Looking Ahead in 2017

The rain it California the last two weeks on 2016 and between it and the holidays, our riding activities have been curtailed.

I've continued to work Jessie in the curb bit working on our turnarounds, stops, and neck reining.  Yes, we are still taking it slow.  She's improved a bunch.  Now, I'm trying to figure out how to speed things up.  Although, right now, we don't need to do things quickly, so we'll keep plugging along.  More rain is predicted this week to our already flooded and muddy pens.  After years of little rain, we can't really complain.

My first Whoa Podcast of 2017 is out.  I got to talk to Jaton Lord, the grandson of legendary trainer Ray Hunt.  When Jaton was in high school he got to travel with his grandparents during summer break.  Ray was giving horsemanship clinics at the time and young Jaton got to experience them first-hand.

There's a Legacy of Legends event in Fort Worth in March that is produced by Carolyn Hunt, Ray's widow, and Buck Brannaman.  Thirty trainers will descend on the Will Rogers Memorial Arena to start colts for three days.  It should be a good time.

Later this month we will be on the road learning how to extreme cowboy race.  Extreme Cowboy racer Bill Cameron, who is also a judge for the sport, has arranged for the Shades of Gold Ranch in Leona, CA to host a learning clinic January 21-22, then races in January, February, and May.  Ranae and I will be at the clinic on the 22nd.  I'll race in the Intermediated division at the events and Ranae races in the Novice.  We will be doing interviews and videos of our progress.

It's a Question of Value

Scratch at his first sorting 

Okay I might need your help on this one.  Team sorting is very popular in our area.  I've done it with both Scratch and Jessie.  While we enjoy it, we don't have a regular partner, and we've not been successful at placing at any of the sortings where we have competed.

This much we know:  It's good to do something with your horse.  Every trainer will tell you that a horse with a job to do is a better horse.

I've been labeled a "careful spender" by many of the people who know me.  I can't deny that it's an accurate assessment.  Sorting competitions are usually two runs.  Each run is 90 seconds.  They costs $25-$30 per man.  That's three minutes of cow work that you have to split with a partner.  Ten dollars a minute seems a bit steep to me.

Now, the cows are expensive and the organizers have to make their money.  To draw enough riders there has to be prize money.  Yes, I should be good enough to place in the money occasionally, but I haven't.

To top it off, those two runs are usually spread over 2-3 hours.  Of course, we'll spend some of that time warming up.  We'll also spend most of it sitting on the backs of our horses talking and watching the other teams.  So, my question is, is it really work or more of an opportunity to socialize?

We've done sorting at the ranch - in real-life conditions - and it was quite different for the competition.  The pace was much slower.  The cows were fresh.  You got to work your horse and work on your horsemanship.  The competition is simply balls-out-go-as-fast-as-you-can. I wonder if the horse learns anything from this.

I'm not sure if I'm being cheap, non-competitive, or avoiding socializing with other horse people.  Plus, when I compete in something, I like to practice.  How do you practice sorting unless you own cows?  In competitions?  That might take me quite awhile and a lot of money to get any good at it.

What do you think?