Another rodeo season is over - this past weekend was the finals for the National Little Britches Rodeo Association of Michigan, held at Tyler's Arena in Ovid.  My kids competed, but I doubt they understood the concept of "finals".  They were just having fun like they always do.  They have really gotten into it in the last few months, and have asked to get more gear and to actually practice a little bit.  They love being just like the big kids more than anything. 

  

They really enjoyed getting to go out in the arena for the grand entry this time, and hearing their names called.

 

And of course, Cale thinks he's pretty hot stuff because he rides sheep

Addy is happy with any excuse to ride her "Baby Cookie"

 

Art and I both enjoy the fact that we get to participate with them and bond with them through a sport and a lifestyle we both love (it is how we met, after all.

Probably the biggest benefit of it all, though, is the sportsmanship that they're learning.  Rodeo is a pretty tight-knit family, and Little Britches is no different.  The kids all cheer each other on and help each other out.  A perfect example came when Cale was watching another little boy practice his roping - he kept missing, and Cale said "he doesn't have a glove, he needs a glove," and he took his off and handed it to the kid (who caught on the very next throw!)  That's a life lesson that will last.

A few months ago, one of the teen members of the County 4-H Horse Leaders Committee that I sit on made an offer to do some paintings - first one free and then charged for any additional, and the money would go back to the County 4-H Horse Program.  I sent her a couple pictures, some of my horses and a couple old ones of my mom's horse.  The one she chose was a picture of the first horse my mom raised, with her first foal (I think the artist was biased, her horse is a gray Arabian mare, just like my mom's :).  She gave me the resulting painting just in time for me to give it to my mom for Mother's Day.  My mom was very happy with it, and so am I - I think I'll be sending this young lady some more pictures. I look forward to seeing what she'll do with my Paints!

If you'd like to see more of this talented young lady's artwork, visit her blog here.

Considering all the challenges my kids faced from the start of their life, being born 3 months early, I consider them (and me) to be very lucky that their only complications now is that my son suffers from allergies and fairly severe asthma.  After several apparent allergy-induced asthma attacks last summer and this spring, we were finally referred to an allegist a couple months ago and got testing done - he's allergic to cats, dogs, mold, and ash trees.  At least he's not allergic to horses!  The doctor loaded him up with medications - a maintenance inhaler to take twice a day, every day; a rescue inhaler for attacks, Singulair to take every night, and Claritin to take every morning.  Luckily our insurance paid for all of it, but even better - a week after that trip to the doctor I got my latest bzzAgent campaign kit (see the badge in the sidebar for more info about this awesome program) for Children's Claritin!  I got a free sample box and a whole bunch of coupons for $3 off.  I tried it out, and I have continued to buy the OTC grape chewables instead of refilling the prescription - mostly because the prescription is for a liquid, and at 6 am before any of us are really awake, a chewable pill is a whole lot easier than measuring out a tablespoon of liquid.  My son seems to think it tastes a whole lot better too.  The best part - it seems to be working.  Both kids spent most of the day at the show last weekend sitting in the bleachers of the indoor arena without any ill effects - just a few months ago, we couldn't go to indoor horse events because my son would be wheezing within half an hour.  I haven't noticed any side  effects yet either.  If you want to know more about Children's Claritin, check out their facebook page.

I asked myself that question several times last weekend while I struggled to get ready for my first circuit horse show in 2 years (and only the 2nd in 4 years).  Why do I do all this work, put myself through all this misery?  Soaking wet from washing my mostly-white Paint mare.  Exhausted before I was even done washing her (mostly because I spent the whole day working at a 4-H show, and didn't even start washing until 7 pm).  I intended to wash her tail and face in the morning, but after fighting with a stuck truck and trailer for an hour, I ran out of time.  I managed to get to the show grounds just in time to hike all the way to the other side of the fairgrounds to get entries done while (thankfully!) my 4-H student and a friend got the horses ready, hike back, quickly change clothes, and get to the ring for the kids's lead-line class. At least the kids had a ball getting to ride Mommy & Daddy's horses, and the smiles on their faces made that part of the day well worth while.  When I get pictures ordered from the photographer, I'll post them (since I was leading a horse, I didn't get any pictures with my own camera).  But then I had to hurry and get my clothes changed again to get ready for Horsemanship.  Trying to get into too-small show clothes in 90 degree heat is not an easy thing.  I had checked before the show to make sure I still fit into my chaps, but I assumed that if they did, everything else would too.  WRONG!  My slinky shirt clung to me in all the wrong spots, and rhinestones were popping off it left and right.  The show pants that go under my chaps definitely did not fit, not even close.  I put my jeans back on, and with the help of 4-H girl's mom, I got my chaps on.  Then realized that my chaps, even though they were zipped, were smaller and shorter than my jeans - the jeans stuck out the bottom!  And I couldn't bend over to put my boots on.  I just said Screw It! and took the chaps off, the slinky shirt, and the matching vest, and went back to the shirt I wore for lead-line (recently purchased with my daughter's matching shirt, it actually fits).  I couldn't just call it a day and go home, since classes had already been paid for, but at least I could be comfortable.  I felt greatly outclassed going into horsemanship with all these skinny girls (most closer to 20 than 30) and their sparkly outfits.  Why am I here again?  Than I totally botched my pattern.  I was seriously considering having my husband come pick me and the kids up and take us home to play in the sprinkler, then just come back and pick up 4-H girl and the horses when the show was over.  But she convinced me to stay, and after I ate lunch I was in a better mood.  I decided I didn't have anything to lose, I was already there, and I might as well enjoy the time to ride my horse, since I don't get to do that much.  I'm very glad I did stay, because the afternoon went a whole lot better.  I might have looked outclassed myself, but my horse (Annie) definitely wasn't.  She gave me beautiful rides in both Sr Western Pleasure Jackpot and 19-34 Western Pleasure, and we were rewarded with a 3rd in Jackpot (won $17) and 1st under both judges in the age group!  What a fantastic feeling when I heard my name called in first!  That's when I really remembered why I do this - when my horse and I are really in tune and get it right, and get rewarded for it, it feels so good.  That's what we all strive for.  I think I'll be going to another show soon - but maybe I'll do a little more planning ahead.

