Adorable Barrel Racer - Picture of the Week

Look at her get her horn and turn that barrel! Too cute!

Rodeo Quick Tip

"Don't look back."

I find that this often happens in barrels and poles.  The girls hits a barrel or pole or thinks that she has hit one and looks back to see if it is still up.  While she is looking back, she is either missing riding to the pocket of her next barrel or she is hitting the next pole.  Always, tell your kids to keep their heads up and focus on where they are going.  If they did knock over the barrel or pole, there is nothing they can do about it anyway. 

Missing the Bottom Back Leg of the Goat

Two reasons are common for missing the bottom back leg of the goat when gathering them.

1st Reason: Not bending and reaching out enough at the beginning of the gather.  This usually happens when we are focused on staying back in our hips in efforts of not putting too much pressure on the back legs of the goat.  So we get caught sitting too straight when reaching for the back legs, therefore only catching the top back leg instead of both.  Make sure you round your back and hunch over some to help keep weight back while stretching/reaching out for the back legs. 

2nd Reason: Not rotating LEFT wrist over so our left thumb can hook over bottom back leg of the goat at the end of the gather.  It's like you have both back legs and then the bottom back on drops when your right hand reaches for your string.   Small handed or short fingered goat tyers, really have to rotate their left wrist to get it on top of the legs when gathering so their left thumb can hook over all of the goat's legs. By getting your left wrist on top of the legs after gathering, it'll help hold all the legs tighter together while you tie.