Sister, (Watch Rock N Easy) didn’t have the beginning of a typical barrel horse.  Being born and raised on my parent’s horse farm, Sister enjoyed 9 years of being a pasture ornament except for the occasional trail ride or sporadic trip to a barrel race so we could ride her around afterwards.  She finally got her chance after my good horse Ellie suffered two serious injuries in 2006.  Knowing that she was broke was the deciding factor in choosing her as my next prospect.  After riding her a few times, I realized that she wasn’t all that different from starting with a 3 or 4 year old.  She couldn’t walk in a straight line when I rode her, and absolutely refused to back up.  The one thing she did really well was stop.   

Sister took to the pattern naturally.  Her natural rate and bend made her turns come along quickly, and she always gives 100%, so I was always happy with her early runs.  Adding speed took a bit longer than I had anticipated.  Having always had free runners, Sister and all of her rate was a new experience for me.  I always knew that she would turn an awesome barrel, but I couldn’t seem to get a lot of speed on the pattern.  As she gained more confidence with me, the speed came.   

I credit my dad Ray and my sister Reann for Sister’s abilities before I started riding her.  Reann has great hands, and kept Sister really soft, and gave her great barrel racing fundamentals.  My dad got her over refusing to back up and did a great job breaking her to ride.  Without them I’m not sure I would have had as much success with her.   

I am so thankful and feel blessed to have such a talented horse.  Sister has taught me so much more than I ever taught her.  She has also given me back my passion to barrel race.  She makes it fun again, and pushes me to try just as hard as she does.  She is an inspiration, and makes my day everyday.  I think we were always meant to be a team, and now that we are, I’m having the time of my life with her. 

Thank you to Donna for putting on the saddle series every year, and to all of the office help, barrel setters, tractor drivers, and gate people.  You all keep the barrel races running smoothly and you are very much appreciated.  I was so excited to have Sam Bliss at all of the barrel races taking pictures.  You really captured some fantastic photos and can’t wait to get all of mine ordered!  Thank you to all of our GREAT sponsors, especially Purina Horse Feeds and Fran Minnaert.   A big thank you also goes to Bronco Billy’s, owned by Jim and Carol, for donating the beautiful saddles.  I also want to thank T.C. Snyder for perfecting Sister’s feet and always squeezing me in at the last minute for a reset.