By: Samantha Smith
In one of my more recent articles, I talked about what it felt like to learn how to win again. Now, weeks later, I’m still trying to tackle the concept. You don’t realize what you’re missing until it’s gone, or in this case until it comes into your life. When I count my blessings, I count my mare, Deana, twice.
If you didn’t read the post before this, I recently bought a new barrel racing horse and entered my first professional rodeo on her. We made a good run in the first round which qualified us into the progressive round at San Angelo, TX. To follow up with San Angelo, I ran in the progressive round on February 11th. Though my run wasn’t fast enough to win any money or qualify for the final round, it was smooth and consistent and I was extremely pleased. As it turns out, switching horses after running the same one for five years straight isn’t the easiest task to tackle. Every horse is different and because of that, each horse responds to different rider cues.
In attempt to allow myself to adjust and allow Deana to get used to having myself as a rider, I have been entering jackpots whenever I can. When I bought Deana, I tried her in a large covered arena and since then I have only been able to compete on her in indoor arenas. Last weekend I was finally able to enter a jackpot at an outside pen. I was nervous to see how she would work as many horses are different outside compared to inside. Not to my surprise, she was a rock star and got us our first 1D check, meaning we were in the fastest set of entries. Our run had plenty of room to improve and we still were able to make money at a large jackpot which makes me so happy looking towards the future.
This past weekend, we had our first college rodeo together as a team in Odessa, TX. The arena at Odessa is smaller than anything we have competed in thus far, and we had some minor struggles with the small pattern. Sometimes you have to take a step back and look at the bigger picture which is exactly what I’m doing as I type this. Though I didn’t end up making the short go, I ended up in the top 20 girls in a very tough group with an average run at best. Looking forward, and as Deana and I get more comfortable with each other, I hope for bigger and better things. I have no doubt that we will come back better, faster and stronger at the next college rodeo, but in the meantime we have some pro rodeos to conquer.
With a couple weeks off between college rodeos, I figured it would be beneficial to enter some more pro rodeos in the meantime. Over spring break, I have entered three professional rodeos in Arizona with one of my teammates. I have high expectations as per usual, but I plan on using these runs as preparation for the next college rodeo in Brownwood, TX.
Today I rode my old horse, Max, at a local jackpot and it did not go nearly as well as I had hoped. Usually I would be mad about this, but instead I realized several things that have changed for the better. My riding has improved, my attitude has changed, and I have realized that sometimes the best thing you can do is take a break from things. Tomorrow my parents will be taking Max to Arizona for my older sister to run for a while. I have finally realized that I can’t fix everything, and that someone else needs to take the reins (literally) for awhile.
I haven’t learnt how to win again yet, but I’m working on it and I won’t stop until I succeed.
-Sam
