Frontier Days

 All this time living just a half hour from Cheyenne and I had never been to Frontier Days!  It's billed as "The Daddy of 'em All", the biggest rodeo in the west.  So today I went with my friend and her two daughters and we cruised around the fairgrounds.  We saw the rodeo horses (and some cowboys who did last their 8 seconds), many bulls, and lots and lots of lemonade stands! 

 Practicing our cowgirl roping skills (she was able to rope the pink calf, I wasn't.  Guess I better stick to english riding)

 Feeling glad we didn't have to rope this full-size bull!

 Running for kettle corn?  Little sister looks excited for something tasty!

My only picture from the day at the rodeo - at least I was dressed up!

 Some face painting that she decided to put on her arm so she could see it.  This girl was a great artist, she used 4 different colors and included highlighting and shading. 

Show Day!

 I love this one because it makes me feel like Garmin found his happily ever after.

 This is what happens when you take out all those miniscule braids!

 Stunning Garmin in his first horseshow

 Discussing our strategy prior to entering the arena

Everyone asked what his bloodlines were and commented on what a good looking pony he is.  I explained how I found him (the short version of the story) and people couldn't believe it.

Garmin's Competition Prep

 Garmin goes to his first show this weekend!  He was bathed and I shortened his mane, and then I realized that when it's clean it stands straight up in a mohawk.  So I had to braid.  He is going in the showmanship class, which is judged on how I present and handle him.  More pictures to come as we compete tomorrow!

 I had to add this last picture for perspective.  This was Garmin the day after I brought him home in January.  I would never have known it was the same horse if I was just shown these pictures.  I'm so proud of the progress he's made.

Dressage analysis with Major

 Major, Rebecca, Kathy (photographer) and I went to a clinic in Fort Collins today.  I rode dressage and did quite well considering I'm still recovering from bruised/broken ribs and a mild concussion.  I was pretty sore by the end of the ride but pleased with how my ride went.

 This picture I love because it reminds me irresistibly of the expression my dad gets on his face when he's explaining something.  In this photo I'm trying to get the clinician to tell my how my position needs to be changed to improve Major.

 This maneuver is called leg yield right

 A nice balanced trot - you can tell because the parts of his legs that are wrapped are parallel to each other.

 You can tell how my ribs hurt in this one - collapsed on my left side

 Cantering to the right

 Nice stretch, Major!