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

So after Marion, AR I was super pumped about the way Chunky worked and decided to give Beea the following week and weekend off so I had time to get her shoe on and just let her chill for the week.  I was up in the performance at Franklin on Thursday and was both excited and nervous to run Chunky there.  We do not get in the arena there and it is HUGE…and when I say HUGE I mean HHUUUGGEE especially for an indoor.  This is always one of my favorite rodeos though as it is produced by J Bar J and I have been going to there rodeos since I was a baby back when they were IPRA stock contractors.  They are now one of the best of the best around anywhere and are known for their AWESOME bareback horses aka The Michigan Monsters   I took Streakin Frenchie aka Rica along with me too just to let her see everything and get some hauling underneath her.  When I went to warm up Chunky my heart stopped when I realized I had forgotten my reins!!  I had switched everything in my trailer when I went to a jackpot the night before and forgot to put my reins back in and all I had were my split reins.  Brittany Pozzi was parked right behind me and she graciously let me borrow a pair of reins…THANK YOU BRITTANY :)  Chunky warmed up like his normal lazy self and we all waited up by the alley way for intermission to be over and to run.  I was 9th out of 10 to go and you can not see anything in the arena b/c the alley way is literally 100 feet long (which I knew could cause another little issue for Chunky and I lol)  Finally my name was called and as soon as we hit the mouth of the alley way CHUNKY WAS GONE.  At that point I had two choices…try to get him stopped and fight with him or say screw it yehaw…lol I chose “screw it and Yehaw” approach.  He came into the 1st barrel flying and INHALED it…he had a nice line going across to the 2nd and right before we got to it he stumbled alittle bit and lost alittle momentum…he came back good, but that little hesitation cost us to hip it coming out and it went over   We kept going anyway and he had a great 3rd and ran good out.  Our time would have been 5th thus far with 20 girls left over the next 2 days!  I was bummed that we hit but super excited that he was working soo well.  My favorite part of the video is the GGOLLEEYY at the end courtesy of Em Cragar

I was out at Athens, AL the next night which was only about an hour from there so Em & Susan Cragar graciously offered to let me crash at their place that was only about 15 miles from Franklin.  The next morning I was ordered to come eat Breakfast!   Most mornings my breakfast consists of a granola bar if that or junk food haha…so it was a nice change of pace to have a home cooked breakfast as Susan is a fabulous cook!  After breakfast Em worked the arena and Cori (Susans niece) and I rode around a little bit.  Rica rode really well for me…I get more excited about her everytime I ride her!!  I grabbed a shower after riding, went into town for lunch and stopped at the feed store for a few things and then went back to the house for a nap until we were all ready to leave that evening.  With Athens being so close it was nice to just chill all day without spending the hole day driving   We headed to Athens and prayed that the rain would hold off as it was looking like rain and had rained on and off a little bit at the house.  It was dry when we got there and luckily it held off for us to run.  Athens is Lonestar’s biggest rodeo on the year with $1500 added and after how well Chunky worked at Franklin I was REALLY pumped.  There were alot of tough girls out in slack the night before but it appeared from what everyone said that we had better ground then they did.  I was in the middle of the pack so I got to watch a couple girls run that I knew would be tough.  They all looked like they had nice runs but their times were off the pace…hhhmm   It was another long alley way and Cori tried to help me get up the alley way with her horse…Chunky had other plans and we were gone again lol.  We went a little done the pen at the first barrel but he came back hard and smoked his 2nd and 3rd..I figured we would be right there or close….UMM or not….bummer   Not one girl from my night got within 2 tenths of placing.  Don’t know if it was the ground or what.  We got back to the house late so I crashed another night in Tennessee and headed back to Kentucky Saturday morning. 

CD in the truck:  Luke Kaufman…great rodeo CD you can download it on Itunes

Quote of the Day: ” Determination gives you the resolve to keep going in spite of the roadblocks that lay before you”

BACK IN THE GAME!!

