Walking On Sunshine

I know that too much happiness can be annoying....After all, it's misery that loves company...But I am so stinking happy right now I could just burst. After these last few years of struggling and just basically forcing myself to stick with it...

Everything is coming together!

Moon is doing great, Frosty is coming along, Shooter is sound and coming along and The Big Bay is coming along. The mares have been a little hit or miss, but still progressing and finally, Frenchy has gotten over almost all of her terrible 'tude.

Little John has been a bit hit and miss as well. For 2 reasons; He's a well-started, problem free, happy little horse and I haven't really had any reason to get serious about him. Since I decided to keep him and he's only 4, I haven't really seen any need to 'get serious' with him. My main goal has just been to start hauling him around with me and letting him get used to being out in the real world. That is really the only thing he is lacking...experience. He's a smart horse and has adjusted pretty quickly to any new experience I have exposed him to, but he's not a deadhead about it. He does get a little on the excited side, so I don't just want to take him to a big event, where I have to walk off and leave him while I get a competition horse ready. I want to start by taking him to some different arenas where I am just riding with a person or two and then take him to a few little events where I can just do the same thing. Once he's been to a couple of places, he'll be fine to take to the bigger events, where I can't keep my eye on him all the time.

But now...I have a reason to get serious about bringing him along...Cindy D. has been staying up on all of the Stock Horse stuff and sent me links to an upcoming clinic. It's not until April, which will give me plenty of time to get LJ ready, but soon enough that I won't have time to mess him up. LOL. I'm just kidding. I'm not concerned that I will mess him up, but I do want him green enough that the clinician can tell me if I need to correct anything and/or how to bring him farther along...correctly. Since this clinician is non-other than Dick Pieper, whose pretty much a legend in the reining and working cowhorse world....Yeaaaa...I want to be well mounted and ready to soak up his information.

And if all of the good stuff that has been coming together isn't enough...

I FINALLY got a couple places to start practice roping lined up. You would think that would be easy-peasy here in the mecca of winter-time roping...where pretty much everyone has an arena and roping cattle...but not so much. It's tough to find places that have a mechanical roping dummy, sllllowwww cattle AND are willing to let an admittedly terrible roper (myself!!) come practice. But I finally found a couple. One close by and one over on the east side. The one on the east side is being run by a long-time friend, who is a fabulous roper and who I know will take the time to coach me and make sure I re-learn how to do it correctly again. I've always heeled, but he said he would teach me how to head as well and I can practice some breakaway. So...Yaaayyyyy!!! (happy dance).

Everybody has been teasing me about getting tired of barrel racing...and they aren't far from the truth. I love to barrel race...but man is it boring when it's the ONLY thing you do. I have been jonezing these last couple of years to get back into other events. Mostly because I think they are great training for my horses, but also because I enjoy diversity.