Amber Mostoller

So the last few months have been full of changes for me.  After the rodeos in September were over, the chances of making the IFR were VERY slim.  I was making money but so was everyone else that was ahead of me.  I had been staying in North Carolina to go to the last few rodeos and was given the opportunity to stay and ride some outside horses for a few people including Jeanette Nelson who owns and operates Triple N Ranch.  Jeanette has had owned some of the top futurity colts over the years and many have gone on to become great rodeo horses.  She also stands two great stud horses both of which are making names for themselves as well: Deep Sixum and JL Turn Ta Fame.  We currently have 5 of her great open horses to ride and sell for her (Heza Grand Sixum, NNN Sixums Top Gun, LL Blind Faith, Famous and Lucky, & Page of Fame)

 The month of October brought the IBRA National Finals in Wilmington, OH as well and I allowed my mom to run JB Absolute aka Abby.  Mom had qualified on her before I bought her and was missing her, so I let her run her all week.  Mom and Abby won the Sponsors/ Directors Race, placed in the $10,000 Guaranteed, won the long go of the Masters, & won the 2-D Open National Championship for over $4,000 in earnings along with a Buckle, Saddle, and other awards GOOO MOM!  I headed back South and ran Abby in Williamston, NC to win 3rd!  I decided with all the horses I had to ride to give Abby some time off and quietly advertise her for sale.  I got a call from a friend in Indiana who had been watching Abby closely and wanted to try her.  I headed to Indiana in the middle of December, she tried her, loved her and I headed back South without Abby.  Abby and I have been through alot the last few years and she always seemed to find her way back to me, so it was a very emotional day.  Congratulations Rikki Morse on the purchase of this amazing mare. 

I had an awesome Christmas with my mom, little brother, and other family in Ohio, but had to be back to North Carolina so we could head out to the rodeo December 28th in Memphis, TN.  It was the first IPRA rodeo of the new season and I was running a horse I had only been on one other time.  His name is Justa Easy Routine aka Rudy and is owned by the Kerr Family in Huntersville, NC.  The rodeo was only $400 added but I had to take a horse back that I had been riding for a customer near Memphis so we figured we would be killing two birds with one stone   Teresa Kerr Tyner, Memphis (my dog), & I headed out the night before to make the 10 hour drive and arrived in time to watch the 10:00am slack Tuesday morning.  The rodeo is held at the Shelby Show Place Arena which is the same arena that we used to hold our IBRA National Finals at from 1999-2004.  (Fun Fact:  It is also the same arena that I purchased “my” Memphis at back in 2003) Teresa and I were both in the performance so it was nice being able to watch all of slack to see how the ground was holding up.  Ground looked to be getting a little deep but I knew that at 16.0 hands Rudy would be able to get through it!  He warmed up really good for me and I was anxious waiting to run.  I rode him a little cautious to the first barrel, but tried to make up for it riding hard to the 2nd…he really shut down for the 2nd barrel and I barely got around it!  We had a good 3rd barrel and ended up running good enough for a 6th place check!  Last hole but we will take it!! 

Next on the schedule…Asheville, NC December 31-January 1st SEBRA Bulls and Barrels which is my last ditch effort to make the SEBRA finals!  Stay tuned!

Quote of the day:  “I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.”

CD in the truck right now:  Luke Kaufman!

Amber and Abby 1st Go

Soo all season long we all look forward to St Tite. The added money, the crowds, the go cart tracks (video here) and really just the overall experience of it all. I made the short go in 2007 on Mighty Mouse and in 2008 on Rookie and REALLY wanted to make it on Abby. In 2009 I was all geared up to go and Abby got hurt at the McDonough rodeo the weekend before St Tite so I had to jump on something when I got up there and it was a train wreck…Anyway 2010 was a new year…Abby worked AWESOME at Dalton, Lagrange, & McDonough and my confidence was UP. I was going to St Tite with a bareback rider (Josh Cragar) 2 bronc riders (Eddie Parlier & Austin Joseph) & 4 bull riders (Jon Mastrangelo, Tj Smith, Cody Holladay, & Allen Pippen) so it was sure to be an interesting week lol. Josh, Cody, & Allen & I left from McDonough and headed north. We picked up TJ, Jon, & Eddie in TN and then Austin we were picking up at the airport in Quebec. It was a 24 driive straight through and we made it up there in one piece sometime in the middle of the night Monday. St Tite is 2 go rounds and a short go with the top 10 in the average advancing to the short go. My first run was Wednesday morning slack and all of the boys would compete in their first round Wednesday night. The barrel racing draw is a complete reversal so it is luck of the draw whether you end up getting one of the performances or not. There were 99 barrel racers entered and i was in the 20′s which meant my second go would be Friday night (YES)!! I was very excited to get a perf for my second go instead of my second go being Thursday morning slack. The ground is always great in St Tite but its a long run to the first barrel. Abby and I went down the pen a little bit at the 1st barrel but she ran hard and we clocked a 17.0 which was somewhere around 20th in the 1st go…not too bad for our first run. In 2008 I made the short go with a 17.0 & a 16.5 and this year was shaping up to be the same way so I knew what I had to run in the 2nd Go.

