!! We scored a 69.5 on the dry and a 68 on the fence. Some day when we get our stops down, we'll make much better scores. I heard from a friend that the judge was hoping I'd do a big run down with him for my stops, but they never work for me...they always look and feel like crap. So, I played it safe and decided to take the penalty for not being as fast as he should have been. But, I was really pleased with his turn arounds and everything else...the fence work is just a kick in the pants no matter how you look at it...what an adrenaline rush!!!

We get a break after this while the Ranch Horse class takes place...next up...the roping event that is required of the 6 year old class...to be continued...

Harney County Reined Stock Horse Futurity~Part 1

~I have a mind of my own,

and I'm a very stubborn and determined person.~

~Iris Gordon 1905~

Well, it won't surprise me if you've forgotten me...it's been three weeks since I last blogged!!!

What have I been doing? Well, I had to look at the calendar to figure that out...in a nutshell: I got a horse in for training that needed a crash course for the Futurity (a green 3 year old by the name of Whisper), worked Colt for the Futurity, irrigating, moved cows with Rancher Dan, took a couple of roping lessons (Colt and I had to rope a 700-800 lb steer at the Futurity), attended a two day training clinic with Smoky Pritchett, got my hair cut (twice a year thing whether I need it or not), worked at the Post Office a couple of days, and attended the cow horse show at Lakeview for two days (yes, I know I was supposed to blog about that but didn't).

I know, poor excuses for not blogging, but to tell ya the truth, I've been pretty high strung about the Futurity and just didn't feel like opening up. I kept my nose to grindstone as much as possible and tried to stay focused.

But, as of yesterday afternoon I can breath freely again...Colt and I completed our first journey together. Five years of training and five Futurity shows later, we can officially say we made it!!

In that journey, we surpassed all expectations of what we could achieve. My main goal was to learn how to train a cow horse and not embarrass me or my horse. We not only did that, but we placed every year in the Futurity with respectable scores. Something I never dreamed possible~

Tuesday, after riding both Colt and Whisper, I clipped and bathed them and tucked them into their stalls for the night. Showing two horses is a lot harder than showing one (but, I have a friend who showed five...she's crazy!!!) Herd work is always held at the Bell A Ranch on Wednesday, and we needed to leave home by 8 AM.

The three year old class was first. I took Colt with me to the warm up arena and as I rode Whisper, Colt is having a temper tantrum like a 2 year old's first time away from home. Bucking and carrying on...I wanted to disown him...I wondered if that was going to be his attitude for the whole day!

We moved over to the cutting pen for the judges meeting, and I tied Colt to the fence with some other horses and inched my way further and further away from him. He finally settled down.

I got Whisper showed. We scored a 60, which is what both her owner and I expected. She had never worked cows out of a herd before, and she'd only followed cows on two other occasions. But, she tried her hardest to listen to me, she never got upset, and her owner was happy. The goal for Whisper was to show her this year so she'll still be qualified to show next year.

Then showed the four year olds and the five year olds...and finally my six year old class. I got a lucky draw...first...which also means I get to choose who will be settling our herd of heifers. I chose my good friend Michelle Severe...you know Michelle who did my awesome drawing in the two-rein on the right panel of my blog. These were a great pen of heifers, and she did a great job.

I chose an all girl team. My friend Wendy sat in one corner (a perfect spot for her to coach me), Peggy in the other corner and Michelle and Melanie turned back for me. It was the most awesome run Colt and I have ever had. We scored a 73...my best herd work score ever...and we won the class!!! In fact, we had the highest score of all the aged classes (3 year old to 6 year old).

Wendy told me after the class that she knew I had a perfect run going and didn't want to say a thing and jinx it...she just let me do my thing...

Wendy and I are celebrating...Colt and her horse Houdini don't seem to give a rip!!
Colt had no idea how well he did...I wish I could talk to him.

One leg down...three more to go...dry, fence, and roping. We do all of that at the fairgrounds the following day...so, I'll leave this to be continued...

Gus' Debut & Off to the Pendleton Roundup!

