Lookie What I Got...

So I mentioned here that I ended up 2nd place in the cutting series that we did over the summer. We had our awards banquet this past weekend and I got a buckle for my second place finish in the Green/Green class.

Reserve Champion buckle...not too shabby!



It's a pretty buckle and bigger then my other buckle, though not quite as flashy. It's a little more simple and classic.

Do you know how excited I am that I even have buckles to compare right now? Oh my goodness, coolest thing ever! I'm pretty darn excited about it!

I also got 5th place out of quite a few teams in the team cutting they did for fun at the last show so I received one of these...

These hoof picks are so fun! I just love them.

It was a very fun banquet and great end to the year. The boyfriend has decided to concentrate on reining for now and doesn't plan to do cutting next year, but I would like to do another season of it. The shows are a lot of fun, every one is super duper nice and it's just a really good time.

So Close!

Well, we had our last cutting show of the year last weekend. It was a series of 6 shows that started back in April. I competed in the Green/Green class which is basically the easiest of all beginner cutting classes that there is. You don't even have to come out of a herd, they kick one cow out for you and you get to work for 2 minutes. You have the option of calling time for a second cow, but you only get two.

We've made it to all 6 shows of the series and I was leading the G/G class by a half a point heading into this last show. Half a point!!! You just don't get any tighter then that unless you're tied! I've been having some really consistently good work on the buffalo and the flag since the last show so I was pretty hopeful going into this last show. I was also really trying not to think about it too much. Certainly doesn't do anyone any good to be nervous!

Your run and score are also heavily dependent on the "cow gods", as we call them. Since you don't come out of the herd, you don't get to pick and choose which cow you get and you are stuck with whatever comes out that gate. It can be good and bad. I've had pretty decent luck all year and figured even if I got a runner, our work has been pretty solid lately so I didn't think I'd have too much of a problem.

I was wrong.

I entered the arena and they kicked a cow out for me. It just stood there, watching me come around to the back wall to push it up and start working. It was calm and seemed pretty laid back so I breathed a sigh of relief. We got behind it and started pushing it up and *poof* it was gone. I was able to keep her under control and never did loose my working advantage, but we did a lot of running. I called time with just under a minute to go. I was thankful they took some time to get the second cow out because Midori needed to air up a bit. Then the second devil...er...cow came out. Head and tail up, wildly looking around. I thought it was going to turn around and jump right over that gate before I could even get to it! Crap!!! I got behind it and didn't even get a chance to push it up before it took off. We kept it under control for a little while but then I lost it. We stumbled thru one turn and it was outta there. Ran around, hit the corner and pushed right thru us on the wall. Damn. Loss of working advantage. I brought it up again and worked for a little while longer, then it did the same thing again. I did get it stopped on the wall but that little bastard literally pushed us out of the way, which meant I had another loss of working advantage, right at the buzzer. Blast!!!

I'm not sure if he was just trying to comfort me or not, but one of my herd help told me that it was just bad cows, that last one I got was absolutely unstoppable, nothing I could have done about it. I know the cows I got were a lot more challenging then most of the other cows that came out for my class (seriously, I watched them all, I'm not just feeling sorry for myself here!), but looking over the video (again and again and again and again) we made a slow turn both times and should have been able to catch the cow before he ever got to the corner. Oh well. I got a 63, came in 2nd or 3rd to last in the class of 10. Ouch.

The bright spot in all of this is that I still got a 63! In cutting, you start out with a score of 70 and the judges adds or takes away points as your run goes, marking different columns on the score sheet with +/check/-. The lowest score you can get is a 60. Loss of working advantage is a 5 point deduction. I had two. Meaning, if I wouldn't have lost that cow twice, I would have gotten a 73, which would have won the class. Bummer. When I looked at the score sheet I had +'s all the way across, which is really good! I think that's the first time this year I've had all +'s! I was pretty darn excited about that so I'm trying to focus on that fact. I had a good, solid ride, I just got rowdy cows.

Also on the positive side, I was far enough ahead of everyone else in the class that I still ended up in second place for the series. WOHOO!!! Rumor has it that there are buckles to second place. I won't know for sure until the year end banquet, which won't be for another month or so.

