Luther running in my favorite bit!!

OTRR had a chance to chat with Ashley Whyland about what you will find in her barn! Check out what Ashley uses!

Saddle:  Cactus Saddlery – Charmayne James.  This saddle seems to fit a lot of different horses and it keeps me square in my seat with my feet forward.  It also has the bigger leather horn that I like. 

Pad:  I have used many different types, but I feel like certain horses need certain pads.  I’m currently using a Professionals Choice Heavy Duty SMX Air Ride pad.  Luther was very high withered and I found that either an Impact Gel or a Todd Sloan fit him well.

Bit:  My all time favorite bit has to be the draw gag.  I have one in about every different mouth piece made.  I think these bits help horses that don’t have a lot of natural collection.  But it’s not something I would use on a horse that doesn’t have any rate.  I also like to use these bits to bit one back in the round pen.

Headgear:  All of my horses get a draw rein tune up every once in a while.  I feel that they help a horse get their butt up under them and round their back.  I generally go with the “less is more” concept.  If they don’t need a tie down or any type of fancy headgear, then I don’t put it on them. 

Boots:  I have always used Classic Equine Legacy boots with Dyno Turn Bell boots on the front and polo wraps on the back.  I have recently switched to polo wraps on all four legs.  My favorite brand of polos are Classic Equine.  I feel like they have a little stretch, but not too much and they hold up very well.  I think it’s VERY important that you learn how to wrap before you start using polo wraps.  A lot of damage can be done by wrapping the wrong way, too tight, etc.

Feed & Hay:  Most of our horses are on a sweet mix from a local mill, except for my newest addition, Atticus.  He is eating SafeChoice by Nutrena.  All horses get 2 flakes of Alfalfa/Orchard grass hay twice a day and a loose mineral.

Therapy:  I love my PHT Magnetic products.  I also use Sore No More liniment under my magnets.  I recently bought a tub of Sore No More poultice that I LOVE!  I even used it on myself!  I like to wrap their legs after a run and when hauling.

Ashley Whyland on Luther

It’s been a long while since I’ve update on OTRR, but to be quite honest barrel racing hasn’t been on the agenda a whole lot this winter!  I sold BLY Valiance Hooker last fall and I look for her to have a successful career with her new owner.  Here is the reality and truth of it, when your first barrel horse is such a great horse, a winner, a pleaser….it’s hard to jump on the next one and be happy with it.  Hooker is a very nice mare, but she just wasn’t the horse for me.  So I decided to move on…I vowed that I would take my time finding my next horse and get EXACTLY what fits me.  It didn’t take long for the right horse to fall into my lap.  A good friend of mine’s daughter was starting her career and had a 4 year old gelding that she had to part with.  So “Atticus” made the long trek from Texas to Indiana.  He is an own son of Bully Bullion out of a Jet of Honor daughter.  So far, Atticus is proving that he is exactly what I want to send down the alleyway.  Although I don’t think rodeos will be in our immediate future, I plan to haul him to jackpots this year and get him nice and solid.  Then we will see what the future holds for him!  I am VERY excited to start the year off fresh with a new horse and see what is in store for us!

Ashley Whyland on Luther

We loaded up and headed out to my first rodeo back in a LOOONNGGG time!  This was a bulls and barrels at a local county fair.  No big deal, but it was my horse’s first rodeo.  I was running Freckles, my boyfriend’s horse.  I have made a handful of runs on him, but he’s a lot different than what I’m used to running. 
 
They opened the arena about 30 minutes before the rodeo was going to start and let us ride.  I could tell that Freckles was taking it all in, but was a little jazzed up about the atmosphere.  They had very loud music playing and it was a very small arena.  Behind the arena were the fair rides.  Directly behind the 3rd barrel was a HUGE Ferris Wheel (and I’m not exaggerating.)  Every spoke on that sucker was lit up like a slot machine!  It was a lot for a horse to take in and I knew it would only be worse when it started to get dark.
 
