7/29/17 The horses have been quite the ups and downs. Jayden has been having troubles with Ace, so she gave him a couple weeks off, did some testing at ISU, got new shoes, started a new supplement, and had a chiropractic adjustment. She takes such good care of him. This week on Tuesday she took him to a Dayton barrel race. She took 3 horses, Ace, Joker, and Moose and I went along to help her get horses ready and warm up. Ace still had issues at the gate and didn’t want to go in. He made a great run, and three nice barrels in a big pattern and ran fast. She got 3rd and was happy with him. She did lots of warm ups on Joker and ponied Moose around to get them used to things. I enjoyed riding without competing and visited with several people. There is a comradeship among barrel racers. I have done it for so many years in the past that when I come back to it, there is always familiar faces and people to catch up with. I visited with the Jacobs family about Iowa high school rodeo association and college rodeo, ISU and SDSU.
Wednesday night, Jayden went with the Nelson's to an IRCA rodeo in Indianola. This time, she took Joker and not Ace. She did not enter the rodeo, instead took Joker to get him some experience hauling and being in that environment. It was raining here when she loaded. We have been getting little rains, just enough to keep us from being in a drought. Jayden had a great time at the rodeo riding her horse around with Morgan and Brianna. She said Joker, age 4, acted like an old pro and nothing seemed to bother him. He wasn't bothered by bulls, cattle, commotion, or loud noises. She enjoyed herself and not having any pressure on herself was nice too. She talked to a couple rodeo cowboys that were passing through from Texas. I think she had an automatic attraction just knowing they were from Texas. She told me, little Mason Nelson (age 4) came up and took her aside and whispered," Stay away from those stinky boys." I love it!! That is so awesome, that kid is funny. He laid his head on Jaydens lap on the long ride home and slept the whole way to our house. They got to our place at 12:30. We had Tyson at our house playing with the boys the whole night, so we swapped kids late when the Neslon's brought Jayden back from the rodeo.
On Thursday, Jayden went to the Dayton arena where she lined up a horse lesson with a lady, Suzy and her sister. They were wanting pointers and help barrel racing. Jayden worked with them and showed them things that made big changes in their horses. They paid her $75 which was great. She charges $20 a lesson, so she was thrilled. They wre so happy to have Jayden's help and Jayden enjoyed instructing.
With high hopes for a good rodeo, Friday evening Jayden, Tuff, and I hauled to Webster City for the Hamilton county fair IRCA rodeo. Mark and the boys came later. We didn’t get to know the draw until we got there and Jayden was in slack. Because she called in early she really hoped and planned on running in the performance. Being the Hamilton county fair, Grandma and Grandpa and Alice came and had told several people to watch. Allie and Blake came to see Jayden too. We parked by Brianna and Morgan, so the 3 girls were off and having fun. Jake and Luke found Tyson and wandered around the fair trying to keep out of trouble. Tyson has a way of finding trouble and worries me. During the rodeo I found old friends Brad and Jackie S. I went to ISU with Jackie and knew her husband Brad during college through friends. Mark knew Brad and did some roping with him in past years. It had been 15 years since we have talked to them, so it was so fun catching up with them. The rodeo got over late, close to 11:00 and they still had slack to go. By that time Allie and Alice were getting tired and both had to be up early the next morning so we told them not to worry and go on home. The slack seemed to drag on and we just got more and more tired. Jayden got ready to run and Ace turned and popped up and spun like he does at the gate. Then she got him headed in and he took off and blew beyond the barrel and that was that. Just like that it was over and frustration and disappointment all over again. I sat there frozen and kept watching the others and let Jayden have some quiet time. Grandma and Grandpa had stayed so late to watch. We were relieved she didn't run in the performance. It’s just so hard when you don’t know why or how to fix it. If he knocked a barrel or just got outrun because of speed, those are understandable, but this is hard. It was a long ride home and very late. We didn’t leave until 12:30, home and in bed at 2. Mark probably got home with Luke at midnight. He is so competitive and enjoys the rodeos less and less.
On a positive note, Saturday was a better day. Jayden got a call from a lady that was coming with cash to buy Moose. Jayden bought Moose, a 4 year old, at a horse sale in North Dakota, has been working with him and riding him. She realized it was taking a lot more time and work than she was able. She was riding once a week this summer and he needed more. He wasn’t where she wanted him to be and was getting frustrated with him. He wouldn’t bend and flex like she wanted and she could rarely get him to pick up his right lead. He was very green and was a lot of work. He was kind and never did anything naughty or mean. She just knew he wasnt something that she wanted to keep and wasn't really getting as far as she wanted with him. She was ready to sell and listed him on barrel horse world. The horse wasn’t much to look at, big head, thin neck, and on the thin side, but man did he have the papers. He had special effort and some other good barrel racing bloodlines. That is what sold him sight unseen. She had a lot of interested buyers asking about him over a weeks time. Even her friend Morgan came and rode him and her friend Allison wanted to buy him as soon as she could get the money. The couple that came to get him were from Missouri. They watched Jayden ride him. Jayden said it was the worst showing ever, he wouldn’t pick up his leads, he wanted to go too fast in the outdoor arena and she felt it looked out of control. After watching for awhile, the man said, “I’ve seen enough.” For a second we thought Oh dear. Then he finished by saying, “He’s going to Missouri with me.” They handed Jayden 35 x $100 dollar bills. That is pretty awesome for buying and selling in only a few months. She paid $1600, and sold for $3500. Pretty good for Jayden’s first project. Expenses might tell a different story but we aren’t going to count that. That made Jayden’s day and helped her after a rough night.
