2/27/2021: “Be like Cindy”
I haven't taken the time to blog in several weeks. With
listing my place in Idaho to sell and trying to tie up a piece of
property here in Arizona – every day seems filled with mass forms
and applications. If I had a dollar for every signature I've
scribbled out in the last two weeks I'd be set on a hefty down
payment. I've noticed my signature gets smaller with every signing.
Soon it will be nothing but a big L followed by a straight line. Now
I know why some Hollywood types go by one name: Cher – Madonna –
Prince – Bono and Sting. Not because it's cool...but because they
are lazy!
In between escrow's and earnest monies – I've been
trying to squeeze in some semblance to life as a snowbird. Birthday
month came and went. Dave and Cindy took me out to dinner at the
Country Club golf course in Wickenburg and a surprise visit from my
friend Lynn and husband Scott. Lynn delayed her flight home to
Colorado to help celebrate. I am truly blessed with wonderful
friends.
When I'm not practicing balloon killing in the arena, I
pony Drifter with Jack in the state land behind Crandall's. Sometimes
I let him run at liberty while he chases Jack through the washes.
He's good for 6 or 7 miles before he starts to act like he might be
wearing down. It won't be long before it's Jack and I trying to keep
up with him!
He's gotten into cholla twice. I found by the second
incident that if I scratch his belly with one hand he stands
perfectly still while I pull the cholla out with a pair of needle
nose pliers. He seems to have a good mind and learns quickly. He
thinks about things for a bit without blowing up – he gives to
pressure, ties well and backs on command with little pressure on his
nose. The next step is to see if he will back out of the trailer.
Jack was always too big to turn around in the two horse straight load
I had at the time so has always been good about backing out of
anything. You never know with a young colt what your going to end up
with – but I believe you end up with what you put into them. I
likely made a lot of mistakes with Jack along the way (attempting to
teach him to pull a cart comes to mind – that didn't turn out well)
but I hope to have learned from those mistakes. I feel I've done a
lot right, too. I might not be the next horse whisperer – but I am
happy with the way Jack turned out. If Drifter is half the horse Jack
is – that's good enough for me.
With everything going on and a new colt to mess with, I
have not gone to many shoots since J'Lo (now Lucy) found a home with
Leslie. We see her at most of the shoots around here locally. At
first Lucy would nicker and carry on when she saw us. That lasted for
the first 3 or 4 shoots. The last encounter was quite a different
story. Jack made contact first – nickering and arching his neck in
his most alluring pose to get her attention. She barely glanced our
way before giving us the look that meant one thing only: “You are
dead to me.” Jackson – we've been snubbed. It actually did my
heart good because I know she is happy with her new home. Jack..I
think he was a little hurt by it. He looked after her as her
immaculately groomed and color coordinated self turned her back on us
and strode off. Jack sort of deflated a little. I parked him by a
pretty little palomino that nipped him on the cheek and soothed his
wounded ego. He's been more like his old self since; just him and me
eating up the miles with endless grains of desert sand passing
beneath his hooves...oh, and an inky black horse colt close behind.
We entered a few shoots here and there – mostly
jackpots and non-cmsa shoots. I opted to not enter the Winter
Nationals in Queen Creek. You are pretty much stuck there for 10
days. I felt it was too much to ask of my dogs, especially Shade. At
13 years old, I know my time with her is growing short. I have to
help her in and out of the truck and trailer. I don't have the heart
to lock her in the trailer all day while I compete. There will always
be balloons to kill...a good dog like Shade comes around once in a
lifetime.
The ACMSA puts on shoots all winter down her in Arizona.
Last weekend was their Kicking up the Dust shoots..two one day shoots
held Saturday and Sunday. The Larkyn Memorial arena is an easy 1.5
hour haul from Aguila. I figured to enter it as the last shoot of my
2021 snow-birding adventure.
I opted to haul up Friday midday as opposed to leaving
at the butt crack of dawn on Saturday morning. I don't like being
rushed...or getting up at the butt crack of dawn. I made arrangements
with Dave and Dan to take care of Drifter. Jack and I and the dogs
headed for New River.
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The ACSMA club set up temporary pens for shooters who
would be camping over the weekend. Cindy had reserved two pens for
us. I secured Jack in one, parked my LQ close by and saved a spot for
Cindy and Cowboy. Once settled in camp, I saddled Jack for a ride in
the foot hills surrounding the arena. It must be the perfect
elevation for saguaro – they grow thick on the hills sides in this
area. It is a beautiful trail to ride – and very rocky. I let Jack
pick his way. I didn't want him stone bruised and Dave had just put
shoes on him the day before. I've had some good farrier's over the
years, but this is by far the best Jack has traveled in shoes. He
isn't forging and he moves free as if he were barefoot. Who knows,
maybe it will help him run faster and me shoot straighter!
