EC day 4

A ride that impacted your life:

This is kind of a toss up for me.

There was the day we pushed cows 11 miles in the snow and wind. That was the day I first came to realize that my Trax had some hidden talents. It was also the first time I had ever worked cows...EVER! I had so much fun, even though I was freezing and in the saddle from 8 am till 4 pm non stop. That was also the first day I saw just how much "give & go" Trax has. When I say give I mean, he gave 120% of himself that day. He out worked, out cut, out chased, and out pushed every other horse out there. When the rest were tired and hanging their heads, he was still ready to work. I have never been as proud of a horse as I was that day, and it was the beginning of a change in me.

I think the real ride of my life, though, was the day I went to the ranch horse clinic. I learned more about me and my horse than I have at any other time. On that day I learned a general direction of where I want to go with my riding. I learned that not only does Trax have the potential to do more than just trail ride, I also have the potential to do more than just trail ride. I thought that if I wanted to compete in something like that I needed to have a better trained horse, but I was wrong. The horse I needed was right there in my back yard the entire time. My horse is really the only horse I need. Now of course I realize that he and I are both in need of some serious training, but here is the thing...I went to that clinic expecting to make a fool of myself and my horse, and instead we walked away saying, WOW!

Now keep in mind that Trax was born on a ranch, he was born of ranch horses, and was trained by ranchers, before he went into the hands of a "roper" who pretty much ruined him. (said "roper" just recently got busted for poaching, gives you an idea of what kind of guy he was) So Trax is no stranger to cows, no stranger to real ranch work. The first time we pushed those cows, I knew from the minute we got out there, that he was in his element. I never really had to tell him what we needed to do, he already knew. All I did was point him to the cows and he did the rest. The second time we worked cows at the clinic he was once again in his element. I mean he penned that cow like a pro. So is it any wonder that the two times we really really connected as a horse and rider was when he was doing what he does best? It seems to be what he loves. It is a feeling I have never known before to be on a horse that is in pure joy at the task he is performing. His whole body language changes, his temperment changes, the look in his eye changes. He is in heaven. When he is in heaven, then I am in heaven. So now, thank to my Trax, and thanks to "his heaven", I now know what kind of rider I want to be when I grow up.