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Location: MD | This round really shook things up, creating quite the nail biter! Right down to the tenth round to determine who wins it all!
Jana- Jana did a nice job of getting Hammer set up for a good first barrel here. While hard to tell exactly from this angle, it appeared as though she gave her outside rein just a couple of quick bumps just before dropping it and going to the horn. Again, with as big strided as he is, Hammer took some room on the backside of the barrel, but given his length of stride, it worked out quite well. For the first time, we really see him come back flat over that inside hock and leave the backside straight through his body. This set up for a snappy exit and a great line across the pen to the second. Having gotten a better approach to the second, Jana bumped her outside rein and went to the horn a stride sooner entering the second barrel than she had in previous rounds. That bump to the outside rein was effective in setting him up, but also caused the turn to be initiated just a half step too soon. Fortunately, they had enough momentum built up to get them by it coming in and she really rode up to help him maintain that momentum while changing his arch through the backside. Jana did a great job of using her inside rein to stabilize Hammer and keep him on a line to the third which gave him enough room coming in to really finish better than they had in previous rounds. The inside rein slightly elevated, came into contact about midway on his neck, allowing her to hold the shoulder from coming in laterally, while redistributing his balance back over his hocks.
Vickie- What a nice run for this pair! It made me very happy to see. Things just really seemed to all settle into place here. This horse has a bit of a higher and rounder carriage through it's head and neck, which I feel suited Vickie's ride quite well. She stayed two handed and had a nice feel of both sides of her horse all the way to the first barrel. Having stayed so square and organized allowed for a very nice turn at the first. Vickie having set up the turn on the approach, was able to use her inside hand to simply guide her horse through what was a very efficient and snappy turn. I loved how Vickie pumped both arms for just one step about midway across the pen, encouraging her horse to really move forward and get deep enough into the pocket at the second. Her horse having responded well, she was able to just ride up into the hole, position herself as a point for her horse to pivot around and just support the turn. Having opened and set her inside rein as she did allowed her outside rein to come onto her horse's neck in such a way that it not only guided the front end through the turn, but offered support and stability to the hip, ensuring that they left on a perfect line to the third. Following that great line allowed them to have another very balanced turn at the third barrel.
Jackie- Knowing that she's sitting 2nd in the Average at this point had Jackie riding very reactively tonight. You see her opening that outside rein on the approach to the first barrel. She was really making sure to keep Jet moving forward and giving herself a foot more room than she might have were she running for the day money. They finished it well and carried a good line across to the second. Jet wanted to get very short here and Jackie did a great job of saying "oh, no you don't!". While using that outside rein to pull his head and neck back to the outside, Jackie did a great job of using the rest of her body to keep the rest of Jet's body rather well positioned. If you're going to have to rein off on one, having the ability to keep them straight from the shoulder back is a huge advantage. Having gotten in there in decent enough shape, Jet was still really looking to work and Jackie floated that inside hand well up in the air, up his neck and to the outside, encouraging him to not come back too hard. At the same time, she dropped her shoulder behind her hips quite aggressively, using a driving seat to hustle him enough to bring his hind feet clear of the backside. You see her reach to find her over n under on the way to the third and come up empty handed. While I am sure that she would have liked to have popped him once to build more momentum to get around it, that move of her hand still served to keep her body open, shoulders and hips pointed forward and they had a very nice turn as a result.
Michelle- Slick slid a bit deep behind the first here, but it sure wasn't for a lack of trying. As a result of not having as much ground as he was looking for, they didn't get just that smidgen further across the backside of the turn that would have allowed them to finish on a better line heading to the second. It's hard to run one straight across the pen and then move over in that last stride in the T&M and as we see here, Slick definitely crowded the second a bit more than normal as a result of having done so. Michelle kept such a cool head, stayed square, kept him moving forward and focused just on getting him in there, knowing that the turn would happen after that. As a result of cutting off the pocket coming in, Slick was forced to go a bit deeper in his teardrop turn on the backside than he might normally, but it was about as clean and efficient as any other night, just placed a foot, or so differently than other rounds on both the entry and the backside. Michelle did a great job of managing his desire to crowd the third here again and it worked quite well.
