Cutting Show

Having sat through Western Pleasure shows a few times in my life--which usually involved more standing than sitting, holding horses, brushing tails, brushing dust off Katie, or attempting to get food/water in her--attending horse shows is not high on the list of favorite activities.

But the lure of spending some quality time with just Katie, seeing Ike and Cheri again--plus some of their horses in action--made this a worthwhile adventure.

Not to mention driving the fun little car new places.

Katie and I beat the Slide crew there by a little, after getting a little lost on our way--thank you iPhone and Google Maps! We scoped out the situation and checked the schedule to see when Tiffany would be riding so we could let them know once they got there with the horses. It was a really nice facility, though Lenny looked a little out of place amongst all the big trucks and trailers.



Tiffany had a pretty good run, and was ahead in the standings, but the judge scored her pretty low for a penalty it doesn't appear she made. Everyone was a little frustrated and disappointed with the score, but Tiffany still had enough points to get the buckle for the series.



Then we got to watch Ike work BB and Sabine work Cooper in the practice pen. Katie got to get in there too, using Truly to hold the cattle for the cutters.



BB is a 3-year old mare out of one of Lena's sisters and an off-ranch sire. Her personality--curious, a little bit of a pest, always into things--reminds me a lot of Lena. She is, however, a little closer to the right size to be a cutting horse and with a beautiful, solid black coat.

Cooper is one of Lena's brothers, only--again--the right size. He's one of the horses that has always seemed to be a part of Slide, too, and an excellent example of the good-minded, fun-to-ride, athletic horses that Ike and Cheri raise. (Of course, there is a huge bias on my part where this subject is concerned.)



We might bring Lena with us to the next show, let her help hold cattle, practice a little. She a very cow-y horse, a cutter by nature and breeding, and it's good experience for her to get out and away from the normal routine. Not sure Bar is ready for it, but maybe eventually he'll go along, too. Not to work cows so much, but mainly to go and realize sometimes all the excitement won't involve him and he can just hang out and relax. That alone would be enough of a revelation for him to justify the trip.