WrapSnap - 2013-12-09 12:13 PM Okay y'all! Let's do this the right way. This might actually be beneficial to a few of us. Starting at the top and working my way down the list, I'll give my observations, input, etc... Sherry- Obviously, Sherry is always super correct. I'll bet we've all noted that she's having to be more aggressive and stay two handed longer than normal in order to keep Stingray square coming into the pockets. Boy, she sure is doing a great job! Mary- It has seemed to me that while Mary has a wonderful style, the couple of barrels that have come down for her seem to have happened as a result of Mary trying to ride "away" from the barrel, rather than hustle through the turn and continuing to go passed them. Michelle- Michelle, as a first time qualifier and on a horse who is relatively young and unseasoned made a very wise decision in the first go and made a super smooth, correct run that allowed both she and Slick a ton of confidence, which they have been building on run by run. Kaley- I was a bit concerned after the First round for Kaley. Things seem to have righted themselves in the left turns however. The one thing that I'm concerned about is that lean at the 2nd barrel that she's been displaying this week. Thankfully, it hasn't caught with her.... yet. Taylor- What a fun and exciting team this is! I think the couple of simple mistakes that caught her in the first two rounds can be attributed to "jitters" more than anything. She seems to be riding aggressively, sitting square and keeping her focus now. Christy- I feel for Christy. I think we all expected Movin' to maybe take more of a shine to this pen than she has. Although, I'm not really sure why. I fell in love with this mare watching her dominate on BIG patterns and this is anything but. I feel like Christy has made some very wise decisions and is setting herself and Movin up for some great runs to be had in the T&M over the years to come. Fallon- BabyFlo is a super tricky mare to run. She also doesn't have a whole lot of handle to work with. I'd love to see Fallon get two handed leaving the 2nd barrel and really drive for a spot deeper down the pen, like maybe the heeling box! Sabrina- I feel like Sabrina has been dealing with it all rather well. If she could get a finish on the first barrel, thus a better approach/entry to the 2nd, she'd be super solid in the rounds. Brittany- I was super glad to see Britt get on Teddy. I think from here on out, we'll see the sorts of runs that we did from this team last night. Lisa- Louie seemed to me to be lacking his trademark fluidity through his body in the turns in the first couple of rounds. He seems to be softening up now. As always, Lisa has given him a great ride. This team almost always nail their patterns and I don't expect that to change anytime soon. Sydni- I don't blame Syd for switching to Clancy, but I'd for sure like to see her get back on the mare. Not sure when, or why Clancy was switched to the left, but it appears to me as though he keeps wanting to fade back over to the left barrel after turning his second, which is really eroding his times. Jane- I like the pairing of Jane and Blackie. They seem to have sorted out the resistance they were fighting at the third barrel in the first couple of rounds. I think they've been laying down consistent runs and foresee them doing well in the average. Trula- I feel like Worm just keeps planting that inside hind harder and harder with each go. Trula's going to need to do some work at free-ing that sucker up if she plans to get back into the game. Shada- Dial It seems to be finding his groove inside the T&M. Now that he knows where the first barrel is, I think we'll continue to see runs like they had last night. He's never been the most shapey, or round sort and his stiffer style might be causing him to bounce out of the ground a bit, thus slowing their times, but I applaud the steady progress that they have been making. Jean- Zan is working well, but his straighter approach to the barrels makes maneuvering through the pattern at the T&M even more difficult. I think Jean has done a commendable job of trying to make the best of it.

BamaCanChaser - 2013-12-10 10:43 PM Oh please please please let's discuss round 6! Fav round by far! Quite a few surprises!

WYOracer - 2013-12-11 12:16 AM


All I can say is WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Swannranch - 2013-12-11 11:54 AM Not sure if this has been mentioned...but last night when Taylor J and Bo turned the third barrel, when she reaches for the over and under, or whip or whatever she used, she was actually with out reins for about 3 strides at Mach 5!!!  Talk about trust.  If you slow it down you can see it didn't phase her, the rein stayed pretty much in place, and she reached for it, missed and reached for it again up on his neck.  HOLY COW, that was not only trust, but skill and confidence.  This is a very exciting NFR!!!

 

Murphy - 2013-12-11 12:18 PM I'll admit that I wasn't *as* excited about this NFR since a lot of familiar faces are not there... however, I think this is my FAVORITE NFR so far now!! What a great group of girls!  

Murphy - 2013-12-11 1:18 PM I'll admit that I wasn't *as* excited about this NFR since a lot of familiar faces are not there... however, I think this is my FAVORITE NFR so far now!! What a great group of girls!  

HotbearLVR - 2013-12-11 11:54 AM This is by far the most exciting and interesting NFR I've seen so far.  On any given night, there's no way I would feel comfortable predicting the outcome.  It seems like I've learned more too.  

One thing that really impressed me about Taylor and Bo is how she just eases him into the alley on a loose rein and he seems so relaxed and confident....no fighting, no rearing, no twirling around.....just a team getting ready to go to work.  

clover girl - 2013-12-11 12:03 PM She talked about this at one of the buckle ceremonies.  She said she does it everytime becuase she can't whip with her left.  (I do this on my lefty too on the way home) 

HotbearLVR - 2013-12-11 3:34 PM Maybe I'm wrong here, but after watching him a few times now, one thing that stands out compared to other real fast runners at the T&M is that he actually looks like he's not really that hard to ride.  THEY make it look easy....like that's the way it's supposed to be.  Now I know it has to be hard as heck to sit a horse with that kind of speed and agility, but because everything seems so correct, and efficient, it actually looks almost easy.  No wasted motion, no flailing around trying to stay in the saddle, no fighting in the alley, no reining off, no acrobatics.....just a very smooth fun run the way it's supposed to be. 

CYA Ranch - 2013-12-11 2:44 PM My brother was there last night sitting 9 rows up from the 3rd barrel.  He said Bo didn't look that fast because he makes it look easy.  Most of the questions I asked him he didn't have an answer for.  He said I was lucky he even stuck around to watch the "can chasers" because he had to pee.