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I AM being nice
Posts: 4396
  
Location: MD | Just a forewarning, be prepared to see the word "ground" a lot, as it played a huge role in tonight's results.
Fallon- A great ride to the first barrel tonight set this pair up for a much better entrance to the turn. Fallon kept BabyFlo in her hands coming into the alley, put her on a line just a couple feet further left than she has been and headed into the pen already having given herself just a bit more room. Fallon stayed two handed, even using a bit of a leading outside rein all the way to the backside, ensuring that they didn't cut off the pocket tonight. Fallon rode a great line across the pen to the second, but again, looked in just a bit at the last second. She didn't drop much more than her chin towards the barrel, but it was enough to get BabyFlo to load that inside shoulder a bit. Fortunately, Fallon had ridden the mare forward across the pen enough that it didn't hurt them much. This is also where we get our first glimpse of the issues with the ground. Right about 13 seconds into the video, you see BabyFlo's outside hind foot slip across the ground. Thankfully, this mare has some of the quickest footwork of any horse I have ever seen and she recovered to still have a very nice turn. Fallon really stayed square and rode up passed the third barrel tonight and made it look easy.
Nancy- Joe B said last year that Fuzz looked like he could stand up running a set of barrels in a parking lot in a sleet storm and boy, did he prove it tonight! Nancy rode him quite well, encouraging him to move forward through the turns, while sitting up there very quietly and balanced, letting him do his job. I still feel as though he might could be a bit more free at the third barrel, but he definitely ran at it harder tonight than he has in the previous couple of rounds.
Sherry- Sherry's inside hand got a bit high to the first here and as it went indirect, you could see her horse get just a bit stiff through his jaw and the inside of body. Being locked over that inside shoulder caused his hind end to elevate and not get into the ground as well as one would like. As a result, they slid by and got out of position in the turn, but they found the backside well and left there on a fairly good line. They had a rather nice second barrel. Sherry, as always, stayed very square and allowed for a very balanced, efficient turn. Again, Sherry's horse seemed to stiffen in response to her hand crossing over his neck when she went to set him up for the third. This caused his neck and inside shoulder to brace a bit, causing them to get a bit flat and closer to the backside of the third barrel than she was probably happy with. I hope that she finds what it is that she is looking for and lays down some good runs in the second half.
Mary- Mary really held that outside rein open a long ways up towards the first barrel here, ensuring that Latte didn't start to get in too soon. It would be easy to think that maybe she led him a bit too far up the pen, but I actually feel like it was that moment where his front feet bounced up out of the ground, as if he had stubbed his toe that caused him to take that extra little half a step by before starting the turn. Having gotten deep and a bit out of shape at that point in the turn caused the whole turn to stay a bit too out of shape to allow for a nice finish, but they handled it well enough. Mary opened that right rein and really hustled Latte onto a line to get them into the second barrel. If you watch, about the only part of Latte's body that was on the proper side of the second barrel when Mary went to the horn was his nose. Talk about trusting your horse. Having gotten in there pretty tight as a result of the bobble at the first, Mary really had to stay very square, keep her inside leg driving him forward and sit chilly in order to make the second barrel work. In all honesty, it probably ended up working better than it even should have with the entrance that they had! She rode a great line to the third and really kept Latte running true from behind, allowing for a snappy, efficient turn at the third barrel.
Sarah- It's very hard to tell from this angle, but it appears as though Bling took a soft step on the left front as she was setting to come back at the first turn. I can just see her inside shoulder drop a bit toward the ground and then, she takes one more step before starting to come back. Having gotten deep, Sarah did a great job of righting the ship and hustling forward through the rest of the turn and really opening her inside hand, getting that outside rein onto Bling's neck. This helps to not only get her front end onto the line, but helps to stabilize her hip, as well. Having had such tight second barrels all week, Sarah did herself well to go ahead and move Bling just a bit deeper around the second barrel here tonight, hopefully freeing her up just a tad for the rest of the week. A trademark third barrel from this pair capped off a nice run.
