Horse Show + Youth Rodeo + Fair Wrap-up

Hello everyone! So, I know I promised you a post on how my fair and other August events went like….a long time ago, probably more than a month. Sorry, but my life’s been rather chaotic lately, considering I just got another job(working at the vet clinic), I’ve been doing a lot of school so I don’t fall behind like I did last year(one of the cons at being homeschool: bad time management). Which means I haven’t been riding, blogging, or writing as much.

But, now that I’m sort of “in the groove” again, I’m hoping to catch up on these things as much as I can. Plus, horse training counts as school, so that’s a win-win right there.

Without further ado, the post:

This year was my first year taking anything animal-related to the fair other than horse, and I took a sheep. She was a market ewe I bought for around $350 dollars, which is kind of a lot, but being my first year, I wanted to have the best. Who doesn’t?

Anyway, we raised her and my brother’s weather(that’s a castrated ram, by the way.) from April( I believe) till August. We fed them a variety of feeds, being our first year we were just worried they wouldn’t get up to weight, but they did. My ewe was 145 lbs. at fair, and my brother’s was 120.

I’m on the very right>>

Consequently, I was placed in heavyweight, he in lightweight market. Since I’m 14, going on 15(only 12 more days!), I had to show showmanship in senior, against all the kids my age, which most of them had been doing it for a lot longer than I. Let’s just say I wasn’t the worst, I did get a blue, as did my brother(he was in beginner showmanship).

Me in market. I placed Reserve Champion in this class, which is really, really good for my first year.

Next came market class. My brother went first because it goes from lightest to heaviest, and he placed Grand Champion in market. Next, I went and got Reserve Champion to a good friend of mine.

My brother in market, he placed Grand Champion. It’s his first year too.

On the Saturday after, we had the livestock auction. I cannot remember what my brother’s lamb sold for, (I literally turn off and on my math skills, depending on the day. School day on, weekend off. No switching.) But my lamb sold for $9.00 a pound, and it was 145 pounds…so….that gives me around….700 in profit. Yay!

Me and my lamb…she sneezed right as we took the picture, so she looks kind of wierd….darn sheep.

But, before fair and everything else, we had the horse show, the youth rodeo, and we had to get our lambs ready by slick shearing them and washing them. >>

On the Saturday before fair, was the horse show. I did showmanship, western horsemanship, and bareback. I think I actually did the best with bareback. I never had a whole lot of time this year to practice showing, so Donny and I didn’t do the greatest, but it wasn’t bad. I got a blue in everything but bareback, and I got a purple there.

Next year, I think I’ll either skip out on 4-H horse altogether, or take Athena, because she’s my actually fully trained horse. Mostly. I just don’t enjoy showing as much as rodeo or trail, plus next year I really want to get up in the mountains and ride. My border also offered to take me out riding cows with her, so that’ll be awesome. I really need to learn how to do more stuff with cows. I love the Montana way of life.

The next day, we had the youth rodeo. I took Donny again, because Athena’s toes were to long(she trips up a bunch when her toes are long, and that’s not good for speed events at all.). Plus I really didn’t want to repeat what happened at Rodeo Bible Camp. She had long toes then as well, and having just got her last spring, I didn’t know she tripped up so much. Anyway, she tripped and rolled on my leg. I thought I broke it, but I walked around a bunch after ward and rode fast to loosen the muscles up a bit and that helped a bunch. I still did compete in the rodeo that afternoon, though my leg swelled up twice the size it usually is, and I had the biggest, blackest bruise I’ve ever seen for over a month. Nasty.

At the rodeo we did better than the horse show. Donny still doesn’t neck rein when he’s speed eventing, but he will be a great little barrel horse when he gets it down. Right now I’ve got him in a rolled nose mechanical hackamore, and it’s working really well for teaching the neck rein. I couldn’t go back to the basic snaffle like you usually can on a horse for training, because he always rides in a snaffle. Plus, he loves hackamores. I’m seriously thinking about buying a bosal, but I have to find one that fits just right first. Otherwise it won’t work. (One of those days you wish you could take your horse shopping with you so you always know what size to get.)

How did you like this post? I was ranting a bit,(okay, a lot, but don’t start complaining now. I will set my Night Fury on you. MUHUHAHA!)

Thanks for reading, and don’t be afraid to ask questions in the comments! I will(most likely) reply. *evil laugh*

*sighs* I’ve really got to stop that evil laugh thing. It’s a writer habit. (Y’all no what I mean. Don’t even try to deny it.)

Arrivederci, me compadres.

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My Writing Life According to Giphy

I was inspired by Nate @ You Write Fiction to do this post, but you totally need to go check out his “The Writer’s Life According to….” series. They’re awesome.

Without further ado, the gifs. *bows*

When your friends reveal they’re reading Twilight or Divergent.

When your characters decide to visit.

The last day of Nano.

When your character misbehaves.

That face you get when you’re planning a your reader’s favorite character’s death.

The first chapter: meet the characters.

When you finally finish your first draft.

Those wierd faces you make when you’re writing(most often in public).

An agent asks about your work.

When your non-writer friends ask questions about your plot.

And last but not least,

The day after Nanowrimo ends.

10 Reasons Why You Could Be a Fantasy Character

1/ You think about your girl/boy-friend in the middle of a battle.

2/ Having a curious ability to always say the right thing, never stutter(or stutter to much), and always hide your emotions until the last possible second…

3/ Being a complete drama queen. I mean, seriously. Do you have to fall to your knees and scream every time something goes wrong? Couldn’t you just, I don’t know, take a walk?

4/ Sensing everything like four paragraphs before. Really? What are you, a human lie detector? Have some subtly.

5/ Hiding your sob-story from everyone, then finally breaking loose and either A.) scream at everyone, or B.) break out in tears and start blubbering like a big baby–remember, you’re tough and you’ve had a hard life, so that gives you the right to cry about everything.

6/ The strange ability to find the most mysterious, dark, and strangely crafted weapons and armor, usually complete with red dragons or eagle decorating it. Totally practical and inconspicuous.

7/ Always choosing a fine black stallion to ride, no matter where you are or what you’re doing. Of course, you’re not rich, you just happened upon a good bargain or rescued the poor creature, so now he’s bonded with you and is incredibly loyal, even risking his own life for you….

8/ Your girlfriend can shoot arrows and ride if you’re a city boy, and she’s cultured and respectable if you’re a perfect rogue.

9/ You pick up skills very fast, often learning to sword fight and throw daggers and ride horses and dragons while being hunted by the bad guy, usually with the help of some ancient old man.

10/ You’re always “chosen” by some century old prophesy. You don’t want to go, at first, but then you get help from your mentor, and defeat the big bad guy who’s been plotting his moves for years and years, not to mention you’r an amateur and he’s a mastermind, yet he has a strange habit of hiring incredibly stupid guards.