Personal Narrative: Finding The Perfect Competition Horse

Seven nights ago I arrived at Red Dillon’s homestead. Before sleeping that night I dined on a bowl of red chili and a cup of coffee while Red Dillon went over the agreement, he made with the agent from the reservation. After Red finished reviewing the agreement he urged me to have some more food to prepare for tomorrow's bronc riding lesson. That next day I only managed to ride two horses and before being thrown five times, but I learned how to ride with skill. Each horse has a pattern and I can gauge their pattern to find my timing and rhythm to control the broncs. By the end of the week I managed to ride two horses in succession to a complete standstill and I felt accomplished, although Red immediately set up the corral after

Have you ever wanted something so badly, just to be left in pure disappointment? So have I. That something was the all-around buckle in the senior horse division at the 2015 Finney County Fair. Everything was going as planned until the third to last event. All of a sudden..I guess you will just have to keep reading to find out the rest.

I remember as a little kid and now being fascinated by race horses. When I was around eight years old, my grandfather took me to a farm where they raise race horses. They were out exercising Mine That Bird and a few other horses. I thought it was so fascinating! The owner walked up to and asked if I enjoy watching them, I said very shyly,” yes sir.” He took me to the barn and let me look at all the foals and I was astonished. I got to thinking what all do they have to do to get these young foals ready to one day race? I asked Mr. Allen, and he said, “there are many things that you can do but some people don’t do the right thing and they cheat their way to victory”.

Going into it I was honestly a little nervous because I have never ridden anything before this. I thought that it was going to be harder than it actually turned out to be because my mom told me about her personal experience because she fell off multiple times. Even with all of this information I was still really excited to try something new from what I was used to doing.

The Quarter Horse and the Thoroughbred have been in existence since the seventeenth century and are perhaps the most well-known horse breeds of the twentieth century. These spectacular horses are used to compete in sporting events and have tremendous abilities. They are prey animals that routinely weigh over one thousand pounds, have similar colors, and are made for riding. Both are routinely more than fifteen hands in height and are measured from the ground at their front legs with one hand equaling four inches. Reaching speeds in excess of forty miles per hour, they can easily jump heights of five feet. Each has won North American and world championships, earning themselves fame and their owner’s fortune for their accomplishments. Although these animals can be similar in size and appearance, there are differences in their abilities and personalities.

Welcome to my senior project portfolio. I was to learn about natural horsemanship skills and horse care by Mary Tyler, a volunteer coordinator at Sunrise Horse Rescue, who has dedicated about 11 years of her life to working with horses. It was easy asking Mary to be my mentor because I had volunteered at this rescue twice throughout high school. She would be mentoring me through the “Horsemanship and horse care world” accompanied by the horses that were sanctioned at Sunrise. Mary, having had plenty of horse work experience, took me under her wing and promised to show me as much basic knowledge that I needed to make this project successful.

I started riding at the age of eight, when my dad took me to the barn in our neighborhood. I had initially just went to pet the horses, but I ended getting to ride; and that is where it all started. Soon after I started taking lessons at a local barn. Four years later I purchased my first pony, Trigger, from my trainer. I worked so hard for the money to buy Trigger, and I was so proud of him. Sadly I was only able to keep Trigger for about a year before I had to sell him back to my trainer. I still continued with lessons and rode when I could, but I didn’t get to purchase my next horse until I was twenty. I purchased Talia in January 2015 and trained her myself. I plan on making her into my competitive jumper and showing her as much as I possibly can.

It was a bright and crisp day in Texas. Nearby whips cracked and hooves crunched over the gravel path. I was sitting a top Bucky, a beautiful buckskin pony whom I loved. It was first competition since I sprained my back one year ago.

The horse ride changed mike's opinion of his horse and himself because at first the was some trouble with getting him on the horse,but once he got on he started to enjoy himself and realize that just because he has a disability he doesn't have to limit himself.according to paragraph 1 it states how he felt or his opinion of getting on the horse. "No, stop it, I don't want to!" I yelled. Some of the horses in front of the barn looked at me, and all of the people stared, but I didn't care. Not being a sweet little angel like the disabled kids they show on TV is what gives my life meaning. I raised the volume of my voice enough to send birds flapping out of the shade trees. "You have no right! Isn't this supposed to be a free country?".

In November 2015, I finally walked up to Keeneland for the first time in my life to finally see a live horse race. But it wasn’t just any race – it was the 2015 Breeder’s Cup Championships and American Pharaoh would go on to win the Grand Slam. It was an awesome day, meeting people from all over the country who seemed just as passionate about a sport as I was. It was that experience that led me to move to Lexington, KY two months ago with a desire to work in the Thoroughbred industry.

Where men saw war, women saw opportunity. Amongst the egos of men, women chose to redefine their worth through hours invested in strenuous work, through ample amounts of diverse opportunities served in various fields such as factories and farm lands, which all radically changed from the pre-war mentality to modernity. Before the war, the assimilation of a women’s workplace included traditions of domestic service to her family which included the ideas that women belonged in kitchens, laundry rooms, dressmaking shops, and at home caring for children. Believed to lack the physical and mental capabilities to work as equals to men, society believed that women should devote themselves to domestic duties at home. The conflicting representations of

Recently, I bought my very first horse. It wasn’t the very first horse that I had ever had before, but she was the very first one that I purchased all by myself. I spent so much time looking for the perfect prospect that had great racing bloodlines, a good mind, great conformation, and aged four or five years old. I wanted a mare that I could start on barrels this summer, then breed while I am away at college. I finally ended my search in Illinois. I bought a five year old bay mare that was bred very nicely, had a kind eye, and a sweet personality. She hadn’t been ridden much since she was broke as a two year old, but I fell in love with her sweet disposition. Even though she didn’t know very much, she didn’t have a mean bone in her body, which

I realize it has been a while since I have posted a blog, but there wasn’t much going on at the time. Instead of blogging every time something occurs, why not put it all into one long chain of blogs? Let’s start all the way back to before the Thoroughbred Makeover 2015!

     The Korean War was the first war in which the United Nations played a major role in. It was also part of the cold war between the US and Soviet Union. One of the deadliest war in history, it took many lives in such a short span of time of three years. Even after all these deaths, the conflict isn't completely resolved in Korea. There are still American troops stationed in South Korea, in case the Communists decide to take aggressive action.

Since its arrival in mainstream literature in the late 18th century, the genre of gothic literature maintains its place as one of the most captivating and intriguing writing styles. Attributing to this popularity is the dark approach to romantic era works, resulting in novels full of death, mystery, and suspense ("The Gothic: Overview"). One of the earliest and most influential examples of gothic literature is Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. This novel remains one of the most popular and stolen-from classics in this genre because of Mary’s excellent plot and execution ("The Gothic: Overview"). In Frankenstein, Shelley creates the perfect piece of gothic literature by implementing the use of death, supernatural elements, and ominous settings to