Junior High Rodeo Vernal

First weekend in October, we went to a Junior High Rodeo in Vernal. Brent was entered in everything.

I think he must have been listening to his Uncle Troy. He really came out to rope. On Friday, he caught in the Ribbon Roping right out of the chute. But he was a little close to the calf. So the calf ran through his loop. Then in the Breakaway Roping he caught in 3 seconds and was the fastest time of the night except he broke the barrier. They added 10 seconds to his time for breaking the barrier. He still ended up third. On Saturday, he caught right out of the chute again in Ribbon Roping. He and his partner had a smoking fast time of 10 seconds. They placed second. Just like Friday, he came right out of the chute and roped the fastest time in the Breakaway Roping. But again he had no luck with the barrier and another 10 second penalty.

I really love this picture. I was lucky to get this taken with him roping in 3 seconds! I hope he can keep up his confidence and consistency in the roping. Hopefully with a few less barriers.

13 Already

On October 28, Brent turned 13. Wow! I can not believe that I have two teenagers.

Everyone says that you have to worry about girls more than boys. I completely disagree. With Racheal, I really never worried about boys at 13. Brent already has a girlfriend who is a year older than him. He has already kissed a girl. (I am sure he will be mad if he reads this. )

Brent is affected a lot more by what people think. He tries to make everyone happy. So my concern as the parent of a teenager is he will be more willing to listen to his friends. Brent does however have a very strong conscious. He really tries not to sensitive to others.

He has really grown up in the last year. Not only by increasing his size, but he has become very independent. That is really hard for me. I want him to be independent but I felt more useful when he relied on me more. I am sure most parents go through that same conflict.

He has decided he is going to try wrestling this year. So far he has been really responsible with it. He gets up 2 days a week at 5:45 to go to weight lifting. Now we just need to make sure his homework stays caught up.

Even though he is a teenager, I am really lucky as a parent. Brent is an honest kid. I really mean it. He even tells on himself if he has done something wrong. Who could ask for anything more than that!

2-Handed Show Nephi

We held our last 2-Handed Show in Nephi on September 13. Brent was still hoping to win the all around buckle. He really came to show. He looked so much better than he had in the last couple of shows. In the end it was not enough points to over come Jordan though. However, I was glad to see him put some real effort into it.

The show had a great turn out. His division was really tough. The top four kids all night were really good at showing and they rode some really nice horses.

Brent did well in Showmanship. He looked really sharp but his horse took a step and that cost him. He placed 4th. He won the Western Pleasure class. I don't think there has been a time this whole season when he and that mare worked so well together. Their work was almost flawless. I was so excited when he took first. He placed 4th in Equitation and Trail. Overall he had a really good show. The best one he has had on her all year.

Racheal rodeo a palomino colt she had been working on for a friend of her grandfather's. The colt is especially sweet and well dispositioned. Racheal has been working with her a lot. It seemed to pay off. Although the horse is only 2, she did really good for her first show.

She was a little on edge in the Showmanship and Western Pleasure but Racheal got by with her. We were just glad there was not a wreck. Then she had a nice Equitation pattern and took first. Then she had a really good Trail pattern and took first again.

We were all really proud of Racheal during trail. In the back through the L, the horse started to get really nervous. It could have been a really bad thing. However, Racheal was amazing. She totally kept her head and relaxed the colt and got her through. It was great to watch a child who usually has very little patience, exert an enormous amount of patience and skill.

It was a really good series. All of the kids in the series and their horses have really learned a lot this year. You can see such a dramatic change in all of them. I have a soft spot for this program which is why I work so hard for this series each year.

PHSC Show Mt Pleasant

We went to our final PHSC show in Mt Pleasant. The day was important for Brent to win the All Around Youth.

I wonder some days if he really wants it. Maybe we are the ones who want it for him. He went out in Showmanship and just half did the pattern. In the Youth Pleasure class, he could have had the winning ride. He started off looking great. Then half way through the class, he just quit riding and let the horse do whatever.