Amber and Abby 2nd Go

Friday night rolled around and there is nothing like hearing that crowd up there…its insanely loud, fireworks, great music, and it just gets your adrenaline going. Abby had a great run and we stopped the clock with a 16.7. I knew I had just missed making the short go and was disappointed but was very pleased with the way she worked. The rig did make a little money with Jon, Josh, & Austin all drawing checks. I knew that without making money in St Tite that I was running out of rodeos to make the IFR, but still wasn’t ready to throw in the towel yet. We made the long trip back to TN and got home Monday night. I cleaned the trailer and repacked everything to turn around and head to Benson, NC on Thursday for an IPRA & SRA rodeo. Dusty Myers (rodeo clown extraordinaire) Josh’s dad Em, & another bareback rider, joined Cody, Josh, & I on this trip. Benson Mule days here we come…

Amber and Romeo, Dalton GA

So the last time I updated I got us through the month of August. Labor day weekend I found myself in Isom, KY where the ground is NEVER good…Abby had trouble at every barrel but so did everyone else which allowed us to grab a 4th place check there. The following weekend was the last weekend before the long haul to St Tite, Quebec! I was going to Dalton, Lagrange, & McDonough, GA. There were 8 of us going to St Tite and half the rig was meeting in McDonough and the other half we were meeting in Lexington, TN. Memphis, Abby, Romeo and I made our way to the first rodeo which was Dalton, GA. I was in slack and I could tell from the perf that it was going to be a TOUGH rodeo to grab a check from. Heather Moore was winning it with a 13.9 and already last hole was a 14.0. Abby worked great and we ran a 14.036 which just happened to be the fastest 14.0 of the weekend and we would hold there to finish 2nd!! On to Lagrange, GA…the ground was just a tilled up field and based on the times from the night before I knew it was anybodys game. I was 10th on the ground which concerned me a little bit as it was getting deep. Tammy Daniels took over the lead from the night before with a 14.4 and there were some very good runs that werent clocking any better than a 14.5. Abby flew in there and I was shocked when I heard our time…a 14.2 to take over the lead. I was ECSTATIC, Tiffany McClure was the last to run and ended up running a little bit faster 14.2 to win it but still so far I had won right at a $1,000 on the weekend and the biggest rodeo (McDonough, GA with $1200 added) was still to come. McDonough was by far the toughest rodeo of the weekend…a 14.8 won it and it took a 14.9 to place with over 60 entries. Abby worked great but a little bobble at the 3rd barrel cost us and we ran a 15.0. I had a great weekend and was VERY excited about going to St Tite….stayed tuned

Click Here for Video of Lagrange, GA.

Where has the time gone?  This summer was full of ups and downs and big changes in my life.  In July I ran 6 different horses, turned another year older and my grandmother passed away the day after my birthday.  I put on the IBRA Ohio State Finals at the end of July and decided that if I was gonna make an honest run at the IFR I needed to buy a horse instead of jump riding every weekend.  My mom needed to sell JB Absolute (Abby) so I took on a partner and decided to buy her and on the road we went.  I knew I could ride her as I made the IFR on her the year before, but had not run her in 11 months and my first run on her would be Salisaw, OK July 29th.  They won the rodeo with a 16.359 and last hole was a 16.495…talk about jumping right into it lol… I ran a 16.489 for a 5th place check!! 

From there we went on to Huntsville, AR for two rodeos at the same arena.  I placed 5th at the first one and was just out of the money on the 2nd one.  While the rodeos were picking up I was also in the process of moving to TN to ride horses for a guy, and started renting a place in Santa Fe, TN.  That ultimately was put on the back burner as we were on the road all the time!  The rodeos really picked up in August and we added a few more hauling partners to the rig…Through most of July it was just Jared Cook, Josh Cragar and I hauling together.  We made a run the first week in August to Winchester, KY(Aug3rd), Girard, KS (Aug 4th) Pawnee, OK (Aug 5th), Springfield, TN (Aug 6th) & Rockmart, GA (Aug 7th). 