So overall, I'm happy with the day. Our practice run went well too, Midori does really well going into the herd and I really think she likes playing with cows. Next weekend we start the winter series. I'll just be doing reining again for that since I want to really focus on getting Midori broke and more finished for a while. Should be another fun series!

Updates ~ I Am Alive!

Yes, I am alive! Even though I've only managed to get some of the Sunday Stills posts up for the last umm...4 weeks. Yikes! Man, time funs when you're having flies! Or something like that.

So lets go back and start at my state meet for drill. Midori looooves going to shows because she gets a nice clean stall and shavings to roll around in. Seriously, not 5 minutes after I stick her in the stall this is what she looks like. Isn't she the cutest pony ever?!

The state meet went well. Of course it wasn't without drama, but it was all resolved fairly early on and the rest of the weekend went well. I remembered all the drills, loped a couple of them for the first time that weekend. It was really fun! We came in 6th over all out of 13 teams. Not fabulous, but considering all the shaking up and filling spots and switching around we did, not too shabby!

This is me in Freestyle. I was the only flag. I liked my spot though, other the Midori running off with me a bit. She liked being on the outside of the sweep for a lap and a quarter and didn't want to check back to make he 90 degree turn into the center to be on the outside of the crack.

Also, notice we are on the wrong lead in this pic? We're not going to talk about that.

We are also not going to talk about this...

I will say that our quad placed 6th (I think) out of like 20 something teams, so that was fun! It was a fun ride, but the first time I had loped that drill this year and to say we hauled ass in an understatement.

About 2 hours before I rode the flag in Freestyle I was at a cutting show. The timing ended up working out perfectly, I was so happy! We had a fabulous ride, Midori really cowed up and I think enjoyed the break from the drill team boot camp she had suddenly found herself in. We didn't score well, but I was thrilled with our ride considering we hadn't worked buffalo in a couple weeks. The boyfriend called me as I was pulling in back at the drill meet and informed me that my score had held for 2nd place! Yahoo!!!

That was a very fun weekend. It was nice to hang out with my drill team again and I've always loved state.

Next update: Chey has kitties for lunch!

Just kidding! She got to meet them for the first time without bars between them! She was SOOO excited, she could hardly contain herself. Just imagine her little nubbin tail going a mile a minute here.

The kitties were just as curious about her. Chunk was a little more timid about walking right up to her and tended to keep her distance, but Legs would walk right up to her, rub up against her, roll over in front of her and swat at her.

Chey did really well with them, though did get a little excited a few times. She is definately intense and we keep an eye on her to make sure she's not mauling them to death on accident. Do you see the kitty tail sticking out from under her paw in this picture?

She loves to nibble them, like sort of cleaning, like I imagine a momma would do to her puppies. She also stands over them protectively. She really is gentle and good with them, just really intense. Go figure, since she's an Aussie. Since she didn't eat them for lunch that time we let them out in the house to play now. For the most part it is just fine, though there have been some epic chases. The kittens run from Chey playfully, she tears after them, the cats go oh sh**! and run, Chey continues to chase them...etc. And then there is the comedic relief that is Chey trying to herd kittens. Oh my goodness, funniest thing ever! She just does not understand why it doesn't work! She tries to push them up and they lay down in front of her. If she does happen to herd them together for a second, they'll take off in opposite directions. You can just see the smoke coming out of her ears as she tries to decide which one to chase!

The kittens haven't gone outside yet, but I guess it's getting to be that time. I just have to let go of my overprotective tendencies and kick their butts outside. They are also officially June Bug and May Belle now. Legs is June Bug and Chunk is May Belle. I still call them Legs and Chunk most of the time though. They are getting huge! And rambunctious! Holy cow, they are tearing my house apart! Part of why they need to go outside!

We had another cutting show a couple weeks ago. That one didn't go so well. It had been really hot, record highs around here, and we hadn't been riding at all. The cows I got were just awful and my turn back riders were no help at all. Sugar was full of piss and vinegar and Justin was having no luck with her either. Fortunately, everyone seemed to be having an off day, so my 65 held for a tie for 4th and 5th out of 8 riders. I'm still hanging on to 1st place in the series by a half point. No pressure for the next show, huh? Ugh!

