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Posted by Mesa Pate, Sep 14 2009, 03:03 PM
I have learned two major things since I started school here at Panola State in Carthage, Texas. One, being on my own is not as fun as it sounds. Two, don't get tricked into saying "mine."
The first statement probably isn't a big surprise. I'm sure every first year college attendee has said the same exact thing. It's the truth though, and it makes me rethink all the times I couldn't wait to get on my own. Yeah, what was I thinking? My perception is a little different now that I have laundry, ironing, cleaning, studying, grocery shopping and outside chores to do without my families help.
Some of the bulls I get to help take care of every day.
I guess it pays off in ways though. It's nice to be able to do whatever I want, whenever I want. Just having the will power to do all the things I need to do is sometimes a challenge. I am pretty proud of myself though, I've kept up pretty good. Well, other than the cleaning part. My dorm could probably use a good scrub down, especially after this weekend of knee high mud and rodeos. I'll get right on that!
The most important thing I've learned so far though isn't self discipline, it isn't anything I've learned in class. The most important thing is to not be tricked into saying the word "mine." It's definitely a game of cunning and challenge, and I'm going to warn everyone that as soon as you hear the rules, well all of you reading are entered for life. If someone knowingly gets you to say the word "mine," the person who says it has to lay on the ground for ten seconds. Doesn't sound bad right? I thought that too until some of the guys on the rodeo team got me in the return alley at the arena, the student center at the college (you would think people would ask why I was laying on the ground, but they sure didn't. They just stepped over me) and at McDonalds, all in one day. The whole point of the game is that you have to lay on the ground no matter where you are.
Waiting to buck a bull at the NBBA Finals in Fort Worth. I get to go to a lot of great bull ridings here.
You have to come up with new and interesting ways to trick people into saying that word, and it isn't easy. The best way is to not play for a few days, let everyone forget about, then get them in an embarrassing place. Like I said, most important thing I've learned.
Really, college has been a great experience so far. We have been getting ready to start college rodeo's and I can barely wait! I'm more than ready for it. My horses are working great and I'm pretty confident in myself too. Hopefully it all goes good!
I miss Montana way more than I imagined I would. I miss my family a whole lot and my friends. I also miss the animals I had to leave behind, especially my dog Huckleberry! She is living with my grandparents, and I hear she takes her job of keeping deer out of the yard very seriously.
Mostly I miss the little things about home. I miss my routine. Getting up every morning and checking horses and cattle, picking up feed or cake at the grain elevator, listening to the northern ag network on the only radio station that really picks up good in Ryegate, Montana, going to drink coffee with my grandpa and the other ranchers who are at the bar/coffee shop every morning.
It's not very ranchy here in Carthage. It's very ag based, but a different kind of agriculture than what I'm used to. That's been my biggest adjustment. I miss going out and checking cows, doctoring, heck even fencing. In ways it's been a good way to focus me completely on rodeo, but I am going to be more than ready to spend some time ranching when I go home after the semester ends.
The hardest part is that fall is my favorite time of the year at home. I love when the weather changes and weaning starts. I love pulling out the wool sweaters and wild rags out from storage (definitely won't be doing that here for awhile, it's still at least 85!). This is when we get a lot of colts in to start, and I don't have a single one to mess with this fall. I'm missing the leaves changing and all the colors of fall. It is still practically full on summer here, and will be for another few months. I only get home sick really when I think of those things.
I do really like it here though. I love most of my classes, my rodeo team is great and I love going out and helping with the 80+ bulls at the Williams' place. I also couldn't have gotten a better roommate. Danielle White, remember her name because she is going far! She is a great horsewoman and it's been nice to have someone to practice, travel and stay motivated with.
I do miss home, but it's great here too, just a different kind of great. The people who I've met are some of the most welcoming and good hearted folks out there.
I'm lucky to have this opportunity to do the things I love: write, rodeo and buck bulls. I'm learning so much and am doing my best to stay out of trouble!