The last several weeks have been so busy I had trouble keeping track of what day it was.  But I've gotten to spend plenty of time horseback (at least compared to recent years), so I'm okay with the busy if that's the reason.  The weather has tried hard to stop me from enjoying my horsey time, but it hasn't succeeded yet. 

The first weekend in May, I was supposed to meet several friends from college to go trail riding - all but one chickened out because the forecast called for rain.  The two of us went anyways, even though it was still raining when we left home.  But when we got to the state park, the sun came out, and we had a beautiful, dry 3 hour ride. 

I didn't get a chance to ride again until Thursday, the day before the 4-H training show (my first show in 2 years with Annie).  And of course, when I got her out of the pasture, I noticed that one of her front shoes, just put on the week before, was VERY loose.  Thank goodness my farrier happened to be in the area, and he stopped by and fixed it that night!  The day of the show, the weather struck again, bringing thunderstorms and pouring rain that caused all the but one of my 4-H kids to cancel coming to the training show that night.  But I had been planning on going for several weeks, and I wasn't bailing out, so I loaded up and left while it was still raining.  Thankfully it was a "no show clothes allowed" show, so I didn't have to worry that anything would get ruined.  And we got to ride indoors, even though it was a small arena, it was dry.  A few brave souls still showed up (the thunderstorms let up just in time), and we all had lots of fun.  Here's a slide show of pics from the night.

My dad really struck gold when he found this pony for my kids. She's young (6 years old) and hasn't been spoiled yet, but she is a total sweetheard and takes care of her precious cargo. I'm sure it helps that my kids have no fear and know who's boss - they may be little, but they are mighty! They can't even reach the stirrups in their teeny, tiny pony saddle, but I think it's better that they learn without that crutch anyways, they will be better riders for it. Now if I could just get them to stop dropping the reins whenever they get distacted! I did finally start tying one of the latigo straps in a loose loop around the rein (it's a single rein) so that if they do drop it, it doesn't slide up to the pony's head, and she can't step on it if she tries to eat.

This month's Horse & Rider Gallop Poll is whether or not you would loan your horse out for youth competition - specifically for things like the Youth World Cup and college Equestrian Team events.  My answer, based on personal experience, would certainly be yes.  I loaned out on of my horses last year to a girl in my 4-H club, and she's using that horse again this year, and now I've loaned out another one.  Both horses still live at my house and I provide all their care and feed, but the girls come ride, reimburse me for any special expenses I wouldn't otherwise incur, and do a lot of the barn work for me (this in itself makes it worthwhile!).  But the biggest benefit I see is the satisfaction in knowing that I am helping a child who wouldn't otherwise have the opportunities I had as a youth.  I consider myself to have been very blessed to grow up with plenty of horses in my backyard and parents who were willing, and capable, of allowing me to pursue this very expensive hobby.  The impact that horses had on my life is greater than even I will probably ever realize.  Another bonus is seeing my horses succeed, even though I'm not the one doing it with them.   Case in point, last summer at the 4-H fair when Harmony carried her rider to a 1st place finish in Western Pleasure.  She didn't become a show horse until that summer, at 15 years of age.  I always new she had potential, because she is a very sweet and smooth natural mover, but my husband had had her since she was a yearling, and all he was interested in was "cowboying."  But when Harmony gave a beautiful ride in that class, and deservedly took the blue, I almost cried with pride.  I don't know why - I'd only ridden her myself just a few times, I certainly couldn't take credit for training her, and I hadn't given her rider any more time that I had given to any other girl in the 4-H club.  But that was my horse, and I was proud of her achievements.

  Here's an example of getting those kids doing my "dirty work" for me - they don't mind getting covered in horse hair during shedding season, and six hands, even little ones, make pretty quick work of it.