The week leading up to that show we learned that the boyfriends mom had been admitted to the hospital and was scheduled to have open heart surgery. That made for a very hectic week, going up to the hospital every evening. We were also trying to get our house and yard presentable because we were hosting my small family reunion a couple weeks later. I had just started a painting project when we found out she was in the hospital, and what should have taken me 2 evenings to finish up ended up taking me a full week. We were busy and it just wasn't a fun time. But the surgery went well and she is doing good. It's amazing how staining the deck and planting flowers in the front flower bed are suddenly not a priority when stuff like that happens. :-) We did manage to get the house and yard somewhat presentable and the reunion was fun. We had tons of leftovers so I haven't had to cook all week and I was really happy to have a clean, clean house for the first time in a while!

This week and weekend has been really nice to catch up, relax and just not have any big obligations. I really love summer and the sun and warm temps, but fall is by far my favorite season just because it's not as crazy busy as summer. Next weekend I will be attending the SAFE horse show. That should be interesting! It's been a while since I've done pleasure, equitation and showmanship classes! And I'm doing a halter class, which I've never done. No clue what I'm doing there! :-) I'm looking forward to it though! I do miss rail classes every once in a while.

So that's my story. Nothing terribly interesting, but it's been a busy, busy summer!

Hope everyone is enjoying their summers!

Queen Of Denial

Oh my. I think I'm in a great state of denial right now and I have a feeling it may come back to bite me in the booty. I could be wrong, I may just really not have all that much prepping to do, but something tells me I'm going to seriously regret my laid back attitude right now next week when I'm running around like crazy.

And it's not like I've been sitting on my butt getting nothing but relaxing accomplished either. I've been busy! I had birthdays to celebrate, new kitties to play with and clean up after, horses to ride, drill practices to attend, 4th of July parties to go to, etc. etc. etc. It's been a crazy busy couple of weeks. I think I might finally be recovering from the long weekend last weekend. It was exhausting.

But see, here's the thing...next week is the one and only drill competition I'm doing this year. NEXT WEEK! It's a big competition that lasts 3 days and we go in the afternoon before so I will be there for three nights.

I have really enjoyed being an associate member this year. It's been a much more relaxed summer so far. I believe my team has already done 4 or 5 competitions this year, which means that is 4 or 5 weekends that I wouldn't have had at home, had I been a full riding member. That's a lot. It's made a huge difference. Huge!

Nevertheless, this one competition has managed to sneak up on me. I'm not terribly surprised, competition season always does. I just can't believe it's next week! I feel like I should be super busy getting ready, but then I try to think about what I actually need to do and it doesn't seem like all that much. I really should try on my jeans and make sure they still fit and check out the status of my "competition tubs". I have everything I need in great plastic tubs and am usually really good about cleaning and organizing everything in them when I get home from a competition so they are ready to go for next time, but by the end of the season last year I was so beyond burned out that I may have just not wanted to look at them ever again. I really need to get them down from storage and check them out. Among other things. I know there is stuff I really should be doing.

I think this year is going to be a lot more relaxed for me though. In past years I've been in charge of stall decorations and the team scrap book. Of course, since I am also the queen of procrastination, I was usually throwing the scrap book together the week or two before state and doing last minute replacements/additions to the stall decorations, rider/horse names and pictures, etc. It also made for a whole lot of packing and preparation that I needed to do going into state. This year I am not doing any of that. I just need to bring me, my stuff and my horse. You don't even know how fabulous that is.

The best part of this whole thing though...I'm in four drills. Since I am taking others spots in 3 of the drills, I have hardly practiced them at all and the 4th drill, Compulsory, we only perform at state so we just haven't practiced it much period. We are also not doing extra practices this year so in the two weeks between their last competition and state I have 2 practices to learn the drills. I'm trying not to stress about it, I know I can do it, but I do get a little worried about it on occasion. I certainly don't want to let the team down if I forget a part and screw every one up! That's not fair to them and all the hard work they've put into the drills.