~If a man had to give birth, he'd be a more considerate person.~

~Ma Robertson 1901~

Lil' Gus got to strut his stuff in the 2 year old halter class at the Harney County Reined Stock Horse Futurity last Thursday. Bless his lil' heart...he had to have a bath (with soap) on Wednesday afternoon, get covered up with a blanket, and stay the night in a stall (next to Colt)...all of which he'd done none! Then he's asked to load into the big trailer (with dividers) and had to back out of...all of which he'd done none! But he was a star!!!

I think it's the innocence of the young age that makes them so adaptable. He was so willing to just go with the flow. Of course I'd practiced hosing him off and clipping him with the electric clippers and he'd done very well in the practice sessions. But the day of the "beauty parlor treatment" it was only 60 some degrees and a lil' bit breezy...not very appealing to a colt as you come at him with a cold hose of water!

We made it as quick as possible and took some short cuts, but he turned out just fine for our Futurity class.

"Here Mom, you don't have your glasses on...I'll read that for you!"

I was mighty proud of the lil' guy. We made the first cut to 10 horses from 20, but after we trotted out for the judge, he never looked at Gus again...guess he didn't like what he saw. But I still consider it a VERY successful day. He went to town, was a very brave boy, and gained a bunch of experience...and he came home happy! I'm good with that!

"See Mom...I'm lookin' handsome! I don't know why that judge didn't like me?!?"

So, we've got a lot to work on for next year. As a three year old, he'll need to cut & hold cows out of the herd and do a reining pattern (including flying lead changes). It's going to be a busy winter for the two of us!

If you don't remember what he looked like when I got him last May...take a look at Gus' intro blog post...he sure changed!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pendleton!!! 

Who's going to the 100th Anniversary of the Pendleton Roundup?!?!?!?!?!

I know it's a lil' bit late to make a date with any bloggers who might be going to the 100th anniversary of the Pendleton Roundup, but I hope to see a couple of you. My Man took an extra day off of work and we're leaving Tuesday AM. Cindy Sue is staying with her Auntie Judy for a sleep over, and the big kids are staying home with the neighbor's checking in on them.

It'll be a great time...with no responsibilities!! A TRUE vacation!! See ya'll next week...

Let 'er Buck!

Harney County Reined Cow Horse Futurity-2010 (Colt)

~If men want to smell like cattle, they should bed down with them.~

~Kathleen Madder 1919~

This year sure went fast...another show season is done. I've been so busy this past week with getting Colt and Gus ready for the Futurity, we haven't been visitin' anybody's blogs. When we get back from our week at Pendleton, I hope things get back to normal...missin' you all!!

Everyone thought it was a great competition this year...the weather could have been a little more cooperative, but it could have been worse. Our normal sunny 85 degree September fair days just weren't to be...cool temps, wind, clouds and quite a bit of rain. But, we all survived.

I'll let the video tell the story on Colt's herd and fence work. The reining is so boring, the I just couldn't include any of it. There's nice sunshine on Day 1 during the herd work, but Day 2 brought the heavy clouds and rain. My Man had a hard time following me because it was so dark on the camera screen...so he missed my first turn on the fence :(





LOL~listen to my friends helpin' me out...that was so cool...thank you all for your support! At the end, I wasn't sure if I'd got that final circle or if the judge blew the whistle because I ran out of time...so, that's why I asked "Did I get it?"

The results? We ended up in third place overall...I'm so proud of Colt!!!

L-R 1st place Corey Shelman, 2nd place MaryLee White, 3rd place Colt & me, Wendy Rickman giving out the awards.

It was an honor to be in the company of two of the best horsemen in the County.

What's in that big blue bag? A really cool, fancy camping chair with a leather plaque on it...I love it!! Can't wait to take it to Pendleton!

But the day's not over yet...the finale is the "Harney County Super Horse" award. The top 10 scores of the horses in the 5 year old, 6 year old, and Senior Horse Open get to compete...we ranked #8! I was just thrilled that I made the top 10! What did we have to do? Rope...something I don't do...yet. We didn't have a chance to make it, but, what the heck, I'm not going to turn down the opportunity to get Colt into the pen and at least follow a cow!!!

