This past weekend, I spent three days at the Kentucky Horse Park Alltech Arena watching the 2017 Road To The Horse World Championship of Colt Starting. This year's event was a celebration of the cowgirl, so it was an all-cowgirl competition, guaranteed to educate, entertain and inspire; which it did! And since watching these lady competitors, my idea of a 'cowgirl' has kind of been re-defined. There is no doubt in my mind that they are all a tough lot; strong, gutsy, fearless, yet passionate horse woman.
Over the years she has developed a reputation for successfully rehabilitating sore and difficult horses, having learned that horses generally only show negative behavior as a reaction to pain or fear. So she aims to foster confidence; working to find solutions rather than punishing symptoms. 
In this year's Road To The Horse, Vicki was a historic competitor. She was the first English-style trainer, as opposed to western style cowgirls. But she was a true 'cowgirl' in every sense of the word, and broadened my definition of cowgirl. She came from New Zealand, not a western dude ranch with cattle. She wore a helmet not a cowboy hat. Her boots were tall and black, and worn outside her pants, which were skin tight breeches, not jeans, chaps and spurs. Her saddle was English not western. And her training techniques were quite different, but most effective. She drove her horse, but more by trust than by force.
We did not sit in our reserved seats, but moved over six seats (and an aisle), from a cheaper section, to sit with Jean and Bob, and Jan and Mike.
Photo of me trying to look like a cowgirl, in my boots and wearing Grandpa's old cowboy hat.
Bryan White demonstrated sheep herding with his border collies. Seen left, Scoop pens his group. Monty is seen herding sheep through obstacles in this (video).
The show started, with the story of the cowgirl, and how from a young age, love of the horse usually begins. This little girl and pony were adorable. He came to her and followed her around and did tricks for her.
Then came the parade of horses and contestants (video).
Then two of the four drill teams completed performances as they competed against each other.
Seen left, and on this (video), Colorado’s own Norwegian Fjord Quadrille team.
Next to perform (compete) was the Prime Time Express drill team. They were fast and exciting (video).
There was an hour break to set up the four round pens where the cowgirls would each work, at the same time, for 105 minutes, to train (break) their colt.
We got a snack and did more shopping. Some folks (seen right) were bellying up to the bar already.
By 4:00, the 'four ring circus' was ready to begin. Each chosen colt was in his pen, training 'tools' were set in place by each cowgirl, and then the 105 minute clock started.
Vicki had picked horse number 12, a bay colt, which she quickly named Kentucky. Seen right, a photo taken from Vicki's Facebook page.
Matt West was the show's host and the main MC. He was quite funny and kept the show entertaining and educational as he explained what was going on during the competition. Stacy Westfall (the first woman RTTH winner in 2006) was co-host and also informative.
Vicki was the only competitor not to put a saddle on her horse in this first training session (round 1). Each of the other three experienced quite a bit of bucking when they did. Seen left, Sarah Dawson's horse reacting to the saddle. She had her well trained reining horse brought into the round pen and rode him beside the colt to help build his confidence (video). This (video) is of Rachelle Valentine soon after the saddle was on her horse. Yeehaw, a universal word which means "hey watch this!"
Seen right, Kate Neubert with her horse getting used to the saddle.
Vicki did get on and ride her horse bareback. There was a little bit of bucking, but not near as big or as long. However, late into the training session, hanging on to Kentucky's neck
as he wheeled around, Vicki came off and dislocated her left shoulder in the process (a re-injury from a few years back). 
Seen right, leaving the pen just after this happened. Bravely she had it "clunked back into place" and then went back in to finish up her training session with it strapped. She even got back up on Kentucky.
Before the time clock buzzed, the riders had to have all their 'tools and toys' out of the round pen and be out of it also. Vicki, onehandedly grabbed each of her three barels and tossed them over the six foot pen panels. Yeehaw! She was amazing. Matt the MC had joked earlier about the strength of her hand shake.
Shirley went up to bed after dinner, but I hung around to have another beer and watch Kentucky play UNC in the NCAA Elite Eight playoffs.
At some point, Jan recognized Nick Dowers, last year's RTTH champ, when he came into the bar. We asked to get our photo with him. 🤠Does this make me a cowgirl now?
I did not stay up for the end of the basketball game, but later heard that Kentucky won.
Activity started in the arena with Rachelle and then Sarah each giving a 45 minute demonstration on their training techniques and also showing off their reining horses.
During the one hour intermission, I went for a walk outside, around the whole arena and part of the horse park. I discovered the herd of twelve 6666 (4-6's) colts, all kept together. This included the four being trained. They were in a holding area connected to the stadium that was off limits to people. Seen below, they were very quiet and relaxed here.
At 12:30, the show began with the opening ceremonies. Dan James rode bareback and bridleless as he guided five other horses around the arena (video).
Next, Dan rode in carrying the American Flag, followed by new army and army reserve soldiers who marched in. They were then sworn into the US military and one of the soldiers sang the national anthem (seen below).