So we all head to Marion, AR.  Kalah and Reed had traveled with me before but Kalah’s friend and the Reed’s friend Cody hadn’t so it was a little bit of a shock to their system I think the fact that when I drive I DON’T stop for anything except fuel lol.  Cody tried to be a co-pilot while I was driving but was passed out by oh about 3:00am   We arrived in Marion at 5:30am and I had forgotten how retarded the side roads are to get to the place….people exiting off the highway have the right away and you have to yield to them crossing over traffic…its completely ridiculous…anyhow we got there, got horses unloaded and Memphis and I jumped in the backseat of a friends truck to make enough room for everyone to sleep and layed down for a few hours.  The next day I was on the hunt for someone to put a shoe back on Beea.  I was dead last in slack but from the looks of the arena it was REALLY REALLY deep and I wanted to run Beea.  She has a freeier running style and I wasn’t sure that I could hustle Chunky enough around the barrels to get out of the ruts.  Well NO ONE had shoeing stuff with them or shoes (which ended up being a blessing in disquise) Soo Chunky got the call.  I took him in the arena for grand entry and loped a few circles and man was it DEEP.  They didn’t have a real drag either just a chain link fence dragging a log so I knew by the time they got to me in slack the ruts were just gonna be filled in with sand and not very well at that   After the perf they were winning it with a 15.1 and then it jumped to a 15.6 so I knew it was wide open.  Most of the “IFR girls and regulars” were in slack so I knew the times were gonna closer and tougher.  A girl ran a 14.9 in slack and a couple of the girls that are setting good in the standings were in there with 15.2′s and 15.3′s.  Chunky was riding around awesome and I don’t know if could feel me getting distracted or what but during the drag for my run as I was walking him up the alley way (which mind you I had done 3 or 4 times up to this point with no problem) he lunged and TOOK OFF with me into the arena and he was hauling ass.  The tractor was in the arena and I was pulling back with everything I had and then it was like he suddenly realized it wasn’t our turn and hit the breaks, which totally caught me off guard…lost both my stirrups and it took everything I had to not go over his head.  I jammed my forearm into the saddle horn which caused a huge lump almost instantly and started cussing Chunky under my breath for making me look like a complete GUNSEL.  (OK EYE OF THE TIGER… EYE OF THE TIGER)  LOL He must of known he was in trouble too…he waited patiently outside the gate for our name to be called and ran hard into the arena for our run.  He smoked the 1st barrel, stumbled a tiny bit coming out of it and had a perfect line going to the 2nd…great second barrel and I leaned a little bit away from it to not hip it coming out.  We were a little close coming into the 3rd and I got my weight to the outside stirrup and he made more of his pocket coming out, but ran hard home…I heard my time and was immediately overwhelmed….a 14.749…we had just won it by 2 tenths!!  

The win meant a lot to me…it wasn’t a huge rodeo but I needed it physically and mentally to get me back to where I needed to be.  This win was extra special b/c I won this rodeo on Mighty Mouse back in 2007…I am hoping to start a trend with that…I plan on running Chunky in Altenburg, MO which I won on Mighty Mouse by 3 tenths that same year

The OTRR Crew was there, so there is a pic of us, with Memphis the mascot of course!

Scotty NeSmith, Amber Mostoller, Spencer Turner and of course MEMPHIS!

When I got back to the trailer Sherry was working on Beea and holy crap it was painful to watch…Beea tried to decapitate Sherry on more then one occassion and was out EVERYWHERE….ribs…pelvis…hip…I knew something was a little off but for her to run half as good and she has been and to be out as much as she was just proves how much grit and heart she really has…She is a rodeo horse through and through!!  I feel truly blessed to be hauling Chunky and Beea right now and I am very grateful to the Yurko and Leavitt family for putting their faith and trust in me with their horses

Quote of the day: “Sure I am this day we are masters of our fate, that the task which has been set before us is not above our strength; that its pangs and toils are not beyond our endurance. As long as we have faith in our own cause and an unconquerable will to win, victory will not be denied us.”

