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I AM being nice
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Location: MD | Sorry y'all. I knew I was going to be late doing this, then yesterday morning, I got my head slammed into a wall pretty good and I wanted to only be seeing one of things again before doing any sort of write up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKt5shf1ZVc
Sarah- Here again, Sarah set her line while moving forward up the alley. She did stay two handed a couple of strides up the pen, which is more than she had been doing. Bling got a tough deeper than she had in previous rounds behind the first barrel and Sarah did a great job of kicking her inside foot, making sure to get Bling moving forward and getting her hip clear. She had to stay on that outside rein a bit more aggressively at the second barrel than she has previously , which caused Bling to stiffen a bit and not be able to close the turn in her typical fashion, but it was a matter of step off or catch it coming in. Sarah's ability to stay over the center of this mare boggles my mind. Look here as she approaches the third barrel and Bling really stretches through her body. As Bling crouches and elongates her topline, Sarah closes her hip angle and matches Bling's position perfectly. In most cases, you wouldn't want to see someone get so low over a horse's shoulder coming into a turn, but in this instance, if Sarah didn't get so low, she'd be behind the motion. As they say, the proof is in the pudding and you couldn't have asked for them to have a much nicer third barrel.
Lisa- Boy, you sure don't see Louie catch a barrel very often and he wasn't looking to tonight. They had a great entrance to the turn, a perfect pocket and plenty of momentum to get them around it. If you were to pause the video at 54 seconds, you can see that the ground didn't hold Louie's right hind. It slides right up underneath his belly button, all but crossing over his left leg. His hind end being so out of position didn't allow for him to push squarely through the turn. As it was, they still barely caught it leaving. What a super unfortunate moment. They went on to have a trademark second barrel for this team, perfectly balanced, perfectly timed and as pretty as ever. Having had that first barrel down, Lisa was coasting Louie through, which almost cost them the third barrel. Louie had already gotten a bit short there earlier in the week and without any real momentum, his turn got a little short and they rocked it.
Callie- This pair has been the absolute face of consistency! Callie's ride has been so solid every night. You can tell that she has found what works for her and Dillon and she strives to do it every night. I am loving seeing her confidence growing and to see her allowing everything to start happening just the two to three feet sooner that is really showing up on the clock
Deb- Having gotten so indirect on a longer rein brought Deb's hand into contact with Bud Light's face at a pretty low angle. In turn that caused him to stiffen and elevate his jaw, thus dropping his shoulder as he set in for the first barrel. Fortunately, they were able to sneak by, leave it standing and get away from there on a good line. She did a great job of keeping herself square and staying on the gas pedal enough to get Bud Light all the way up to the backsides with enough run to execute two solid, balanced turns at the second and third. Once Deb had done that part, Bud Light was able to shine and do his part.
Jana- I was glad to see Jana not allow Hammer to leave for the first quite as hard as she had in previous rounds. The entrance to the first barrel was much better, with his staying way more square over his hind end and gathering a bit for the turn. There was still a bit of disengagement of his hind end here, as his head an neck finished on a better line than his hip, but it was a vast improvement from a few rounds back where he was less collected. As a result of his hind end not finishing the first quite as well, they got to the second on a bit of a smaller pocket than Jana might have wanted and she gave Hammer a bump of her right rein to ensure that they got enough room. It did cause him to drop his right shoulder just a bit and slice the pocket a bit coming in. Thankfully, as big and strong as he is, Hammer was able to change his arch, plant his hind feet and push through the turn in a rather snappy manner. Jana picked up her outside rein a jump sooner than she had been and while she didn't really bump him here, having been two handed just that little bit more seemed to help him be more collected for the third barrel. Their pocket still got closed up just a bit, allowing Hammer to crowd it just enough they weren't able to have a great finish, but overall, this was a much improved run.
Vickie. I feel like Vickie allowed Scooter to get in a bit heading to the first barrel. Without that little extra bit of pocket, they never really got set down for a balanced turn here. Vickie did a good job of sitting up and holing his nose to get the best finish that she could out of it. Having left there out of shape, she really had to ride that right rein all the way across the pen and up into the backside of the second barrel. They did a great job righting the ship quickly, getting set down, changing the arch and staying on the gas pedal to have a rather nice turn. She did a great job of getting two handed and trying to hold her line on down to the third. Her outside hand floating up and then back down in an attempt to really chase him up in there might have backfired just a bit, that downward motion causing her to bump his face. They got in just a bit on the last stride of the approach, causing them to cut off the pocket a bit. They ended up having to take some room on the finish, but handled it well.
Jackie- I have talked about how Jet has gotten up the pen just a bit at the first barrel more often than not and Jackie has done a great job of keeping him moving forward there, in order to not allow them to loop back into it. What I haven't discussed is the fact that this has also kept them off of that same spot of ground which has caused trouble for so many. They had a great line into the second barrel here, but Jet was really hunting the turn and got a tad short. Jackie did a great job of dropping her shoulders behind her and really driving with her seat and legs to keep him moving forward through the turn. A great ride to and around the third barrel provided this team with yet another solid run. Also, 7 rounds in, this is their third 14.09 of the week.
Michelle- Slick got into the first just a bit tight here and really set his front feet in the ground to keep from going by. He's so athletic that it worked out well and Michelle was able to keep things balanced and forward to allow them a snappy exit. He got in a bit at the second, maybe just a touch more than usual. Dong so caused them to take just a bit more room on the backside than she might have wanted, but they finished it well, leaving there strong. Here again, the pocket got cut off a bit to the third barrel even with Michelle using both reins to hold him as square as possible. It has happened from Round 1 and Michelle obviously knows how to handle it well, as they once again had a nice third barrel.
