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My buddy Bill, came over last Sunday to trim Cody’s hooves for me. He’s so sweet and comes over every month or two to take care of my sweet little pony for free! I always try and give him oven goodies or eggs or something from the farm larder but more often then not, he is just fine coming out to visit and all. And Cody was just a doll baby for him this time! Yeah Cody! When I first got Cody, his feet were a bit overgrown and it was fairly clear that he hadn’t had a lot of real attentive hoof care. Not bad, mind you, but he was figitity and tried to kick, was just not happy at ALL about having his feet messed with.
But with my fussing with him and the hoof pick, and then with Bill’s gentle mentoring and care, Cody actually seems to look forward to Bill’s visits and comes right up with a nicker and a little rub and bump. He knows a good horseman when he sees one.
Well, this time, he brought his big truck and the horse trailer! And I could hear that he had Missy in the back, his lovely young mare. He said he was on his way to Indiana to go to a horse show!
Hmmmmm….
So on a totally out of character move I asked if I could come along. He said sure! And so I ran away for the day with my buddy Bill! What fun we had!
The only person that was upset was his dog Little Bit. I took his place as co-pilot on the trip.
What a beautiful fall day! Got to the fairgrounds in Angola, Indiana and started to get ready. I knew that Bill did shows, but what I didn’t totally know was that he is one of the best barrel racers around! He’s won saddles and awards and knows everyone! How cool is that? His little mar, Missy, is about 5 years old and just starting to get her brains together good. Missy is a registered quarter horse that he bred and she’s been with him her whole life. And she adores him. But then, that’s easy to do, Bill is an awesome friend and guy for sure!
I just thought it was delightful to be out for the day, without a care in the world, around some of the area’s most beautiful horses. And to watch all ages compete at the barrels and poles, pretty fun!
I saw the horse of my dreams! haha… this is Tonka, a 14 hand Haflinger gelding that was just the sweetest old guy. He was so funny doing the flag race for fun. I think his score was like 2 minutes when everyone else was like 20 seconds… haha… But he had a super nice spirit and disposition. Some day! (gg)
Missy is all ready and alert, she loves to compete.
Isn’t this little dappled pony the best? Oh, how I love the coloring of a pretty dapple gray pony! I love my pinto boy, but oh, a little gray dapple pony too would be lovely!
Speaking of pintos… well, this is a quarterhorse so it’s called a paint. What a lovely flashy girl. She was a top competitor of the day, just all guts and muscle and heart!
I got the biggest kick out of the pee wee classes! Watching the kids compete was a hoot. This little ginger pinto pony wasn’t so interested in doing the barrels without a little guidance…
I think the young lady had better time and form! haha….
This little bugger reminded me of Cody! haha… he was eager just not especially quick.
Oh…. hated to see the top rider bump a barrel! Even worse to have it fall… bummer!
Bill came in third out of 60 riders! I think that’s pretty darn good for a 75 year old cowboy! His best ride was 17.2 seconds… Considering the top was only like 16.5, I think that’s pretty cool. He makes it look so effortless, but really, they are flying! I don’t think I could even get ON a horse in 17.2 seconds let along rip around three barrels and race down the whole arena in that time!
I just love this shot… Missy is checking out the other riders and their times!
The tractors kept trying but their times were just not that good. 17.850 and only around the second barrel! Shesh…
But they kept letting them try. They’re good sports, eh?
(hahaha)
Some of the people sure had a lot of gear! My gosh… I guess that it’s like anything, you get to gathering up stuff year after year!
Well, I highly recommend ditching your plans for the day and occasionally running away. I had such a fun time. We got a lot of talking time and saw some beautiful horses, got to watch a bunch of races and had lunch, even Missy got cozy with me after awhile. I found her itchy spot and once I was willing to itch for a half hour, we were good pals! Isn’t she a beautiful girl?
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Good for you taking this beautiful day to do something fun.
Your pictures are all great, but my two favorite are of the dog (what amazing eyes!!!) and the young lady in the plaid shirt rounding the barrel (there is a red car in the background). The picture really conveys the speed and angle of the event.
Thanks, Sherri, for ( cough, cough) ‘bringing us along for the ride’. I know, I know…terrible pun. LOL
Yes, Little Bit is quite the little photogenic pooch, don’t you think? I’m going to print out some of the pictures that I took (over 100!) and put them in a little book for Bill. I’m sure he’ll love them!
It was really amazing to watch the riders as they rode those barrels. Yes, some of the shots really caught the action for sure! I wish I had more shots like that of Bill, because he and Missy were doing that as well on some of the runs!! But I seemed to catch them in less crazy action poses! haha… oh well! I think being 3rd outta 60 tells you that they were good!
I’m so glad I went!!! It was a lovely day that I’ll remember always!
-Sherri
Looks like a fun day for you. wow 3 out of 60 contestants and he is 75yrs young, that brought tears to my eyes for some reason. So great that he is still doing it. I use to run bareels when I was young. I am in the slow poke class now called western pleasure. haha. Have a great day, oh, got the book to down load but I am saving it for a cold blustery day when I can savor it. Fall here is as busy as spring so I will wait for a cold day.
Yep Bill is good at it! He was so proud to show me one of the fancy saddles he won, just not that long ago. 2004 I think. And it was a big deal and still is. He knows a lot of everyone there and it was apparent that they all love Bill! What’s not to like? He’s awesome. I was sitting in the stands watching and some people were nearby and remarking on how well he rode and I just had to pipe up and tell them, yep he’s really good and 75 years old!!! Shoot… I’m pretty sure I could not do that!!! it would take me 17 seconds just to get my rear in the saddle!!!! hahaha…. I’m so glad you got the book to download!!! ENJOY!!!!
First off..LOVE that dogs blue eyes! Secondly..holy cow..how brave these people are to ride a huge animal like a horse..and turn it around those barrels! Did you see that one picture (of coarse you did) where the horse is nearly horizontal..yet the rider is as calm as can be!!!? And..bravo for Bill for running with the rest keeping up. Love his horse. What a special day that had to be.
Oh yeah, you should have seen some of the people, some of the young people, they would nearly lay those horses down as they whipped around the barrels. Bill told me that a good horse doesn’t have to do that, they can just bend around those barrels as tight as could be. And Missy didn’t waste any space around her barrels… for as big as she was, I was amazed at how agile she was around the turns! And when they were done and ripping down the whole arena’s length, man!! I know now why they are quarter horses and how fast they can be at short bursts of speed. It was so cool to see up front and personal!!!
I’m totally jealous! What a great way to spend a day. Just found your blog but will definately be back. Nice life! Congratulations!!
Thanks! I sure love my life that is certain… it’s a blessing every day!!!
Glad you came by and hope you’ll come back! it’s always something going on here!!!