I was up in the slack, which I thought would be a good plan for my horse.  However, that put me to running in the dark.  I decided to let my horse rest up by the arena after I warmed him up.  I wanted him to get a GOOD look at that monstrous wheel that he was probably thinking was going to come unbolted and chase him. 
 
After watching the performance I discovered the ground was VERY hard and not many horses were standing up on it.  Freckles is a big horse and I really wasn’t for sure how he was going to handle the ground.  It was also a small pattern.  Freckles has a very long stride, so I knew I could clock if I just got 3 clean barrels.  I let him cruise in and he nailed the first barrel, had a pretty good second and I had him lined up for the 3rd and then all of the sudden, he bolted right!  I decided to lope him out. 
 
I wasn’t upset with Freckles, I felt like he handled it very well, considering!  I was also told that there was a bull barrel setting to the right of the 3rd barrel and that could have been what made him pick up and dart right!  There were a couple of other horses that did the exact same thing. 
 
It is definitely challenging to go back to the rodeos and not be on a rodeo seasoned horse.  I guess things like the Ferris Wheel and things sitting in the arena are things that I took for granted before and I didn’t have to worry about them.
 
I would normally say “Off to the next one…”, but I’m not sure when the next one will be.  We haven’t bought any cards for this year, but I am contemplating buying my card back for next year!

Ashley Whyland on Luther

When your horse starts giving you problems, is there one person in particular that you may call on to bounce ideas off of or help you fix the issue? Tell us about them!  Me and my friend Lindsey Hostetler talk to each other a lot about our runs.  We critique each other and give ideas to help each other.  Of course, my boyfriend, John Brown, even if I don’t ask, he’ll tell me what I’m doing wrong!  Haha! 

 What type of saddle do you prefer to ride in? All girls have their preference!  I love my Cactus!  It’s the Charmayne James saddle and it fits me great and fits most of my horses!

 We asked about your most memorable run, not tell us about your most embarrassing.  That would probably be when my ex-horse Chris turned the 3^rd barrel and I gave him his head and he just kept on turning.  Then ran to the fence and the barrel setters where all standing there.  They all jumped up and scaled the fence and the whole crowd was laughing…

 Do you get nervous before each rodeo run?  If you aren’t nervous, you aren’t human.  No seriously, I think it isn’t fun anymore when you’re not nervous.  Of course, the more comfortable you are with your horse, the less nervous you are.

Ashley Whyland on Luther

Mental toughness is a big part of barrel racing. Everybody has down days and bad runs. How do you keep yourself mentally tough? Some athletes have a phrase or a saying that they continually say in their head that keeps them focused, what is your secret? 

I think one of the biggest things is KNOWING you’ve done your homework at home before you head to a rodeo.  If you know you’ve done everything you can do at home to prepare for the run, then you will be confident.  One of my favorite quotes is “Live each day like there will never be a tomorrow”.  I think it’s important to live each day like it will be your last.  It will make you put your all into things!

Ashley Whyland on Luther

Ashley, how early do you like to get to a rodeo?

I like to get there at least 2 hours early, sometimes earlier.  I think it’s very important for my horse to get out and stretch his legs, maybe take a nap, have a bite to eat and get used to the surroundings.  Depending on where I’m going, I may spend the weekend there and get there a day early.  I love going out and seeing new places, different towns, restaurants and all that.  Every town/city has something they’re special for!

Thanks so much Ashley! Stay tuned for more of your questions answered from the OTRR Team!

Ashley Whyland on Luther

I entered Richmond, KY PRCA rodeo, which was basically right out my back door compared to most of the rodeos in the Great Lakes Circuit.  It was only an hour and a half.  I was riding another horse for a girl, so I decided to throw her in the trailer to see the sights along with Luther.  A rodeo is the ticket to get one used to the sights and sounds! 

