So for almost the whole month of April I have been enjoying time at home riding the horses that are entered at Ft Smith. When I leave again, they'll go with me and hopefully get to go to several barrel races to get ready to run next month. I love, love, love riding baby horses, I love trying to figure out the combination to each one. The biggest thing I try to do is ride each one according to how they want their style to be. And once I figure that out, I stay consistent in our routine. I think that most horses, especially baby horses need to know what to expect from you, especially when you haul them off and everything around them is different and sometimes crazy, I feel like the one thing they need to be able to count on is me.

I believe they find comfort in that and comfort often leads to confidence which leads to winning. Also, a mistake I think a ton of people make is forgetting that EVERYBODY has an off day, it's not the end of the world. I think the biggest mistake we can make is to have a run go south and them decide to start changing things. The very first thing I do after every run is examine my riding(videoing is a must) and almost every single time, I'll find my answer there and won't have to go any farther.

I am not a horse blamer, I am a me blamer. I'm tough on myself but not in a downgrading or negative way. I find what I did wrong or what I could do better and work on fixing it, it's really that simple. Find it, fix it and forget it. Remove the words "I can't" from your vocabulary. I think it's super important not to dwell on your weaknesses, know what they are and continue to work to make them better. Always, always find the positives and the things you did/do well, pat yourself and your horse on the back. Celebrate small victories, the small ones will turn into the large ones. And ALWAYS make sure you let your horse know when they do what you're asking. Think about yourself, if you try your very best for someone and they never tell you good job or reward you, it's very discouraging and chances are, you will soon want to quit trying at all. So, tell you horse how great they are every chance you get and no such thing as loving them too much!