TURNING THINGS AROUND

May 7-8th * Elizabethtown, KY & Marion, AR

OK so I went home after Speedwell, TN… BOUND AND DETERMINED to get my head right.  Beea and Chunky felt great all week and I got mom to enter Elizabethtown with me!!  Mom has been running JB Absolute aka Abby who is the mare that I ran last summer to qualify for the IFR.  After Abby got hurt mom bought her back and she has been 100% sounds and running STRONG!!  Kalah also entered and I was going to be jumping in with her at Elizabethtown to go on down to Marion (mom didn’t want to go that far when there was a horse show 10 miles from the house she could go to)   My little brother had been in town all week so I was excited about getting to spend some time with him as well…we went to the midnight premier of Iron Man 2 on Thursday night…got home at like 3am I got up for work Friday morning…worked half a day…had the farrier out at 2:00pm to reset Chunky got everything loaded and we were on the road by 4:30 to Etown.  We had moms Hummer pulling their 3 horse trailer with Mom her husband (Gary the driver)…my little brother (Jacob) Memphis and moms dog Peanut!  Needless to say I was glad it was only about an hour down the road lol.  When we got there mom and I headed up to the arena to decide on the best plan of attack   The arena was long and narrow with the 3rd barrel in the middle of no mans land.  The ground was clumpy clay and was a little unlevel.  I knew Beea could handle it trashy so i decided to run her…she warmed up horrible…strong and just being a bully and I was really starting to think she was in need of a chiropractor…I got off of her and let her chill for alittle bit, put a different bit back on her and just took it easy with her and she was great.  Mom ran before me, had a good run from what I could see and ran a 14.9.  Beea went in the arena HARD and snapped back to turn the first barrel and I felt her kind of go down in the front end…she had a decent 2nd and 3rd but I knew our first barrel cost us.  We ran a 15.2 and when I got out of the arena she was lame on her left front…she had tore her new shoe off   I knew I was gonna have to find a farrier in the next 12 hours or so to shoe her or else I would not take a chance on running her at Marion.  Mom left pretty quickly after the rodeo and she ended up 4th overall for her first of many rodeo checks to come on Abby!!  I jumped in with Kalah and one of her buddies and we also had two bullriders jump in with us for the 5 hour drive to Marion, AR

* Note from Memphis….Kalah got a new truck so I got thrown in the front of the horse trailer!! Can you believe it??  Someone needs to have a serious talk with mom and let her know MEMPHIS IS NOT A HAPPY CAMPER!

So my last update left off at Lebanon, TN April 17th with Chunky and I pulling a check in spite of my riding like a moron.  The following weekend was potentially a HUGE weekend with Paris, TN, Greensboro, GA & Evans, GA (which was the biggest rodeo of the year thus far) 

April 23-25th * Paris, TN – Greensboro, GA – Evans, GA
I ran Chunky at Paris as I had Beea reset at the rodeo with new Nikes all the way around…(Thank You Stacy Belt)  This arena is always tricky as the ground seems to be different at every barrel and there are sink holes all over the place.  Chunky warmed up good and he really worked like a champ.  He stumbled a little behind the first and at the 3rd but I was really happy with how he worked…we were sitting 4th when we left (ended up getting bumped out of the money but were just out of it)  I had planned the weekend with just Me, Memphis and the ponies, but once I got there a bull rider and couple bareback riders asked to jump in with me so I figured why not…

We headed to Nashville to drop of their cars and then onto Greensboro, GA.  I drove from midnight till about 8:00am in the morning before I let one of them drive the remaining hour.  We got a good parking spot, I got the horses unloaded, got the generator plugged in and the air going in the trailer and decided to ride a little bit before it got too hot while the guys slept haha…I was in slack at this rodeo and the ground looked HARD AS A ROCK…they didnt have a real drag and it was sure enough HARD.  I unplugged the generator at around 4 in the afternoon and waited patiently for the trailer to get HOT and run the guys out so I could attempt to get a few hours of sleep before the rodeo started.   

I ran Beea here and she warmed up like her normal ornrey self.  She took off hard into the arena and I think the ground kind of shocked her…when she went to set for the first barrel it was just hard and she had nothing to get into so we ended up way past our first barrel with her wheels spinning the entire time trying to get some footing.  She figured it out for the 2nd and 3rd, saftied up, and took care of herself but we were way off the pace   We left the rodeo pretty much immediatley after I ran and headed to Evans which was only about an hour away.  I had heard a couple horror stories about the ground that night and wanted to check it out.  We pulled in at about 2 in the morning and got the trailer plugged in (thank you to the rodeo committee for the free electric hookups)  It was quite a walk to the arena so I jumped on Chunky bareback and Memphis and I headed up to the arena.  I could see the ruts around the stakes and it looked like it got VERY deep.  It was supposed to rain that next day as well so I was still unsure of who I wanted to run.  The next morning turned into a VERY long day..it was just a weird day for me… I went through two main emotions and they were at opposite ends of the spectrum…I would go from wanting to strangle someone to having that total safe happy feeling…either way not the mind frame I needed to be in before a $3,500 added rodeo.  I decided to give Beea another try..I know what she is capable of as she was the one I placed on at the All Region Finals…she warmed up awesome but right before the barrels she started to act a little “off” just stubborn and not wanting to listen.  I didn’t know if it was just being stubborn or sore…it was raining when we ran and she was just not a happy camper at all.  She FLEW to the first barrel and completely stiffed me on the first barrel   Needless to say it was a VERY long 9 hours home.  All 3 of my traveling partners for the weekend drew a check at Evans soo not all was lost there