Waiting for the "Super Horse" roping.

Colt looks like he's ready to go to sleep...and I'm sure he'd rather be home at this point...it's a rough life being a cow pony!! That was a big wad of rope in my left hand; the mecate, the romel reins, and the rope. I got lots of coaching from my friends! In fact the gal in the photo behind me is my friend Debbi, who encouraged me to continue on into the two-rein...if she hadn't, I wouldn't have been here...thanks Deb!

Gettin' into the herd...

...got one separated...

...and a big miss!

(These were stills from the camera movie, so that's why they're so small)


Needless to say, we didn't catch, but Colt was right there following and trying. He stayed calm and listened to everything I asked him to do...even though I didn't know what I was doin'! The up side on this is that we got invited to help brand some calves this fall, we got invited to another friend's place where her husband (who's a darn good roper) will give me a lesson, and one of the best ropers in the county told me that I had a really nice horse and that he should be headin' steers off of him! I was proud as punch...even though I was pretty embarrassed!

Who won the "Harney County Super Horse"? Well...my friend Debbi!! Whooohoooo! Go Cowgirls!!!

So, that was Colt's big news...I'll get a post up for Gus' debut in his 2 year old halter class.

Thanks for all of your support and well wishes...we really appreciate your friendship!!

Lake County Fair Stock Horse Show

~There comes a time when you're gonna

get bucked, and you're gonna need to know

what to do so you don't get stepped on.~

~Betsy Swain, 1875~

Colt, Cindy Sue, and I loaded up Thursday mornin' headin' for Lakeview, Oregon. Every year they have a really great horse show lineup...from pleasure, to cutting, to branding, to working cow horse, to penning...it's a pretty big deal for that sleepy lil' town.

On Thursday they have a cutting show, and it really draws a lot of cutters from California and Oregon. As soon as the cutting show is done, the herd work for the Working Cow Horse Show starts. I didn't enter the cutting show this year, we just did the Cow Horse show.

The cows are usually solid black Angus and FAST! The herd that I got this time was a really nice bunch though, and I was second up in the draw, so the cows were still soft. In fact, the two cows I worked were almost too soft. We could have had one with a lil' bit more aggressiveness, and we would could have showed a lil' bit better and had a better score. But, we showed well and scored a 66.

The next morning all the horses in the "aged" classes get mouthed by the vet (to make sure they're the correct age for the class they're entered in). I warmed Colt up in the arena for a few minutes, got him mouthed and took him back to the trailer to finish his breakfast. We wouldn't be showing until 11:30 or so.

I got on him again around 11 AM and warmed him up. He seemed a bit tired, so I didn't want to over-do his warm up...just enough to get his muscles ready to work.

The reining pattern went very well (he didn't dink around with his lead changes like at the last show) and we scored a 67 1/2. Then I called for my cow for the fence work. I was super pleased with Colt's try...he's got such a big heart. We did the first turn on the long wall just right, but I didn't get Colt positioned correctly on the second turn, and we didn't get the cow turned until past the corner and lost 2 points.

But, look at how proud Colt is of himself after working that cow...he's just licking his lips and and sayin' "I did GOOD!!"





Loosing two points meant a lot...we came in second in the 4-6 Year Old Hackamore Class...1/2 point behind the winner...So Close to winnin' that buckle!!!

I feel pretty good about next week's Futurity though...but, we'll be showing in the two-rein instead of the hackamore. All in all it was a great show, we had fun, and I learned a bunch too.

Show Day~Part 2!

~When I was a girl, I had dreams of becoming a woman.

Now that I'm a woman, I have dreams of becoming a girl.~

~Agnes Mobley 1898~ 

Oops...guess I forgot to mention that there was more to Saturday than just the cutting show!

