Holy Cow! It Was A Busy Summer!

We say this every fall but this year, I really feel it was more true than ever.  My last post was the first week in August, after the Hog Wrestling at the County Fair. 
Since then we have:

• Showed in the reined cowhorse show at the Fremont County fair. JD, Abby and I showed and Wiley gave pony rides.  JD won the very competitive Rancher competition.  Upon seeing JD's new belt buckle, Wiley asked if he could share it with Dad.  JD said, "No, I won't share it...you can have it."  "For me?  All my own?"  He still shows it to everyone he meets.

JD on Lou.

Sam on Hippie.

• Practiced, a lot.

Some friends who came over to practice herdwork (cutting).

JD on Bullseye

• JD and I showed in the AQHA show at the Wyoming State Fair in the Reined Cowhorse and I also entered the Reining.  We tied for first in the Cowhorse, (which made for a nice ride home) and I was third in the Reining.

Whoa.

 

Bullseye realizes this isn't just "a stinkin' reining", "there's cows here!"

•  Practiced, a lot.

My Pardner.

Wiley on Ferrari and Abs on Bullseye.

• Abby and Wiley participated in the Pavillion Youth Rodeo Association rodeos.

My Girl.

My Boys.

Abby on Hippie, Wiley on Lou.

Big Weiners...er, I mean Winners.

•  We decided to sell Hippie and begin the search for a new horse for Abby.  She is ready to move up to something more finished to show in the cowhorse shows.  I could already see where this was headed and I could feel My Pardner slipping away. 

The Hipster.

• I decided to share My Pardner, Lou, with some punk kid for the 2012 show season.

Punk Kid.

•  JD bought his 2013 futurity prospect, Peptos Boon Buggy.

This photo was taken by Nicole Bruner of Bruner Quarter Horses, but don't go to their website or anything, we'd like to keep all of their colts for ourselves.  We're getting pretty selfish with them that way.

• The WHOLE family showed in a two day cowhorse show sponsored by the Cowboy State Stock Horse Association.  Yes, Wiley too and yes, I'm a terrible mother because I didn't get any pictures or video from his first show.  It was sort of impromptu and we were all laughing too hard to get a good shot anyway.  He did a sort of freestyle reining pattern with a trot in followed by spins in each direction and then said, "Hey Bryan, give me a cow!"  Wiley and Ferrari did a really good job of boxing the cow and marked a 70 on each side.  Whew!  What a start to what is sure to be a long career.  All this after the wreck he had Saturday trying to give the neighbor kid a pony ride which resulted in a big, fat lip.  The crash did win him the Hard Luck Award for the weekend though.  After the wreck he turned down a million dollars for the pony but did offer to sell him for 34 cents.  By Sunday, Ferrari was back in his good graces and was again, priceless.  There aren't many ponies in the NRCHA so at some point, I'm sure Wiley will be stealing our horses too.  I think he and I will be fighting over Bo in the very near future.

Pony anyone?  He was cheap, one day only.

Maybe Ferrari will be handed down to Dad.  We know you're short JD, but this is ridiculous.

  

• In true "keeping up with the Jones" fashion, JD bought me an even smaller ass this year.  I didn't even have to go under the knife.  It turns out you can buy them at the Snaffle Bit Ranch. 

Meet Penelope

•  I showed in the Wild Wyoming Amateur Derby in Glenrock and placed second, winning both the reining and cow work.  My herdwork was a disaster.

JD showing Bullseye in the Rancher Cutting.  Abby took the photo.

•  Abby and I took an all-girl trip up to Rapid City for the Road To Reno NRCHA show.  I didn't place in the derby but we had a really fun weekend and saw tons of really spectacular horses and great riders.

Abby making friends at Reptile Gardens in Rapid City.

•  And finally, we practiced a little more...

Showoff.

A family affair.

 More adventures are headed our way for this fall and winter.  We will all be showing in the Bond Ranch Cowhorse Series in Thermopolis this winter and also cutting in the Central Wyoming Cutting Club shows.

I am currently overwhelmed with canning and fall cleanup.  I'd better get back into the kitchen and finish up the salsa and roasted chiles.  I have already canned peaches, peach jam, pears, raspberry jam, green beans, dilly beans and carrots.

The kids and I are super excited to have our pumpkin patch bursting at the seems.  We are loaded with goards and squash too and I'm looking forward to working with the birdhouse gourds for winter projects.

I have been taking pictures along the way this fall and have lots of recipes and funny stories to share....soon!

Happy Fall!