Monthly Archives: June 2010

CCRRAAZZYY extra long weekend…where do I start?  (HHMM Thinking…Thinking lol)  OK So this weekend I had a new traveling partner with me (Susan Cragar) and a new horse in the trailer (Odessa Be Nimble aka Cowgirl). I had been quietly looking for a new horse for Susan since February and when my good friend Jodi Stuenhrenberg called and told me she had decided to sell her good mare Cowgirl, I knew that the possibilities of that match up could be great.  I got the details worked out with Jodi and she dropped the mare off at my place the day before I was supposed to leave.  Susan and I were entered in Rome, GA & Waco, GA in the same day on May 29th and luckily we found trades to run in the slack at Waco so we could possibly make both of them.  I headed to TN Friday so that Susan could make a practice run on Cowgirl and get “aquainted” with her before the big day Saturday.  The “practice” run did not go as expected at all and I ended up getting on her and after about 30 minutes of “what in the heck is wrong with you” I decided that it was time to stop for the night and regroup in the morning.  After breakfast we went down to the barn to ride and I decided to put a hackamore on Cowgirl and she was immediately a different horse and worked AWESOME.  wwhheeewww What a relief…Susan and I got packed and headed down the rodeo road, not before stopping for fuel though and cleaning out the gas station of every junk food made and I hooked Susan up with some “Focus” drink   When we got to the rodeo we sweet talked the guys into letting us park up by the entrance so we could get out easily and no be blocked in anywhere where we might get stuck.  You could tell from the night before that people had been getting stuck and it looked like it may rain again.  When we went up to pay our fees we were pretty entertained by the fence that was dragging behind a 4 wheeler to umm level out the arena (I guess that was the goal there) and we also found out that they had decided to start the rodeo a half hour later than advertised   NOT GOOD if we were gonna make Waco.  So last weekend if you all remember I had tried to become a professional singer lol…well this weekend it was ROCK CLIMBER!!  They had one of those rock walls there and I decided to try and climb it.  I went up the easy side to practice and then there is a hard side that you can pay $10 to go up and if you make it to the top and hit this little buzzer (which he did not tell me about the little buzzer before I went up the wall) you get $100 back!!  So anyway I start up the hard side and was actually very greatful I had just got my nails done b/c I used them to help pry my fingers between the wall and the little nub things they considering hand holds.  I made it to the top and jumped for the red thing (the buzzer was located inside of it) and then fell off the wall lol.  It was definitley a work out but alot of fun.  Who knows professional rock climber may be in my future haha.  ANYWAY back to rodeo stuff….Susan and I got saddled up for grand entry and while she was saddling Cowgirl noticed that she was REALLY swollen underneath..she had been bit by something and it looked HORRIBLE.  We touched all over it and Cowgirl was not swollen or sore so I had her ride her around to see if affected her at.  She looked good in grand entry moving so I said to go for it.  It started raining after grand entry (GOODY) and the rodeo just seemed to take forever.  I had someone at Waco calling to give me updates and it was pretty apparent that there was NO WAY we were making it over there in time to run.  This rodeo was kind of a family affair for Susan as both of her boys Josh (Bareback Rider) and Preston (Calf Roper & Steer Wrestler) were entered.  So as we watched the other events we noticed the ground getting VERY slick.  Horses were sliding everywhere and I immediatly had a flash back to Chapel Hill the weekend before.  Susan and I were down in the running order so luckily we could watch.  As the barrels started the ground seemed to be holding really good so we decided to run and I tried to get into my “Eye of the Tiger” running mode   Chunky went in HARD and I grabbed him a little soon at the first, so we rubbed it going in and made our pocket on the outside of the barrel.  He got over good for the 2nd, turned it hard…and we hipped it coming out…DANG IT…had an awesome 3rd and I let him cruise out.  Our time would have been good enough for 2nd place…GGGGRRRR  Susan and Cowgirl were next and I was very proud that Susan let her roll from the back of the alley way.  This little mare can BOOK IT to the first barrel and turn it the same every trip and she smoked it.  She got a tad bit behind her and coming around the backside of the 2nd Cowgirl hesitated a little bit in the mud.  She got out of it ok though and had a good 3rd barrel.  Although they didn’t draw a check at this one, I was still very excited for the way they were teaming up. It was their first “real” run together and I expect great things from them in the future!! 

