WOW...

What a jam packed day... Sat. after the Reining/Maneuvers class we did the Cow work... This was our first time in the Coliseum where the Freestyle would be. Lindsay was definitely a bit out of her comfort zone in there. It is a HUGE building with seating that goes way up to the ceiling and a big round top to it. She was nervous walking in, but still did exactly as I asked... When I called for our cow he came flying out of the gate. She certainly wasn't afraid of him, but wasn't really sure what to do with him either. We were supposed to keep him "boxed" down at the end of the pen..well he shot past us...just caught us off guard he came out so quick, but we caught up with him and turned him back down the fence...once we did that the first time Lindsay started to get a feel for what was going on...We ran him up and down the fence a few more times and turned him back. Then pushed him up the other side of the fence through the cones and into the holding pen. That part actually went quite well. I did see our score card on that class and we scored really well on the cones and holding pen part..pretty good on the turn backs too. Unfortunately all that flying around chasing cows got Lindsay quite excited...plus that Stadium seating had her really uneasy. I really got to thinking that if we make the freestyle I'm going to need to really get her mind back quiet...she got rather worked up running all over the place.

Well at that point it was around 2pm and they weren't going to post the freestyle finalists till 4pm...I was able to ride her in the coliseum again and she was pretty tense, but she really settled good after 45 minutes or so. We took off to grab a bit to eat and as soon as we came back I hear that all trainers are called into the arena... Well, I wasn't expecting any formal announcement..I figured they'd just post results....but I guess with this being a "Show"... not just a horse show it's quite different. they called out the top 20 randomly and #48 was on the list! Everyone had their hats on and looked like they should have been in the line up...I had no hat on .. just stuffed a cheeseburger down my throat and was tucking my shirt in as I was walking across the pen to the line up... oooops...just glad to have made it in though.

I was thrilled to be in there, but really saddened for the folks that weren't. Every single one of these trainers and Mustangs have accomplished so very much and put so much heart and soul into this. ..and believe me there were some super nice, super well trained talented Mustangs that did not make it. This competition is the first of it's caliber...the best of the best showed up for this deal. Just about every Trainer in the Finals has competed and won or placed really high at multiple Mustang Makeovers in the past..These folks not only know horses, they know how this deal works...and believe me it's a type of competition all to its own. I've never been a part of anything like it! Just amazing and a huge learning experience. To have made the finals was such an honor in itself for us.

We drew numbers and I drew up fifth, we then had a meeting to discuss music and props and then at a little after 5 they turned us loose to get ready for the Freestyle at 6 pm!.. Talk about over load! I just did my best to stay calm and not rush. Lindsay and I were going to do a Native American theme, so I went in her stall and tied her feathers in her mane and tail, painted her Indian Symbols on and attempted to get ready...I do best in high stress competitions just to focus on my horse and the task at hand..small talk is extremely distracting for me...that's a bit tough when you've got spectators swarming the barns, but I somewhat stayed hidden as we got ready...had one guy with a foot long camera want to come in the stall with us to take photos!...he was not with the folks filming for the TV series either...I nicely offered to him to take photos from the outside of the stall..goodness, not used to this kind of stuff.

Mike was SOOOO incredible he got all our props and set them up for us to practice over. We had 3 jumps set up as bounce outs and a pedestal. We schooled over them a bit and she was perfect so we headed to the Coliseum.

It was so loud as we approached. This is a huge production, they turn a bunch of Mustangs loose in the arena as part of the show...they drove the 6 Judges in on Ford Mustangs...they had a "Extreme Mutt Makeover" going on at the same time and the dogs did demos too...I was supposed to go in to do a dance on our horses where we side passed and backed and turned to the music then picked folks from the crowd to join in...I missed that, hope it wasn't to big a deal..I just didn't realize it was starting already, it all happened so fast. When I got up there they were on horse #2 and I was #5. I rode around in the little warm up area and Lindsay really stayed very relaxed. The trainer before us was shooting a pistol and she was great with that. You could sure here it. As he finished up they sent us in..and sent us in quickly.. these spectators paid $30 a pop and their $ is much of the reason this is happening...the MHF was serious about putting on a serious show. That was way different for me...I am used to "Horse" shows being all about the horse and what is ideal for them...the NBHA barrels races go to great lengths to keep the ground perfect and conditions ideal for the horse..this was more like a huge Rodeo..it was designed for the audience. Of course it all comes back to the betterment of the Mustangs, but somebodies got to foot the bill..that somebody is sitting high in the stands screaming and snapping pictures and wanting a SHOW...