I'm going to do my best to keep this up, though I'm sure some of you have lost faith in that! I will do my best and keep everyone updated, especially when college rodeo's roll around.
Posted by Mesa Pate, Jul 8 2009, 03:58 PM
I just got home from a ten day trip to Texas, and first off let me just say this: holy hot! This northern girl isn't used to Southern summers quite yet. I flew down to Texas to watch one of my two year old bulls compete at a couple futurity events. Futurites are competitions for only two year old bulls, but instead of bucking with riders, the bulls are bucked with metal boxes called dummies.
I bought my bull, 702, from Clayton and Terry Williams. Terry is one of the most prominent names in the industry, and his son Clayton rides in the PBR and runs their breeding program. Clayton has been and will continue hauling my bull for this year, since I couldn't be in Texas until later this fall. The ten days with them and were a blast! Terry is one of the best guys I know, and Clayton is great. Claytons wife, Kristen, runs barrels very well and was fun to be around too. I think the main reason I got along so well with the Williams's- Terry especially- is because they are true blue cattle traders. I'm from a pretty long line of cattle and horse traders, so it's definitely fun to do business with them!
Watching bulls in Nacogdoches, TX, with Matt Austin, world champion bull rider.
The majority of the time I was there was spent doing ranch work with Clayton, Terry and "Big Stuff," their hired hand. On the weekends though, we were at NBBA (National Bucking Bull Association) and ABBI (American Bucking Bull Inc.) events. The second day I was in Texas we had bulls out in Nacogdoches, TX at an NBBA futurity. It was the first time I have gotten to see my little white bull buck at an event. As Clayton says, he's the "real deal." That day he tried bucking different- he went out and spun to the right. Usually he spins to the left. I don't think he quite knew what to do going to the right, so he wasn't as amazing as he usually is, but he was good enough to win sixth at the event and won his entry fee's back. The positive thing about that is he tried something new. I'm taking that as a sign of his intelligence.
During the next week we hauled some older bulls (some of which I'm looking at buying) to a rodeo, rode horses and worked around the Williams Ranch in Carthage, TX. I also had an interview with the rodeo coach at the college there. They offered me a scholarship to rope for Panola Sate, so it looks like I'm going to be an east Texan by this fall. I can't even convey how excited I am for that! I can't wait to start college rodeo's this fall.
Some of the two year old bulls that reside at the Williams ranch. My bull, 702, is the white bull on the far left.
Our last event while I was in Texas was an ABBI bull riding in Kinder, LA. It was a pretty long drive down there, but luckily I had good traveling partners. Clayton and I picked up "Red" and Mathew, who were were competing in the bull riding. We had a great time. The bull riding was awesome. There were a lot of really great bulls at the event. My bull tried his hardest, and he was starting one of his best trips until he lost his feet and fell down. I guarantee that was the most scared I've been in a long time! Luckily he was okay and is turned out now, relaxing until the NBBA finals in September.
Now that I'm back in Montana, I'm getting ready for three different rodeo's this weekend. I've been roping every day, usually twice. Dakota, my rope horse, is doing amazing and I can't wait to compete on him. Pistol, my barrel horse, acts like a rock star and is more than ready to go run this weekend. The few practice runs I've made on him have been fast and smooth, so hopefully we can make some money. I miss Texas already, but I can't wait to go to these rodeo's here in Montana.
This summer has been a blast. Rodeo's, bull ridings and riding horses every single day is definitely my idea of summertime fun.
Posted by Mesa Pate, Jun 15 2009, 01:07 PM
I've been lucky to have the opportunity to spend a lot of time with my family in the last couple months. I'm staying in Ryegate, Montana, which is a small town sixty miles outside of Billings. Although not much goes on in Ryegate- there's only 250 people who live in the community- I'm having a lot of fun here. Wait, I lied, there is a big event that takes place in Ryegate: The annual Testical Fesival. It's an event dedicated to celebrating the Rocky Moutain Oyster. That was this past weekend, and it's quite the deal. We also are holding the first ever public Mountain Man Rendezvous. It's a happening place!
