Monday, June 27, 2011

Finally Some Decent Barrel Racing Photos

I've been waiting for the photographer to show up at the barrel racings. Having some good still photos sure helps, almost more than videos.

Photos #22 and #23 on the following link (fifth line, purple tank-top)...

Photos

LOL-I think I am sticking my tongue out in the 1st photo.

What a difference from last year. The best picture taken last year, still had me bringing my hand across Moon's neck trying to keep him off the barrel.

Man, does he rate way into that turn (1st photo). It looks a little funky and I think we can smooth things up a little bit yet, but I'm not going to be messing with it too much. It works for Moon and that is all that matters.

I've always known that Moon is a 'front-endy' kind of horse, so at home we work on really making him work off of his hind-quarter. As long as I work at building up and keeping his stifles and hindquarter strong, that will help him stay balanced when he's running. You can't change how a horse runs, you can only try to balance them out by working them the opposite way through conditioning and training.

16 comments:

Sherry Sikstrom said...

Looks amazing , he is one gorgeous horse in action!

Mikey said...

I think you look great, both of you! I looked at all these pics, and boy, some of them, I wondered if they got around it, they were pretty tight. You two looked good getting around it.
One thing I did notice, since I looked at all of these... in all the pics, only one girl is looking to the next barrel (she was a little wide). I think it's just timing, but some girls seemed to be focused on the barrel (lol, reminds me of the red laser beam distraction)
Between these pics and hanging out at the feed store today with the barrel racing ladies, y'all are making me want to get out there. You're having so much fun!!

Kristen said...

nice pics! Love that 2nd one!

Paint Girl said...

Awesome pictures!! Makes me wish I could do more barrel racing! I miss it!

Funder said...

You looked great, silly face and all!

The pictures of all the riders were really helpful, actually - I'm starting to understand what you're talking about on those turns. Cool. :)

cdncowgirl said...

I noticed the same thing that Mikey did, although I didn't look super close at ALL of them lol
It seems that where to look has changed in the last little while. More and more I read NOT to look to your next barrel until you're headed there. Instead you should look at your path around the barrel, which is what it looked like you were doing.

Also I like that you don't run Moon in a tie-down. Some horses need it for balance but (to me) it looks like Moon really uses his head and neck to balance and like a tie-down would interfere with that.

Laura said...

Great pics! I love looking at barrel pics - the angles are so extreme coming around those corners... :-) Everyone seemed to be making some sort of face, so you aren't alone!

Unknown said...

Yeahhhh! i think you look great too!! And I don't see your tongue. Great pictures! You rock!

Danielle Michelle said...

Great pics! Sounds like you're having an eventful summer!

That bay mare is a little mustang cross out of the QH breeding program. She was a dream to break and train. Pretty muchwill do anything you ask of her of you teach her. Haven't done much with her since she is so easy and so she gets put on the backburner. Think she would make a good break away horse.

Cut-N-Jump said...

Was it your tongue or lipstick? lol

I looked at a few of the rest of them too. Some of them you could clearly see pilot error in action. Arms, legs, feet, seat, not the best of what was going on for some of them.

You two look fine. He's sure a Big Mover! How does it feel sitting on a powerhouse?

in2paints said...

It's so helpful to have pictures to look through, and those turned out really nice!!

BrownEyed Cowgirl said...

LIpstick?

Your kidding right CNJ...LMAO

Now it feels awesome...before, I think it scared me, I just didn't realize I was scared and all kinds of bad things were happening.

Cdn-I used to use a tiedown on Moon. When I used the snaffle and gag on him, having a mildly adjusted tiedown was the only way I had any chance of getting his nose to come to the inside. Obviously that wasn't working, but this new bit fixed all that.

And yea, the 'look' has changed a lot. I think I could bring my eyes up just a hair, but these days I see the dirt in front of Moon's shoulder, not the barrel when we are turning.

kestrel said...

You and Moon look like you're starting to have faith in each other. Awesome pics! You're just sitting deep and letting him run. Wow.

Michelle said...

You guys look great! And you got some killer shoulder muscles, girl!

Cut-N-Jump said...

It's just so bright RED! lol

We all know the dirt would cake in the lipstick (even Chapstick or Blistex for that matter) and things would change color in a bad way...

Funny how once you settle in and get comfortable with the horse, they really start to open up and give you all they've got. Or at least as much as you are asking for at the moment...

Crystal said...

Wow you look good, i love the second one!