So they quickly open the gate and Mike drives the truck in the arena to set up our props..a section of the crowd starts "booing" because apparently it was taking a little longer than they wanted and some management folks ran out to help saying the crowd was getting impatient. Mike is out there doing his best to measure these jumps so they are the correct distance apart (a VERY important thing!) and having to hear that...he held his own though and got it done (Much thanks to Mr. Thomas and his son Chapin for their help!) Mike has been unbelievable this whole time, there is No way it would have happened without him...

Then out comes the truck and they start our music as I enter the gate.

We walked in and there are people in the audience all the way to the ceiling..the roof was dome shaped and the arena was decent size, but not huge...the stands took up most of the space. I could feel Lindsay's tension, but even with the crowd she followed my lead. We half passed at the walk back and forth until we reached our pedestal. We stopped and I stepped her up on it. She willingly stepped up, but once she was on the crowd screamed and she scooted to the side stepping off...I asked her to step on again and she did..I then asked for a 180 pivot on the forehand with her front feet on the pedestal and she was perfect. By all means nervous, but relieved that I was giving her something to focus on. We backed off, did a 180 pivot on the haunches and stepped into a trot to the center of the ring. We then halted as the music gradually picked up into a native American drumming beat..as the drums started, we started our spins...two each way, which she did very well (actually better than in the previous maneuvers class that morning @ 8am) After the spins we stepped into a right lead canter where we cantered a 20 meter circle. She was so very good about letting me help her along. She was so nervous, but did not become tense, she really would relax the more she realized what I was asking her to do. It really seemed to give her comfort to have something to focus on in the midst of such a frightening place..We circled to the right once more, then did a clean flying change to the left..proceeding to circle twice in that direction. As we came out of our second left circle we cantered up the long side gaining a little speed, then sat down to stop. She gave me a nice stop, we then backed which she was pleased to do and at that point we were done with the "required" movements...we went on to our next step which was jumping through 3 cross rails set up for her to land once between each one. She was perfect with that and stopped on the other side promptly when I asked. (At this point my plan had been to drop the bridle and jump back through with the neck rope, we've done it at home a bunch, but I felt she needed my help to much, she was so worried over the crowd..they really screamed as we jumped and I could so feel her anxiety) So I jumped back through with the bridle. On the other side I picked up the neck rope at turned her a bit to be sure I had her attention. Even though she was anxious over the crowd, so was as in tune to me as ever. So in the midst of the cameras flashing and crowd roaring off went the bridle. I walked her forward and stepped into a spin..starting slow and speeding up gradually. She really did well with it, but the crowd Loved it..the more we spun the more they screamed .. when I brought her down she was definitely still anxious, but still desperately looking to me for guidance. My plan had been to walk her back to the pedestal and step her up on it without the bridle (again she knows how to do this well) ..as I asked her to walk straight forward and it was as if she just got lost. The crowd was still loud as she seemed to desperately want me to ask her to do something, spin...back...something, but simply walking forward just was not "direct" enough to comfort her, she was just stuck and it really showed, it was obvious she was very tense at that point...obvious to the judges I mean..she kind of danced around as she tried to understand what I wanted..just grabbing at straws for me to give her a clear request and the more I simply asked for forward the more she danced.. before I knew it time was up...so we started off great, even through her anxiety she performed so well, but when we reached a moment where she felt like she had lost my direction her anxiety just become painted all over us. I stepped of and even though we were not being judged I still asked her to bow...which she did very quickly..almost with a sigh of relief as if to say.."Thank goodness this is familiar, finally" The judges hold their scores up on cards for everyone to see. .. Her maneuvers scores were incredible, mostly 10's a 9.5 I think and an 8...I knew it wouldn't stay that high though...it couldn't with our ending...and it didn't, the overall presentation and horsemanship scores were way low..6 and 7's...hind sight I wish I had hopped off after the spins and bowed and been done, she would have understood every bit of that and her anxiety would have been more hidden...but that simple forward walk was , just that..simple..it did not give her enough clear direction.. and she just got lost. of course I'd really have rather had her more prepared for the crowd, but honestly I do not think anything could have prepared us more than simply doing it...I certainly know now. .. and I'll have the next one prepared better :)

So after our scores we exited the arena and prepared to wait until the end for the awards presentation. I started to put her in a stall for a moment, but she was to anxious (Stalls do not typically bother her, she been amazingly quiet everywhere we go, but the tension in the air was to much) I went back in and she just stood with her head at my chest and relaxed again. She started to come back to how she had been all weekend and went to sleep as we waited. We had been interviewed many times during this process and she had the camera man an inch from her ears more times than I can count..they interviewed us again and of course I had nothing but good things to say...how could I not, I have never had a horse that put the degree of trust in me that she does...the only reason her anxiety even showed was because she felt like she had lost my direction. As soon as she had it again she was fine....I just wish I had realized that in two seconds rather then 15 seconds, but at least I realized it. To have such an amazing individual put that degree of faith in you is a very humbling experience. It makes you put even more pressure on yourself to do right by her, I felt like I let her down a bit by dropping her scores from a mistake I could have prevented, but I realize that there are certain things we can not always prepare for. Sometimes we simply have to experience them to know...

