Tana Poppino

Nov. 21, 2011 – I was proud of Amigo at Dallas. We had to run twice  each night, and he gave me his all each time. We ended our season on a  high note, winning the final round and third in average. A slight  mistake on my part cost us a lot more, tipping a barrel in round 2.  Amigo is getting some well-deserved time off.

Meanwhile, Goose and I have started over. We are coming to a better  understanding of each other and what is actually happening during our  runs. It’s going to take several more intense sessions and much  repition, but we will have our championship form back soon.

Not making the NFR this year has been a good thing. It has forced me  to stop and reevaluate many things, and given me time to work on them.

Thanksgiving is coming soon, and I am most thankful to Jesus for  loving me enough to die so that I could have a relationship with him.  I am also very thankful for my husband and son who love me and support  me, as well as the rest of my family. My prayers go out to all the  families who have loved ones that have gone on to Heaven. I am  grateful for every day I have with those I love.

Well, its over. We fought a good fight, but came up  short. Congrats to Tammy Fischer who qualified in the 15th slot for  the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. She and the other ol’ man,  Roundpen (Amigo’s counterpart is also 16), will be heading to Vegas.

The most exciting news is that Jeanne made it, and Jane Melby will be  going to her first NFR, as will Brittany Fleck. These three gals have  had great years. Brenda Mays (our other hauling pard) has made it  again towards the top of the list.

Thanks to everyone who was pulling for me, I appreciate more than  you’ll ever know. We are going to use this fall to give Amigo a well  deserved rest, and for Goose, break time is over.

I have to say that I was disappointed for awhile, but let’s put it in  perspective, it’s just a rodeo. There are a lot more things in life  more important like friends and family. Please keep all the families  who have lost young people this year in your prayers.

See you down the rodeo road.

Sept. 13, 2011 – Well, it’s put up or shut up time. We have two weeks  left in the season, and I’m in an all-out dogfight. Competition is  tight. There are a dozen or so of us fighting the bottom slots to go  to the National Finals Rodeo.That’s what makes rodeo so great, you go  all year and it still comes down to the end.

Pendleton is going on now, and several of those girls have posted good  times. Congrats to Nicole Deason, who caught a ride with us ealier to  Pretty Prairie, who is leading after slack. We run at Abilene (Tx)  Wed, El Paso in slack Thurs night, and Albuquerque on Friday. Next  week we traverse Texas. Tuesday we run in Pasadena (Houston), Wed in  Texarkana, Thur slack in Amarillo, Friday slack in New Braunfels,  hopefully, Harrison Ark Saturday, and Anadarko on Sunday.

I started out the year about as bad as you could, winning only $600  before April. To average things out, I plan on finishing as strongly  as I started out poorly. (Does that make sense?) Anyway, Amigo is  running good and I am trusting God that I ride him well enough to win.  I promise you there is no quit in me, I won’t go down without a fight!  Thanks to all of you who support me, cheer for me and pray for me. You  really don’t know how much that means to me. See you down the road.

Do you set up corrals, always try to find stalls, tie to trailer?

When I’m on the road, I normally set up my hotwire fence. My horses are used to it. The hotwire is easy to put up and comes down quickly, but it takes a while to condition your horses to stay in it. If the wind is blowing hard or it looks like it is going to storm, I’ll take the fence down and either tie them to the trailer or load them in the case of a storm.  I also like to put them in pens if I can park close. I want to be able to see my horses. I really don’t like the stalls, but at the winter rodeos they are the best choice. The hotwire allows them freedom of movement and they can graze if there is grass. My horses feel most comfortable when they are at the trailer, after all it is their home on the road.

June 5 – Rodeo season has hit, although I have been rodeoing from  home, we competed 5 days in 4 states this week.Ground conditions were so different each night. Ft. Smith, AR, has  sandy ground, but it is hard just a few inches down. Hugo, OK, also  has sand, but it digs out and gets deep. Bennington, KS, which got 3.5  inches of rain Wednesday, is also sand which is great for absorbing  the water. Not many other pens would have been is as good of shape  with that much water. Unfortunately, the left barrel had a hardpan and  was very slick. Strong City was hard under several inches of dry,  loose dirt. Licking, MO, which usually is muddy, was hard this year  with no rain.

It takes a special horse to be able to figure out how to protect  themselves and still run competitively on all different kinds of  ground. One missed step can end a career, or at least cost thousands  of dollars in vet bills and missed competitive opportunities. This is  what sets rodeo horses apart from the divisional barrel horses.We barrel racers often say “if they’d have done this or that to the  ground, it would be better.” Hindsight is often 20/20. Many committees  ask us, how was the ground? Which is great. Then, just as often, I’ve  heard them say, we’ll have it good by Saturday night. We appreciate  your efforts to make it better, and that’s good for the 10 girls up  Saturday night, but what about the other 50 or 100 that entered? Use  that hindsight next year, and start working on the ground a week or so  out, so that it is safe and consistant for everyone. We know it is  hard work and we applaud your efforts.We are partners: Rodeo committees and contestants.  We. barrel racers  provide the highly skilled athletes, and you, rodeo committees,  provide the safe, consistent ground conditions and together, we’ll  provide a fast-paced horse race that excites the fans!!

May 14, 2011 – We are driving to Mineral Wells, weather gorgeous.  Heather Wilson is with Mom and me. She is driving while I type, doing  a great job, she is. We left Wednesday night and drove in the rain to  Ada. Water standing on the arena when we got there, but storms were  over. (Last year, we run from a tornado, so all was good.) Slack was  Thursday morning. The arena wet wet, but sandy so it was OK. Amigo ran  good, was winning third after slack. Heather was winning 6th. We took  off for Bridgeport to run in the slack there. Three hours later we  pulled in to find all the parking taken by steer ropers.  We backed in  a hole and waited our turn.

The ground was good at Bridgeport, but it is deep and sandy. We were  50th so it was deep. I ran Goose. I guess I got excited that I ran him  all the way to the first (long ways) and had him just where I wanted  him (this left business plays with my mind!) that I didn’t keep after  him enough in the deep stuff and we hit the first leaving it.We loaded up and left looking for a less-crowded place to stay. Called  my horseshoer and he could work me in at 7 the next morning. So we  drove 4 hours to Marshall. The bonus was that we could get our horses  chiropractored too. We then loaded up and drove to Crockett. Perfect  timing, a couple of barrel racers were just leaving and we got their  stalls.

Didn’t go so well in the arena. Heather said it was my fault. I hit  the second,and she ran after me and hit the second also. So tonight, I  am going to do good, so she can do good also!Note to self, when Texas towns have loops, take them; even if it is  shorter to go thru town. Texas has a habit of building their  courthouses in the middle of the road, so you have to go around the  square; which is not as easy as it sounds pulling a 30-foot trailer! See ya down the road.

April 15, 2011 – It rained last night, and then turned cold. At least it feels cold considering it has been high 70s and 80s the last few days. I put the sheets back on the horses, and will need the heavy blankets tonight. I have been wanting to put those up, but we haven’t been to Guymon yet!

If you haven’t given your West Niles booster shots, now is the time.

On my tour of the Boys Ranch, Carla took me upstairs in the Chapel to show me a “special” classroom. It was cool. Needless to say, we had fun! Thanks again to MAXX Sunglasses for introducing me to the Boys Ranch.