On Oct 1st one of the local stables hosted the Pink Ribbon Classic. Skipper and I went in the games last year and had an absolute blast! Kayla decided that this year she’d like to take Thunder in the games as well. Since she saw me do the games at the Canada Day Show, and then watched the barrels at the Calgary Stampede, her interest in riding has returned. She still wants me to hold the leadline but is getting much more comfortable working around little fuzzy-butt. I’m in absolutely no rush to get her to ride by herself – learned to be patient the hard way and ended up with a traumatized child. But that’s another story!
When we came back from Calgary in July we started to practise. I think Kayla was more concerned with my ability to make it around the barrels than she was with her riding ability. Rightfully so. And of course it’s all about the outfit, so she had to decide if she was going to ride English or western. First she thought English but then wanted to wear her jeans and cowgirl shirt that she got in Calgary. So she changed her mind to western. But when she rode in the little western saddle we have, she found it too wide for her crotch (definitely not her mother’s daughter!). So she switched back to English. Which meant that I had to get her a pair of paddock boots and breeches. No problem – what the Bleeding heart else do I have to do with my moola, eh? The night before the show she decided she was going to ride English but dress western – except for her paddock boots. OH ME NERVES! I wasn’t too concerned about what I was going to wear. If figured I’d be batting a thousand if I just was dressed!
So on Oct 1st we packed up the trailer, ponies and snacks and headed into St. John’s for our day of fun. Kayla got her own pony ready by putting fuzzy ribbons in his mane and tail and painting pink ribbons on his pixie. And of course she had to put some sparkly hoof polish on him. We used pink socks with the feet cut off them as leg wraps. They looked as cute as a button!
I asked the officials to make sure that there were a few riders between Skipper and Thunder so that I could change from my cowboy boots into my sneakers. Unfortunately they forgot for barrels. Skipper and I went. Not overly successful I might add because I mistook the starting cone for the second barrel so was disqualified. We don’t use real barrels, just traffic cones because we SUCK and they don’t want any injuries. Clearly there was one cone too many in THAT riding ring. It’s too bad because we would have had one of the fastest times. So I was exiting the ring when I heard them call Kayla’s name. WELL CRAP! I didn’t have time to change into my sneakers so I threw my reins at Gord, he threw Thunder’s leadrope at me and off we went. Round the first barrel. Then the second. Then the third and making a dash for home. I was huffing and puffing, but determined to get a good time for Kayla. Suddenly I realized that my feet weren’t keeping up to the rest of my body and before I knew it …SPLAT … down I went. As I was falling I remember yelling to Kayla, “keep on going!”. It’s all about the victory you know! She finished the race without incident and I picked myself up off the ground. I didn’t realize at the time that I’d ripped the elbow out of my shirt, removed some skin and replaced it with gravel, and managed to beat the crap out of the entire side of my body.
I JUST TEST DROVE THIS POST AND FOUND OUT YOU NEED TO DOUBLE-CLICK ON THE NEXT PICS BECAUSE THEY ARE ACTUALLY VIDEOS. LET ME KNOW IF IT DOESN'T WORK!
Once I got out of the ring I went back over to the steward and asked again if they could space the two of us out so I could change into my sneakers. It had now become a safety issue! We were laughing so hard I didn’t think I’d make it through the rest of the day with my dribble drawers.
Next race was poles. Once again they are just cones. I went with Skipper (we placed 4th). They left enough time between Kayla and I that I actually had time to change into my sneakers. I went so far as to remove my helmet to lessen the weight that I had to cart around. GAME ON! We entered the ring to the cheers of the crowd. As we were dashing down to the end of the ring Kayla says to me, “mom, I don’t care if I place or not – I just want you to stay on your feet so you don’t get hurt”. What a sweetheart, eh? We finished that race without incident but didn’t place.
Next up was keyhole race. Skipper and I went (we placed 3rd). When Kayla went we were SMOKIN’! She actually placed 6th so got a ribbon. We were so darned pleased with ourselves. Gord was killing himself laughing the entire time!
Speaking of Gord, he was supposed to be video-ing the entire thing. He totally SUCKS as a videographer! He didn’t get ANY of the barrel racing. In his defense though, he probably had his finger poised over the 911 buttons on his cell phone so wasn’t able to tape it. There is a mother from central NL that did video it and I’m trying to track her down so that you can all share in the f estive event!
Gord did manage to get some of poles and some of keyhole. I had Fronie lined up to be my photographer but she ended not feeling well so had to go home before we even competed. So the bottom line is that I don’t have many pics from the showday. I’m still trying to track some down.
So that was our weekend. The first time that Kayla and I competed against each other. IT WAS AWESOME!
Everyone wants to know what I have planned for the next show because during the Canada Day show my saddle slipped sideways during poles, and this time I did a full out body skid during barrels. I ROCK!
Thu Oct 06, 2011 7:52 pm