Carley- Much like Round 8, Carley really allowed Boy his head and the freedom to work as best he could on the ground and in these small confines. The first barrel appears as though it wanted to work quite well, being marred only by the little slip that caused them to take an extra little stutter step across the backside, thus being a little wide at the exit. I felt like they recovered well and found a good entry to the second barrel. Again, I simply feel as though Boy isn't quite as quick on his feet and was just a bit strung out at the second and third. While the mechanics were good, he just wasn't organized enough to be efficient through his turns.
Taylor- With the little screen showing Taylor's bio in the way, it was impossible to see what happened with Bo's hind end on the entry to the first barrel. From there, he simply planted his hind feet and came back way too hard, never allowing his hind feet to clear the backside. As a result, Taylor eased off of him going across the pen. Without that momentum, there was no way that they were getting around the second barrel. She was smart and used the opportunity to tune him a bit at the third, keeping him up and very square before pulling him up and easing out of the pen.
Cassidy- JJ was in a hurry to get in the pen tonight and it was just about the perfect wake up call for Cassidy. After making him wait on her in the alley, she also kept two hands to the first barrel. She gave a very slight bump to that outside rein, her hand slightly open and placed low on his neck, ensuring that he was dialed in. This allowed for a much more balanced turn than we had seen in a few previous rounds, where he was just running through the turn. Cassidy had to ride her outside rein that last jump, or two up into the second barrel, but it worked out well for her, getting JJ throttled back down and balanced over his hock for a very quick turn. While fast through the backside of the second barrel, they didn't finish the turn as much as she would have liked to. Having ridden forward on that line which was about 5 feet further to the right than ideal really encouraged JJ to load his inside shoulder and initiate the turn too soon. If you pause the video at 3:33, you can really see how his inside shoulder is already moving down and in. In that same frame, you will see Cassidy drop her eyes and chin toward the barrel. At the same time, the bottom part of her left ribcage collapsed, closing her hip even further into the turn than JJ's position already had. She really got at both reins in an attempt to get him back up and square and it worked. It's an easy habit to get into, of collapsing our upper body toward a horse's neck as we get too close to a barrel. I guess it's our natural instinct to curl into the fetal position when we sense impending danger, but I have yet to see it actually save anyone. Despite that, they got by it and ran hard out of the pen.
Fallon- 9 Rounds in, BabyFlo's flatter turning style combined with the anticipation that comes with having made so many consecutive runs in a pen this small was telling on this pair tonight. Flo wanted to set up and start the turn half a step too soon everywhere and Fallon did a commendable job of keeping that from happening. They got a smidge deep behind the first as a result of Fallon really having to hold up the inside shoulder long enough to ensure the Flo's hip would clear the backside. She opened her left rein and really encouraged BabyFlo to get onto a good line going across to the second, but again, Flo dropped into the turn a half step soon and very flat. Fallon rode tough, using an bump on an open, leading outside rein, an emphatic lift of the inside rein and really shoving Flo to the outside of the turn with her inside aids to get by. While the turn itself was less than ideal, the finish was good and set them on a decent course up the pen to the third. Again, Fallon felt Flo getting in and flat. No little pump of the inside hand to keep her moving forward tonight. Fallon got two handed and made sure to really get her by the third barrel here. They got a bit too far by and Flo let it be known that she didn't appreciate Mom telling her to come around and finish the turn, but any less of a ride from Fallon might well have been cause for a downed barrel.
Nancy- You know it's a bad day when Fuzz has a bobble because of the ground! As we saw here at the first, his front end went out from under him for just a step. His recovery was amazing and Nancy did a great job of staying her course, sitting in the middle and allowing him to right himself, leaving on a great line to the second. A trademark, squeaky second barrel here, with Fuzz wasting no space through the backside. On the approach to the third, about halfway down, you see Fuzz step off to the right, as he normally does, allowing himself the pocket that he needs for a smooth turn. I don't know if Nancy felt like he stepped out a little harder than normal, or if he maybe felt a bit heavy, but when she opened her hand toward the inside just a step sooner than she normally does, Fuzz followed. The turn got cut extremely short, causing them to get the first barrel before they ever really got into it.