Most of my family on my moms side lives in the area, so spending time with them has been great. My mom is the oldest of three girls and her middle sister, Tara and her family live in Ryegate, as well as my grandparents and great grandmothers. Tara and her husband, Pete have two boys, Jaxsen, 9, and Sam, 5. I don't get to spend very much time with the boys, so being able to see them every day is great.
My little cousin Sam was helping me out.
As well as seeing the boys everyday, I have been getting to team rope almost daily too! Tara is who I bought my head horse "Deuce" from, but she has since bought him back so I switched to the heeling side. I loved to head, but heeling has that extra edge of excitement and I have a blast! It's really fun because it's usually Tara, Pete and me roping, and the boys hang out and ride so it's a family thing. My grandparents are usually down watching too.
I've been getting my little bay horse "Dakota" going on the heeling side and he is very good, especially for the amount of times he has been heeled off of. I think all the ranch work I've done with him has paid off, because he has a really good understanding of position and how to handle cattle on a rope. His only issue is that he is, ironically, scared of ropes. He has gotten way better since I've been roping calves off him for about a year, but every once in awhile he will scare himself, especially if a rope gets around his feet. Although he is gentle and the handiest horse I have right now, in and out of the arena, he still has that weird little quirk. I honestly think it is because of the horse he was practically raised by. As soon as we weaned Dakota from my old mare we put him with a gelding we have had for years. "Count" was one of my dads first REAL problem horses that he started for some people when my brother and I were "wearing short pants and riding stick horses." Count had so many issues that my dad ended up buying him so he wouldn't hurt anyone. It took quite a few years but eventually Count ended up being one of the handiest horses we have ever, and probably will ever, own. The coincidental part is that he was exactly like Dakota about ropes. You could rope anything off of him all day long, but if a rope went around, between or even just touched his feet, well you better have been ready to make one heck of a bronc ride! Dakota and him were kept together for two years and were inseparable, and a lot of Counts traits rubbed off on Dakota.
I keep my rope horse "Dakota" light and responsive by doing things outside the arena, like working colts.
Usually when we rope it's only Tara, Pete and me so we take turns heading and heeling for each other. I was heeling for Pete one run, and when I heeled the steer I wasn't making sure Dakota was far enough away and he stepped through my loop. When he felt it on his front feet he blew up and went to bucking and running, trying to get as far away from the rope and steer as he could. Thankfully Pete is very conscious of what's going on at all times and pulled his dallies off and kept me out of a bigger wreck. Thankfully I know Dakota well enough that it wasn't too big of a deal and I didn't get bucked off, although I found out that team roping saddles are very hard to ride a bucking horse in. There's nothing to hang on to! I think maybe I need to go back to the ground and rope little Dakota's feet some more.
Other than that little mishap, things in and out of the arena have been really good. The cows and calves look great and are growing a ton out on the mountain grass, I have a few really nice colts going and we've been getting much needed rain. I'm really looking forward to the summer!
Posted by Mesa Pate, May 20 2009, 08:47 PM
Busy, busy, busy- that's all I've been for the last couple weeks. I love Spring and all the work to be done in the warming weather (theoretically anyways), so being busy is fine with me. All the calving in this area is done, and there have been a bunch of brandings to attend. It's my favorite time of the year for sure. I love seeing baby calves running around in all the pastures, socializing at brandings and everything else that rural areas encounter in this season.
One of our future bucking bull stars, "Forgive & Forget."
