Playday Finals

Well, state playday finals are over and we are still trying to recover from too much sun, too little sleep, and lots of riding. Katy did great, there were 24 girls in her age group (7-10 pee wee girls) and she ended up fourth place overall. It was four days of ups and downs for sure, but we had a lot of fun.

The first day of competition started at 8 am with the grand entry, she rode in her Jr. Sweetheart attire and looked very cute. The first days events were straight barrels and spur, two of her better events normally. I think she was nervous starting out, and held Aprisa up a little, but she ended up 3rd in straights . . . not her best time but a safe run to start out with I suppose. They moved on to spur, which for those who aren't familiar with playday events, is a speed event setup something like this: There are two sets of cones on either side of the arena and a pole setup in the center at the other end. The object is to run through one set of cones, run down and circle the pole, then back through the cones on the other side, of course at a high rate of speed. Katy ran this in 8.63 seconds. She had the fastest time and got first in spur. This ended the day with her in second place overall, 1 point behind first. There were 268 competitors there, and running in two arenas, it takes all day. After daily awards, we were tired, sunburned and hungry, so we ate late and went to bed. I guess all didn't settle well with her, and she woke up at 3am throwing up . . . but was ok after she got it all out! Not fun in an RV . . .

The second day's events were flags and poles. She doesn't like flags, but loves poles and was looking forward to a good run. Flags consists of three barrels across the end of the arena, with buckets of dirt on each. The center bucket has a flag stuck in it, and the goal is to ride down, grab the flag, go to the next barrel and stick the flag back in the bucket, and run back down across the timer at the other end of the arena. Katy doesn't like this because Aprisa is tall and always tries to go too fast, and she has a hard time controlling her and grabbing/stabbing. I really think the problems are more in her head, but regardless, it's not her favorite event. She came down fast and grabbed the flag, but overshot the second barrel and the flag didn't stay in, so she got a no-time. This hurt her points standings, but poles were next. Everyone was looking forward to her pole run, since the week before, she had run a smokin' 20.6 at the playday. Again, she came out fast but on her winding back through, hit two poles, which add 5 seconds each to her time. She ended up with the fastest running time of 22.2, but with 10 seconds penalty added, didn't place. She said she lost a stirrup (foot came out), and this was verified later in a picture, so that probably caused her to hit the poles. I also think she was trying a little too hard because of all the hype about her other pole run . . . We were really dissapointed, two events without placing was not good for her standings, and she dropped to 6th overall.

Later that evening, they held a 4-D barrel jackpot race, to help raise money for cancer research. There were 70 entries, and long story short - Katy and Aprisa won the whole thing, with the fastest running time of 16.3 seconds. She won $136, which helped heal the hurt from a bad day!

The third day of competition was pylons and barrels. We were hoping for a good day, as these are events Katy and Aprisa both like. Pylons consist of a small alley of cones, 5 ft wide, that lead to a pole in the center at the end. The object is to run down the alley, turn around the pole, and back through the alley without knocking anything over. This is a fast, and tough event. Katy and Aprisa ran great, and ended up in second place, with a time of 5.6 seconds. Things were starting out good, and a clean barrel run would almost guarantee a first place. Just as we hoped, she ran great on barrels, and had one of the fastest overall times for the day. It was a little bigger pattern than the night before, and they ran a 17.881, beating the nearest rider by a full half second (a big spread in barrel racing!). So the third day went very well, and a first and second place put her back in second place overall. We celebrated by going to eat Mexican food with some friends, and came back to the dance that night. Katy had lots of fun dancing and playing with her friends, and we got to sleep around midnight.

The fourth and final day of events consisted of Flying W and Baseball. Not our favorites, especially baseball. We had really hoped that it wouldn't come down to that event, but call it a self-fulfilling prophecy, because it did. Flying W was the first event, and with a clean run, Katy should have placed high in it. Her and 5 other girls were just a point or two away from each other, so every point mattered now. Flying W consists of 5 poles zig/zagged sideways across the arena. The object is to come in and around the first pole, then wind back and forth, making a W.
Aprisa turns nicely, so this is a good event for her, but for whatever reason, she decided this day not to cooperate. Katy came in well and had a great first turn, but then Aprisa headed straight back across the time line and broke the pattern, resulting in a no-time, AGAIN. We were sooo dissapointed, and still don't know what went wrong. But that is the beauty of a sport that involves animals . . . you just never know. So on to baseball, the hardest hand event. Consists of two barrels, on on either end of the arena. The far barrel has a bucket of dirt on top, with a baseball sitting on it. The object is to ride down one side, grab the ball, come back down the other side, and throw it in the barrel at the near end. Did I mention, a much narrower barrel? Sounds easy enough, huh? Knock the barrel or bucket over, no-time. Drop the ball, no-time. Miss the throw barrel, no-time. Combine a high rate of speed, horses not cooperating, and a very small opening to throw into, and it is no-time city! We decided to play it safe, and "sandbag" a little. She went at a slow lope, grabbed the ball, and virtually stopped to throw it in, to make sure she got a time. She ended up in 6th, which combined with the no-time in Flying W for the day, ended her in 4th place overall. There were only 4 points between 2nd and 4th, a very close class.