We had to wait for what felt like eternity for the other horses to go and the dogs to do their freestyles as well..(There were Extreme Mutt Makeover champions crowned that night too...all from a Euthanasia Fort Worth shelter and adopted out at the competition...what a wonderful program!!!)..we finally all entered the ring and accepted our awards. We received custom trophy halters for making the freestyle which was really nice. I knew she'd be super nervous with the clapping and noise, and she was..especially because she was having to stand...I just backed her when she got to restless and after a while she really started to relax. She ended up 17th over all...her presentation scores were some of the lowest, but her maneuver scores were well on the top. Again, made me a bit sad I did not give her a better shot...if I had realized she was leaning on my help so much I would have continued to ask her to do deliberate things during the end of the performance when she was the most tense from the now roaring crown, spin, back, side pass..she needed something like that, but I didn't know until it was to late. That doesn't change one bit how amazing she is..and her maneuver scores prove she was right up there with the best of the best. I could not be prouder of that. This competition was only ~80 horses, but just about every trainer that had made the finals in previous makeovers was here...some didn't make the Supreme Finals (even though they were incredible trainers with very talented Mustangs)...most of the folks in the Freestyle were previous winners...it was amazing to be in a line-up with the Top Mustang trainers in the Country! What an honor...and to score right there in the top with the maneuvers was icing on the cake. I feel like I know so much more about what to expect for next time. I would approach the training the same way...some trainers push their horses faster and many of these Mustangs can take it, but I would use the same approach as I did before. Lindsay proved to me she had the know how to get the job done .. it was simply the noise of the crowd that stood in our way. I will be sure to give our next Mustang a proper chance to adjust to that better before the competition. After standing 30 minutes under the crowd for the awards I think Lindsay was ready for the Freestyle we had practiced!

Speaking of next year...there will be another Supreme Makeover! It really was a huge success. More horses will be available and more $ will likely be on the table (of course I am no MHF employee, so do not know details or definite plans, but that is what I was told)

My plan for next year is to incorporate a partner in this next adventure. I want to continue this each year, but I can not keep every horse. My plan is to partner with an individual that wants a Mustang that will be trained similar to Lindsay, but training tweaked to the needs of that horse of course. This individual would basically pay the costs involved, but would not be charged actual training. The Mustang would be theirs after the competition and I would definitely work out a transition time to help horse and new partner to develop a relationship before the Mustang went to his/her forever home. If you have interest in this please contact me.

I am planning to do a demo very soon, maybe this coming Saturday .. I am working on details now. I want to have a public opportunity to thank EVERYONE! The support has been so amazing...Thanks to Triple Crown Lindsay has been drinking wonderful on the road. I have soaked a small amount of Senior with her water at each stop and she sucks it down each time..even when she turns her nose up to regular water. She has not been tucked up or looked dehydrated once this entire trip...which considering we traveled 2200 miles in 100 plus degree heat...riding 3 or 4 times every day..hard..it's just unbelievable how good she looks. She was by far one of the best looking Mustangs..that was a factor in her scoring and it showed. I can not count the compliments she received from other Trainers and individuals on how fabulous her condition was.....And her Soft-Ride boots could not have been a better asset. Her stall was literally concrete. Those boots were her only relief..I kept them on her religiously.

As for Lindsay's future..I have many plans. We are going to become very active in the NCTHA (Competitive Trail) Proceeds from NCTHA will benefit Mustang adoptions, it is a wonderful group. We also plan to do some Extreme Cowboy Races and some Reined Cow Horse events. The inaugural "Project Cowboy" is this year in Oct... I will be a bit tied up then :) ...but I have all ideas they will have another next year and if so Lindsay will be my partner in that for sure!

I can not thank everyone enough for the support...everyone of you have made a difference for us, your prayers have been felt. My Daddy and step-Mom Judy came to Texas as well as friend Kim and Billy...we were so appreciative of their support. Jim Thomas and his son Chapin helped set props for us. The Mortons of Golden Gaits Farm have let us lay over for both legs of the trip. My Mom has stayed at the farm and Deanna and the rest of the Brown family have feed critters while we were away. We simply could not do it without each of you...and so many friends, family and even acquaintances have supported us..emotionally and some monetarily..it is simply over whelming the support the horse community has offered. We are so appreciative and humbled by everyone. There are many amazing souls out there with warm hearts...that goes for people and horses...

I will let you know as soon as a Demo date/time is confirmed. ....and will get photos and videos up as soon as I can. :)