We received all of our bucking cows last week, so it's been an exciting time for us. It's crazy how different these cows are than what I'm used to being around and working. We had to brand and vaccinate all of the cows and calves. A couple of the girls are pretty hooky, so at times it was a little nerve racking. The calves were pretty snorty too. Some of them were even more hooky than the cows, but couldn't do too much damage-yet. One heifer did hit me from behind pretty hard though. Good thing she is only a few weeks old! Coincidentally that heifers mother will run you up the fence if she gets a chance as well. Apple doesn't fall far from the tree I guess. My favorite calf to be around is out of an Unforgiven daughter and is already a big pet. We call him "Forgive and Forget." Hopefully he will be a world champion like some of the bulls in his family.
Putting the slash C on 5044, one of the hooky cows!
The main difference working these cows is that their flight zone is so much bigger than your average angus cow. If you are unfamiliar with what a flight zone is, it's kind of like a comfort zone. With cattle-and even horses- there's a line, that when crossed, will basically make that animal move. I'm not an expert on this, so that's my personal perspective of the flight zone of cattle. With some cattle, they hardly have a flight zone. With others, it's a 10-15' distance, but with these girls it's a whole lot bigger than that. You step into a pen with them and they move, usually kind of fast. So that was a little difficult, but we got them all branded and vaccinated and moved out to their pasture without too much trouble. It's going to fun to tailor our methods of cattle handling to this type of cattle. The next morning we hauled the cows and calves out to the pasture that they will be in while they are being bred. As soon as they got off the truck they started trotting around the perimeter of the 600+ acre pasture. When I drove by an hour later, they were still on the go. They finally settled down and seem to enjoy their new home.
That day we did the same thing, but instead of our herd of bucking cows, we branded and vaccinated about four hundred cows and calves. I'm used to roping calves to brand, so being around calf tables and squeeze chutes that much was something fairly new. It's all different idea's on how to do things, and I think knowing how to do it both ways is good. As long as the cattle are handled properly and everything stays humane I think both roping and working cows through the chute are equally effective. Although it was really cold, especially for May, we had a lot of fun both days. I have a few rodeo's lined up, and stuff to do with my bulls during the summer. As I said before, it's a really exciting time for my family and everyone around us.
Helping my little cousin Jaxsen brand his calf.
To all who commented my last post concerning bulls and breeding, it's awesome to see your interest and support. To those of you who are interested in the business, my advice to you is do your research before you jump into it. I obsessively read articles, asked questions to whoever would take time to talk to me, researched different organizations in the industry and visited a lot of amazing breeders ranches. Everyone in the industry is incredibly welcoming to new people who show interest, so don't be afraid or intimidated to call some of the big guys and ask what made them successful. Once you start actually buying cattle, remember that- at least in the beginning- small scale amounts to large income, if done right. Start out with good cows. It's just like with horses, quality not quantity. Hope that advice helps!
Posted by Mesa Pate, Apr 30 2009, 10:36 AM
From the perspective of someone who has seen the affects of draught, I appreciate the relentless amount of snow and rain that seems to not realize it's nearly May. As someone who is ready for a REAL spring though, snow is the most evil thing in the world! Where I am in Montana, a little town called Ryegate, we've seen some kind of winter weather every day for almost two weeks. I'm getting ready to go spend the day the snow, helping my business partner and his wife exercise their horses. Yay.
The cows and calves of Pate/Waterman Bucking Bulls & Genetics!
We are really busy getting ready for our ten pairs of bucking bull cows to come up from Texas. Me waiting for my cows is like a little kid waiting for Christmas. It's practically all I talk about. I'm even considering buying a plane ticket to Texas so I can ride back up with them and the people who are hauling them. Maybe I just want to do that so I can get back to Texas for a few days!
My bull business has been what's occupied most of my time the last couple of weeks. I've had to do a lot of real business type things, and I've really had a wake up call about how hard this endeavor is going to be, but I love all of it! My cows are awesome, and the calves (five bull and five heifers) are going to be superstars. We have gotten a great start with the best cows.
This is probably my favorite cow.