In Freestyle I carry a flag (one of two flags in a column of ten riders) and lead part of it and have my own special little spot for part of it, so if I screw up it's bad. I have been able to fill in in "my" spot a couple times in the last month so I know the drill a little bit. In Short Program I lead for part of it and am mostly a follower for the rest, but I rode that drill for the first time last weekend so it's not as familiar to me as Freestyle. The quad that I am a part of is the quad that I've been riding with for the past few years. I wrote the drill so I know it, but I'm in a different spot then I had been riding so I need to basically learn it backwards from what I was used to riding. I think I mostly follow in it though so hopefully it will be easy enough.

To make the weekend even more interesting, there is a cutting show on that Saturday. I'm leading the standings for my class right now, but the boyfriend is sneaking up on me, along with a couple other people that could take the lead if I miss a show. The arenas are about a half hour apart and my ride time for drill is later in the afternoon so I'm hoping that I can sneak out and get my cutting class in before I have to be back for drill. Should be interesting. Fingers crossed that it works out! I'm not holding my breath though.

So wish me luck with drill! I'm going to need it! Kitten updates coming soon, promise! I hope to have a little time this weekend to get some pics of them up. Thanks for some really cute name suggestions! I really liked Ethel and Lucy, Patch and Tabitha (love it!), and Romy and Michelle. Great ideas! I was going to call them Rita and Tini, like the drinks, but they just weren't fitting. I think I have some cute ones picked out though, I'll let you know what they are if they stick.

Hope you all are having a great week and enjoying some good weather! Any fun adventures for you guys on the horizon?

Another Fun Day

This is my favorite way to spend a day...

And that is how I spent a good chunk of my day today. I was a happy girl! We had a horse show, but even after sitting on my horse for a solid 4 hours I wasn't ready to be done with her when I got home. I jumped on bareback with the halter and let her graze while I sprawled on her back, trying to figure out how the heck I used to be able to do that and not fall off! Sometimes I really miss being a flexible, bouncy little kid! It was a nice way to wind down from the show for both of us.

The show was fun, but the cow gods were not smiling on me today and Midori and I just weren't on the same page. I was sore from battling thistles the night before and she felt stiff and I could tell her head wasn't in the game. She was hanging on the bit and not bending and I just had a feeling it was not going to be our day.

It wasn't. The cows we got were little pistols. They shot out of the gate and stood there, tail and head in the air, just daring me to try to push them around. I've been trying to let Midori work more on her own lately since she's really been cowing up, but that didn't work out so well for me today. By the time I would realize she wasn't going to stop and turn on her own with the cow and got to telling her what to do myself the cow had already turned and we were behind. It just wasn't our day. We lost our working advantage twice. That's the first time this year that's happened to me and to have it happen twice in one run was very frustrating. I may have cursed the second time it happened. Loudly. I still made it out of there with a 65, the lowest score I've received in my lengthy cutting career (4 shows), which landed me in 5th place out of 10. Not horrible, but I was a little disappointed with our run.

The boyfriend, on the other hand, was a total rock star on his run! Sugar was amazing! She was all over those cows like white on rice! She totally cowed up and he got a couple really good cows and they had a really great run, scoring a 70, which put them in first place. It also marked the first time the boyfriend has beat me at cutting. I'm sure I'll be hearing about it for a while.

Even though my run wasn't the greatest it was still a fun day. I love spending time with my horse and the boyfriend so I can't hardly complain.

In other news: Day 2 of no reading just sucks. I'm trying to not think about it, but I did catch myself in the office looking at the "books to be read" shelf. I made myself go outside and feed the critters and finish weeding around the raspberries instead. When I was finished with that I came back in the house and layed on the couch staring at the ceiling for a while, wishing I had a book to read. Then I made a pound cake and strawberry soup. While the pound cake was baking I was wishing I had a book to read. So I loaded pics from the day and got to blogging. I'm sure as soon as I'm done with this I'll wish I had a book to read. Maybe I'll just watch a little tv. Or maybe I'll go grab a book. I did do a bunch of laundry, baked a cake, did the dishes, finished weeding the raspberries...all very productive, so I deserve a reward, right? A reward like, say, getting to pick a book to read, right?! *sigh*

Off to watch a little tv and try to be good atleast a little bit longer.

What a great day!

Yesterday totally rocked! It was very exciting for a few different reasons.

