#equine athlete (ok that's an exaggeration)

[ahedderick]

Barrel Racing

The end of July my kids and I went to a rodeo at the county fair just north of us. It was so-so, but we did enjoy the barrel racing. Daughter and I exchanged views on the horses and riders, and both wished that we could bring Hero so he could watch it with us! Also, she would very much like to try riding the cloverleaf pattern on Hero to see how well he could do. He is not, I freely admit, the most athletic horse, but he enjoys trying things.

Barrel racing has to be done on flat ground, and there's only one place on the farm that's large enough for a cloverleaf course. I told K that I'd try mowing a course into the tall weeds at the long field, and she could try it out.

Today I got my husband to give me a 'refresher course' on running the tractor (it's been a while). I ran it back and forth a bit near the field to get the hang of it again, then put power to the brush hog and plowed into the weeds. Heeheee! It is quite fun to drive a tractor if you don't do it often. I made a small one (probably too small, once I got done and looked back at it), then a larger one. This evening K will be able to amble Hero down the road and do a couple rounds! Hopefully he won't. just. fall over when he's doing the tight turns.