This past weekend my friends Cheyenne, Cody and I drove from Ryegate to Three Forks, Montana to a high school rodeo. I got to watch my best friends rodeo and talk to people I haven't seen in almost a year. Of course, I ended up behind the bucking chutes, talking bulls with everyone which turned into flanking bulls. If you are unfamiliar with the mechanics of bucking bulls, flanking means to put the rope on the bull that helps him to buck. It's usually not a girls job, but nobody else was getting it done on a couple bulls sitting in the bucking chutes, and I love doing it. That being said, I'm still a girl, and I do like cute clothes. So although I decided to do dirty work, I was in girly clothes and had my purse slung over my shoulder while I was doing it. I'm still getting teased about it. I guess fashion and bucking bulls aren't often seen in the same setting!
Posted by Mesa Pate, Apr 16 2009, 11:10 AM
I ended off my last blog with the comment, "The only reason I'm agreeing to go back north is because I just was informed that the weather is finally warming up." Well, I'm sitting back in South Dakota, looking out the window currently, and let me tell you something: it's not warm at all! If you've watched the weather channel, you might have noticed that Montana, South Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado got anywhere from 16-25+ inches of snow. I'm right in the middle of that and have lots of work to do outside IN the cold. I can feel my tan from Texas freezing away. There's around two and a half feet of snow on the ground, and drifts as high as buildings everywhere. I'm not happy about it at all, but what can you do? I think someone needs to tell me to Cowboy up and get over it, so any of you who read my blog, feel free to do so.
Playing in the snow!
Before I left Texas, I attended a break away roping clinic put on by Lari Dee Guy and Jackie Hobbs. It was a really great experience, and I feel like it helped to improve a lot of technical things in my roping. I really enjoy Lari Dee and Jackie. Those girls can rope. Aside from what I learned and being able to hang out with Lari Dee and Jackie, I was equally impressed by a man who attended the clinic along with me. John is 73 years old and brought his grandson to the clinic, then decided to participate himself. He was humble enough to rope right along with kids of all ages, and willing to learn what he could to improve. John told me he had been roping off and on for years, but decided since he retired from his job as a pharmacist to pick up a rope again and continue learning about the mechanics of the sport. He was so dang cool! I don't know if I'll ever have the opportunity to talk to John again, but I hope he knows how much I enjoyed meeting him. My favorite part of life on the road is meeting people like John. Folks who are open minded to learn, at any age especially, are the ones I admire most.
I left Texas with my mom and headed towards Kansas to do a family clinic for one of the Purina sponsors we used to do a lot of work for, Ernie Rodina. We didn't get far though. Our truck broke down in Ardmore, Oklahoma, where we were stuck over night. Thankfully, we had a place to stay with some friends who live in Ardmore, and were able to have a good place to keep the horses. I'm not going to lie, my family has mastered how to handle break downs, blow outs or any other vehicle troubles thrown in our way to get down the road. We've had a lot of practice.
The newest edition to our herd, Tila!
After getting the water pump fixed in the truck, we headed back down the road and arrived in Kansas. It was the first time I had seen my dad in just under two months. We had the opportunity to work together as a family, which is pretty cool. I haven't been to a Purina event in at least six years, so doing those events for the week we were in Kansas brought up a lot of good memories. It was a lot of fun seeing everyone I used to spend time with when I was just a little kid. I stayed with our friends, The Trabons, while my parents flew to Indiana to work at a horse fair. I had a blast riding with Tim Trabon, shopping and spending time with his wife Patti and hanging out with their son Tony and his friends. It was nice to just relax after going and going for the past few months.
Posted by Mesa Pate, Mar 20 2009, 11:14 AM
First of all, I want to apologize to any of you who read my blog for not being consistent with posting new entries. I'm not going to make any excuses for it, I've just been slacking. I'll try harder to get them up weekly, so those of you who wonder what's going on in my crazy life are up to date!