Lisa- Louie is just such a rockstar! A perfectly ridden first barrel. Very balanced and smooth, he just seems to get more and more snappy through that turn each night. That turn set them up for yet another of this pair's "effortless" second barrels, although it did appear as though the ground rolled under his front feet just a bit on the backside. He's just so balanced and correct that he can handle just about anything. Having crowded the third last night, Lisa made sure to keep him on a great line and ride well up into the hole there tonight. When she realized just how far up there he had run, you see Lisa make one of the most aggressive moves I think I have ever seen her make with her inside hand. If you'll note, Lisa really goes back to Louie's Reined Cowhorse training in her rides. She never really pulls on him, just uses a leading inside rein, allowing the contact from the outside rein to bring him through the turn. When Louie felt that big move of Lisa's hand and that rein came onto his neck, his front end dropped hard and he made as aggressive a move as she had. It cost them a bit of momentum and didn't allow the turn to be as super smooth as normal, but overall, I was glad to see her get the room that she did there.
Callie- I can only imagine being on a horse who has been to the NFR in previous years, with two different riders, both of which rode him a fair bit differently, might leave a body wondering what they should do there on him. Callie has stuck to riding him her way over the first four rounds and it has worked well. I feel like with those first few runs under her belt, she is really starting to settle in and maybe not be quite as cautious as she was in earlier rounds. Her ride very consistent with what she has done earlier in the week, I just feel as though she is a bit more "loose". The turns just that much tighter. Everything is a bit snappier and boy, is it fun to watch. I can honestly say that until now, I would never have called Dillon "Mr Consistency" in the T&M, but he sure has been thus far!
Deb- Overall, I felt as though she and Oscar had a nice enough first barrel. A good pocket coming in allowed for a nice position throughout the turn. His hind up kind of floated up out of the ground on the backside, causing it to not be quite as efficient and quick as it could have been, but still a rather correct turn. Again, Deb rode most of the way across the pen with only her right rein. This caused Oscar to be a bit shaped to the right as she changed hands and initiated the turn. Being out of shape through his body, Oscar really dove in with his left shoulder in an attempt to get under himself. That caused his and Deb's balance to be completely thrown forward. As his hind end became loose and swung through the turn, all they could do was sort things out and get moving forward again. Having stepped off of the second, they came into the third on a rather gappy line. This might have allowed for Oscar to not be as dialed in as he was in earlier rounds. That being said, he braced against Deb's one handed pull of the inside rein and came through the turn rather stiff and flat, causing them to float off leaving it.
Jana- Having gotten deep and then overcorrecting at the first barrel last night, Jana seemed to be trying to handle her horse a bit less there tonight. Having run in pretty strong, they were already set to get by it just a bit again. Her horse's front end also seemed to then find some shifty ground, which just rolled along underneath it's feet, rather than helping to get them in the ground and set to turn. While they recovered as well as they could, she just never quite did get her horse's hind end onto the track that it's front end did going across the pen. Jana got onto her outside rein pretty good about a stride before the second barrel, in an attempt to get them up into the pocket well enough. Especially in a draw bit, this will always serve to get them just a bit further out of shape, as it did here. The minute she really took hold of that left rein, you see her horse load it's inside shoulder and the barrel was already as good as down. I felt like again, she bumped her outside rein and then dropped it on the way to the third, causing her horse to shift drop onto it's inside shoulder on the approach. It might still have worked had she done it just a step later, but as it was, it set them up to catch it coming in
Vickie- This had actually set up to be a very nice first barrel. Vickie rode a great line out of the alley and got to a great spot to initiate what could have been a great turn. Unfortunately, her horse found a big spot of not so stable ground and had a rather large slip at the precise moment that it needed to be able to anchor it's inside hind foot the most. They did their best to recover and move on without the best exit. Because of that stumble and subsequent lack of finish to the first, Vickie really had to ride her outside rein all the way across the pen to get positioned for any sort of a decent second barrel. While having done so might have caused for a little bit slower of a turn, it ended up being rather nice. Positive, forward riding and steady hands prevailed. She reached down and hustled up with her over n under a bit on the way to the third and I was happy to see it. While they got just a bit too round in the turn and carried by it a bit leaving, this was a nice enough third barrel. I think that extra momentum from having hustled in there might have required that Vickie support the turn just a bit more with her reins than she did, but I sure am glad to see her turning loose a bit!