Sherry- Arson had a nice first barrel here. He might not have set down and got quite as organized as Sherry might have wanted, which allowed them to almost loop back into it leaving. Sherry is a master of minute movements an here again, was a prime example. You see her inside hand go from open and leading him through the backside and as soon as she realizes how tight they are finishing it, her hand is immediately back onto the center of his neck, closing off his ability to come any further to the right than he did. She might have wanted just a foot, or two more pocket coming into the second, but she switched hands, got a bit high and slightly indirect with her inside rein and committed to riding his body far enough into the hole to clear it. Having quite so high and indirect seemingly caused Arson to stiffen through the inside of his body a bit. Even with his positioning being a bit rigid, this turn would have happened much more correctly had it not been for the substantial stumble on the backside. As it was, they recovered well, found a nice enough finish and left on a fairly nice line. Sherry did a great job with her inside hand, staying close up on Arson's neck, placed well up his neck and held her line very squarely with her body, allowing for a great approach to the third. As soon as she felt that they had gotten to the spot, she dropped and opened thher inside allowing, allowing him the freedom to come through a very nice turn.
Mary- Latte was trying to get in on the line heading to the first a bit here and Mary did a great job of leading him onto a more proper path with both reins and plenty of inside leg. He bounced out of the ground a bit while setting up for the first. It is hard to get right when ground is this shallow and even more so when one is already a bit out of position. Having gotten deep behind the barrel, they finished rather well and on a nice enough line to the second. This many rounds in, Latte is really coming back hard on the backsides and needed Mary to keep sending his hind end forward from her feet and legs just one step longer at the second. As it was, she had gotten to the middle of her reins and really floated her hand up into the air, allowing him the freedom to come back just a bit too hard. The third barrel was well ridden, if a little less than quick.
Sarah- Sarah actually kept a hold of her outside rein way further up into the first barrel tonight than she had in previous rounds. A little bump on that right rein just as she was letting go of it ensured that Bling stayed on her line and got the depth that they needed to have another snappy first barrel. Knowing that Bling was just a touch heavy to the inside going across the pen, Sarah really took hold of her left rein and tried to hold Bling up enough to get a nice entry to the second barrel and it worked. Unfortunately, having focused so much on getting her in, she hadn't hustled at her hard enough to get them all of the way around it. She made a valiant attempt at reaching down to try and set it back up, but to no avail. Even without a hand on the reins, Bling finished hard and left on a great line to the third. Sarah rode hard enough to get them all the way around it and it was as pretty as any this team has turned.
Lisa- Having had some unfortunate luck in the last two rounds, Lisa really kept her inside aids moving Louie forward at the first barrel here. Having cleared it, they went on to make yet another textbook run. Always maintaining forward motion, never a moment of anything but the utmost of balance from Lisa. Such imperceptible cues from her hand, just opening that inside rein and supporting Louie through the backsides. Great run!
Callie- Yet another great first barrel for this pair. Callie patiently holding the line with her outside hand and shoulder and then allowing Dillon's body to carry her softly through the finish. She held that outside rein and rode him just a half a step deeper up into the second barrel here, not only ensuring that she left it standing, but that Dillon didn't get into that same spot of ground which had already caught so many. Dillon wanted to cut off a bit to the third barrel and Callie did a great job of using her outside rein to square him back up. Here, she still placed her hand high and open, but rather than forward and leading him further toward the backsides, as she normally does, she brought her hand straight back, forcing Dillon to hold his body out to the right just long enough to allow them to clear it.
Deb- This pair really seems to have found their way now. A great line and ride to the first barrel. Deb really encouraged Bud Light to stay very square all the way from the alley to the backside of the first and could not have been better rewarded for it. Having set up the turn so well, she was able to simply drop her hand a bit lower and allow him to do his job. A nice line across the pen and an equally positive ride allowed them to have as nice a second barrel. Deb rode quite aggressively to the third, ensuring that they would have enough momentum to get them far enough into the backside before starting the turn. Even still, Bud Light dropped his shoulder a bit and crowded it. Deb did a great job of just lifting her inside hand enough to be effective, but not so much as to disrupt anything else, allowing them to get by it and finish straight and running strong.
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