I am not really sure what the problem was. It could be that we have just done too much competition this summer. This the second one this week and we have rodeo finals on Monday. That is the reason my blog title is finding balance. I am not really good at balancing work, competition and down time. Down time is really hard for me. I need to be constantly doing something. However, I am sure that my kids would like more down time.

He still won Youth Pleasure for the year. So that is a good accomplishment. He tied for first in Youth Barrels for the year. He had a really nice run on Dasher. With a little work, Brent and Dasher could come together for an all around horse. We will see if we have him that long.

Mac was a completely different horse in Halter. He actually stood squared for Racheal. I am sure that made her feel better. He was still a run away in Pleasure but he looked better in Discipline on the Rail.

Mac is really fast. I thought he would be but today I really came to that realization. I was amazed watching him run barrels. Racheal just slow loped him because he is still learning. However, he has a lot of speed left. I just hope she will decide she has the ability to really run him.

She is struggling with her confidence. I am not sure why. Racheal is really an amazing rider. She has a really touch for training colts. However, she is not convinced she can compete with everyone else. One day when she really decides she can out ride and rope everyone, she will. There is no question. However, winning is much of a mental game as it is a physical one.

2-Handed Show Ephraim

We went to the 2-Handed Show in Ephraim on August 30th. Racheal took Mac and Brent rode Sass. She really lived up to her name that night.

Brent started off with a good Showmanship class. He placed second and Sass worked pretty good. She could have done better and he could have been a little more sharp. Then we went to Western Pleasure and it kinda fell apart. She was being especially sensitive to not being with Mac. So she tried to put her head down and be a little broncy. (I am sure broncy is not a real word just a word horse people made up. :) Anyway, he got by in Pleasure.

Then he went to Equitation. He kicked her into a lope and she dropped her head and really tried to buck. He got a hold of her. I am sure the other parents did not appreciate us but I yelled for him to kick her butt. She can not get away with that behavior. She definitely needed to be disciplined immediately. Needless to say, he got a white and last place. Your horse bucking a class drops you to the bottom. The most important thing was he stayed on top and made her mind.

It made a big difference in Trail. She had settled down and she worked a decent pattern. He took 3rd. Then he stayed after the show and made her lope by herself in the arena.

Racheal really loves Mac. She really wants him to break out and become her back up rodeo horse. There are 2 problems with him. One he is a lot of horse. You can ride him for hours and never wear him out. The second is he just a little wild, spooky, and untrusting. We will see if she really has the resolve to get him broke.

He did much better in Showmanship this time. I think she felt a little better about him. However, he is not a Pleasure horse. So even when he was behaving in the Pleasure class, he was not working as well as the other horses. But most of the time he was misbehaving. He did a little better in Equitation. He actually had a pretty good Trail pattern. The only obstacle she truly skipped was the slicker. He still has issues when you pick things up when you are on his back.

Overall he had a better show than the last one. This is the important thing as she tries to train him. He just needs to make little improvements. I hope he does not totally frustrate her before he settles down and start to act like a real horse.

Fits Like A Glove

We went to St George over the weekend to get Brent's new horse. I have to give a lot of credit to my husband. He has uncanny knack for fitting a horse to a kid. We tried out this horse 2 weeks ago without Brent. Coy rode the horse for a few minutes and thought the horse would be perfect for Brent. We purchased the horse without Brent trying it out.

Sure enough Coy was right. We went down on Saturday. They let Brent ride her that same day. He got on her and they got along wonderfully. He rode her for quite awhile. I am including the first picture of him on his new horse.

Sunday when we came home Brent just wanted to take her to the arena right away. We told him she needed time to acclimate and get used to her new pen.

Monday we did let him take her to the arena. Brent and his friend Shad both rode her and they had so much fun. They were switching between her and Shad's horse and having a great time. He is so excited to ride her. This weekend he will get to compete on her for the first time. He has a rodeo in Spanish Fork.