Jackie- I really felt like both Jackie and Jet had found their way to the first after the last couple rounds. No whether Jackie felt that he was going to be more dialed in, or Jet just wasn't thinking that he could get into the ground tonight, I'm not sure. Either way, they got well passed it up then pen and V'ed back at it pretty hard. Jackie did a phenomenal job of fishing them around, leaving the barrel standing and then correcting their line going across the pen in a very quick fashion. Having righted that line as early as she did allowed her to swap hands and get Jet into the proper position coming into the second barrel, which was very balanced and smooth. I really like the way that Jackie uses that high, leading rein to follow and support this horse's conformation and turning style. A nice line to the third barrel again tonight, with the turn started right where Jackie asked it to. This is a super fun team. I hope to see them get dialed in there at the first tomorrow.
Michelle- It looked like Michelle had to really ride up to the left coming out of the alley to keep Slick on the path that she wanted to be on, but he responded well and was positioned to have a great first turn. As Slick set his hind end in the ground, it just kept getting lower. The ground not only didn't hold him, it totally rolled out away from him. Super quick footwork and an already balanced horse/rider combination allowed for nothing more to come of it than the fact that they got quite deep behind the barrel before making the turn. A smart, seasoned veteran of the road, Slick ran across to the second and patted the ground an extra step with his front feet to feel the ground before he planted his hind end and executed a very nice, balanced and efficient turn. Michelle picked up her outside rein and led him a bit to the outside of the pocket coming into the third, making sure that he didn't crowd it as he had last night. In doing so, it caused Slick to get just a bit stiff, but even ore, got him to a place just far enough outside of the pocket that he got into some deep, heavy ground and stuttered for just a step. They finished it well enough though and ran hard from the third barrel on out.
Carley- This team came out set up to have yet another solid first barrel. That bad patch of ground on the entrance to the pocket finally caught one bad. Carley did a great job of staying as balanced as she could and allowing Radio to take of them both. Look closely y'all, that bald spot in the dirt seems awful light colored. In a tremendous display of both Horsemanship and quality Radio's good mine, they coasted through the rest of the run, having two very nice barrels. I sure hope to hear a good update on this horse!
Taylor- Bo patted the ground with his front end a bit just before turning the first barrel tonight, slowing the turn just a bit, but it was just as correct as always. Taylor really made sure to ride hard and square all the way up to and around the second barrel. Bo kept his forward momentum going, getting his hind feet clear of the barrel at the exit and his comeback was as hard as ever. Taylor's inside hand floated a bit higher up Bo's neck than normal, which seemed to have cause just a bit of resistance and a slight hesitation before they finished the turn, but they hit all of their spots and ran out strong.
Cassidy- Thank goodness JJ runs across the top of the ground the way he does! He caught that same bit of ground as he set to turn the first, but was able to put in a stutter step with his back feet and get back up under himself, thus salvaging what could have been another bad situation. In having done so, they got carried through the backside and did the best they could at finishing the turn. Cassidy didn't panic, really didn't change a thing and just pointed her body and JJ onto a line to get them to the second barrel with enough room to allow him a nice turn. It totally worked! A nice second barrel, with a less than ideal approach had them set up for a nice third. While the line was good, once again, there wasn't enough depth into the hole. In earlier rounds, Cassidy had given JJ a bump on a low, opening sort of rein to set him up for the third barrel. She stayed one handed here tonight and he started the turn easily a stride too soon. She got very high and indirect with her inside hand, which may well have been the only thing that got them as far into the turn as they did. Cassidy was able to save the barrel by pushing it back up, but I sure hope she tried to hold the line up the pen and ride passed it tomorrow night.
I also hope that someone, or a mob of folks has a very serious discussion about the ground. I'm not a ground snob. I don't expect it to be manicured, but I don't think that safe ground is too much to ask for, either!
Edited by WrapSnap 2015-12-08 3:06 AM
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 331
Location: Loma Linda, CA | I specifically stayed up just for this post!
Thank you <3 | |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 489
| Thank you! | |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 990
| Excellent post and AMEN about the ground!! | |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
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Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | Good job Andy 
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
| Great job, Andy! And I also want to say how much I am enjoying Callie's runs. She is riding Dillon brilliantly.  | |
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  That's White "Man" to You
Posts: 5515
| I know the contractor that does all the dirt. The association has refused to buy any more dirt for a couple more years. He keeps the dirt from previous years in a pit, covered with a tarp, then hauls it back to the T&M. He claimed this year there was only about 6 inches on top of the plywood floor. He also said it was no more than concrete when they hauled it in and added hundreds of gallons of water to it. He has nice dirt and is willing to sell it, but the association is refusing to improve the quality of the dirt...but they will sell it by the ounce for $20 if you are interested. What a joke. | |
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