About this time every year, I get to thinking about my years as a 4-H member and all the things I learned in the process.
I think the most important thing I learned was that things don’t always go as planned and you will often need to adjust those plans on the fly.
That life lesson is one I put into practice Monday night at a barrel racing jackpot in Erie.
When my youngest brother Brett and I loaded up our three horses at 5 p.m. near Yates Center, we figured the jackpot would run from 7 to about 9 and we’d be back at the farm by 10:30 so I could leave for Pratt and catch a few hours sleep.
I should have known those plans would go awry when we pulled into a near-full parking area around 6:15 p.m.
By the time they ran exhibitions, youth, seniors and pee wees, the sun had set and it was clear that I wasn’t going to get much sleep Monday night.
My older horse Joker drew up next to last out of 60-70 horses in the open race, so we headed into the arena a little after 10 p.m.
We were almost to the middle of the pen when I noticed that my hackamore was hanging off his face in a strange way.
A second look revealed that the chicago screw holding my headstall to the hackamore had come undone on our way into the arena.
Since it would be next to impossible to quickly find my wayward screw and fix the heastall, I decided to trust my horse and run despite the headgear malfunction.
Joker came through for me, making a beautiful run that placed us third in the 3D of a very tough race. (The 3D is the horses who ran between one and two seconds off the winner’s time.)
Most importantly, he turned every barrel perfectly and stopped for me after the run, acting as if the hackamore was working properly.
I’m sure my boyfriend was worrying as he watched me shrug my shoulders and head for the first barrel at full speed.
I probably didn’t help his nerves when I reached for the whip on the homestretch, but 12 years in 4-H taught me that some of the best memories are made when things don’t go quite right and you have to adjust on the fly.
Hopefully the adjustments will work out that well for the many 4-Hers competing at the Pratt County Fair next week, but if not at least there’s a lesson to be learned.
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About this time every year, I get to thinking about my years as a 4-H member and all the things I learned in the process.
I think the most important thing I learned was that things don’t always go as planned and you will often need to adjust those plans on the fly.
That life lesson is one I put into practice Monday night at a barrel racing jackpot in Erie.
When my youngest brother Brett and I loaded up our three horses at 5 p.m. near Yates Center, we figured the jackpot would run from 7 to about 9 and we’d be back at the farm by 10:30 so I could leave for Pratt and catch a few hours sleep.
I should have known those plans would go awry when we pulled into a near-full parking area around 6:15 p.m.
By the time they ran exhibitions, youth, seniors and pee wees, the sun had set and it was clear that I wasn’t going to get much sleep Monday night.
My older horse Joker drew up next to last out of 60-70 horses in the open race, so we headed into the arena a little after 10 p.m.
We were almost to the middle of the pen when I noticed that my hackamore was hanging off his face in a strange way.
A second look revealed that the chicago screw holding my headstall to the hackamore had come undone on our way into the arena.
Since it would be next to impossible to quickly find my wayward screw and fix the heastall, I decided to trust my horse and run despite the headgear malfunction.
Joker came through for me, making a beautiful run that placed us third in the 3D of a very tough race. (The 3D is the horses who ran between one and two seconds off the winner’s time.)
Most importantly, he turned every barrel perfectly and stopped for me after the run, acting as if the hackamore was working properly.
I’m sure my boyfriend was worrying as he watched me shrug my shoulders and head for the first barrel at full speed.
I probably didn’t help his nerves when I reached for the whip on the homestretch, but 12 years in 4-H taught me that some of the best memories are made when things don’t go quite right and you have to adjust on the fly.
Hopefully the adjustments will work out that well for the many 4-Hers competing at the Pratt County Fair next week, but if not at least there’s a lesson to be learned.