1. We had a cutting show. I love cutting shows.

2. Midori totally cowed up at the show so I was able to concentrate more on trying to make her correct instead of getting her to chase the cow. It was AWESOME!!!

3. I won my class.

4. The boyfriend got 3rd in the class! He had a great run also! Sugar was pretty cowy and much more focused this time. Also AWESOME!!!

5. It was sunny and upper 70's.

6. I got a sunburn. I love sunburns! Well, slight sunburns anyways. The bad ones aren't so much fun. But it's already turned to tan this morning so back out to the sun I go today! YEEHAW!!!

I love Saturdays like that!

Mission Accomplished!

Warning: gloating, self-promoting and bragging may follow and for that I'm truly sorry, but I'm pretty darn proud of myself! I got my back bone back a heck of a lot quicker this time then I have before. I totally Cowgirled Up today!

Ok, so after all of that I probably don't have to actually point it out, but I accomplished my goal of not hitting the dirt today. Wohoo! Go me!

I was still pretty darn sore this morning when I woke up, but quite a bit better then Friday (aka: the day after I learned that I don't bounce). I couldn't lift a stapler with my right arm at work on Friday because I was so sore but I was feeling much better today and even managed to tack my horse up all by myself! Wohoo! Go me! (2)

We got to the arena with plenty of time to get warmed up and hang out before we went in, which was the idea.

We some how managed to get totally front row parking. Wohoo! Go us! (2-1/2)

While we were getting tacked up one of the cows somehow managed to sneak out of the cutting pen, make it thru a half arena full of "cowhorses", squeeze thru the bungeed shut gate and get out into the parking lot. It always cracks me up when cows get out and it's such a huge deal to get them rounded up when we are all there to, ya know, work cows. We blocked it from heading in the direction of the street and it ran off down the lane of turnout paddocks. Eventually someone got it rounded up and back to the holding pens. Our girls were watching the whole thing intently, eyes bugged, nostrils flared so I had to grab my camera. Plus I love any excuse to take a picture of my horse's ass and post it. Doesn't she have a great ass?!?

Anyways, where was I...oh yes...we got tacked up and the half of the indoor arena allotted to warming up seemed a little crowded so we opted to hit the outdoor one for a bit. While I was long trotting a lap to make sure she wasn't going to find anything that would give her an excuse to take off bucking, I was putting a little contact on the reins and thinking something didn't feel right. I looked down at her head and saw that I had apparently lost the chicago screw holding the headstall to my bit. Yikes! I totally had a panic moment of the "oh my god, it's an omen. I shouldn't be riding today. It's a bad sign. I should just stick her back in the trailer, wish the boyfriend luck and call it a day!" Then I laughed at myself, hopped off, unclipped my rein, put it around Midori's neck, walked back to the trailer and found myself another chicago screw. I always keep extras in the trailer cuz you just never know when you will loose one. So, wohoo! Go me! (3-1/2) For not giving in to the panic and just getting back on!

Midori was still a little jumpy and snorty getting warmed up, but nothing uncontrollable. I was having fun on her and while I still had the little nagging voice in the back of my head saying, she could buck! I knew she wouldn't and I trusted her. I do love my horse and I trust her to take care of me. I just have to think ahead and be sure to do what I need to do to keep us in good situations.

Eventually the rain caught up to us, Sugar left us and Midori was starting to get antsy to see her friend. I got a couple good laps out of her, made sure she knew who was in control and that she didn't need her girlfriend by her side in order to survive and then we headed to the indoor arena where it was a little drier. We loped for a good long time in there too and then went over to the rail to watch some of the action.

My practice run was just before my class and I was first in the draw for both. I hate going first! While I was sitting there watching the crazy cows running every where, plowing horses over, scrambling to the wall and getting away from the horse over and over again, I started going to bad places in my head. I started picturing me getting cows like that and Midori freaking out and dumping me. The panic started rising and I was getting nervous. I felt my whole back tense up and my breathing turn a bit quivery. My hands weren't so steady on the reins so I crossed my arms and buried them. I closed my eyes and just sat there, taking deep breaths and trying to be calm for my horse. She knows when I'm nervous.