April 30th-May 1st
Well my original plan this weekend was to go to Speedwell, TN on Friday and Lafayette, IN on Saturday.  I got in 15 minutes after books opened and Friday was FULL and they wouldn’t take slack unless Saturday filled….well Saturday never filled and this was one of Lonestars Incentive Rodeos soo I decided to just go there on Saturday.  Newbie, Kalah Welch entered with me and we decided to hit a horse show on Friday night in Richmond, KY and then we were staying at On The Rodeo Road founders Anne & Leigh Walkups in Lexington, KY   Well long story short the horse show was a train wreck for me…Kalah placed 3rd in the 1D though so at least one of us made a little bit…we headed to Lexington to crash at the On The Rodeo Road pad…we got there..put the ponies up for the night and sat on the back porch, talked for a couple hours and just enjoyed the night.  We all went to bed around 3am and by 5am the MONSOON came… I think we all jumped out of bed when we heard lightning strike the tree in one of the pastures…I think from that point on it pretty much never stopped raining.  We drove through rain to get to Speedwell and it sprinkled on and off all day right up until the rodeo started and then it POURED on us again.  This was a covered arena but there was no where to warm up and we do not get in the arena at Lonestar rodeos to warm up.  By the time I ran I was completely soaked all the way through…I was on Beea and she was PISSED about being out in the rain…she went in there and worked good, but I over rode her and I was starting to think my problem was not a horse problem but a head problem with me   Kalah however kicked ASS…in only her 3rd rodeo with her 5 year old mare she WON IT!!  It was a tough rodeo too with some of the top girls in the Lonestar standings there!!.  Congrats girl….she has the rodeo bug now and I think she will be going some with me this year

Quote of the day:  “Each difficult moment has the potential to open my eyes and open my heart”

Date, Rodeo Name and Location
April 17th * Lebanon, TN * Lonestar Rodeo Company

Which horse did you run?
I was on JTD Truly Streakin aka Chunky at this rodeo.  He is a horse that I am currently riding for Mesa Leavitt to sell and I love him!!

How was the ground, alley, warm up area, etc?
We do not get in the arena to warm up at Lonestar rodeos so the only time to feel the ground is during grand entry.  The arena was fairly big (16 second pattern) and the ground felt good.  Chunky warmed up good and there was a nice center alley way with a closed gate, which I was VERY grateful for since Chunky and I have been having a few minor disagreements when it comes to stopping lol.an

Tell me about your run, the good the bad and the ugly. Exactly how you felt about it.
Ugh…to start with I was not in my normal “Eye of the Tiger” barrel racing mind frame.  I have been dealing with a few things personally and was just kind of a wreck at this rodeo.  I was 6th or 7th out and although I couldn’t see how the horses were handling the ground I could hear that all the times were very close so I knew it was gonna be a tough rodeo (which most of the Lonestar rodeos are)  Chunky went into the arena good and we made a bee line for the first barrel…he jumped over and we got around it quick…I got a little behind him and by the time I caught up we were headed dead at the 2nd barrel and I still had my right hand on the rein when he jumped over to turn the 2nd.  Soo yeah in the picture I have both hands on the reins b/c I am switching lol.  We got around the 2nd barrel…I rode 1 handed the whole way to the 3rd which normally I go 2 handed or am whipping.  We had a decent 3rd  barrel and he ran hard home…AND we stopped good too lol.  Overall I rode like a complete monkey, and I was very disappointed in myself for letting things interfere with my barrel racing.  Fortunately Chunky still did his job and we were sitting 2nd after I ran…I ended up 6th overall at this rodeo to draw a check

Comments about the rodeo?
This is the first year that I started going to any Lonestar rodeos.  They used to be an IPRA stock contractor and my mom remembers going to their rodeos back in the 80′s.  They branched off and started their own series a few years ago so you do not need a card to run at them, which really opens it up for people that want to rodeo but not spend the money to buy a card.  Lonestar has their own rodeo finals which is nice and they always draw some great barrel racers.  There rodeos are located primarily in KY, TN, AL & GA so they are all fairly close to me now that I am in Louisville.  I am currently sitting 12th in their standings so I plan on making a run at their finals and going to as many as I can in between trying to make the IFR.