Carley- Boy picked up the first barrel well and seemed set to turn the top out of it. The ground got just a bit soft under his back feet, causing him to get a bit strung out in the turn, robbing them of a nicer finish. As it was, Carley had to lead him across the pen with an opening right rein. Boy took a scotchy couple of steps to get set up for the second, probably due to having been on the incorrect bend at the entrance, but came through the backside very well. Two strides from the third, Boy was looking off to the right just a bit and you see Carley open and bump her inside rein to get his focus back and get him dialed in. Being further away from the barrel than she would have wanted to be, they also got a tick deep behind it. The combination of angle from which they initiated the turn and the change in momentum already had him a bit flat and strung out in the turn. Add to that the fact that having gotten by, they found themselves in a deep, loose bunch of ground behind the pocket and it just sucked him down like quicksand. I thought they both did an admirable job of picking themselves up to finish a clean turn.
Taylor- Bo had to scotch that left hind leg up under him a bit to stay upright on the backside of the first here. That little break in momentum and extra little shuffle of his feet caused them to get a bit deep and step off of the barrel leaving it. Taylor righted her line very quickly and got across the pen well. Bo seemingly staying upright to the second, Taylor went to her horn a stride before she got to the barrel and that was all that it took for Bo to stop running forward. A step more momentum would have carried them through the backside, rather than allowing Bo to plant his hock and flat come back over top of it. Having the second barrel down, Taylor took advantage of the opportunity and really made sure to get Bo very square to the backside of the third.
Cassidy- JJ has a fun, run around sort of style. He never really plants a foot, or makes a move to come back. His feet just keep going all the way through the turn. On a horse like that, you have to stay centered and offer them some balance and support to anchor their feet. This is the second round in a row we have seen Cassidy lean in toward that first barrel and in both instances, JJ has stepped off as a result. A nice second barrel from this pair yet again. JJ has been starting to turn at the third barrel sooner and sooner when left to his own ideas and here, he started earlier than ever. A two handed ride, aiming to keep him straight to a spot a few feet passed the barrel was what was needed to prevent him turning so soon and shouldering it coming in. Cassidy realized how close they were, dropped her body into the turn and made an attempt to fish him by it, but there was no way that it was going to work.
Fallon- Fallon has been doing a great job of making sure not to let her pocket get cut off at the first barrel again. Here, she once again rode Flo straight up into the backside of the second, where she unfortunately encountered some bad ground, with BabyFlo's inside hind going out from under here. As soon as she got to her feet, the little mare was trying to make up for the slip and came back too hard to allow them to get around it. A good recovery and ride across the pen to and around the second barrel. Momentum broken, one barrel already down, Fallon rode passively to the third barrel, allowing Flo to drop in just a half step too soon.
Nancy- A great approach and exit to her first barrel. The turn would have been great, had it not been for the fact that her horse couldn't find any ground and had to shuffle it's feet through the backside, causing them to get a bit deep and flat. A nice second barrel, very balanced and square on both Nancy and her horse's part. By this point, maybe trying to safety up for the ground, her horse really scotched at the third. Nancy really would have had to have sent forward quite aggressively to get them around this one. As it was, they caught it coming onto the backside.
Sherry- What a master class at "making things work"! Sweet was trying to get set up for the first barrel two strides before they got there, but just couldn't get into the ground. That bouncing back out of the ground sent them well by before they were able to come back for a finish and even then, the ground wouldn't hold his hind end. Sherry stayed square, driving forward and allowed a bit more freedom in her reins, making sure to clear it on a less than ideal angle. Having not finished super well, she rode aggressively across the pen to get to a decent entry at the second. A bump on that outside rein allowed them to stay up just enough to get in there well, but also got Sweet just a touch short on the backside. Sherry rode up real quick, got indirect with inside rein and hustled forward, getting away from there unscathed. They got in a bit again at the third, but Sherry sat chilly, stayed calm and held just enough bend to get them around it. They stepped off a bit as a result, but it kept them clean.
Mary- Latte held a nice line to the first here. Much like Nancy's horse, his hind end just couldn't find anything to take a hold of and they got just a bit deep. Still, they finished well and had a great line across the pen. A trademark second barrel from this team, with Latte planting that inside hock and coming back super hard. We have seen Latte get short to the third barrel in the T&M a lot, Mary quite often hitting him on the way down there in order to get by. Having ridden to it a bit passively, Mary must have thought that he was going to stay running to the backside, as she went to the horn a stride and a half, or so away. The minute she dropped the inside rein, his shoulder closed in toward the barrel hard. You can see Mary's right hand come off the horn in an attempt to find the right rein and try to hold him off, but by then, it was too late.
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
| Ouch! Hope you are feeling better! Thank you so much for doing this! It has been very educational. After being out for so long, I lost my eye for seeing the smaller things that go on in a run, but thanks to.you writing these critiques, I am getting it back somewhat.  | |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 489
| Hope you are feeling ok now. Really appreciate the effort you put into this. I wish I could see half as much as you - especially when you might be seeing double! | |
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 Veteran
Posts: 146
| Is there anything on you tube or elsewhere where they show some of the runs overlaid on each other? They did it one night two show the differences in the two runs, really interesting to watch and see exactly where time was gained/lost.
Hope you are okay!
Edited by 4Horse 2015-12-12 6:44 AM
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