I decided we needed to ride some more. That seemed to be the only thing that kept my mind out of bad places. There were so many people riding around in the small space that I had to keep my mind in the game otherwise we'd have a wreck on our hands. So we walked some and loped some and I just concentrated on my breathing and not running into anyone. It helped. It cleared my head and made me realize that today Midori was totally solid so I had nothing to worry about. And that was that. My demons were beat. That was the last of my panic for the day. Wohoo! Go me! (4-1/2)

Finally, we are on the last couple riders in the class before my practice run. I loped around a little bit and then I was up. I picked one of the more vocal and helpful herd holders to help me and explained to him that it was my first time coming out of the herd and I just wanted to basically practice going into and coming out of the herd, not so much working. I just wanted to calmly and quietly walk thru the cows. He understood and helped me get the rest of my crew (4 riders out there with you, two herd holders and two turnback riders) and we were off! The herd of cows that I had were pretty jumpy and scattered before I even got into them. I made a couple deep cuts, picked a cow, cut it out, split it off and then turned around to go make another cut. I had 3 minutes to practice and a couple times I brought a cow out that just begged to be worked. So I did! I did get a runner, but it never even crossed my mind to be scared. We were solid. Midori did awesome and though I probably looked like a total newbie out there just screwing around, I wasn't doing that practice run for the working practice. I wanted the time in the herd, to be one with the cows. lol So the practice run was a total success and I walked out grinning ear to ear and hugging Midori's neck. Wohoo! Go me! (5-1/2)

Then it was time for my class. I wasn't worried about it at all. I had just come out of the herd for the first time and I survived! One little cow wasn't anything to worry about! And they weren't! The first cow I got was slow. The turn back riders had to move in a bit to keep her moving, but we got some really nice work with her! I called time with a minute left and they got me another cow. This one came into the arena with tail and head high. Hmmm....My time started again before I had a second to think about the implications. This one was a runner. But we worked it. And we worked it pretty darn well if I do say so myself. Even a couple times when he challenged our space and tried to chargy by on the wall Midori held her ground and we were all over that cow like white on rice! Wohoo! Go me! (6-1/2)

I did get a couple nice reminders of my fall while working that cow though. I have a really nice bruise on the inside of my thigh from (I believe) hitting the horn on my way off. Well, we had a couple hard stops while working that second cow and I slid into the pommel of the saddle. It hurt. A lot. But that didn't stop me! Wohoo! Go me! (7-1/2)

Finally the buzzer sounded, signalling the end of my run. Once again, I walked out of the pen grinning ear to ear. It was great! We scored a 72! Wohoo! Go me! (8-1/2)

I ended up getting second in the class, which also came with a nice little jackpot. Wohoo! Go me! (9-1/2) I don't remember exactly how many people were in the class but I'm pretty sure it was some where in the neighborhood of 6-8.

So it was a great day. Not only did I not hit the dirt, but I had a great practice run and won 2nd place in my class! I'd call that a success!

The boyfriend did pretty well in his classes also. Sugar had only been ridden once since before his surgery and was more then a little high spirited. Luckily she's "well behaved" when she's a spaz so not so much bucking or rearing, just whinnying, squirming, dancing, prancing, wiggle-worming, energizer bunny type stuff. She was still going strong when we walked out of the arena after probably 3-4 hours of loping. I'm totally not kidding. She's the freakin' energizer bunny, just keeps going and going and going and going.

I grabbed my camera after my run and took pictures of the boyfriend's runs and tons of random pictures. 99.9% of them didn't turn out well enough to make it here, but below are some of the ones I liked.

Midori watching the action.

The boyfriend warming up for his first class. That was the calmest Sug looked the whole entire day and I'm sure they only time she walked on a loose rein. I'm glad I caught it on "film" for posterity.

Peekabo! I see you!

After their second class. Don't they look happy? They had a pretty good run!

My pretty pony at the end of the day.



Mom, seriously! Enough with the camera! Will you put the thing down and come get this saddle off me already?!

So that's my loooong story and I'm stickin' to it! I got second place today and I definately did not hit the dirt! Wohoo! Go me! (10-1/2)

Did you ever think you'd read a blog that said "Wohoo! Go me!" 10-1/2 times?!? lol

I Don't Bounce!