Anything interesting happen on the trip there or back?
Seriously what would I do without my dog?  He always knows when I am having a bad day.  The drive home was only 3.5 hours but it was late, I was tired, had a headache, and was emotional…and still pissed about the way I rode.  Memphis jumped up on the consul and grabbed my arm with his paw and just put his head on my arm..looking at me the way he does as to say “It’s ok mom..I still love you”  I put the consul up and he layed in my lap the whole way home

What CD is in your truck right now?
My CD player has been VERY temperamental in choosing the CD’s that it wants to play.  I think Nickelback * Dark Horse is stuck in right now lol

Ok soo yeah Mom mentioned that she took Easter weekend off and that we didn’t go anywhere.  What she failed to mention was that she was soo bored that weekend from not being on the road that she decided it was time for me to get a hair cut.  Mom hasn’t found a groomer that she likes very much down here so she thought she could do it just as well.  I kept trying to tell her that she was doing it wrong and it wasn’t how that groomers back in Ohio did it, but she insisted so I of course behaved and encouraged her with my kisses.  This was the result. 

I did feel somewhat cooler after wards but that following weekend the other dogs made fun of me and people kept asking mom if I had some kind of skin condition and she felt bad for me so mom called new groomer in Kentucky and gave her very specific instructions on how to groom me!  I was soo happy when mom picked me up…and she seemed happy with the grooming job they did and was showing me off to everyone!  Here is what I look like now. 

I can tell mom is getting anxious about something and I have a feeling we are going to be on the road alot more.  I don’t care where we go…as long as I have my mom, my back seat, and my rubber chicken!  See you On The Rodeo Road…Love Memphis

OK GO ME!!! Two updates in less than a week…YEHAW -  Ok seriously, so the last updated ended with the IPRA All Region Finals where I ended up 3rd in the 2nd go and was ecstatic!  The following weekend I took Beea and Streakin Frenchie aka Rica to a horse show in Versailles, KY.  Rica is still green and needs to get some runs under her quick little feet.  Let me first start by saying I REALLY DO NOT LIKE GOING TO HORSE SHOWS! (Sorry mom, I know we put them on, but yeah I would rather be on the rodeo road…you taught me well…LOVE YOU) hehe..ok so yeah back to the horse show.  I ran Beea in the Adult Barrels and the Open Barrels and Rica in the Junior Barrels and Open Barrels.   I did not get there in time for exhibition, so needless to say Rica was a little lost on her first run and we were kind of all over the place (ok alot all over the place)  She did come back in the Open and redeem herself and ran at the bottom of the 2-D making lots of mistakes.  She is VERY quick and catty and her feet are moving faster then her head right now   She tries very hard though and I have high hopes for her.  Beea on the other hand knew the drill and I was confident going into the show that she could win it.  We had a decent run in the Adult Class and finished 2nd, which was a good warm up for the Open.  (Its very hard for me to get pumped up for a horse show so most of the time I need a run to warm my self up lol.  In the Open I was one of the last ones to run and knew Beea was ready…she really worked and we won it! Took home about $400 and a new hay bag (can never have too many of those

(March 26-28th)
The next weekend was our IBRA Futurity & Preferred Show….BLAH..this is a show that we produce every year along with one in Murfreesboro, TN in January.  Beea was being run by her 13 year old owner here so I was running Rica and also picked up two horses owned by Mesa Leavitt.  One was one we did some trading for (Burrs Double Decker) with my moms horse and the other one was one I was going to be running to sell for them (JTD Truly Streakin aka CHUNKY)  Decker needed her feet done so I did not run her but Chunky was ready to go.  Rica worked decent all weekend (no checks) but I was happy with her as well as her owners who got to see me run her for the first time.  Chunky drew me a check in the 2D on my very first run on him…we hit to place the other two days, but I was happy with the way he worked.  IT WAS A VERY LONG WEEKEND, and its hard to put the show on, take entries, process results and payouts and take care of horses.  Have I mentioned that I DO NOT LIKE HORSE SHOWS lol  Beea went home with her owners for a few weeks and I was hoping to get her back before the big rodeo in Evans, GA!!