But, before we get to that, I want to apologize for sounding  like a whiner in yesterday's post. Everyone left such thoughtful and encouraging comments...you are all greatly appreciated! I'm totally pleased with where Colt and I are considering when I started him as a two year old, I didn't know how to teach a horse flying lead changes, do a spin or a sliding stop. I've done all of Colt's training myself...I can't afford to hire a trainer...but that's what makes the whole process so rewarding...looking at what we've accomplished. What I learned yesterday, is that my horse knew which cow I should have taken...HE KNEW! I need to listen to my horse more often!!  Thank you for being such good friends.

OK...on to Part 2...Our Reined Stock Horse Futurity Board asked the High Desert Cutters if they could do a stock horse jackpot after our last cutting, and it all worked out! Our Futurity is September 8-9 and this really helped people find out how their horses were coming along...and we all need all the practice we can get!

It was pretty simple; they just scored on the dry work (reining pattern) and fence work (there weren't enough cattle to do herd work too). The competition was divided into snaffle bit/hackamore horses, bridle horses, and youth. I think they had about 12 entries.

I did a really dumb thing by not checking the memory left on the card that was in the camera...so it died on My Poor Man just as I started my fence work...dang...that was the best part of our whole day!!!

But, here's a lil' bit of the reining pattern and what lil' bit we got in the camera on the cow...

The pattern that they chose had two large fast circles and one small slow circle, change leads in the middle, and then two and one again. Colt is really good at changing leads and tends to anticipate the changes. You see him bobble in the first circle trying to change leads on me...lil' bugger! But he did the other changes nicely, but I could feel him thinking...I just tried to focus him on forward as much as possible.

My sliding stops don't have much slide to them...I'm working on that, but his turn arounds are OK...we just keep working on adding a lil' bit more speed. Our score on the dry work was only 63.

But the fence work, which I didn't have much confidence in at all, turned out great! I got some coaching last Thursday evening when we had herd practice at the Bell-A Ranch...that really helped. The cow I got didn't have a lot of speed, but it sure wanted out of the pen (looking for a way out all the time through the fence). I wanted to work it two more turns in my boxing, but it darted under Colt's neck and headed up the long side of the arena...I thought to myself I'm never gonna get this cow turned...she had just learned how to be disrespectful of us...but we took her up the wall and asked for the turn and she turned!! Yeah!!

OK...now the turn to the left...yep, got'er done!  Then we circled her to the left first and that went well, but when I changed hips on the cow and got about have a right circle done she died...we ran out of cow. I had to do a lot of hollering at that cow to get her to go and it took us two tries to get her to complete the circle to the right...but we got'er done...the whistle blew!

We scored a 67!!

I didn't get to see the judge's sheet, but My Man said the judge kept saying "nice horse" while I was working him...that sure made me feel good!

So, that was our big day...Oh yea...I either got 3rd or 4th and will be getting a check! I like that part!

Penalties: Back Fence & Switching Cattle

~I'm not afraid to do something new.

I learned self-reliance on the ranch.~

~Marion Collins 1903~

Last Saturday was the final cutting for the High Desert Cutters season. I didn't really mean yesterday's post to be a teaser, but I have to say thanks for all of the inquiries about the results!

Colt and I really weren't in the running for an award. If you recall, Colt had his lil' leg injury this spring and we missed the first cutting...so, we just got off to a slow start. But, somehow it always works that way. If the third place person did really bad and I did really good, we might have taken third...but it didn't work out that way.

Here's part of the video that my friend Andi took for me. It shows two penalties that we received...see if you can identify them:

On the first cow I cut, you saw this:

Back Fence penalty: 3 points

When the cow that's been cut gets past the Corner Marker (to the left side of the marker) it's a 3 point penalty. It's pretty obvious...loosing the cow all together would be worse (5 point penalty), but Colt and I just weren't in the right position or quick enough to keep the cow out away from the back fence.

Then on the second cow, to my surprise, the judge penalized me for "Changing cattle after a specific commitment." I was wondering why my score was only a 61.

This lil' move right here made it look like I'd chosen the brindle cow.

You can hear my friends saying "what are you doing?!?"

