I AM being nice
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Location: MD | Sorry that these last few rounds are so late in getting up! I know some of the NFR buzz has worn off, but I'm hoping that there will still be some things that y'all might find helpful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eRUa1dy9UY
Callie- This was another great ride from Callie! I love how she never gets in a hurry. She knows Dillon is going to turn the minute she slows for him to with her body. She does such a tremendous job of holding both sides of her body open and square all the way into the turn. You won't see her going to the thorn until she absolutely has to,. This keeps Dillon running on a straight line all the way into the turn, allowing for those snappy turns, but without fear of coming back over top of them. Once into the turn, she just stays quiet, keeps her inside aids hustling him forward and allows him to bring her body through the backsides with him.
Deb- She did a great job of riding two handed, keeping that outside rein open and encouraging Bud Light to stay moving forward all the way to her spot at the first barrel here. Bud Light tends to drop a bit in his turns and as he did here on the backside, it got Deb rocked slightly to the inside of the turn. That shift in her weight caused him to float off to the left just a bit as they exited the turn, but it was still quite nice. Maybe just a bit more hustle was called for to the second barrel here in order to allow things to be just a touch smoother. They got there a smidge flat, but Deb did a great job of floating her inside hand forward and up, encouraging Bud Light to continue moving forward and to hold that inside shoulder from coming back too hard on the backside. An aggressive ride to and around the third barrel topped off another solid run for this pair.
Jana- I loved seeing Jana give Hammer a good bump with both hands not even a stride out of the alley here. With a horse with this big of a stride and as strong as he is, it set them up well to be prepared for their best first barrel thus far. He stayed rather collected and square over his hocks here, as opposed to earlier rounds. Again, Hammer wanted to drop his shoulder and get in at the second barrel. Jana gave a good pull on her outside rein to keep his shoulder up long enough to get them by and it worked. The other thing that it did was to help to put him over his inside hock. Correct riding, or not, that move allowed for him to be the in a position from which he could really drive up under himself, inhale the barrel and leave there strong. Getting two handed for a few strides and giving a slight bump to her outside rein as she was dropping it and going to the horn allowed Jana to set Hammer in good position here again at the third barrel and they cleaned up the exit quite well from previous rounds as a result.
Vickie- Scooter gets his nose poked out and a running a bit strung out on the way to the first barrel here. Vickie did her best to get him set down for the turn with a bump from her inside hand, but his jaw was locked, he shook his head against the pull and got way out of position through his body. That caused them to get way deep behind the barrel and out of shape leaving it. I might have liked to have seen Vickie lift her hands on the way to the first, giving her a more direct line of contact with his face in an effort to get things organized. As it was, she elevated her inside leaving it in and effort to get his shoulder and ribcage back onto a decent line to carry across the pen. She did a great job of getting that accomplished and used a high, leading rein, with just a bit of a bump from her hand on that outside rein to get a nice, balanced entrance to the second barrel and was well rewarded for it with a very nice turn. While being a bit flat and slightly loaded over his inside shoulder at the third Vickie did a great job of getting Scooter's hind feet to keep moving forward far enough to get them around it and finish the turn nicely.
Jackie- Jet turned yet another nice, albeit slightly conservative first barrel. Here again, he got just a touch short on the backside of the second and Jackie did a great job of really pushing the inside of her body to the outside of the turn. Watch as they approach the pivot point of the second barrel and Jackie literally turns her left hip and shoulder to the right, ensuring that Jet not come back too hard and catch the barrel. A good line to the third. Even though Jet bounced a bit out of the ground here, Jackie used her body to keep moving him forward for another balanced, safe turn.
Michelle- As the week has gone on, Slick has gotten a bit more settled and is handling the ground better. In earlier rounds, he had run into the first barrel hard enough to get himself into a bit of a bind and trap his front end a bit. He really got prepared and turned a great, fluid first barrel here. That great turn carried them away from there on a beautiful line for the second. He wanted to get just a tad short coming into the second barrel, but Michelle just held square with her hands and upper body, all the while encouraging him forward with her feet and legs. What an efficient turn this was! Slick, shortened his stride while never losing any forward momentum, slid around the turn and shot away from there with a huge burst of energy. This pair's line to the third is always great. Here, again, he wanted to crowd it and get a bit short. As usual, Michelle was able to use both hands to hold him off and get them by. Having cut off the turn causes them to take that room leaving, but he never loses momentum and sure cuts off the clock!
Carley- The mechanics of this run were actually quite good. The lines were appropriate everywhere and I love how Carley allows her horses to be so free in their movements. I just feel like Boy might shine more brightly on a larger pattern, where things don't come at him quite as quickly. It appears to me as though his body is attempting to make every move and adjustment that is being asked of him, it's just all happening a half a stride sooner than he's getting it done.
