Should have Skipped the Rodeo this Weekend...

The Winter Rodeo Circuit that DD runs in is winding down to a close. Last weekend we were scheduled for a rodeo but it was postponed to this weekend with Finals coming next weekend. I had a feeling for a couple of days to just skip the rodeo this weekend because she doesn't need it for points or anything as she has everything needed to qualify for finals next weekend but we like to let her run when they have them because it never hurts to get the extra practice, right?! Well I could have begged to differ with that this weekend, it ended up being a time that I wish I could just undo and spend the time doing something else....

As some of you know DD runs on an 18 year old gelding Pete for her rodeo's. This horse is actually her dad's but she started out on him and we bought her her "own" horse but she had already got this one working the patterns fairly well and they were working good together so we just left it alone. Over the course of the Winter season we added breakaway roping to her rodeo events, it has been a learning process and I really think if she was running on a "roping horse" she would love it! But as it is we have had her on Pete running everything. After the first couple of times running him he started to act up when it was time to go in the box. We have had issues in the past where he would randomly rear up on her but it was always short lived and they would move on. But it has slowly gotten worse, which is very strange because he has never gotten his way by rearing up, she always completes what she is doing... So this weekend proved that he was definitely having issues, yesterday it started with him not even letting her ride him to the arena with out rearing. He would get within a couple hundred feet and start acting up! My Hubby is always with her but he asked me to come out and observe what was going on, so I did. Basically he is just pitching a fit, and I do believe that DD is being kind of scared of what he's doing so that is making it worse. Her and I talked about some things she needed to do and that seemed to help. So yesterday was left with a few error's on his part but overall ok....

Today we started the day out with poles and he broke pattern, but barrels and goats he did ok on. He was still having an issue getting close to the arena but not near as bad as yesterday. So come time for breakaway and the Hubby leads her into the box in case he rears, they did ok getting in there. One of the judges came over and guided him in with his horse and Pete was in. Well they get semi set up (she won't get set up 100% right because she doesn't want to get him worked up) so she gives the nod for the calf and kicks to go, well the calf was a little late coming out of the chute so she ends up ahead of it. She tries to get Pete around and back to the calf and then it happened....

Watch the video....And please don't judge because I left the camera running a bit longer than I should have...



So now let me explain what happened...When they got to the gate he of course was ready to go out, she was obviously trying to get him turned around when he hopped up the first time. My "lack" of fast response kind of comes from his habit of doing this I think. I have my camera on a mono pod with the strap around my neck so I'm not real mobile with this 5 foot tall contraption. I am also watching all of this through my 2 1/2 x 2" LCD screen on my DSLR so when I am recording it actually takes me a second or two to catch what is going on, I actually usually have to watch it after she runs as I spend the whole run making sure I get it on camera so I don't ever feel like I have "watched" her run. So with that said when he went up the second time and walked forward I thought to myself "oh crap his foot is going to go through the gate" then he landed on top of the gate. So it took me a second to figure out what the heck to do, I was about 5 levels up in the bleachers and I was trying to get the dang thing off my neck and get down there all the while watching her because I was scared for her. I start to head down the bleachers and another rodeo mom starts freaking out and starts to run over there then turns around and apologizes to me for what she said (bad word) I said "oh no it's ok"! So Pete is caught up on the gate and D is holding on but he started to go over backwards (where I shut off the camera and ran) as he starts to go over he is like falling sideways over to the corner of the arena and DD falls and I thought OH MY GOD she going to get crushed! She was falling into the same corner he was falling into, I must have looked down for a split second while running down and when I looked back she was pulling herself back up! Her foot had stayed in the stir up and so she managed to use all of her strength and pull herself back onto Pete but on his butt behind her saddle. So then somehow they got his foot untangled and she hopped over the back of the saddle then they opened the gate and pulled her off! Then I couldn't see her anywhere so I was freaking out with tears in my eyes and I see her behind a banner but she is just standing there so I holler out to her and she comes over crying but ok. She hurt her chest by hitting it on the saddle horn during the fall and her knee is pretty bruised up but other than that she was ok. The women around me all had tears in their eyes and one of them grabbed her and hugged her and said "D you are one tough little cowgirl, and God was definitely watching over you"... It made me cry, I pray before every run she makes and usually my momma is there with me and she always says a prayer too but she wasn't there because she is out of town. So I texted her and told her what had happened and her response was that on their way to the cruise ship this afternoon she had told her friend please let's pray for DD because Pete has been acting up...I know that God saved her life and I am SO very thankful for that.

I would also just like to pause and point out something here....Did anyone notice that she still had ahold of her rope?! She held onto that thing until she fell I think, silly girl!

So you probably are thinking what will I be doing with him now? As it stands right now a girl who runs in the high school class will be bringing her old breakaway horse which DD had been running on but they didn't have room to haul it this weekend but they are bringing him next weekend and she will use him for breakaway and goat tying. She really can ride Pete for barrels and poles but another friend has offered his daughter's barrel/pole horse for her if we decide we want to, we talked to her about this and she said she would be fine with that. So we will see, we will continue our search for a different horse for her which we have already been doing just haven't found one that is "good" and not overly expensive...

When something like this happens and you don't respond in the "proper" way it's kind of hard because other people judge you when you already feel horrible enough as it is. Why is that?! But the point is, is that she is fine and I am humbled...

Sidenote~ Please pray for a little girl "Cowpirl PR" who runs the circuit with DD. She was kicked in the belly by her horse today and was flown by helicopter to the hospital where she is recovering from a laceration to her spleen...She is a beautiful little angel and her family has suffered a lot of tragedy's in the last year and a half but still feel blessed to still all be here. Now that's perseverance!