(April 3-10th)
I took Easter weekend off and was ready to go somewhere the following weekend.  I originally was going to Lewisburg, OH for the huge IBRA super show up there produced by MVP Productions, but I feared another horse show weekend would throw me over the edge…soo I entered a bulls and barrels in Speedwell, TN for Friday and Saturday.  I jumped in with Kristi Gilmore and Teresa Quay in Lexington, KY and we were on our way.  I decided to take Chunky to this one and get some more runs on him.  Friday night he really worked and we just barely caught the first barrel leaving it to win it!!  BUMMER    What I realized during this run though was that Chunky and I had a communication problem when it came to stopping…definitley something I was going to be working on with him lol….we came back Saturday night…he was being a terd going in the arena a little bit as the alley way was dark and long so I had a girl walk up with me and he was great.  As soon as she stopped in the alleyway he took off into the arena and we missed the first barrel and ended up a few strides around the pen…he was FLYING though so I tried to get him back around it and we again caught it leaving it   I pulled up coming home (still no breaks) and was shocked again when I heard that our time would have won it….GGGGRRRR   I decided this coming week at home I was going to do some tuning and get everything ironed out and come a running for the following weekends rodeo in Lebanon, TN!

Here are two video links of a couple of horses for sale…Streakin Frenchie aka RICA – Video

Burrs Double Decker aka Decker – Video

**Please be sure and check back…Amber’s Dog Memphis has a few thoughts for later on in the week.

(February 26-28, 2010)

WOW, Where has the last month and a half gone?!  There is soo much to update I do not even know where to start lol.  OK I will start with where I left off….I think it was East Lansing, MI back at the end of February. 

The following weekend I was entered at 3 rodeos (Batesville, MS * Columbiana, AL & Huntsville, AL)   The week leading up to those two rodeos I picked up a couple of “new ponies”  The first one is a 5 year old chesnut mare by the name of Streakin Frenchie…she is a daughter of A Streak of Fling out of an own daughter of Frenchmans guy and I absolutely ADORE her.  I am riding and running her for my business partner in Pennsylvania and I have no doubt she is going to be a ROCKSTAR   The day before I left for the rodeos I picked up a 6 year old sorrel mare by the name of Beea Stash of Money.  This mare is owned by The Yurko family in Wheeling, WV and she is already a proven 1-D horse show horse having won the Junior Horse Barrels and the 13 & Under youth barrels as well at the All American Quarter Horse Congress.  The Yurko family asked me if I would be interested in taking Beea for a little while to see if she would make a rodeo horse and I jumped all over it!

The next day was a Friday and my friend Jodi and I headed out to Batesville, MS for Saturday morning slack.  We got down there in the middle of the night, got the horses settled in and went to bed for a few hours.  I saddled up early the next morning to get the “feel” of Beea since I had never been on her back before.  Needless to say I was a little concerned after getting on her lol…she had no mouth at all and was FULL of energy.  The arena was HUGE (barrels way off the fence and a 17 second pattern to boot) so I was kind of worried that if she decided to run off with me there would be nothing I could do to stop her.  I rode her a little cautious and wanted a “DO OVER” really badly when I came out of the arena…she worked like a champ!  I asked her to turn and she worked her butt off….but b/c I wasn’t riding very aggressive we were just a little too slow, but my confidence was already up for Columbiana, AL which we were entered at that night!  