I'm still in Texas right now for a few more days. I've been down here for about a month, and I absolutely love it. I've been staying with our friends Billie and Ken Bray and have had a blast with them and their boys, Paden and Wyatt. Billie, or B, is a great lady and has taught me a lot about business sense. Her and Ken run Classic Equine, and I've really enjoyed learning about the business side of the industry.
I've gotten to rope a ton and really been able to focus on my rope horse, Dakota, and have gotten him going really well. I've worked on Pistol with barrels a lot and he's been doing awesome. I took him to Dena Kirkpatrick, the lady who trained Lindsey Sears's great horse Martha, who was the PRCA barrel champion this past year. Dena is an amazing horsewoman and helped me with a lot of really cool tools to improve Pistols barrel pattern. Along with Dena, I've gotten to meet a lot of my hero's in the rodeo world. It's been an amazing experience for me. I got to go to the George Strait Invitational Roping last weekend, and just to see up close and personal all the greats roping in under 4 seconds, well it's just amazing. The level of competition and the level of horses there is something that anyone can appreciate.
Paden, 10, and Wyatt Bray, 8, are great boys. Paden is an amazing roper already. He break away ropes, team ropes (he's a phenomenal heeler) and goat ties at junior rodeo's and Wyatt is a rocket in the goat tying. We have fun hanging out together.
Along with hanging out with the Bray's, going to ropings and all the other exciting things I've been doing down here, I've also gotten my bucking bull business really going. My partner and myself bought eleven head of cows that are currently calving. All of the calves are out of an amazing bull, so I'm very excited to take them north and start working with them. I've learned so much from some of the best people in the industry while I've been here, and I'm as excited as ever to get my business going.
I was informed this past weekend that we lost a great horseman, Ray Hunt. It really made me stop and think about the influence he has had on modern horsemanship. I'm very sorry to his family for their loss, but I'm sure they can be at ease in the knowledge of the difference Ray made in our world.
It's been a great time in Texas, and I think I really want to end up down here permanently at some point. I'm thinking about attending college in this area of Texas (hopefully in Weatherford). I'm excited to go back home and spend time with my family though. I'm really close with my parents and being away from them is sometimes tough. I even miss my brother! Whew, it took a lot to admit that!
P.S.
The only reason I'm agreeing to go back north is because I just was informed that the weather is finally warming up. I'm not too proud to say I'm a fair weather cowgirl!
Posted by Mesa Pate, Feb 23 2009, 01:38 PM
Finally, after waiting all winter, I'm in Texas! I'm very excited to be out of the cold, South Dakota weather. My mom and I drove down here last week, and I've ridden every day since we pulled into Van Alstyne, where we have been staying with my Uncle Darrel Burnett. It's been great! The other day I was talking to a friend who lives down in this area, and I was like "man, I'm so excited! I haven't been outside with a short sleeved shirt on since like, the end of August!" It might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it sure feels like it's been that long.
Pistol, Deuce, Dakota and me at a truck stop in Kansas.
We left home last week, us being my mom, my three horses, our dog Roper and me. The first night we stayed in Colby, Kansas with our friends Willie and Marcy. We've done some clinics for them and they always set us up when we go through. The next day we made it to our good friend Charlie Trayers house in Seymour, Texas. We took three of our younger dogs to Charlie and stayed the night at their new place. Finally, after what seemed like forever, we made it to Van Alstyne.
My "Uncle" Darrel and me.
"Uncle" Darrel was one of my dads associates at Purina Mills back when he was traveling really hard, putting on horse training clinics across the country. Dad and Darrel became really great friends, and he became part of our family. He and his wife Celeste are some of our closest friends.
I am a huge music fan. I love almost any genre, but I really love oldies and "rock-a-billy" music, which Darrel has influenced. He is a DJ at KNON radio in Dallas. His show is called the Rock-a-billy revue. He has thousands of CD's at his house, so I've been burning CD's all week. It's been so much fun hanging out with Darrel.
