Saturday, June 20, 2009

First Cutters

Portia and TJ at 4-5 months old.

We bought Miss Sudden San (barn name...Portia) one month before she foaled seven years ago. TJ was our first baby foal or to be more exact our first stud colt. He was a rambunctious, full of piss & vinegar little trouble maker. He was always into everything, playing & teasing his mother mercilessly. What he lacked in conformation though, he made up for it in courage, heart & athletic ability.
After we weaned TJ, I legged Portia up and had a couple of lessons and jumped right into my first show. Ok, so I'm not a natural but I had a lot of fun. I ended the show year as Reserve Champion having lost first place at the very end. I was new to riding cutting horses but it just seemed like Portia was having trouble. She was 18 when we bought her and she had been showed a lot in her earlier years. I gave her a couple of months off at the end of the season and when the new season started I was ready. Unfortunately, age had caught up with Portia and unknown to us, she had an old hock injury that would now prevent her from cutting without being in pain. So out in pasture she went and we bred her. I was now without a cutting horse to ride. Dang it...
When TJ was two years old, we put him into training. He was quick to learn and so willing to please. He still didn't have good conformation...in fact I still call him "giraffe neck" but like I said he was and still is very athletic. Ever seen a horse reach back onto his butt and bite at a fly? Not his flank mind you but to the top of his butt back by his tail on the very top? I have seen TJ do it & in fact it was last weekend. Now that's flexibility!

He was taken to his first show at the Washington Futurity wchacutting.com and came in second. It was awesome. We sent him to Ogden for his second show and this time he bombed. He was in total overload with grandstands going all the way around the arena, people & dogs walking over his head, lots & lots of horses and cows. The picture above is from a show the following year at the Running Y & one of the funniest I think. He looks like he is going to join the cow by going over the wall too.

When TJ was five, I started riding & showing him. It was really a struggle since he was young and very sensitive and I was not as far along as I probably should have been but he was so smooth and cowy it was great. Someday I hope that I will again be able to ride him on a cow. It's a feeling no one understands unless they try their hand at it. If you do....you'll be hooked!

I loaned TJ to a friend who rode him for a few months but now has been out in pasture for the past four months. I am planning on riding him tomorrow so wish me luck. He's fat and sassy so it's going to be interesting I'm sure.

2 comments:

Jaimey said...

I love your fat sassy horse! Good luck, hope you do great! :)

Pam Hickman said...

I loved this blog and learned a lot about what you do.