I pulled in early and to my delight I was greeted by the state animal inspectors.  I reached for my binder with all my horse’s information in it and handed over Luther’s coggins and health certificate.  Then as I discovered that I left the mare’s papers at home, the color drained out of my face.  I started to panic.  I explained to the gentleman that I had left them at home and PLEADED with him to let me call home and see if they could read him off the numbers.  He reluctantly agreed.  We pulled over to the side and I called home.  No answer!  What was I going to do!?  I called my mom’s cell phone and found out that they had gone out to eat.  I was REALLY in a full blown panic then!  I had heard stories before where they had taken the horses from the owners for not having their coggins.  There was NO WAY they were going to take Luther from me!   

My last and only resort was to call the neighbors.  We had crank out windows that we never locked and the screen in my bedroom was broken from when my sister used to sneak out (I swear it wasn’t from me!)

They agreed to raid my room for the papers!  The woman was heavy set and the husband was skinny and short.  She had to put him on her shoulders, all the while standing in a raised flower bed, and push him into my window.  Looking back, I cannot BELIEVE they did this for me!  I told them where to look and OF COURSE, they weren’t there!  They literally turned my room upside down looking for them. 

The inspector came back over and asked if I had gotten a hold of anyone.  By that time, I was in tears.  I told him what was going on.  He asked me to let him talk to them.  He said, “So are you having any luck?”  My neighbor Angie answered, “Honey, I’m a 250 pound woman and my husband is a 150 pound man.  I had him on my shoulders and launched him into her bedroom, while I was standing on a flower bed raised 4 foot in the air.  If that girl had us do this, I KNOW the papers are in here somewhere.”

The inspector started laughing then said, “Well I’m glad you found them!”

I looked at him, puzzled.  He leaned in the truck and whispered to me, “I trust that you have the papers somewhere or you wouldn’t be putting your neighbors through all of this.  Fax me the papers first thing Monday morning, but don’t you let that other horse get out of the trailer tonight AND don’t you tell my partner that they didn’t find them.”

I couldn’t thank him enough that night. 

My run wasn’t great at all.  I made the excuse that I had too much on my mind!  But it didn’t matter; every girl from my perf got outrun, because the ground dried up the next day.  That’s rodeo! 

I got home and the papers where nowhere near where I had told them to look, OF COURSE!    

Lesson learned, NEVER go anywhere without your health papers…..

*Please check out Ashley’s new website: www.ashleywhyland.com You can learn more about Ashley and follow her as she hits the rodeo road again!!

Ashley Whyland on Luther

Lets talk about Luther for a second, tell me how you came to get Luther? 

I wanted a barrel horse, but I knew nothing about them honestly.  Some friends of mine had a horse I was going to buy and the weekend I was going to pick him up, he coliced and died.  Call it fate, I guess.  They knew about Luther, but knew he had basically been “turned out”.  When I went to go meet him he was in a dry lot and was starved.  Of course, I had to have him.  The people that had owned him didn’t live at the farm and were depending on the neighbors to throw over hay for him.  It was a long road to get him back up to par.  But I think it happened that way for a reason.  I’m not sure if I would have been able to ride him if he was the horse he turned out to be in the end, when I went to buy him.

How about when you were on the road, did you have any special routines with Luther? Warm up? Blankets? Supplements? 

 Luther was always on some sort of joint supplement and my favorite for him was Necessity.  We had a bout of Ulcers and I then put him on GastroPlus by Total Health Enhancement.  They then started to sponsor us.  As far as a warm up routine, I always found a place that I could at least long trot him.  He LOVED warming up on the trotting tracks where he could lope straight.  And as far as blankets, Luther LIVED with his PHT magnetic blanket.  I really think that thing made him young again.  He would bounce out of the trailer and trot off on the end of his lead.  Not many horses 20+ years old do that after 8 hour long trips.

When you would get ready to leave for a rodeo, was there one thing you had to have with you? We know you forgot your boots once, so I am sure you always made sure you had those, but what about something special you always threw in the truck? 

