Monterey Bay Equestrians

Already August and the days are long for riding and
barn chores. I am ready for a respite from the big push to
get ready for the Rodeo.

For those of you who did not know or were not in
attendance, I did compete in the Salinas Rodeo. There were
many MBE’ers in attendance thanks to Margaret Pare. Thank
you for being there. It was nice to pass the grandstand and
see you all there hooting and hollering. Santa Cruz Horsemen
had a contingent as well so the cheering section was
substantial.

So it was close, but no cigar. My team, Christi Locatelli,
Michelle McKinney and yours truly had moments of
brilliance. Patti Garcia said she did the video thing so it is all
on record. Me, I did not think I had stage fright, but once in the arena with the noise I felt like I was riding under water. The best news is Dubyah, my horse, was stellar. I will try to describe the backside of the Rodeo.

You are warming up and the hands send the bucking bulls,( the big ones), right at you. The Charros are practicing their moves; Twenty Andalusian stallions over 16 hands dancing and prancing. The Cowgirl/Cowboy race is warming up galloping mach two. The Flag/Drill teams are everywhere. The Rodeo sets up a 12 X 60 foot canvas in case we let out cows. You ride through the canvas to get to the arena. Just duck and push through. Now add the grandstand crowd, the music, the announcer; the rough stock bucking in the arena adjacent. Note horse folks most of the horses were spinning out. With all of the above, Dubyah never took a bad step. I may not have been good, but my horse was and that is great in my book.

So I am still splitting my time between the trails and the cattle but only for a week or so. I’ll be going to Silver Lake this year; a week of trail riding in beautiful country. Just ride and eat as it is catered. Maybe time to read more than five pages of a book before falling asleep?

Thanks Again All,

I’ll see you on the trail…

Maribeth