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| Ashley "weighing down" the sled |
It’s so easy to get distracted by life and forget what your
goals are sometimes. The last few days
have been a little like that for me. But
it seems like this goal that I’ve set for myself is one that I am meant to
achieve. Every time I start to get distracted,
something or someone brings me right back down to earth and reminds me about
what I have set out to accomplish. We
are in the process of moving in our new roommate. It is always a little awkward having someone
new in the house and takes some adjustment time. And it really doesn’t help that we’ve all
been a little cooped up together for the last few days. There are too many dogs and too many people
in the house and it’s just too darned cold outside to be out there for too
long!
After one day of sitting in the house, we started getting bored. My roommate, Ashley, and I have a tendency to get a little weird when we start catching that cabin fever. I asked her if she could come out and take some photos of me dragging the sled around so that I could share them here on my blog. Well, one thing led to another and the next thing you know, she’s riding the sled while I pulled it around the field at a lope! I’m sure my neighbors and anyone driving by really got a kick out of it and I’m sure my new roommate is now positive that we are insane. My point here is not to tell you that we are crazy, but simply that doing work doesn’t always have to feel like a chore. It may have looked like we were screwing off, but at the end of the day, we got a lot accomplished. She was able to get some good pictures and video of me riding my horse, and with her on the sled, my horse got to experience what it was like to pull a little extra (noisy, giggly) weight around. When I was done riding, we both grabbed ropes and roped the dummy for a while. I don’t consider myself a coach, but I was able to help her with a few problems that she was having when it came to her swing and delivery. We laughed a lot and I truly enjoyed my daily training session.
I also ran into my neighbor while loping my horse that
day. After a brief conversation, I was
invited over to come rope their Heel-o-Matic with them as well as turn some
steers for them once they got cattle (finally!!!). We talked for a while and I offered to go in
on cattle with them when the weather turned warmer, if they were
interested. Not only did I find a new
place to rope (that I could ride my horse to), but they were also possibly
interested in one of my pups. It was far
from a wasted day!
Sunday was very cold and frozen. I went out and loped my
horse and did just a few logging drills on him before calling it a day. By
Monday, I had pipes frozen everywhere and my other obligations took me away
from training for the day. I really lost
momentum. As I have previously stated,
when I lose momentum, I start to doubt myself.
As I was sitting here thinking about if I was still doing the right
thing, I got a call from a guy who offered to fix my four wheeler for me. He told me a story of how growing up he
always had support from amazing people and how it was always his goal to pay it
forward. He had told me that he has
family who rope and train rope horses and he knows how valuable of a tool the
sled can be when training a new horse.
Yesterday afternoon, he drove two hours to come and pick up my four
wheeler and get it running for me. The
kindness of others never ceases to amaze me.
Here is a man who doesn’t know me from Adam, and he is willing to put
time and money into something simply for the pure joy of helping another human
being. I can’t thank God enough for the
unselfish hearts that he has blessed some people with.
Sunday night I received a message on Facebook from a girl
who has been following this blog. She
started her message by asking me to “please keep writing”. She then told me that her story and mine are
very much alike. She was injured several
years ago and was left unable to rope.
After years of rehabilitation, she is now ready to pick up that rope
again. But, like me, she doesn’t have the
luxury of going out and buying a high dollar horse that will take her to the
pay window. She has a five year old mare
that came off of her uncle’s cattle ranch that she will be finishing out
herself. She told me that my story has
been inspiring her and motivating her to achieve her goal of roping again and
that she believes that lack of money or a well-trained horse is no longer an
excuse anymore. If you want it, you can
achieve it! Kelsey, if you are reading
this, I truly hope to see you at a roping very soon! It is not just my goals, my perseverance, and
my faith that keeps me motivated, but also stories like hers that instill that
fire in my soul.
As I have said many times, I often feel silly writing this
blog. I am trying be as humble as possible
and not come across as cocky or a know-it-all.
I am the kind of person who truly believes that you can never stop
learning. I have been to different
roping schools, worked with different trainers, and listened to a lot of
cattlemen and horsemen. I try to take a
little piece of knowledge from everyone.
The way that I do things may not be the right way, but I am always
willing to listen to and learn new ideas.
In this blog, I am simply sharing ideas about the things that I do and
have done to help me be successful. It
is never a matter of doing things the right way or the wrong way. My stories are not meant to teach anyone how
to do anything…simply just to inspire them that if you have a goal and you set
your mind to it, if you BELIEVE in yourself, your dreams can be your reality!
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| Taking the 4-wheeler to get it running again! |
My dad, while often hard on himself, was my biggest
supporter. There wasn’t a thing on this
earth that he thought I couldn’t achieve.
He literally taught me how to believe in myself, simply by believing in
me. When he passed away, I lost a lot of
confidence. I turned to alcohol and
wasted a lot of time in bars chasing boys and trying to forget who I was. In my
mind, I didn’t have him around to be proud of me anymore. I didn’t have him to support me. I completely lost my sense of pride and my
self-confidence went right down the toilet.
I truly hit rock bottom. It was
his guidance and voice that urged me to pick up a rope again and remember who I
was. I had been saving money for a long
time, so I went out and bought a little mare.
She was nothing to look at and, quite frankly, she kind of had a bad
attitude. However, when I backed her in
the box, she never failed to give me 110%.
It was that little boost of confidence that started me back down the
right path. It’s really easy to let
negativity destroy you. That’s what the
Devil does. He finds you when you are
weak in your faith and he preys on you. He
makes you feel inadequate and worthless and drowns you in your own
negativity. But no matter the mistakes
you’ve made, you have to remember that the Lord so gave His only son for one
reason and one reason only…to cleanse you of your sins. I know I am far from perfect. To this day, I still like to drink one too
many beers, and I have a mouth that could make a trucker blush. But I don’t let those things affect me
negatively anymore. I ask for
forgiveness at the end of every day and know that my heart and faith are the
things that really matter. And every day
that I do this, I am reminded that “I can’t” is NOT an option. That is the Devil talking, because the good
Lord knows that I CAN!
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| "Lucky Peaches" and I turning one at a jackpot |
Today I leave you with this thought, “Be FEARLESS, have
FAITH, and ROPE YOUR DREAMS!”
I encourage you all to please keep reading as every day
brings forth a new adventure! I will
continue to share my stories both new and old and continue to document my
progress as I shoot for my goal of attending and WINNING the Reno Rodeo
All-Girl! If you are interested in
reading more about this roping, you can find information at http://www.onedayonemillion.com. You can also follow me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ropergirlsjourney.
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