Taylor- This was a great approach to the first barrel. I was glad to se her be able to get Bo in there just a foot, or two deeper than normal, allowing him to be a touch less intense in his set up for the turn, thus allowing them to be better able to keep the ground under them. She gave him a phenomenal ride across the pen, really hustling him over to the second barrel and then backing off just enough to let him read the ground and make any necessary adjustments. Thank goodness that she did. A decent slip of the hind end here caused Bo to lose his usual snap through the backside and they stepped off a bit leaving, but they did a great job of recovering and continuing to move forward. Having stepped off a bit, the line to the third barrel was not as direct as she might have wanted. Anytime that a horse is that parallel to the barrel upon your approach, it causes them to start to fade toward it. Taylor did a great job of squaring him with both reins and driving him forward with her seat and thigh enough to get them by it, despite his shoulder having dropped down and in.Being as out of position as he was, his hind feet came out from under him yet again as they finished the turn, but he ran out super hard.
Cassidy I might still want to see Cassidy shaking that outside rein at JJ in preparation for the first barrel, as she did in early rounds. She stayed a bit more square here tonight, which allowed the turn to be more organized, overall. A great line across the pen and a good ride from her outside hand at the entrance to the turn allowed for JJ to be much more together and snappy through the backside. Cassidy made sure to ride two handed and to a spot deeper behind the third here and while they still crowded it a bit, it worked. I felt like JJ stayed was more square running to it. Cassidy lifted both reins and then gave the outside a small bump , or two, which I think caused him to peck down over his inside shoulder. Had she used that same bump on a lower placed, opening outside rein, she might have gotten all of the room that she was hoping for.
Fallon- She did a great job of keeping Flo super square up into the backside of the first and then getting out of her way, allowing her total freedom to roll back over her hock and come out super square. After having slipped there on the backside in previous rounds, I thought this was a great way to ensure that all went well. Fallon didn't open her left rein to guide Flo across the pen to the second as much as she had in earlier rounds and found herself getting there a bit tight. She did a great job of going indirect with her inside rein, even bumping Flo a couple of times with it, just enough to keep that inside shoulder up. Obviously, BabyFlo shook her head a bit in retaliation, but she sat down and turned the top out of it coming back. The line to the third couldn't have been much better. Here again, we see Fallon give that pump of her inside hand up Flo's neck, encouraging her to stay straight and running all the way to the backside. Fallon does a tremendous job of riding that aggressively in one stride and then, in the very next stride, being very quiet and patient with her body, allowing Flo to work through the turn and stay upright in challenging ground. This is made even more impressive by the fact that Flo is so small and catty in her movements.
Nancy- Another great run from this pair. Fuzz runs in such a cool, upright style, with his head elevated, hocks always coming up underneath himself. They got a bit close at both the second and third, but Nancy was able to float her hand up his neck and go a bit indirect, leading his body onto a path just enough to keep them clear. It is hard not to look at one when we know we are that close, but boy, when she dropped her chin in and looked at the second barrel, I got scared for a second.
Sherry= Back on Stingray, we see this pair lay down the technical pattern which we have come to expect from them. Stingray is just scotching into the barrels a bit too much to allow them to be clocking. Having been down the road and in this pen as much as she has, this mare is smart and her first priority is to take care of them both. She got just a tad short to the second and Sherry did a great job of giving her outside rein a couple of very small, well timed bumps to get them up into the backside with enough room to clear it.
Mary- Latte has this line to the first barrel programmed in his memory banks. Mary does a great job of holding the inside of her body, including her rein hand in a very upright, positive way. Always encouraging forward motion on a long strided horse who really plants his hock to come back allowed for a great first barrel, even with a bit of a soft spot on the ground under his back feet. The line to the second was great, as was the entrance. While she maintained her upright position through the turn, they lost a bit of that forward, positive energy on the backside of the second barrel. This allowed Latte to plant that inside hock just a half step too soon and try to come back too hard. Mary was able to punch the gas and fish them up around it, but it was a little too close for comfort. Again, the line was good to the third, but she let off of the gas pedal a step there, allowing Latte to come dangerously close to the backside of it.
Sarah- A great line to the first set Bling up for another of her explosive turns here. Sarah, as always got down over the center of her and really allowed Bling to get all of the room that she needed on the backside to finish in a very snappy manner. This set up a good line across the pen. It appears as though they were going to have another great, albeit very tight second barrel until Bling lost hold of the ground (or vice versa) as they set in for the turn. Sarah did a great job of sitting up, hustling up and getting back onto the best possible line to head to the third. To see the third barrel, you would never have known that there was a bobble at the second. Sarah rode hard, held square on that outside rein and encouraged Bling to stay upright and get deep enough at the third to allow for another efficient turn, with another explosive exit.
Lisa- Louie came in ready to go to work, yet again. That same spot of ground got Louie as it had so many others. When his right hind foot found unsteady ground, he picked it up and then planted it back down in almost the same spot, pushing forward as soon as he did. Unfortunately, that spot wasn't quite clear enough of the backside and it brought them back into the barrel leaving it. You couldn't have asked for a more textbook run at the second and third. Lisa does such a great job of giving Louie all of the support that he needs with her body and by encouraging constant forward motion. This pair really is one that demonstrates such an ideal of Horsemanship, training and consistency.
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