That Kind Of Wrapped It Up

Last weekend was pretty much the last 'big' rodeo weekend...It was also my last chance for winning enough to have any hope of qualifying for CPRA or WPA finals.

I was not successful. :-(

Friday morning we were up in Rifle and the only reason I entered that rodeo again is because they moved the slack from 1pm to 11am. Last year they had the slack in the afternoon and it was sooo stinking hot...and the air was so smokey that Moon could not breath.

This year all of the contestants were greeted with...a new parking lot. I dunno the reason behind it, but they went in and paved the entire area behind the arena...AND put in curbs with lightpoles...AND put in curb and gutter and sidewalks. Seriously?

I wished I would have thought to take a picture...but let me tell you...Whoever decided this was a good idea had absolutely NO CLUE about rodeo rigs. I mean...Most of us pull rigs that are roughly the size and length of a semi and trailer...Heck...A good portion of the trailers ARE pulled by semis. That is just how big the rodeo trailers have gotten any more, with the living quarters and mid/full-rear end tacks, made for 3-4 horses...sometimes 5-6 horses...

And those imbeciles turned an already tight area into a nightmare to get into and out of...not to mention the fact that our horses are now standing on asphalt!! Dumb, dumb, dumb!!

I kinda thought we was going to have a killer run though. Moon snapped around the first barrel incredibly fast and I thought, 'Here we go'...

One of the things I have really been working on is remembering to go to the horn, when coming out of the first barrel. To really get Moon to snap back around that first barrel, I have to pick up on the outside and sweep him over...But at this very point when he is stretched and straight...I have to go to the horn with my left hand and remember to let the rein slide through my right hand, cause the next stride is the power stride and if I don't get my hand on the horn and let that rein slide...That's when I am hitting him in the face. When I get it...which I did in this run...he just powers out straight for 2nd and we are clocking. I have tried leaving my left hand on the horn all the way around and out of the turn, but Moon doesn't sweep up and snap out of the turn as quickly as he can when I pick up the outside rein and help sweep him around the turn. It's kind of a Catch .22...If I don't help him we lose time, but if I do help him and then forget to go back to the horn when he powers off...I hit him in the face. But our timing is getting better and better and we are getting pretty consistent about getting into and out of the 1st barrel without getting hung up.

All the way across the arena, I was thinking, 'just ride him deep...stay forward and kick until you think he is going to run past the barrel.' I was looking at some other photos and I realize that the reason Moon is short striding me at the 2nd barrel is because he is rating several strides too early...and instead of just driving him on, I am sitting up a little and bracing. I just have to stay forward and ride him as deep into the turn as I can physically make myself stay with it....And NOT look down into the pocket.

I got him into the turn cleanly...but he was really rating on me and we lost momentum. I will say, the ground was really sticky, but it wasn't a problem until I looked down...

Yep...Kiss of death. The chin drops, the hand comes up and down goes a barrel...EVERY....SINGLE...TIME!!!

But look at my boy lay into his turns. His body form is absolute perfection!! The only problem with Moon is...He is a little too good at running exactly where I look. LOL. 'Cause right here, he's like, 'Okay, you want me to turn here....I'll turn here.' He set that hind foot exactly where I had been looking and left for 3rd...pulling the barrel down with us on the way out.

At that point it doesn't make any difference how fast he runs...so I just let him run to 3rd, set and make his turn. When Moon sets...he does make the dirt fly...

I let him gallop home and he still clocked an 18.0. A 17.71 won it. Pretty sure I cost us $$ on that run. :-(

Well, at least I knew he was clocking again...and after looking at the full set of pictures the photographer took...I knew why Moon was losing momentum at the 2nd barrel...and why we hit it...So I waited impatiently for the parking lot to clear our so I could head up the road to the next rodeo. I had a plan for the next run. :-)...