The crazy women; Celeste, my mom Tammy and me.
On Saturday we arrived in Stephenville, Texas, where I will be staying for the rest of the winter with Ken and Billy Bray, along with their two boys, Paden and Wyatt. Ken and "B" run Equibrand or Classic Equine. Just the first day here was a long working one! We unloaded the heaviest square bales I think ever created and then roped all night. I'm not complaining at all, I had a blast! Paden, Ken and B's oldest son, is one of the best ropers I've seen at his age. It was really fun to rope with him, although getting out roped by a ten year old isn't so great for my ego! I'm really excited and thankful for the opportunity to be down here roping and riding, learning about the business side of the horse industry and spending time with such great people!
Posted by Mesa Pate, Feb 8 2009, 12:58 PM
The last couple of days have been pretty hard on my family. My mom and I are trying to get ready to go to Texas for awhile, and making sure everything is ready for us to leave has been stressful to say the least. We have been running a million miles an hour for the last couple weeks. A family tragedy of sorts happened yesterday afternoon also. I rode my horse Dakota out to gather horses. As started pushing the horses towards the other side of the pasture, I noticed my brothers old pony, "Rio," wouldn't move. I also noticed that he wouldn't put his right hind leg on the ground. I called my dad and he brought the trailer out so Rio wouldn't have to try to walk home. We both decided that the leg was broken. This morning, the vet confirmed that and we decided to put Rio down. It's been heartbreaking.
My brother Rial on Rio when they were both three years old.
Rio has been part of our family since before I was born. My aunt Tara bought Rio when he was two years old down in Arizona and brought him to my brother Rial when he was also two. Rio was Rials best friend when he was little. He did everything with that pony. When we worked at Seiben Ranch, in Canyon Creek, Montana, my dad would take Rial out to do everything on the ranch with him, including moving cows, branding and anything else involved with my dads job. He not only raised my brother, but I rode him, my cousins and many other ranch kids did as well. He's been the starting point of a few great horsemen.
Me when I was little, showing off on Rio.
There have been a few really monumental horses that my family has owned in my lifetime. Those horses were Count, Major, Painter, Whisper and Rio. Count was my dads first real successful "problem" horse. He was a terrible bronc when he was a colt, but ended up being one of the best horses we've owned. You could do anything on him, but you had to be careful because there was always that chance that he was going to buck, even in his twenties. We had to put him down last spring due to some health issues he was having. Major is a little paint mare that my dad did everything on. She has more heart than any horse twice her size. In her older age, she has developed arthritis and we couldn't continue to use her, so we gave her to a friend who's raising babies out of her. Painter, who I've mentioned before, was my old kids horse who gave me more confidents than any horse ever could. He is now being used by our friends, Kam and Eric, and their little boy Ian (you can read about Kam in this months issue of the magazine). Whisper was a mare that was born when my dad was helping on the set of the movie The Horse Whisperer. My dad trained her for me when I was little, and she was my "step up" horse from Painter. She became lame in her hind end and was usually too sore to ride, so I raised a couple colts out of her. My good horse Dakota is out of Whisper. When we put Count down last spring, we also put her down because she was having too much trouble getting around.
Rio was really the last of those great horses, and not having him here is kind of like an end to my childhood. Though, in a way, I kind of see it like a mixed blessing that this happened. I hated watching the other great horses we have owned suffer in their old age. Rio, who was going to be twenty this year, was completely sound and looked great. He had a great summer in South Dakota. He got to run around with his best buddy, a horse we own named Bob, and didn't ever have to work or be terrorized by a little kid! We are all going to miss him terribly, especially Rial, but we have so many great memories with him.
Me this past winter with the horse who got me started, Painter.
You can't take these animals for granted. Behind every great horseman, there is always that one horse who started it all. For a few, that horse was Rio Pony.