Then each of the four cowgirl competitors rode their horse in a ten minute presentation. Vicki had to borrow a horse (didn't bring any of her own from New Zealand), so she rode Dan James' horse (Top Gun) as Pegasus. She was bareback, bridleless, and with her arm in a sling.
The competition continued with the two other drill teams riding their freestyle performance. It was speed, grace, and beauty in a showdown of all drill team showdowns!
The Diamond D Cowgirls are pictured to the left and the Young Guns 4H Drill Team is seen below and in this (video).
There was a break in the action as the four round pens were set up like the day before (except switched sides of the arena). The colts were brought in to their perspective pen and the 105 minutes of action (training) began.
I didn't take any photos of this second training session, but got a few off of Facebook. I guess I was so engrossed in what was going on. I was really watching and rooting for Vicki. She had started round two in 3rd place, nursing a dislocated shoulder from round one. This 'cowgirl' continued with grace and grit. Seen above, Vicki
was gaining Kentucky's trust. To the right, Rachelle Valentine (in pink) was the first to take her horse outside of the round pen. Kate Neubert's horse was excited to see a fellow horse friend. But Rachelle made a big error, keeping her horse outside the round pen too long, and got penalized.
Seen left; Jan, Jean, Shirley, and I. We had dinner again down in the hotel bar and grill. It was a fun lively place. The waiter forgot to punch the button for my order so I got a free house salad while everyone ate their meal. And then he got my linguini with white sauce instead of marinara. But it was okay. The highlight of the evening was the after dinner drink back at Rideout's room. They shared their bottle of Dutch chocolate and red wine. It tasted so good and was so smooth. I think later, we all slept well. 
At 10 am the parade of all competitors carrying sponsor flags occurred, followed by the stars and stripes and singing of the national anthem. This was the usual opening of the day's competition.
After the obstacle course was set up, Bryan White had Scoop herd sheep around some of the 11 obstacles (video). I later read that
"with his wife’s passion for horses, Bryan is amazed at the
similarities between training working dogs and horses. His
training methods focus on pressure and release as well as fair
corrections and allowing the dogs to work naturally to develop
confidence and understanding."
Next the four cowgirls were lead around the course, with the last two obstacles gone, to be a surprise later when they each rode the course on their newly 'broke' colt. The ladies would be kept in a room, unable to watch each other, and would have 45 minutes to compete (one at a time). They would start in the round pen to warm up their horse and get him saddled. Then they would ride out into the arena and do a list of maneuvers (including work around the wall of the arena at a walk, trot and canter, in both directions). They had to demonstrate a halt, backup, turn in each direction, mount and dismount, and lift each hoof of their horse. Then they had to ride the horse through all 11 obstacles, and if they had any time left, could do a freestyle ride.
The next competitor was Sarah Dawson. She did quite well on some skills, especially those involving reining and roping. She even got her horse close to the surprise obstacle #10, which was
this flower box that blew bubbles. (The bubbles were controlled by someone
watching the competitors from another area.) 
Sarah had time at the end, but for some reason didn't go back and complete
obstacles she had skipped and didn't do any freestyle riding.Vicki Wilson was in second place and went next. Her horse, Kentucky, went trotting over to her (seen below) when she entered the round pen. After just 3 1/2 hours of work, he had bonded with her.
Vicki had confidence in her horse and her horse knew it. She was nice and calm during the entire show, and we could hear her talking to her horse using affectionate names, 'kid, boy, sir, kiddo, or my little man.' She also talked to the audience, explaining some things she was doing. She cracked several jokes, was light and funny, and very entertaining. She used a bit-less bridle on Kentucky, trying it for the first time, and explained why.
After going through all the riding maneuvers, Vicki 'gave it a go' of the obstacles. She talked to her horse and guided him through as she performed. She also told the audience about the 'try' button she had trained Kentucky to recognize, and used it when he seemed to get stuck. She would reward the littlest effort, if he would just try. (video of #3 obstacle)
Kentucky did refuse three obstacles, bulking first at #4, the tarp. So Vicki got off and convinced him to walk onto it with her (video). Then she got back on and rode him over the tarp. The crowd went nuts. Yeehaw!
Here is another (video) of them going through obstacle #5. The next obstacle Kentucky needed more help with (even the try button didn't work) was #7, the noodles. So Vicki walked him through first and then rode him through, seen below.
When they got to the teeter totter, it was his third obstacle to be uncertain about, and he refused to go. No problem. Vicki got off once again and lead him across.
Then she hopped back on and rode him straight across like a champion!
The last obstacle, #11 was a surprise. It was the barrel, which had to be pushed by the horse in a complete circle around the pole. Vicki had Kentucky push it in both directions.
They had made it through all 11 obstacles while showing their trust in each other the whole way, and still had a little over nine minutes remaining to do some Freestyle riding.