On a side note…Congratulations to Austyn Holly & Firewater Fix aka Bubba.  Austyn bought Bubba from me back in October and they have been a force to be reckoned with ever since…winning both Rome & Waco this weekend!!  Keep it up chick!  Congrats also out to Mesa Leavitt on Frosty this weekend for placing in the 1-D, winning the 2nd go, placing in the finals, & winning 2nd in the youth of Frosty Peppy Olena aka Frosty in Gifford, IL.  Frosty was my moms main horse this past season and was sold to Mesa in March!!

So it was still raining and by the time we got unsaddled and ready to go Waco was all ready over slack and all so we waited around for a shot to get out.  People were getting stuck EVERYWHERE and pulled out with the tractor.  The first open hole we saw, I kicked it into 4 wheel drive and floored it   We made it out and headed back to Tennessee.  Preston wasn’t far behind us in his rig, and then Josh got out a little bit later with his crew.  On our way home my truck was running great up Monteagle when I heard something go under the hood and I lost all power.  It doesn’t matter how many times the guys tell me it was that went wrong I still can’t remember but something to do with the turbo and a hose.  The boys got it fixed fairly quickly and we were back on the road….for a few seconds anyway before it did it again.  Apparently it just wasn’t tight enough the first time b/c this time after it was fixed it held and we made it back to Tennessee. 

We woke up Sunday morning and I was treated to my second home cooked breakfast of the weekend (I could totally get used to this…thinking they need to kick one of the boys out and adopt a daughter - lol)  Susan and I decided to go to a horse show on Sunday so she could get the feel of Cowgirl a little more.  I remember every time I go to a show why I LOVE rodeos….horse shows take too long and too much can go wrong…for instance they missed my time on both horses I ran and I had to run both horses again…so 4 runs on 2 horses…go me.   I jump rode this little dun mare that a guy in Tennessee is trying to sell.  I LOVE her..she was very easy and we ended up winning the 2D   Susan and I worked on some little fine tuning on Cowgirl and she worked really well for her.  We barely beat the rain out of there and headed back to the house.  After a VERY long Monday morning we decided to just work horses at the house instead of going to the horse show…the weekend had wore me out and I still had a 3 hour drive home.  Cowgirl looked great and I could tell Susan was getting more confident with every ride.  They treated me dinner at the Mexican restaraunt down the road and I headed home….one horse lighter in the trailer

Until next weekend
Amber

Quote of the weekend: “To forgive is the highest, most beautiful form of love. In return, you will receive untold peace and happiness.

