The Cowgirl

8 states/ 6 rodeos in 6 days? Why not?! So for the past week and a half, Josey and I hit the road with Ericka Nelson again to give her some company on the rodeo road during Cowboy Christmas! (Ericka is sitting 15th in the pro rodeo standings right now and she’s been doing well so far!) We left on Sunday, the 28th of June from Troy, Alabama and headed to Tyler, Texas to the performance horse spa to pick up her backup horse, Abby.  After we picked Abby up, we headed to Brock, Texas to stay for a few days at our awesome friends’ ranch.    Their back patio & my view from my coffee mug every morning :)  While we were there, Ericka rode with someone to a rodeo in Arizona that got entered the same time as her so Josey and I stayed and hit some western thrift stores in Weatherford, Texas, and of course stopped at Teskeys a few (several) times. We ended up finding several awesome western thrift stores and I managed to snag a good bit of old Wranglers for myself and some super cool vi

So I know I haven't been doing a good job of keeping my blog updated, but I'm trying to make the time these days to do the things I love like riding, and writing on this blog. Horse News :  Well, Malibu got to go to the trainer for a month and a half and it was the best decision I think I have made with her. The trainer I sent her to exposes them to a lot and I was told there is always a lot going on around her house. So with Malibu being a little weird about certain things, I thought why not give it a try. So Jill got her to be softer for the first week or so before starting anything barrel related, then to the barrels they went! She was trotting a really nice pattern when I figured I would leave her until she was loping a nice pattern. So I picked Malibu up, and since then I've been continuing getting her confident with loping, and she has been doing awesome with it. I've been hailing her to a barrel race every weekend and trotting exhibitions so by the time she is

   So I know it has been a while since I've updated you guys on horse progress and everything in general. Well I'm finally done with my term of online classes for one week.. spring break.. so I wanted to make time to make a post about some things that have been going on in mine and my horses' lives today... Malibu :      So things with Malibu have been going great. She's getting more comfortable with her surroundings and becoming less flighty, I now have her turned out in a huge pasture with other horses and no halter on. She's really easy to catch now. If you pull another horse out of the pen, she's at the gate wondering why she got left out believe it or not. I actually took her the weekend of the 3rd of March to a trail ride with my trail group, a vet was on site to get her coggins pulled, then I took her down the road to a barrel race and rode her around at it. She was really hyped up at the trail ride, but once I out her and my gelding in front she was

So lately I have felt like I have fallen into a rut with Malibu. Last Friday, I had cleaned stalls all morning after getting back in Troy from Florida. I had caught Malibu early and stuck her in a stall so I didn't have to go in search of her when I was done. Well, I finally got all 8 stalls cleaned and 8 horses had been on the hot walker when I tied Malibu on the side of the barn where I always tie her. I had just put the last horse in her stall when I realized an empty shavings bag was flying down the aisle due to the wind (towards Malibu). I quickly ran trying to get Malibu to calm down, but of course she set back, ripped the board off of the barn, and went running with it flying behind her. She ran until she got the board and lead rope caught around a tree (thank God). I think she either would have run until she got across the road and was gone forever or broken a leg in the process. Thankfully I got to her and got her calmed down and she just looked like she skinned the hair o

So as you all know, I am very much into trail riding. That is, and will always be, my favorite thing to do with my horses. Well, every year for the weekend of New Years, my aunt and all of our friends from Florida meet up at the Heart of Dixie Trail Ride in Troy, Alabama. Do not take this lightly when I say this is my FAVORITE place to ride of all time in the south (and I've been to a lot of places). They have around 1,000 acres with 35 miles of trails! I had been riding there for years with my family, so last year when I bought Patch, there was no question where he was going to be staying. I boarded him at their facility and got to know everyone who worked there. They are some of the most kind people I've ever met, and they have awesome paddocks, barns, and fields for the horses. When camping there, you can choose between a paddock, which can hold 3 horses, or you can choose a covered or uncovered stall for them. We typically get the paddocks when it is not going to be bad w