Well, Summer and I got to the arena at about 9:30ish thinking that they penning had already started as it is supposed to start at 9am. But no. Computer issues caused the show to start an hour and a half late. Oh well. Lot's of extra time for visiting. Not that I am a penner anyway, but at least I got to watch some of the beginning of the competition.
But I think next month, I am not gonna get there quite so early. Think I'll sleep in a little later and leave my barn about 11am next time. At least that way, I can stay all night to help with the rest of the show and help tear down when it is all done.
Summer and I have taken a couple of lessons, gone to 1 practice day and have attended 1 clinic since I have been back to sorting. I had to stop early last year due to time constrants, finances and then my back decided it was going to go out for a few months. So here we are, picking up where we left off.
While at the arena this past Saturday, I saw a new friend that I had made last year at a SWTPA show. He was a draw back then. His name is Buck and he's a real nice fella. Reminds me of a little older version of my friend Mark. That's what I like about draws though. You really do make new friends. I saw Buck and we said our howdys to each other and then he asked if I wanted to run in the 8 mix sort with him. Cool. Okay.
The 8 mix sort is a new class that they started this year. It is a man/woman team only and your ratings together cannot equal over 8. He is a 2 and I am a 1. There were 46 teams in this class and he was the only one I was running with. He had 2 runs in this class. Myself and a new friend I made, JoLynn. Well, he and I finished the first run with 4 head which gave us a run in the short go. I didn't do to well in the short run and we finished the class with a total of 5 head. I felt bad, but, it is still anybodies game. And sure enough, out of 15 teams in the short go, 7 of them busted. So, Buck and I ended up in 8th place! Not a check, but it will give us points for the year end.
Next was the 3 sort. My regular class. I had one partner, Robin, and 4 draws. Not a whole lot of folks know me or know what Summer and I can do yet. But maybe they learned a little more about me and my girl this day. I had 3 runs in the first set and 2 runs in the third set. There were 72 teams so that made it 24 teams in each set. The first three runs were clean with three head each. My forth run was with a guy named David. Now, let's talk about him for a minute. I am sure I was his draw. Poor guy. I am sure when he saw he was going to have to run with the lady wearing the bucket on her head he was like, "okay, let's get this over with". Sometimes, I can just imagine what is going threw these cowboy's heads when they see me comin'. LOL Well, we got 4 head. On my last run, my partner busted on me. It happens. There were 20 teams that went back in the short run. David was my only short run. He had two, me and a guy he was running with named Frank. Well, David and Frank went before David and I and they finished with a 10 head total. I knew I had to get at least that. That's what I wanted anyway. So I rode up to David and told him that I took lessons from JB and that I was just gonna run with him the way I do JB. He said, okay. And we got 6 head for a 10 head total. I was happy with that, but several folks finished with a 10 head total. Our times would place us. 1st place finished with 12 head, 2nd with 11 head, 3rd with 10 head....and they called mine and David's name! I let out a squeal! OMG! I just couldn't believe it that we had the fastest time. I was just elated! My first SWTPA check! And more points!
That evening made me decide to quit telling people what breed of horse Summer is. I tell them to prepare them. But what I am really doing, is expecting to fail my partner. Summer may be a TWH, but she can sort, chase, and with the help of my big mouth, work the gate. And that night, they also saw, that just because I wear a helmet, doesn't mean I can't whup and ride with the best of them. Maybe I wear a helmet because I whup and ride harder than the rest of them. Yea, that has to be it. ; )
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