Wednesday, February 16, 2011

NFR Dreams: Part 2

Mean Rosie Jean: AA rated racehorse, taken off the track at age four, started on barrels, a barrel horse prospect that comes around once in a lifetime: and she belongs to me. This horse is one that has the potential to be fast enough to be in the top five at the NFR, she has the agility to turn the barrels full speed, and the heart of a champion. She is my best shot of making it to the NFR. But before I can haul her down to Las Vegas and try to win 20,000 dollars in 14 seconds, there’s a lot of work to be done. There’s a lot of early mornings ahead of us, a lot of late nights, working by the street lights next to our arena, there’s going to be frustrating days where I’m going to want to quit, and a lot of tears to overcome. My dad is going to have to sit me down and tell me to cowgirl up when I fall off of her, or knock a barrel going full speed. It’s easy to see that there’s a lot more than just sitting on a good horse and going.

But not only do I have to develop my horse’s skills, but also my own. I’m running three miles a day, limiting my diet, doing strength training, rain or shine. There’s no excuse for me to not go running, or to break my diet, or to be lazy. Barrel racing is a team sport, between you and the horse, and if you don’t do your part, you are letting your partner down, because they are giving their all when you ask them to. This is why we are so committed. This isn’t just our passion, this is our horse’s passion as well. They get just as excited and anxious when we walk in front of an alley way, people screaming, cameras flashing, timers set, and arena ready. They expect just as much out of us as we do them, and it’s heartbreaking for us to watch them fail because of us.

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