And We're Off!

It was an exciting start for the 2008 season. As many of you know, Austin moved up from the Pee Wee Division to the Junior Division at both NYRA and WVJRA. This meant much bigger horses and full-size bulls! Wow! It was a little intimidating, but as Austin does with all things in life, he cowboyed up and gave it 110%. We could not be more proud of him. His first event of the day was bareback riding.

He had the wiley horse, John Wayne, that came flying out of the chute! Austin held on for about 5 1/2 seconds and just missed the required 6 seconds. Considering he hasn't ridden in this event since last July, before breaking his collar bone, and the horses last year were much smaller, he did an exceptional job! He had one scary moment after being bucked off when he saw the horse coming down on his head but at the last minute he moved and the horse turned and instead stepped on his hand. It hurt but didn't keep in from participating in his other events. We video taped the whole thing so he has been able to watch it and see what he can do different next time when he rides at Spirit Mountain. He's hoping to have another crack at ol' John Wayne.

Then he had a short break from rough stock as he warmed up Chazz for pole bending. Austin competed in pole bending last year with our old pony, Champ, and did ok considering the age of our pony and his lack of desire for speed. Chazz can be fast but is a little round and out of shape, however Austin got him moving. We watched as faster horses broke formation over and over and were disqualified and I told him that accuracy is more important than speed. He did fine but he is hoping that as the season progresses, Chazz will pick up in speed and keep his accuracy.

Then it was back to rough stock. Austin drew a large bull that, thankfully, did not have horns. That just about gives me a heartattack! He was psyching himself out though and believes that affected his ability to have a good ride. It didn't help that his bull kept laying down in the chute and even pinned Austin's foot against the chute gate. All that time in the chute is not good for a nervous cowboy, especially one with a beat up and sore riding hand. He got on though and that is the first step to conquering fear. He has rode twice since breaking his collar bone but he now has first hand experience at serious injury and knows what he is in for.

Finally, he finished up the busy day by running Chazz on the barrels. We have been working at this at home and Chazz has been a real pain! He would get to the barrels and walk around them or dawdle or just start kicking and hopping. We had no idea what to expect so we were pleasantly surprised that he did what Austin asked. He could have been faster but that will come in time. Overall, it was not a bad start to the season.

Austin's next event will be Saturday, June 14 in Lebanon for OJBRA and then he will compete in bareback, bullriding and barrel racing at Spirit Mountain on Sunday, June 15th. Watch for more information coming soon!

No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle. ~Winston Churchill

God forbid that I should go to any Heaven in which there are no horses. ~R.B. Cunninghame Graham, letter to Theodore Roosevelt, 1917