Rough Weekend

This weekend was…I guess…tough. Saturday we had a GCBRA barrel race. I was tied for 2nd in the Novice and I had points all over in the open, but was starting to get consistent in the 2D. Oh, and I was only 11 points behind the first place Novice horse. I say “I”, but I guess I need to say “Badger”. Anyhow…Saturday would’ve been our chance to get 1 point behind the leader. My only problem was we hit the 2nd barrel….BARELY…I pushed it up, but didn’t push the barrel very hard because I barely touched it coming around. Anyhow, it went down. There went my chances to get into 1st. Ugh…and come to find out I would’ve placed 2nd in the 2D and would’ve won the Novice class that day which would’ve paid close to $200. That would’ve helped our family too. Aaaahhhh…barrel racing…isn’t it fun? It took most of the day, but I did let it go. I will persevere and I will win that saddle.

On a positive note, Badger really did do well. He didn’t feel like he was firing, but he still clocked where he normally does (if not a tad bit faster) so maybe I’m just getting used to him and his speed.

Anyhow, I had to work the barrel race all day announcing. That was a long day! We had taken Shelby to Pam’s, so at least we didn’t have to worry about her. She went to a birthday party with Pam and had a lot of fun. She was so excited to see us…she couldn’t wait to get a hold of me and give me all sorts of sugars. The joys of Motherhood….I almost forgot all about my barrel mishap. J

Saturday night was NOT fun! Shelby must be teething cause she lost it around 11:30 PM. We gave her some belly medicine and then we ended up giving her some children’s Tylenol cause she felt warm. I then ended up putting her in her bouncy seat and rocked her to sleep. I slept on the floor next to her til 2:30 AM when she woke up again. I then moved her to her bed. She cried again but settled down and went to sleep. This repeated throughout the night every couple of hours. Needless to say, Shelby and I didn’t get much sleep. She woke up again at 6 AM and had enough sleep. So she and I got up again and I fed her. She chilled out in her bouncy seat again and watched TV while I slept on the floor. She eventually fell asleep again. I was able to get some sleep.

After that, we got up again for a while. She started fussing again so I finally gave her some more Tylenol. That knocked her out for two hours straight. I got to sleep another hour and then went out to the barn to pull horses up to get ready for the rodeo.

We got ready for the rodeo and headed down to Wharton. The day proved to be not good for Ryan or me. About 1 mile before the arena, we blew a trailer tire. We knew the tires would need to be replaced soon, but thought we had some time. Unfortunately, we didn’t. Luckily, one of Ryan’s new friends, Worth, came to the rescue. He was at the arena already. He drove down with a block to lift the trailer up so we could quickly change the tire.

We got to the arena in time for me to get things ready with Badger. I was warming him up and I just felt blah. I was physically tired from Saturday night with Shelby and was pretty much out of energy. I drank a Dr. Pepper, but it didn’t really even help me. It was also extremely hot (90s) and I had to wear a long sleeve shirt with the sun blazin’ down on me.

Now, those of you up north where it snows….you think you know hot, but you don’t til you come down south. Those of you who live in the south understand what I’m talking about when I say it was hot! Needless to say, I will be buying some short sleeves shirts to have my sponsors monogram so I can wear them for the summer.

So, I made my run and felt good about it going in. About half way through and coming out of the second barrel I realized my energy was gone. Not only that, but Badger was dropping his shoulder. This doesn’t let us get set up right and he leans too much which can cause us to hit the 3rd barrel. Ugh…which is EXACTLY what happened. What is sad is I was so tired my spirit was gone and I didn’t even care. I guess nothing was on the line besides some money…no points, etc. I don’t think the money was very much anyhow.

Anyhow, having screwed up the third barrel I still ran a 16.5. My ‘competition’ (those I run close in times) were very close to my time. I think I could’ve run a 16.3…a 16.0 won the rodeo…so I wouldn’t have won any money anyhow. Besides, had I not hit the barrel I wouldn’t have this beautiful bruise on my leg. Actually, I haven’t even looked at it so who knows what it is. (I looked at my leg after I got home…see below for more details.) I feel some pain, so I must have a mark. Aaah….yet another reason not to wear skirts! HA.

Ryan roped as a heeler on Twister and that didn’t go so well. He missed for the one header that caught. So, it was bad for him too. I didn’t get to watch too much cause Shelby was a bit crabby and tired. I was also talking to a nice girl, Jennifer, that had a two year old little girl. She had the cutest curly, blonde hair. She was very nice. It was nice to meet a nice lady at one of these events. J

Now, I’m sitting in the truck with Ryan heading home and letting it all go. Actually, we’re heading to Sandy’s to pick up a heeler puppy that she is giving to us. Ryan gave his dog to a friend of his. Rena was just not working out in our family. I am glad he’s getting a heeler…and he’s smart too! Rena needed a lot of hands on and we just couldn’t give that to her. I’ve learned dogs are like horses. Not all dogs fit you, just like not all horses fit you. It is better to cut your losses and move on before you are too far into it.

Well, I didn’t plan to write this much, but I guess I can’t help it. I do enjoy my blog.

Off to get ready for another week of work. I’m so ready for summer! I’m so ready to have some time to get everything done. I’m looking forward to getting up early and taking Badger and Romeo to Sandy’s for some early morning riding/schooling. It will be nice to just go myself. Ryan and Shelby will stay behind and do their normal morning routine. Just a few more weeks! I think I can make it!

Ok, I thought I was done sharing our weekend, but boy was I wrong and in for a wonderful surprise. Let me tell you “The rest of the story…”

So, we get the puppy (Ringo) and go home. We get Shelby out of the truck and put her in the stroller, unload the horses, and head down the walkway to the barn to feed and put the horses up. All that went well and so I came in to cool off and cool of Shelby. Long story short (my computer battery is dying), I was feeding her dinner when I kept smelling something. I was trying to figure out if her diaper was dirty or was it the prunes I was feeding her. LOL I guess in a round about way, it was both. J Anyhow, she had a blow out…I mean out of the diaper, onto the bouncy seat, down her leg blow out! We instantly turned into “Operation Baby Clean Up” and together, Ryan and I, stripped her down, cleaned her up a little, and got her into the tub.

Well, we both believe that was her issue last night. We think she was a little backed up and it took a little bit for all the fiber (prunes, green beans, etc) to work through her system. Poor baby…Anyhow, after all that she was her old self and was happy and smiling again.


Oh, and here’s a pic of my leg. When I came in I changed and discovered this….it was a deep puncture and it was kinda nasty. Aren’t you glad I shared??? (I was unable to upload pics today. I'll add them tomorrow. I also have a video of Shelby I'll upload later as well.)