In my mind I hadn't chosen a cow yet...I was keeping the cows in front of me and I was waiting for the last cow left standing. As the blond cow turned to my right, she was the farthest away from me, and so I chose her...thinking the rest were headed back to the herd.

Loosing another 5 points really hurt...literally...I was in tears when I read the judges sheet. I hadn't slept well the night before, stress, trying to do our best...and just plain emotional. It happens sometimes.

But, I learned a lot from that run...but I still have questions in my mind about how to handle it in the future though.

Colt seemed to have chosen the brindle cow...but I hadn't. Do I need to go with what my horse chooses not me? It seems to be a very fine line. My inexperience got me this time. Input from anyone would be appreciated.


I think we came in 4th overall...and this next year was our 4th year in the same class. Horses get to move up to the next class when they place 1st or 2nd in the class...maybe next year will be our year...but I said that this year...and I said that last year too...

OK...my commitment to myself is to get on the ball this winter with training as much as possible. It's hard without an indoor facility and the wind is blowing the snow sideways...but we have some options. and I've got to take advantage of them. Both Gus and Colt will be shown next year! We've got a lot of work to do!

Colt's Cutting and a Couple of Gifts!

Last weekend flew by like a storm! Saturday the High Desert Cutters held their annual Scholarship Cutting. Colt and I competed and we did OK...scored a 69 and landed in the middle of the pack.

My Man was on camera duty and didn't get the video button pressed hard enough, but he did get a few still shots.

Competing in the Scholarship Cutting.

The club raised enough money to award at least three $500 scholarships that will go to college students from Harney County. This is the 3rd year we've done this event, and it's always been our biggest cutting of the year.

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This "Thank You" is long over due...I have a very bad habit of putting thank you's off...bad me.

See, this one's from back in March!!! March...wasn't it just March? Where has the time gone...anyhow.

But hey, see these totally cool horsehair key fobs?

I love the colors!

Susan writes a great blog over at Rocking Seven Mile Ranch and her husband, Tom, keeps himself busy with this wonderful art. It's so tiny and tedious that I always wonder how men do it with their big fingers and thumbs! But, they had a lil' heifer calf born and needed help naming it...so they had a contest...and I won with the suggested name of "Maybelline" because of her long, gorgeous eyelashes.

Actually, I want to use mine as a zipper pull, I just can't decide what to put it on!

So, I get my key ring in the mail and My Man immediately trys to take posession of it!! LOL...I bought another one. The second package came in the mail the other day and My Man said I had mail from Montana..."No honey, you have mail from Montana...you might as well open it." Needless to say, he's a very happy man!

Thanks Susan and Tom for doing such a fun give away and choosing Maybelline as the heifer's name!

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Then a few days ago we get a package in the mail from our dearest friends Ron & Carrie (they helped us paint our house last fall). We weren't expecting anything...but was a fun surprise!!!

It's a board game!!

Cowgirls Ride the Trail of Truth

And it came at a perfect time!! Tomorrow my good friends Kris and Debbie are meeting me up in the Ochoco National Forest for the annual wild horse inventory! Four nights and five days of camping and photographing wild horses! Not to mention LOTS of good food and beverages!

Life, Love, Passion, Friendship...a game for swapping tales, sharing friendships, exploring self.

This should be a blast and keep us well entertained in the evenings!


I hope to get lots of great wild horse shots as well as an array of wild flowers and hopefully a few shots of the local wildlife.

Hope everyone has a great week...and weekend...see y'all next week!

Cuttin'~Coyote~and Wildlife on the Ranch

I'm not getting much blogging time since I'm in the middle of a huge ag survey job...that will end on June 11, but I've got to keep my nose to the grindstone...

My first ever wild horse, Coyote, left last Friday for a trial with his prospective new owners. I finally got serious the guts to put him on DreamHorse last week...and the very same day I got numerous inquiries. This prospective home will be an excellent match I believe.