What a crazy, long, emotional weekend this was.  I left for the Lonestar Rodeo in Chapel Hill, TN on Friday night with Beea back in the trailer and Chunky.  I was excited to get to Chapel Hill and look at the pen to see who I would run.  After a couple weather updates from friends down that way, I was starting to get concerned as to what the ground would look like when I got there.  I drove through rain on the way to Chapel Hill and when I pulled in I saw where trucks had been spinning so I locked the truck in 4 wheel drive and got through the mess to park.  The rodeo ended up starting later then advertised which was already putting me behind for heading to the next one.  I saddled Chunky for grand entry still unsure of who I would run and was gonna “test” the ground a little bit.  He seemed ok during my few loping circles in grand entry but as I watched the bareback and saddle bronc horses I could tell the ground was NOT good.  They were sliding all over the places and as the rodeo went on EVERYTHING was having problems on the ground.  I knew with Beea’s running style that she was gonna be all or nothing so I stayed on Chunky and decided to watch the first few barrel racers before I made my decision.  I was 7th out so would be able to tell by the first few what I wanted to do.  Jennifer Dunn was the first girl out and I knew she would be a good one to watch.  She has an awesome little horse who normally can stand up on anything.  Her horse ran hard at the first and when she went to turn slipped really bad and went down.  My heart sank…the next girl turned out…#3 went in and completely pancaked at the 1st barrel….#4…down at the 2nd….#5 turned out…#6 made it through the pattern half way loping but still was sliding….I knew at that point I was not going to take a chance with my horse and was not going to get into a loping contest for a $500 added rodeo.  I was completely disgusted, pissed, and now I had to get back on the road to make the 9 hour drive to Carthage, MO in order to be there by 10 in the morning for the Cody Stephens Memorial rodeo.  I was already tired and considered crashing a few hours in Tennessee but knew I needed to get on the road.  I stopped at a gas station on the way got my NOS energy drinks and followed the detailed directions from one little grey road to the next across TN & MO.  Thank you to all my friends who answered their phones in the wee hours of the morning to help keep me awake.   By about 5:00am I decided I might take up a new profession of being a professional singer…I decided I would test out my skills by leaving a couple voice messages of me singing to someone who I knew would tell me the truth about my mad skills…haha you know who you are and you should feel very privledged lmao -  Anyway after my mini concerts I felt a bit rejuvinated and arrived in Carthage at about 8:30am.  I found Cody’s mom as soon as I got there and I was struggling not to cry already.  I knew it was gonna be an emotional day.  I had not seen his family since the IFR in January and I was very happy that I got to spend the day with them remembering Cody.  I got to run both Beea and Chunky and was excited to see how Beea would be after having the last week off.  She warmed up GREAT…very relaxed and smooth.  Chunky was his old normal self and we were about to experience a new challenge with this arena (a side gate dun dun dun)  I ran Beea first and as soon as I went through the gate I could tell she wasnt right.  She got very strong and took the bit at the first barrel.  I got her around it ok but the whole run was just her pulling through the bit and trying to get away from me   I decided after that that maybe she just need to be turned out for alittle bit.  She is only 6 and has ALWAYS been such a worker for me in every run that I made on her in that first month…placing me at the All Region Finals against some of the toughest horses in the IPRA as well as other horse shows.  I called the owners and made arrangements with them to just get her turned out for a month or so and to get her looked over by a vet to make sure it was nothing physical.  Up next was Chunky.  I decided my best approach to the side gate was to back him through it so he didnt try running dead at the first barrel from the gate.  He was very responsive and let me back him up….however….lol when I tried to turn him to the right he tried to take off.  I got him under control and to the middle of the arena facing away from the barrels.  When I turned him to go he took off hard and inhaled the first barrel.  The ground was a little hard and he stumbled at the 2nd taking an extra step around but came back good.  He got a little by the 3rd barrel and ran hard home.  We ended up being 1 or 2 holes out of the money but I was very pleased with the way he worked overall.  After I got the ponies taken care of I went up to the office to see if I could help with anything.  I figured the payout for them and was happy to help.  I spent some time with his sisters Ashley and Gannyn.  Gannyn had just had her appendix removed that week so she was pretty upset that she couldnt ride but she did win the dummy roping!!  Go Gannyn!  His sister Ashley also placed in the barrel racing!  I had a 10 hour drive home and knew I needed to get on the road….I was gonna try to make it home and was going on about 30 some hours of no sleep.  The drive home was long and looking back on everything just made me feel extremely blessed for everything that I have and the opportunitys I have been given to do what I love.  Your Life can change in an instance and its very easy to take things for granted. 

Quote of the Day: 

“Life is too short to wake up with regrets. So love the people that treat you right. Love the ones who don’t just because you can. Believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a second chance grab it with both hands. If it changes your life…let it. Kiss Slowly….Forgive Quickly. God never said lif…e would be easy, He just promised it would be worth it!”

Just a quick reminder to not forget about the Scwab Collier Benefit