The Bad Run — Relived

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. That’s what “they” say at least, and I think if you asked most of my horses, they’d agree with that sentiment. 

In the horse world, and especially in the performance horse world, I’ve found myself thinking this way at least a hundred times. Lately, it’s been the classic “I-miss-my-old-horse” after I retired Onyx and have been seasoning Casady and Naughty. They’re great, don’t get me wrong, but as someone who just retired the youth horse that made all of my little-girl dreams come true, occasionally something is missing heading down the alleyway at a barrel race. 

But, thankfully, I’ve written The Barrel Racing Blog, my own little hobby blog, for the better part of the last two years. There, I chronicled just about every run I’ve made, and it’s on The Barrel Racing Blog that I found “The Bad Run.” It reminded me that, even with Onyx, things were bad. I made mistakes. She made mistakes. She even cheated on occasion and dove on barrels from time to time. Because she’s been retired for a year, I sometimes forget the lows I had with her, the times I went back to the horse trailer in tears as she danced at my side after blowing by the first barrel by two strides and the times I called my trainer from college in Ohio sobbing because she just wasn’t clocking like she used to. 

And then there’s YouTube, chalk full of recent videos of Casady and Naughty running their hearts out not all that long ago. Those videos remind me that my horses know how to run, and at times, I know how to ride them. 

So, this week it’s back to the grind, because the grass will never get as green as it is on the other side of the fence if I don’t water it and pull out the weeds. After a day off, I’m going to take the advice of Talmadge Green and get some better body control with Casady going to the first barrel. I’d say we need it. 

Has there ever been a time when you’ve been stuck thinking about the past instead of focusing on the horses at hand?

Share
Related Articles
Soula-Jule-Forever
Dam Spotlight: Soula Jule Forever
Brandi-World-Show53
Dam Spotlight: Snap Krackle Pop
Devin Conley Riding
When Opportunity Knocks
SebastianPetroll-NRHA
Time to Reflect
Newsletter
Receive news and promotions for Horse & Rider and other Equine Network offers.

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
Country*

Additional Offers

Additional Offers
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.