Cindy arrived early Saturday morning. Shooting started
at 9:00 AM. With 91 shooters, I had a full class with 7 SL3's. Jack
ran smooth and steady on each course. We didn't try to break any
speed records – I was hoping to shoot clean and pull of a second
place. I had a little bobble on the second stage with drawing my
second gun. Jack broke into a trot and didn't kick it up until the
third rundown balloon. I figured that put us out of placing
altogether. Had I looked at the results, I would have known better.
Unbeknownst to me, we were in 1st. Place after the second
stage. Thinking I was out of it – I safety'd up on the final stage
for a chance at the clean shooter check. Doing so knocked me out of
second place by .223 seconds and first by a half second. That's what
you get for being a no hearted pansy-ass.
From
this point on, my mantra is “Be like Cindy.” That girl gives it
her all every single run. Her and cowboy flew threw each course –
perfect lines, smooth gun changes and impeccable form knocking out
every target like another stroll in the park. Cindy won her SL5
class, took woman's over-all and placed third in the over-all,
over-all. That is impressive especially if you consider the quality
of shooters she was up against: Zane Chun, Kenda Lenseigne, Rob
Boucher, Blair Phillipi and others. Very impressive...and so proud of
the little blond bombshell and her Cowboy.
I
realized as I fed Jack his nightly carrot that I was cheating him.
Not giving it our all every run was letting him down. If I can't
shoot my balloons going the speed he's capable of – that is on
me...not him. It is unfair to hold him back and he deserves more. I
promised him I would do my best to stop playing it safe. Time to pull
on my big girl boots and “Be like Cindy.”
2-28-2021:
Long Johns and Dust Storms
The
ear plugs did little to drown out the howling wind throughout the
night. I crawled out of bed Sunday morning, donned my long underwear
beneath my Wranglers and stepped out of the trailer to feed. On the
bright side, this wind should make for one heck of a clean shooter
check.
Many
shooters pulled out and I couldn't blame them. We went from 90+
shooters Saturday down to 57 on Sunday. “Kick up The Dust” was an
understatement as a name for this shoot. It's one thing to have
steady, sustained winds...but the 40 mph gust that hit exactly at the
time you made your circle to enter the course was maddening. They did
a great job of watering down the arena but the dust blown in from the
outside sand blasted your face and eyes. I pretty much hate the wind.
It's the one weather condition that humans can not adjust to. It
makes them crazy. It certainly makes me crazy! As tempting as it was,
I was not pulling out. I was going to shoot them damn balloons if I
was the only one stupid enough to stay entered.
I
shot clean and had the fastest time for my class in the first stage.
The first stage is always the most nerve wracking for me. Once I get
it under my belt, it sets the stage for the rest of the shoot. If I
could shoot the first course clean in this wind – I could pull off
the rest.
Cindy
made a smok'ing run but felt that Cowboy was a little off on his
right front. There is nothing more important to most of us than the
safety and well being of our equine partners. Her and Cowboy had
nothing to prove and pulled out of the rest of the shoot. I have no
doubt had they stayed in, they could have brought home another win.
Between Cindy's determination and Cowboy's heart – those two are
unstoppable. They will step back to run another day.
I
don't know if slowing down helps when shooting in the wind or not. I
assume not. You just have to get closer to your balloons should you
be shooting into the wind. On the same note – the wind can work in
your favor if you are shooting with it. I tried to judge each course
accordingly to how the wind was blowing and let Jack run at his own
pace. I didn't ask for speed and I didn't hold him back. We held the
fasted time for our class on the second stage as well. I knew going
into the third and finally stage that all we had to do was shoot
clean to win our class. The gal closest to me was 2 seconds behind me
and clean. I had to really talk myself out of holding back and making
sure I hit every balloon. I reminded myself that it seldom works out
that way. If you intentionally hold back – it throws off your
timing and you end up missing every damn time. If I was going to fall
apart and lose it on this stage – I was going to lose it in style.
I let Jack run at his own pace and watched every balloon pop - “Be
like Cindy...be like Cindy.” I know...so we have a long ways to go
before we actually resemble anything close to Cindy and Cowboy –
but Jack and I finished off the weekend shooting clean and bringing
home our first class win.
While
some people make excuses for not winning...I have a tendency to make
excuses FOR
winning. It's like I think I don't deserve it or something. That is
bullshit. I'm grinning from ear to ear in the middle of a massive
Arizona wind storm freezing my ass of despite wearing long johns
under my wranglers on a horse I was told would never make a shooting
horse. As I do so, I am holding two clean shooter checks and a class
win. That proves to me that anything is possible – that Jack and I
are
as
good as the next shooting team...that we can
do
this and we
do deserve
it. Who knows, maybe someday somebody out there will be chanting
their own mantra of: “Be like Jack and Laurie.” “Be like Jack and Laurie.”