I know I don't bounce any more. I've known for quite a while that I don't bounce.

I miss being able to bounce. When you bounce, you can be fearless. Since I've realized that I don't bounce so well any more, I've gotten quite a bit more cautious and, well, to be perfectly honest, a little chicken shit.

I guess I need to be reminded every once in a while that I don't bounce. Seems to be the nature of the "biz" (horses). And it always seems to happen just as I'm getting my back bone back after the last "I don't bounce" experience.

I really have no one to blame but myself. It was avoidable. I should have been smart and spoken up and just said "NO", but I didn't. And I got a refresher course on just how much I really don't bounce.

I hit the dirt last night.

I hit the dirt hard.

It's been quite a while since I actually hit the dirt. I've been bucked off a few times, but have managed to not actually hit the dirt one way or another. One time I landed on a rather springy bush that just sort of floated me over the ground. One time I ended up on Midori's neck, though the saddle horn and my tailbone are not friends after that one. I've been trying to think of when the last time I really actually hit the dirt was. It's been a while. There was the time that she took off bucking when I was half way on, but I don't really count that since I wasn't technically "mounted". Plus that was gravel. I think the last time I really hit the dirt was when I was starting Fancy. I think. I could be wrong, seems like I've been dumped since then, but it could be that I've just avoided actually "hitting the dirt" every time since then.

Anyways, back to last night...it was a dark and stormy night...oh wait, no it wasn't. It was partly cloudy, but a little windy and cold. That should have been my first hint. I know weather affects horse's attitudes. I hadn't been on Midori since Sunday. She was an angel that night and we worked pretty hard. It was also sunny and upper 70's.

We were headed to the arena to work the new buffalo. I was anxious to work because we have our first cutting show of the season on Saturday and we haven't done much cutting work since the end of last season, which was September.

I was really cranky headed there and all business with my horse, just focusing on getting on, getting work done, getting home. I was looking forward to riding and being on my horse, I needed the therapy for sure, but I was more focused on getting ready for the show and not really paying attention to my attitude or Midori's. Strike 1.

I got tacked up and walked in the arena and over to the buffalo pen to say hi to everyone and see what the new buff's were looking like. The one in was sort of being a pill, not wanting to work along the wall, but was relatively quiet. As I was sitting there chatting about the upcoming show, my name was called. I was up for a turn. I wanted to argue, I hadn't warmed up, I needed to go lope a bit, but then I thought about the show on Saturday and wanted that turn! I wanted to work that buff because I needed the practice! So I went in without warming up. Strike 2.

Midori was hesitant, jittery, spooky and snorty. She walked into the pen alright, but about jumped out of her skin the first time the buff turned to look at us. I was still cranky and thinking, cowgirl up, let's get'r done! We're going to work this buff whether you like it or not! We got one turn in with the buff on the wall. It turned back towards the corner and then charged, trying to get by us on the wall. I dug my spurs in, telling Midori to get her ass over to the wall and stop that buff! Strike 3. I was out.

I don't even know what happened. I blinked and the next thing I remember, we were facing the opposite direction and I was looking at the ground with the rest of my body following. I remember seeing Midori's front SMB boots and her nose between them and then my hands headed for the sand right next to them and thinking please don't step on me! But that's it. I have no idea how we got turned around facing that direction. I don't remember thinking, oh, she's going to bucking, I didn't have time to register anything. I hardly had time to register that I was falling off before I hit the ground. I just plain got bucked the fuck off. Excuse my french, but that's what happened.

I landed pretty much face first, then my shoulder and chest took most of the impact. I got the wind knocked out of me. I thought I had sand papered the whole side of my face off. By the time I got my eyes open, Midori had bucked to the other side of the pen, hit the panels turning around, taking a chunk out of my saddle and was on her way back my direction, still a bronc. Part of me went oh sh**, I need to get up so I don't get run over! Then my lungs said, oh no you don't! I made it to a sitting position before I realized that I really couldn't breathe. I'm not really sure what happened after that because all I could think about was that I couldn't breathe. And I had a mouth FULL of sand. Ugh. I heard someone say grab her (Midori), then I heard someone yell for the boyfriend (he was off being smart and warming his horse up!) and he came over and asked if I was ok. I said ya, I think so, just trying to get my wind back. Then I asked if my face was bleeding. He said no, nothing yet. Then he told me to get up.