Vicki took off the saddle and hopped on bareback and said "Now lets go have some fun."
She jumped obstacle #6 (above), and then over the barrels (seen right) that her helper had set out for her.
She even made obstacles out of things that were just decoration, like this archway.  |
| During freestyle ride, taking time to smell the flowers. |
In less than four hours of training time, Vicki had shown this colt to trust her enough to ride him around the arena, put him through a tricky obstacle course, and even jog about having some fun.
Kate Neubert, who was in first place, was the last to ride. She did a great job, but ran out of time for freestyle riding, and fell short of the points Vicki had earned. It had been a very close competition though.
Shirley and I had left early, before they did some drawings and announced the winners of the drill competition and colt starting contest. But Jan texted us the results.
This was my first year going to Road To The Horse, and God willing, won't be my last. It was so fun to watch all these cowgirls in action. Here is a (video) recap. During the ride home, Shirley and I reflected on all the people, horses, and things that we saw at RTTH. We hit quite a bit of rain, so the driving was a little slow. But we did gain an hour with the time change. Shirley dropped me off around 7 pm. I unpacked my bags, was planning to start on this post, but was just too tired. Joe and I watched taped Survivor and then I was done in.
I didn't have too far to go to get Amiga, but rode her bareback to the barn so I didn't have to walk through the muddy ditch on the way back. I worked on direction control using my legs and just one lead rope, as I had seen done at the horse show. Amiga responded well.
While gone, Joe let the fireplace guys in to finish the metal frame around the new fireplace. It is now officially, completely done. Yeehaw! Here is a before and after photo. I still need to get darker, less shiny drawer pulls for the built in's and want to find different (better) accent pieces (knick knacks) for the shelves and mantel.
Jan and I were going to meet out on the trail, but Amiga was sore on her left front leg. I rode her around the barn yard for about 20 minutes, didn't see any improvement, so decided it would be best not to ride her and texted Jan. But, there was Zorro. So I brought him in, gave him a good cleaning, and saddled him up. I rode him for a little over 40 minutes and he did well. He lacks confidence and understanding but is curious and willing (video).
Joe and I had a drink on the back deck and talked about our day (he had been golfing). We made some plans for the future month and then Joe cooked dinner. After I got the kitchen cleaned up, we watched two hours of Designated Survivor on TV. So much for getting any blogging done. I fell asleep during my Duolingo Spanish practice. I had troubles learning Spanish as a 16 year old, so what makes me think I can learn it now as a 61 year old?
By the time I zoomed in, they were making their way to the bank (seen left). They watch for me to come down with the corn each morning.
I focused on and got a good start on this blog post. But by 11:00 the beauty of the day, mid 60's temperature, and warm sun were too much to ignore. My inner cowgirl was calling, so I shut this down, grabbed lunch, and headed to the barn.
Jan and Terry were in the process of saddling up so I rode Amiga around the barn yard, took her over the little jump Jan had (at a walk and just stepping over it).
Then I let Amiga graze while getting some photos of Jan working Cash and getting him to jump over her jump.
After a little while, we went for a short ride in the Glade. It was another perfect day; warm sun, cool breeze, birds singing, and the feel of spring in the air. My inner yeehaw wanted to yell out thanks to God.
Eventually Jan turned for Terry's and I for Wildwood Stables. Seen left, coming out of the woods on the new trail and looking out to the barn (straight ahead in the distance). Amiga and I had been out for 2 1/2 hours, but I did not ride her the whole time, and we did very little speed work. She didn't seem too tired at the end, but her slow gait was rough, so I suspected soreness was an issue. She probably needs Vicki's chiropractic expertise.
Rain was in the forecast when I got up Thursday, so I hunkered down here and got a bunch done on this blog. I had several videos to upload on to Facebook, and there were tons of RTTH photos to sort through and choose from. I was also looking up information and photos about the RTTH event and some of this year's cowgirls and other key people.
At 2:00, we went to the Cumberland County Play House to watch the production of Greener Pastures. It was a comedy that I thought was going to be about farming (there was a horse on the advertisement picture ↓) but it was about a retirement community. There were a few funny parts, but it was a bit of a disappointment.
While in town, we ran to three stores to get garden supplies, a few plants, a deck lounge chair for Joe, and then groceries. Joe grilled some very stinky fish for dinner, that made me lose my appetite. After I got the house aired out and his 'mess' cleaned up we watched both our survivor TV shows. I was able to stomach a beer and popcorn at this point.
There were storms and high winds overnight, but all was calm Friday morning. The sun was out early, but it soon turned gray. Stevie sits here on my desk and watches critters come and go at the feeders. About the time she spotted this chipmunk, they both crouched down. Notice the distant dark clouds.
I worked on this blog post all day, taking breaks to do several weekly household chores, going on dog walks, and taking a nap. I went to bed feeling antsy, as I had accomplished so little, got no exercise, and kept my inner yeehaw contained all day.