 We arrived at Columbiana very early and chilled out for awhile.  This arena was opposite of the one we just came from…small with barrels on the fence…and the ground was a little “different”  I took the tie down off of Beea to free her up a little bit since the arena was soo small and decided that I was gonna “send her”   WELL my plan got shaken up a little bit when the girl right before me completely PANCAKED at the first barrel.  I was riding a horse I did not know, who had never been to a rodeo until that morning….it was loud in the small building and was the first time the mare had been around that kind of noise, and now I had to decide whether she would be able to handle the ground.  I let her go in there and she SMOKED the first barrel, we got a stride by our 2nd barrel, but she was running hard and she had an awesome 3rd barrel!  I was sure that we were gonna be in there for a check….WRONG…it took them forever to announce my time and when they finally did I was way off the pace.  When I went back in to see what was going on, my friend said they had actually missed my time and used my stopwatch time.  BUMMER!! but thats rodeo.  I was VERY excited for Huntsville, AL the next day as that was the biggest rodeo of the weekend and I felt that Beea and I were ready to roll.  We pulled into Huntsville at 2 or 3 in the morning and put the mares in a pen and went to bed.  I was soo impressed at well Beea was handling everything, the hauling, the noises, and new surroundings, and just her overall attitude about everything!   Soo she warmed up good during intermission…we were all standing out back on the concrete and I jumped off real quick to pick her feet.  When I had ahold of one of her back feet something must have spooked her and she jerked up and kicked me in the jaw, which sent me sailing.  I felt intense pain in my jaw and thought I may have broken it…I got up and was trying to figure out what happened and I guess someone grabbed my belt loop b/c they thought I was getting ready to pass out.  I tasted blood and wasn’t sure where it was coming from.  Between spitting blood and crying we figured out that it busted two of my teeth…they held up the barrels for a few minutes so I could regain my composure and I went in the building to try and clean up.  I decided to run…which may have been against my better judgement but I didn’t drive all the way to Alabama to let something like that stop me lol.  Beea INHALED the 1st barrel and made a corner so quick at the 2nd barrel that she got me off balance…I lost the reins and a stirrup and she shot across the pen back to the 1st..I got Beea somewhat stopped and was just VERY happy that I didnt fall off lol.   I headed back home empty handed and ready to get my teeth fixed and more then that ready for the next weekend to run Beea again!  (Video is of me trying to ride at Huntsville!!) VIDEO

March 5-6th (Greenville, KY) * March 11-13 (IPRA NATIONAL ALL REGION FINALS * Montgomery, AL)

March 5th I entered Greenville, KY which was an Open rodeo produced by Lonestar rodeo company.  I was in the slack…it was COLD and we didnt run till after midnight!  There was not really anywhere to warm up and at Lonestar rodeos we are not allowed in the pen to warm up…Needless to say I was miserable lol.  Beea warmed up good and had been feeling good all week.  The ground was pretty deep here so I knew we were going to have to go for it.  Especially after watching Diana Hensley SMOKE everyone in the perf by over half second.  It was one of those type runs that we all knew we were probably running for 2nd…it was an AMAZING run and absolutely awesome to watch.  Beea was awake and ready to run and enhaled her 1st and 2nd barrel.  The 3rd barrel was quite a ways off the fence and I was soo excited about our 1st and 2nd barrel that I just over rode her to the 3rd and we went about a stride and a half by it which no doubt cost us a check…BLAH

SOOO the following weekend was the IPRA NATIONAL ALL REGION FINALS in Montgomery, AL.  This was always a PRCA rodeo in the past and has always been a great rodeo.  I originally had planned on running Teresa Quays great stud Horse Chance Bar Tease but was feeling confident with Beea so I decided to run her.  I also got to take Streakin Frenchie with me to let her see all the sights and sounds of the rodeos. 

The National All Region Finals aka NARF takes 20 entries made up of the top 4 in each of the 5 Regions.  Over half of us were at the IFR in January and the other half no doubt could have have been.  It was by far the TOUGHEST rodeo I have been to in awhile.  With $5,000 added there was alot on the line and I knew Beea and I would have to be on our game.  I ran Thursday night and Saturday night with half the girls and the other half running Friday night and Saturday afternoon.  Beea had a very good 1st barrel, but coming out of the 2nd barrel she pulled away from me a little bit and we got a stride by our 3rd.  Our time put us in the middle of the pack by the end of the 1st go.  A 15.0 won it and I ran a 15.4…a respectable time but I knew we could do better.  After the first 10 ran in the 2nd go a 15.0 was once again winning it.  Edesse Descoutaux from Quebec took over the lead with a 15.04 and I was to run right after her.  Beea fired hard out of the alley way and honestly I do not remember much of that run…(and of course we didnt get it on tape) lol….we must have done something right though b/c we ran a 15.06!!!!  I was SOOO exstatic.  Mesa came in on Junior and ended up winning the go with a 14.9 but I was still on cloud 9.  We won $600 that weekend.   (Picture is of our 3rd place run!!!) and video is of the 1st go) VIDEO

MORE COMING SOON…ohh plus a note that Memphis wrote to On the Rodeo Road…he has been feeling a little left out