05/23/2026
Last Saturdays barrel race at the Ranch left me speechless. Simply speechless. Paying out over $7500 with over 215 entries for a day show is just…WOW! Here we are a week later from one of the BEST days and I still haven’t been able to find the right words to share. I fear some may think I’m ignoring or even being ungrateful. The truth is, I’ve simply grown further away from social media. There’s a lot of good information out there but there’s also a lot of things that cause hurt, and a whole lot of people just being mean. Being intentional with my time and energy led me to stop mindless scrolling and do more writing/journaling. I think that the best way to thank you for being a part of such a heart filled, happy day is to share some of my notes from that day with you. I will preface this by saying I received a text early Saturday morning from a friend who has carried me through the valleys. They knew it was a big day for me and said- “About half way thru today when the chaos is going on, take a step back, look around at everything and take a moment just for yourself.
Close your eyes, take a deep breath and just smile!”
Excerpt-
That ‘moment’ happened without me even having to set an alarm, write a note or even try to remember. I had been in the crows nest for quite some time. Taking entries, answering questions and trying to keep up with the messages/texts that seemed to be piling up on my phone. I love the people that come here. I love my friends that are helping today. I love the horsepower that is here. I love that I get to catch up with so many people in my little slice of heaven. I walked out the door and the sounds made me stop in my tracks. I paused, closed my eyes and just listened. The cheering for someone taking an exhibition was so joyful and plentiful. It was like someone just set a record at the Thomas and Mack. Then I heard the quiet giggles of little girls on their ponies walking by. They were deep in a conversation but what I felt was the foundation of a lifelong friendship being built. I took a deep breath trying to absorb every little detail. I want to remember this feeling forever. I walk down the stairs and that’s when I was met with SO many warm hellos, smiles and hugs. I want to stop and chat with every single person I see. I try to make eye contact and at least smile/wave at as many friends as I can. And then I realize, there’s lots of people here that I don’t even recognize. It feels so good that people choose to be here, that they choose to spend their hard earned money to come here, and they choose to run in this pen. My heart is beating a bit faster, I’m smiling a bit bigger and I’ve got a bit of a pep in my step. And then, as if on cue, I realize the song ‘Living’ is playing on the loud speaker. This time when I hear the song I know that I am not just going thru the motions of the day, I’m actually living them ❤️.