Yeah, I didn’t forget my boots after that!  I guess the one thing that we couldn’t live without on the road was Lue’s magnetic blanket.  Like I said, it was a necessity.  And coggins and health certificate, FOR EVERY HORSE IN THE TRAILER, I’ll have a story about that soon…. 

What was your favorite rodeo, when you were out on the road? 

I think I’d have to say Dover, OH.  Their hospitality was GREAT.  We would always go and stay the weekend for that one.  JBarJ always puts on some great rodeos in our circuit!

Before you run, what did you do to prepare mentally? 

I ALWAYS imagine a perfect run.  If you go out there with “I can’t hit the first barrel” on your mind, you’re more than likely going to hit it.  If I had a problem I needed to fix, I always though about WHAT I needed to do.  Luther had a tendency to cut in on my pocket at the first barrel and go past it to make up.  So I had to literally look at the third barrel and drive towards it and then let him drop in about 10-15 feet away.  Another thing, don’t let your competition get the best of you.  I like to be off someplace else instead of watching the girls before me run.  I may walk my horse around while I’m imagining my run and then when I hear my name called, it’s game time! 

Ashley Whyland on Luther

St. Charles, MO is right outside of St. Louis, MO.  I hauled there with 3 other girls.  I always check the weather before I head out, even though it’s bright and sunny where you’re at, doesn’t mean it’s going to be that way where you’re going.  Clear skies and cold all weekend, it was the middle of winter.  It was an all girls trip.  We were all excited to be going.  Annie Peterson and Annie Hyde had both been to St. Charles.  Lindsey Hance and I had not.  Lindsey had just come along for the ride on this one.  I believe she was in between horses at the time.  They said it was a small pen, decent ground, blind first barrel.  Pretty much what we had been used to all winter. 

We arrived a couple hours early.  We went to the girls locker room and got our hair fixed, rodeo “rags” on and put some makeup on.  I had left the house in pair of tennis shoes, WHERE WERE MY BOOTS??  They were nowhere to be found, I had left them at home.  Lindsey had brought an extra pair, but her foot was a size bigger than mine.  Whatever works!  So I walked around with my boots flopping on my feet!  Charming! 

The secretary that we paid our fees to asked Annie if she would be interested in being the feature cowgirl for the opening ceremonies.  She reluctantly agreed.  Annie was a 7 time Great Lakes Circuit Finals qualifier and the champion in 1999.  She was also afraid of heights. 

After sitting around bored and grooming our horses, we discovered that MANY people had been walking through this one lone door and we wondered what was back there.  So, the “curious girls” decided we were just going to bust in and see what it was all about.  Little did we know, the party had been going on without us.  Jack Daniels had sponsored free alcohol and tons of snacks.  All of the sponsors were walking around introducing themselves.  OF COURSE, we had spent a whole hour bored out of our minds and grooming on our horses.

We participated in the grand entry and immediately following that was when Annie was to be presented as the “Feature Cowgirl”.  They told her to climb up the bucking chutes and stand on a 2×4 that was rested atop the chutes.  She said, No way!  I told her to go ahead and she would be fine.  I told her not to lock her legs and don’t look down.  Reluctantly she climbed up as they blacked the lights.  Then a spotlight was pointed right at her.  I couldn’t help but bust out laughing when I looked at her face.  She was getting ready to puke.  No smile, she was as nervous as she could be.  They spent their time really talking her up and mid-sentence she ducked down and off the chutes.  So they had to hurry up and take the spot light off from her.  She then told me that she was NEVER doing that again. 

We then had to each walk out into the arena lined with fire while they presented each contestant and where they were from.    

Our time to run had come and we were all up in the performance.  We had all buddied together so we ran back to back.  Annie’s horse had been acting really weird while we were grooming them.  Every time she would try to touch him, he would pin his ears and try to kick her.  But we couldn’t find anything physically wrong with him, he was just acting evil.  She was up first.  Of course, the spotlight was on her since they had talked her up so much during the opening ceremonies.  She went hauling in to the first barrel and he sat to turn and then bounced left and flew up the wall.  I couldn’t believe Annie stayed on.  I have to give her credit.  That horse made a HUGE move and she stayed in the middle. 