My farrier, Pat, and his wife happen to be mutual friends with the buyer, who lives in the Willamette Valley. We made arrangements for Coyote to travel with Pat for a week long visit. We packed Coyote in with Pat's three horses (nose to tail in a slant)...it was a pretty tight fight, but he rode like a champ. It was a long haul, and he came out of the trailer taking everything in stride...I would expect nothing less of the big guy.  They were hoping to get a good trail ride in today, but the weather in Oregon has been very wet...even here on the East side.

It'll be hard on the heart to not have Coyote here

with us, but he's such a good horse, and I don't

believe good horses deserve to be left standing around.

I'm sure that he'll be enhancing another person's life;
he'll have purpose.

Sorry about the fuzzy, but I got into the digital zoom.

While I rode up on the hill getting the photos of Coyote, I took some shots waaaaaaaaaay across the draw of what I thought were deer...but when I downloaded them today, I see they were antelope! These are the first antelope I've ever seen on our ranch. I'm sure they've been here before, I've just never seen them, so it was a real treat!

We took time out last Saturday so Colt and I could attend the 2nd cutting of the season with the High Desert Cutters. Between the rain and snow, it was questionable whether the arena would be OK. The Board of Directors decided to go for it and it was perfect footing!

Colt and I didn't do so good...got a back fence penalty and then lost the cow and scored a 60. But the last cow was OK, so at least we were able to quit on a good note. But as you watch this snippet, notice the gorgeous background...springtime in Catlow Valley...it really can't get much better!

It's Not a Buckle

Well, it's not the buckle I've been hopin' for...but I've known it for quite some time now. Back in July I posted that I thought I had achieved my goal in life...which is to win a belt buckle with a horse that I've trained.

It didn't happen...because of the point system that the club uses (I missed the last show and because I would rather be at the Pendleton Roundup), I took reserve champion reiner instead of champion reiner.

I don't mind at all. My friend Wendy made all three shows and got the points to make champion. She's worked hard all year showing multiple horses in the cutting club and the saddle club and deserves recognition. Way to go Wendy!

As reserve, I was awarded this great Oster

grooming kit. This will be perfect as a "show brush"

kit. It's totally appreciated...thanks to the

Great Basin Saddle Club!

So...my sights are on next year...there's a buckle out there somewhere with my name on it...right...???!!!???

Patience...and more hard work~~

Futurity Results...A Great Ending to A Great Year

The days have come and gone so quickly this year, but I still can hardly believe the Futurity is over; the show that started my whole relationship and adventure with Colt over 3 years ago.

The herd work was held at the Bell A Ranch just outside of Burns on Wednesday at noon. Then the dry and fence work was held at the fairgrounds on Thursday, which ends up being an all day affair.

In the 4 year old class, horses only showed in the herd and dry work. I've done a video of Colt combining the two events...

Originally there were 9 horses entered in our class, but one scratched. Our herd work score was 72 (highest score was 73), and our dry work score was also a 72 (highest score was 74 1/2). We were second in both herd and dry.

So, that put us second place over all!! WhooooHoooo Colt!! We also took high-point hackamore horse. Horses could show in either a snaffle or a hackamore as a 4 year old, but a special prize was donated to the high-point hackamore horse.

I have to say that I think the judge scored on the high side, but she did that with everyone so it seemed fair. Colt has done better patterns...and as you can see from his cranking tail and his leaping lead changes, he was not really happy about the whole thing. He's usually out to pasture with his buddies at night and enjoys his rolls in the dust and mud...after the two days at Lakeview last week, then these two days, and being in his stall/run for three nights, he was a lil' on the pissy side. We'll have to work on that for next year. I hate cranking tails.

But I'm totally proud of him and look forward to next year!

Colt was not wanting to be photogenic...so I helped him.

I decided that he needed a lot of help!

But, after getting home at 6 PM and having a good roll,

he's pretty happy with grain and full tire of hay.

Colt says "This is the way I like it!"

Thanks for putting up with all of our show stuff this year...next Monday we're off to gather cattle down in Diamond...up off a mountain I've not been to before...should be very pretty...I'll take the camera, ya think?!?