Competition Videos & Results

My cameraman missed the first class of the weekend: Handling & Conditioning. We placed 7th after I forgot to pick up Rooster's feet for the judges!  Otherwise, Rooster was absolutely perfect!

Here are the judging guidelines & scorecards:

Judging Guidelines

First Round Results

Finals Round Results 

First Round, Part Two: Trail Class

Obviously very happy with Rooster after this one!

First Round, Part Three: Maneuvers Class

My only real nit-pick here was that we were supposed to transition from a walk to a lope and Rooster trotted a few strides before we got into the lope.  He's just a little lazy, and I'm fine with that for now!  As B.F. Yeates told us earlier that day: I'd rather my horse have to ask me twice to go faster instead of taking off like a bat out of Hell!

Finals Round, Part One: Compulsory

Rooster was hesitant to enter the arena and we started out a little off-course, but he settled down and we completed the class without any other issues. Turn-arounds weren't perfect and he doesn't slide to a stop, but I'm still proud of his lead changes and he did everything I asked of him with only the slightest cue. The judges weren't impressed, however, and we only scored a 29.5 out of 80 in this class.

Finals Round, Part Two: Freestyle

As you probably already know, I didn't have a plan for my Freestyle performance.  Judges were again, not impressed!  We received 40 points out of a possible 120 total.  But we had fun and Rooster did great in my eyes!

A Whirlwind Weekend!

And just like that, Rooster is gone.  I made it about 4 hours into my 11-hour drive home before I broke down and started crying like a baby!  I didn't think it would be that tough to see him go!  He was adopted by a family in New Plymouth, Idaho who have 15 grandchildren to dote on him and will also be used as a therapeutic riding horse.  They really appreciated his calm and relaxed demeanor throughout the weekend, as many of the "show boat" horses were super hyped up and running hard (unfortunately for me, many of those horses were the ones who scored high).













Still waiting for a few of the final scores, but here's how the weekend turned out for us:

Round One

• Handing & Conditioning: 5th Place (There was a 3-way tie for 5th place so I received a 7th Place ribbon.  I forgot entirely to pick up Rooster's feet for the judges - argh!)
• Trail: 2nd Place!
• Maneuvers: 5th Place

Overall we finished 5th Place in Round One.

Round Two

• Compulsory & Freestyle: 8th Place (Didn't really have anything planned so we just went out there and had fun.  Rode a few nice circles and some nice stops, but of course no WOW factor like what the judges were looking for.  I decided to make up for my earlier mistake and dismounted to pick up all four feet at the end - ha!  As one of the event organizers told me on my way into the arena - this was just the icing on the cake.  Go out there and enjoy yourselves!)

My parents and I after the Top 10 Announcement.

Overall, I couldn't be happier with Rooster's performance this weekend.  All of his "bobbles" were virtually my fault - first show jitters!  He was so cool, calm and collected the ENTIRE weekend.  He did every single thing I asked of him.  I received many compliments, including being told I had the most adoptable horse there.  And when one of the event organizers tells you they'd try to take Rooster home if we were closer to Texas... yeah, that's a compliment x1000!!

During "visiting hours" we opened up the stall door so potential adopters could go in and say Hi to Rooster.  He had people surrounding him and petting him all over inside his stall and he didn't have a care in the world.  In fact I think he rather enjoyed it!  We didn't place first, but in my mind, we FAR exceeded all of my expectations for the entire experience and it's a huge win for me - and of course, Rooster, too!

I was lucky enough to have lots of family in attendance who were supporting me throughout the weekend, which included lots of video and photos!  I will try to get them up soon.  I know my uncle is putting a little video together of all our runs.  Also, huge thank you to everyone who has been following the blog.  It was a challenge to keep up on, but I hope you found it fun, interesting and maybe even a little educational.  I know I will really enjoy looking back.

It sounds like plans are in the works to consider moving the Nampa event to Washington State next year, possibly Monroe which is north of Seattle.  Keep an eye out on the blog and we'll see what happens.  :)

Week Sixteen - Final Stretch

Well, here we are in the last week of training before competition this weekend.  It's really starting to sink in that I'll have to say goodbye to my little buddy.  He's been such a trooper and of course, taught me so much.  I have to keep reminding myself that he's one of the lucky ones who will NOT be spending the rest of his life in a mustang holding facility.  He will find a great new home on Saturday!!  We'll be departing for Nampa at the crack on dawn on Wednesday morning.

Got the Laser Sheen out again and worked his mane a tail a little.

Hit the scale the other day (grain elevators just a few miles from home).  I weighed in at 120lbs. so Rooster is about 940lbs.

Dress Rehearsal

So I broke down and bought a saddle blanket for Rooster.  Along with that beautiful headstall and Mecate reins, I'm really liking the overall look!

Headstall: Turn-Two Abilene Browband Headstall in Light Oil

Mecate Reins: Knotty Girlz 22' Samson EQ Braid in Beige/White

Saddle Blanket: Mayatex San Juan Solid in Cream