I was next.  Although I was distracted by what had just happened, I had to pull myself together and make my run.  Luther was ready to go, I wasn’t.  He came flying into the first barrel and we were at the wrong angle.  We hit it and then that caused him to bow off the backside.  I decided to go ahead and make my run.  Of course, he had a great second barrel and a great third barrel.

Anne was next.  She had a great run to place 9th at the rodeo.  My time would have placed, but knocked barrels get ya nothing!

We got the horses ready, gathered up our things and hit the door, only to find the whole parking lot was FULL of snow and it was coming down hard.  We loaded the boys into the trailer and headed out.  I had 5 missed calls on my cell phone.  I called my mother back to find out that there was a freak snowstorm that had hit St. Louis.  It was totally unexpected.

We decided we couldn’t wait it out, since it was coming down so hard.  There was no place to keep the horses overnight.  I have to say, it was pretty stupid of us.  Cars were literally sliding all over the roads.  And we were in a loaded rig. 

What took us 5 hours to get there, took us almost 12 hours to get home.  We were worn out.  The snow never stopped.  Of course, we travelled WITH the direction of the weather.  So by the time the storm blew over, we had about 8 inches in Indiana.  So much for clear skies…

 Oh yeah, a side note:  Annie took her horse to the vet the following week to find out that he had tore a muscle in his stomach.  He had a slip on the ice the week before and they were pretty sure that is what caused it. 

Bad luck, hard luck or no luck….whatever you call it, we didn’t have any good luck that weekend!            

Ashley Whyland on Luther

Mud and trashy ground was Luther’s specialty.  No matter what, I knew he would stand up, turn tight and run hard in it.  We arrived at Greensburg, IN after a whole day of raining.  And once I saw the backhoe dragging the slop out of the arena and into a big pile, I wondered if we were just wasting our money on this run. 

The rodeo pen was set up on a trotting track, which NORMALLY has a lime/sand mixture that holds really well, but after the backhoe was finished it was left as sticky and slippery mud, which is a whole lot trickier to run on than slop, in my opinion. 

I normally keep a pair of old support boots in the trailer for rodeos like this.  Luther would get his back legs wrapped in polos on regular ground, but in mud I don’t trust the polos to hold up to the saturation and stay tight during a run.  So at Greensburg, I resorted to boots all the way around.

We all warmed up on the track where they still had the lime/sand mixture.  I was one of the last ones out in the performance.  I watched some girls run to evaluate how the ground was holding.  I decided to just let Luther work however fast he wanted to.  Most of the time, this was best for Luther in mud anyway.  Stay out of his way and he will make it happen how he has to. 

I approached the alleyway and Luther let go.  We went a smidge past the first barrel, but Luther fired off hard to the second barrel.  I didn’t hustle him or kick him, but he was running hard.  The second barrel was flawless and the third barrel was even better.  After we rounded the third I decided to ask him to run out.  The alleyway was small, so I really had to hustle him through it.  Luther had a tendency to prepare for the stop, which in big pens was fine, but this pen I needed him to hustle all the way out. 

Once we hit the alleyway Luther found another gear as I heard the announcer say that we just took the lead.  And only then did I realize that his racehorse days were coming back to him.  I can honestly say I have NEVER had a problem getting Luther to stop after a run.  He could always drag his butt and stop right when you asked him to.  Not this time.  Ears pinned and neck stretched out, we were GONE and he was gaining speed.  I tried stopping him but he was only ignoring me and pushing on through.  Finally half way around he track, he wore himself out!  So much for being a “quarter” horse!  I couldn’t be upset with him, we were winning the rodeo! 

I finally brought him back around to the arena and EVERYONE was staring and laughing.  How embarrassing!  I think the crowd had forgotten about the barrel race and was more entertained with the horse race happening behind them! 

After the next day’s performance, Luther and I still held the lead to win the Greensburg rodeo.