Saddle Bronc riders Eddie Parlier & Austin Joseph jumped in the rig along with bull rider Cody Holladay.  Eddie and I won Winchester, KY…Josh & Austin won Girard, Josh placed at Pawnee, Josh and I won Springfield, TN & I placed 2nd at Rockmart.  Not a bad week for the rig and I was inching my way closer to the top 15!  The next weekend started a 10 day run in Belvidere, IL (Aug 14th) Josh, Jared, Cody, Myself, & another bull rider Jon Mastrangelo made the trip.  Josh and I both made money in Belvidere.  We laid over there for a day and then we were off to the Hoosier Finals in Indianapolis, IN (Aug 16th)  Cody and I were spectators at this rodeo as we didnt qaulify for the finals.  Jared ended up getting hurt in the 2nd round and wasnt sure if he was going to be able to ride the rest of the trip. Jon finished 2nd overall in the bull riding for the finals and Josh won the bareback riding.  After Indianapolis we headed to North Washington, PA (Aug 17th).  This was the largest rodeo of the week and historically the first day is never the best ground for barrel racing.  This year was no different as there was still grass in the arena when we got there…YUCK…no money there for me but Josh and Jon both pulled checks from here.  We laid over at my mom’s in Valley City, OH on the 18th and Jared caught a flight home because of his injury in Indianapolis a couple days before.  We headed to New Windsor, IL on the 19th.  The ground was HORRIBLE here and the girl right before me wiped out at the 2nd barrel.  I safetied up, let Abby pick her spots, and was VERY happy with a 4th place check there.  August 20th found us on our way to Ironton, MO…I remembered when I got there why I had only been there one time before and that is because the ground is hard as a rock lol…Josh was the only one in the rig to draw a check there.  We headed back to Columbia, TN and everyone went their separate ways.  August 21st Josh and I went to Blue Ridge, GA.  It was a MUD HOLE.  Abby worked really good (pulled a shoe) and I ended up one hole out…Josh won it.  Abby and I had a very much needed day off on August 22nd and then on the 23rd we were entered in Ashland City, TN which thankfully was only about 1 hour from the house.  I hit the 2nd barrel there on Abby to be 2nd…it was the first time I had hit a barrel on her since getting her back   August 24th we were off to Anna, IL.  Anna is a large, hard race track….Abby worked decent here and we ended up 2nd   August 25th found us in Four Mile, KY…this was a covered arena that was a 12 second pattern with a closed gate!!   Abby worked really well and we finished 3rd…Josh ended up winning Ashland City, Anna, & Four Mile.  We took a couple days off and then were entered in Marietta, GA on August 28th.  This was a nice covered arena and Abby and I pulled off a 3rd place check here…TO BE CONTINUED…

Amber and Chunky

Wow…its been awhile, there has been soo much going on and it feels like my wheels have been spinning since the beginning of summer and have not stopped!!

I have been on probably 8 or 9 different horses since the beginning of June which has made for some great runs..and not soo great runs…here are the cliff notes to get us through the month of June!

June 4-5th weekend was bittersweet for me.  I was entered at 3 rodeos riding JTD Truly Streakin aka Chunky and we did GREAT winning Thomson, GA and placing at another one.  However, after the last rodeo of the weekend he went home with owner Mesa Leavitt.  Mesa also kicked butt that weekend and placed at two rodeos as well riding an old horse of ours Frosty Peppy Olena that she bought in March.

June 11-12th weekend I was on the road with my momma!!  She had been running JB Absolute (who is the mare that I qualified for the finals on last year) and mom had been kicking butt.  We went to Hillsboro, MO & Belleville, IL.  I was running Burrs Double Decker this weekend and had made two runs on her prior to the rodeos   Hillsboro, MO was hard as a rock and it was kind of a shock to both of us after practicing in nice deep horse show dirt.  Needless to say we did not draw a check.  We went on to Belleville, IL and we could tell it had rained there and the ground looked like it could get slick.  Decker had some problems with the ground but tried to work…no money though   Mom drew checks at both rodeos!!  I told her she had better since I placed at both those rodeos the year before on Abby as well

To Be Continued….

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.