Lehi Days

March 2nd - Lehi Days, that wonderful time every year where my neighborhood is swarming with cars, people and animals to all have a great day at the Lehi Days Rodeo. It's always such a fun weekend around the area we live! Last year at Lehi Days, my mom and I were going to do the barrel race but we chickened out. Same thing happened this year, except I signed up 4 hours before the event and committed to do it, no matter what.  

Here's a back story on my horse, my parents bought a horse off a kill truck back in 2010 and he was in rough shape. He had huge open wounds around his eyes that looked like hamburger meat was hanging from under them, he was probably close to 100, if not more, pounds under weight, was super nervous and sweaty ALL the time, he had huge gash marks on his legs from where someone had whipped and beaten him. We actually called him Hamburger Head or HB because of his eyes until he got his official name of Tag. I didn't ride him for several months because he made me really nervous but I would brush him and help treat his eyes. It took a long time to get him healthy again and to put on some weight. In early 2011, my mom and I started to go riding a lot and I always had to ride Tag. Eventually, her and I started to take lessons from a horse lady named Darcy that has an arena in the area to get me more comfortable on him and to teach him some things. It took almost a full year of going to lessons once a week (usually Saturday mornings at 8am) for Tag to become a "normal" horse and not be so nervous all the time. He used to not be able to stand still, like at ALL. And now I'm proud to say, after all the "sometimes frustrating, hard-work", he is a completely different horse! I worked with him through so many obstacles and taught him so much but it was also a huge learning experience for me that never would've happened without Darcy's help. My mom always tells me that he's "bonded" to me and treats me better than anyone else because I took the time to help him and understand him. It probably sounds cheesy and hard for most people to understand but that horse means a LOT to me, he's part of the family. Since I'm the only one in my family that rides him other than easy trail rides every once in awhile, I've adopted him and my parents call him "my horse". When you put countless hours, hard work and early morning Saturdays into a horse for years, I think you earn the right to own him and call him yours. So here he is:

He gives "hugs"

Back to the real story, so he broke his butt bone before we got him and it never healed properly, which makes him stumble and trip every now and then. He also isn't the best at turning directions at a fast pace because of it either. Some people were a little nervous for me to try the barrels on him at a big event because they were afraid he or I might get seriously hurt if something happened. That held me back from signing up until the actual race day. He was the best of our 3 horses at Lehi Days. Even though we knocked down a barrel, which adds 5 seconds to your time, it still was one of the coolest things I have done before. I had family and friends that came to watch me and it was such a neat feeling. While most people out there didn't know how much hard work and dedication it took to get a horse like Tag ready to even go out there, he and I both knew. A year and half earlier, people would've told me I was nuts to ride a horse that crazy when I was learning myself. But, walking out of the arena that day, I felt like all those frustrating, long, hard days of working with Tag were all worth it. It never would've been possible without my mom and dad, Darcy, my supportive hubby who cheered me on the loudest and, of course, Tag. Maybe next year, we won't knock over the barrel :)

The Girl Who Rode in Lehi Days, 

Erica Walker