Wednesday night, Jayden went with the Nelson's to an IRCA rodeo in Indianola. This time, she took Joker and not Ace. She did not enter the rodeo, instead took Joker to get him some experience hauling and being in that environment. It was raining here when she loaded. We have been getting little rains, just enough to keep us from being in a drought. Jayden had a great time at the rodeo riding her horse around with Morgan and Brianna. She said Joker, age 4, acted like an old pro and nothing seemed to bother him. He wasn't bothered by bulls, cattle, commotion, or loud noises. She enjoyed herself and not having any pressure on herself was nice too. She talked to a couple rodeo cowboys that were passing through from Texas. I think she had an automatic attraction just knowing they were from Texas. She told me, little Mason Nelson (age 4) came up and took her aside and whispered," Stay away from those stinky boys." I love it!! That is so awesome, that kid is funny. He laid his head on Jaydens lap on the long ride home and slept the whole way to our house. They got to our place at 12:30. We had Tyson at our house playing with the boys the whole night, so we swapped kids late when the Neslon's brought Jayden back from the rodeo.
On Thursday, Jayden went to the Dayton arena where she lined up a horse lesson with a lady, Suzy and her sister. They were wanting pointers and help barrel racing. Jayden worked with them and showed them things that made big changes in their horses. They paid her $75 which was great. She charges $20 a lesson, so she was thrilled. They wre so happy to have Jayden's help and Jayden enjoyed instructing.
With high hopes for a good rodeo, Friday evening Jayden, Tuff, and I hauled to Webster City for the Hamilton county fair IRCA rodeo. Mark and the boys came later. We didn’t get to know the draw until we got there and Jayden was in slack. Because she called in early she really hoped and planned on running in the performance. Being the Hamilton county fair, Grandma and Grandpa and Alice came and had told several people to watch. Allie and Blake came to see Jayden too. We parked by Brianna and Morgan, so the 3 girls were off and having fun. Jake and Luke found Tyson and wandered around the fair trying to keep out of trouble. Tyson has a way of finding trouble and worries me. During the rodeo I found old friends Brad and Jackie S. I went to ISU with Jackie and knew her husband Brad during college through friends. Mark knew Brad and did some roping with him in past years. It had been 15 years since we have talked to them, so it was so fun catching up with them. The rodeo got over late, close to 11:00 and they still had slack to go. By that time Allie and Alice were getting tired and both had to be up early the next morning so we told them not to worry and go on home. The slack seemed to drag on and we just got more and more tired. Jayden got ready to run and Ace turned and popped up and spun like he does at the gate. Then she got him headed in and he took off and blew beyond the barrel and that was that. Just like that it was over and frustration and disappointment all over again. I sat there frozen and kept watching the others and let Jayden have some quiet time. Grandma and Grandpa had stayed so late to watch. We were relieved she didn't run in the performance. It’s just so hard when you don’t know why or how to fix it. If he knocked a barrel or just got outrun because of speed, those are understandable, but this is hard. It was a long ride home and very late. We didn’t leave until 12:30, home and in bed at 2. Mark probably got home with Luke at midnight. He is so competitive and enjoys the rodeos less and less.
On a positive note, Saturday was a better day. Jayden got a call from a lady that was coming with cash to buy Moose. Jayden bought Moose, a 4 year old, at a horse sale in North Dakota, has been working with him and riding him. She realized it was taking a lot more time and work than she was able. She was riding once a week this summer and he needed more. He wasn’t where she wanted him to be and was getting frustrated with him. He wouldn’t bend and flex like she wanted and she could rarely get him to pick up his right lead. He was very green and was a lot of work. He was kind and never did anything naughty or mean. She just knew he wasnt something that she wanted to keep and wasn't really getting as far as she wanted with him. She was ready to sell and listed him on barrel horse world. The horse wasn’t much to look at, big head, thin neck, and on the thin side, but man did he have the papers. He had special effort and some other good barrel racing bloodlines. That is what sold him sight unseen. She had a lot of interested buyers asking about him over a weeks time. Even her friend Morgan came and rode him and her friend Allison wanted to buy him as soon as she could get the money. The couple that came to get him were from Missouri. They watched Jayden ride him. Jayden said it was the worst showing ever, he wouldn’t pick up his leads, he wanted to go too fast in the outdoor arena and she felt it looked out of control. After watching for awhile, the man said, “I’ve seen enough.” For a second we thought Oh dear. Then he finished by saying, “He’s going to Missouri with me.” They handed Jayden 35 x $100 dollar bills. That is pretty awesome for buying and selling in only a few months. She paid $1600, and sold for $3500. Pretty good for Jayden’s first project. Expenses might tell a different story but we aren’t going to count that. That made Jayden’s day and helped her after a rough night.
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