First place in each division recieved a saddle, second place a buckle, third place a saddle blanket, and fourth place got trophy conchos, to put on a breast collar, pad, or whatever. They are very pretty and we already had a new breast collar made with one right in the middle. It was fun, exhausting, frustrating, exhilarating, and hot . . . but we will probably go back again next year, not to mention National finals in August! (Pictures coming soon)

The Horses

Katy has been blessed to have a succession of wonderful horses, they have all helped her in so many ways to become the rider she is now. We can begin with the 'babysitter” Buddie, who stood patiently while little 2 year old Katy learned to sit in the saddle. He was so good to be lead around behind our horses, teaching her balance. He eventually became too old and was retired to Caldwell Ranch, where he lived out his years in peace. Next was Bo, a great big thoroughbred/quarter horse cross loaned to us by our good friends, the Parkers, when she was four. He carried her many miles back and forth across the pasture, teaching her about loping and turning and stopping. He was too tall for her to dismount easily, so when she wanted off, he would stop and she would slide down the reins until she hit the ground! Bo was great and really was the one that she learned how to really ride on. After a year or so, he was returned to the Parkers, and is still munching grass in his old age. Katy has always been ready for faster, so her first competition horse was Aggie, a gentle grey quarter horse. He was only four when we got him from PawPaw, but he caught on fast and learned with Katy about barrels and poles and playdays . . . he might not have been the fastest but was always steady and helped her win her first year end high point buckle. She continued with him for two years, then decided he wasn't fast enough, so we incorporated Ol' Spook into the picture. For a while, she actually competed on both horses, as separate entries! Aggie has spent a leisurely year in the pasture, but now is down at roping school in Comanche, learning to become her breakaway roping horse, I'm sure he is not too happy about his current circumstances! On to Spook. Spook is a sorrel roping horse, our friend Dan "Bones" Whitehead owned. Long story short, PawPaw ended up with him, then on to us he came, with a hip injury that needed some work. Ol' Spook soon was ready to go, and even though he was like Eeyore in the pasture, moping about, he was all dancy and prancy and ready to go in the arena! I never though he much liked barrel racing or playday events, but he did them anyway and helped Katy earn her second belt buckle and many, many ribbons. . . the old hip injury finally got to him and he started acting up in the arena some, actually ran down the side once and knocked the timers down! Even so, he helped Katy learn to go faster and handle problems in the pen, valuable knowledge for any competitor, even the best horses have their days. We decided to retire him at the end of 2007, and he still mopes around in our pasture today, we get a real kick out of his funny personality. We all love Ol' Spook. Now to Aprisa. There are not enough words to describe how we feel about her. If there ever was a wonder horse, she is it. She is a race bred quarter horse, born and raised in New Mexico for racing. A big, beautiful bay mare . . . she is gorgeous! Again, through a long story, PawPaw ended up with her. She never did much on the track, and ended up in a pasture doing nothing for several years. Auntie Jana suggested her for Katy when we were looking for bigger and better, and I admit, I was a little leery about her. She didn't know how to do anything but rein just a little, no stop, no training to speak of. But Katy and I flew out to Kentucky and drove back with Jana and 7 year old Aprisa . . . and the rest, as they say, is history. Mark and I took about a year and worked with her, he got her going and I worked on the fine tuning. When we felt confident she was ready for Katy, we turned over the reins to those little 8 year old hands in January 2008. Together, they have learned to work as a team, and almost single handedly, Katy has trained her on barrels and poles, and other playday events. It was a hard year for Katy last year having to start over with a new horse, back at the bottom of the placings, but we kept encouraging her to push a little harder . . . her goal was to break 20 seconds on barrels that year and by the summer we had started going to jackpots and suddenly those times started falling. . . 19.8, 17.5, 16.8, 15.9. They finished last years season on a high note and have started this year at a dead run! Katy won her first saddle last month on Aprisa, running near record times in several events. Four 1st places out of 5 events. What can I say, that horse will do anything from bareback in the pasture to blazing fast times in the arena . . . she is our Scamper.

"We have almost forgotten how strange a thing it is that so huge and powerful and intelligent an animal as a horse should allow another, and far more feeble animal, to ride upon its back." Peter Gray, b. 1928

Welcome!

Because I am always bragging about Katy to everyone that will listen, I decided to condense it all into a blog diary so everyone can see the pictures and videos and keep updated on all her accomplishments. Yes, this is a mother's way to brag, but it is fun and she is rising fast in the horse world - so maybe someday you can say you watched Katy Davis grow up on her horses, and knew her in the beginning!

I am going to have to do some retro writing, to catch up on the past benchmark happenings . . . so be patient and enjoy the ride as I catch you up on the horses, the accomplishments, and what is currently happening . . .

Also, a big thanks to everyone that sends her well wishes and support, it really makes a difference and makes her feel good when the barrels fall and poles wobble, knowing we love her no matter what!

So, here we go . . .

Jill