Me: 'Scuse me?

The boyfriend: Get up! You need to get up.

Me: Ummm...no. No I really don't need to get up.

The boyfriend: You really need to get up. Get up! You need to stand up!

Me: Ummm...NO. This sand is damn comfy. I really need to lay here. A nap right here would be fabulous actually. You sure my face isn't bleeding? Oh, and I got my dinner. Though I don't recommend sand. It's not all that tasty.

The boyfriend: Ya, you're funny. Now get up. If you still can't catch your breath, stand up and put your arms straight up over your head.

Me: Say wha?!? Um, no. I am catching my breath just fine laying here on the comfy-cozy soft sand thank you very much.

I'm not sure if the arms over your head thing is for reals or not, I know my old boss used to tell me to do that when I had the hiccups or something, but it was just to yank my chain and make us both laugh. I did eventually sit up though. It took me a good long time sitting there to pick enough sand out of my eyes, nose and mouth that I felt like I could actually breathe and see. The boyfriend nagging me to get up the whole time. While I was sitting there I looked over to see where the animals were. One of the other riders was holding Midori outside of the pen and the buffalo was standing about half way across the pen staring at me. I swear it looked like she felt bad about the whole situation. I think I like buffalo.

So I got my reminder that I don't bounce. All things considered, I was pretty darn lucky. Other then a few pretty good bumps and bruises on my legs, some scrapes on my hand, half of my face looking rather nicely exfoliated (though no bleeding or scabs, I think my baseball cap bill folding over my face saved me) and some seriously sore muscles, I'm fine. Oh, and I broke a nail. I know...tragic.

The most frustrating part of all of this is now I'm feeling timid on Midori with cows. I'll always have that fear in the back of my head when cow charges and instead of beating feet to get where I need to be, I'm afraid I'll hesitate out of fear for just that split second that will make the difference between a good run and a lost cow.

I got back on her after I had brushed myself off. I was definately stiff and sore already and my guts were pretty shook up and still trying to get settled again, but we loped. A lot. I'm sure some of my soreness today is from all the loping we did. After a while I was out of breath so we stopped to air up and watch the buff's for a bit. The boyfriend was trying in vain to work one that absolutely would not move. She was slow and just refused. I asked to have a turn with her before they swapped her out because I thought she would be a good confidence builder for us. We went in and just quietly walked around for a bit and inched closer and closer. At first I just drove the buff around a bit, making her move away from us. After she got moving we tried to do a little boxing, but as soon as I moved away from her hip (driving) to her head she would stop and turn and just stand there. So we'd drive some more. A couple times she turned around and looked at us and I made Midori just stand there quietly. Not sure if that is bad for cutting or not, but I felt that Midori needed it for her confidence. After she stood quietly for a bit, I would put Midori back on the hip or shoulder and make her push that buff around some more. A couple times the buff tried running around the side of us, in that same corner, which was a total heart stopping moment for me, but Midori only skittered a little bit and this buff was a lot more timid then the other one and would just stop.

That buff did her job. I think she was good for us after what had happened. I felt better and a little more confident with Midori, but I'm still interested to see how the show goes this weekend. We loped a whole bunch more, until I was exhausted from having to push her so hard to keep going because she was totally dragging and then went back over to the buff pen to watch some more. Midori was still jumpy when the buff would come running to the side we were standing on, but I made her work the buff a bit thru the fence, with the other rider in the pen and she did alright.

I'm entered in the Green/Green class on Saturday, which is not out of the herd. They kick one cow out for you to box. They are also rerun cows, so a bit calmer in theory. I am also signed up for a practice run which is out of the herd. That will be the first time we've ever come out of the herd, so it should be interesting. I'm just sort of dreading the whole thing now. I'm picturing me getting a runner and Midori freaking out and taking off bucking and leaving me in the dirt, again, in front of all those people. And the judge. Ugh.

My goal for the show tomorrow is to not hit the dirt. How sad is that?!? I'm going to a horse show with the goal of not hitting the dirt. Wow.

Wish me luck!