Posted by Mesa Pate, Jan 28 2009, 10:46 AM
To some people, the horse world is categorized. There are buckaroos, rodeo cowboys, cutters, reiners, English riders and Western riders, etc. But when it comes to me, and everyone else in my family, we've learned to take traits from each type of horseman and apply them to our own "category."
If this doesn't quite make sense, let me explain. I love rodeo. I absolutely love to team rope and breakaway rope, and nothing gets me more excited than running barrels on Pistol, my great horse. Although my future is probably in rodeo, I'm always going to be that ranchy girl who just came off the prairie, who probably cares WAY too much about horsemanship, and loves tooled leather and horse hair, rather than bling-bling. That's just fine with me, and I try to bring a little bit of my buckaroo/ranch cowboy heritage with me to the arena. By the way I dress, the way I ride and my tack, a bit of what I do at home is going to find it's way into the arena.
My rope horse, Dakota, can be used at home on the ranch and in the arena
At one point or another during any rodeo event, I'm going to have a snaffle bit and McCarty on one of my horses, or a bosal. In fact, I'm more comfortable breakaway roping and heeling off of my little horse Dakota in a bosal, and I usually have an extra horse with me under the Chaz Weldon saddle I ride.
I have nothing against anyone who uses their horses for just one event. If your horse is a great barrel horse, and cost you a lot of money, it's probably smart to keep that horse focused on barrels. With my family's horses, though, they have to be able to go from the arena to the ranch setting. I've gotten home from running barrels or roping and had to throw my ranch saddle on and doctor calves, and in those situations my horses, Pistol especially because he is a little more hot than Dakota, have to be able to forget about being rodeo horses and remember their job at home.
I started out roping with at least 60 feet of rope. I learned to throw a houlihan loop before I ever thought about tracking a calf out of a box. I've ridden up and down hills in some pretty big country instead of starting out in an arena. I owe a lot of my success in the arena to this. I can handle a lot of rope because that's what I learned with. I can reach a long ways so if I'm getting outran in the team roping or breakaway roping, I'm not scared to stand up and throw a lot of rope. I'm not saying it always works out for me, but hey, I try! I am happy my horses have been ridden in some rough terrain, because now bad ground in the arena doesn't affect them and I can feel confident they won't fall and hurt themselves. This all applies except when there's standing water on the ground because Pistol hates water and refuses to go through it! Other than that, bad ground doesn't bother my horses.
"Oggy" is a horse I rode in Colorado at The Home Ranch. He was a nice ranch horse, but also liked to jump
My friends occasionally tease me about being ranchy, but I'm very proud of that part of myself. It's my heritage. It's my dads influence and that's something to be proud of in itself. I don't think ranchy is the only way to describe my style of riding though. I've tried to take a lot from the reiners and cutters, the dressage people I've ridden with, the jumpers, everyone. I rode English for years and years, jumped cross country and rode dressage and I'm so happy I did. My interest in that came from my dad. A lot of his influence in his own horsemanship program was from classical dressage riders, and he occasionally got on his friends jumpers and was always really at home in a jumping saddle.
I've learned from the cutting and reining how to really get a horse stopping, the English people helped me become pretty fearless and Mari Munda Zdunic, who taught me a lot about dressage, helped teach me so much about balance. I can now feel Pistol getting collected and balanced coming into a barrel, or Dakota collecting on his hind end when he's about to stop. Plus, I think the way I ride is very similar to how many dressage enthusiasts ride. I pride myself in being very correct.
I started out competing in jumping and eventing, but changed to rodeo later on
You can learn from anyone, no matter what discipline they prefer, and apply that to whatever it is you are doing. I don't know all there is to know, I probably never will! I'm just trying to do what I think fits me, making my own style, and I try to learn everything I can from the people around me. Even if I don't agree with everything any certain person does, I'm certain I can take at least one thing and apply it to myself and bring something to my horsemanship that can benefit my horses and myself.
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