BY MARY BESS WOODRUFF
August 28 - Everyone Needs a Nickname and a Silk Purse
Throughout the different regions of the United States, people have different accents and sayings. We southerners have a word we use all the time: y’all. It means “you all.” I learned a new word in the horse world yesterday while watching the ranch sorting. I have done this often, not ever realizing I was doing it (but someone would tell me) or that there was a word for it. The word is “ho-go.” It means you are holding your horse back but steady, telling him to go with your feet. You say that person has the “ho-gos.”
In my previous blog, I talked about how bad my trail practice was. I want to tell you about another saying in the South: turning a sow’s ear into a silk purse. I am here to tell you Shon Gage, my coach, did the magic. She took me, the sow’s ear, and worked a miracle. In my practice trail, it wasn’t horrible because my horse was bad. He was doing all he could do and being very forgiving. I was the one who was horrible. Before I showed Thursday, Shon kept telling me things about where to put my horse while I was doing a certain obstacle, what my body position needed to be and to slow down and breathe. The trail class had about 75 entries. I feel sure if we'd been scored in practice, I would have ranked No. 75. Shon brought me from the bottom upward. That’s turning a sow’s ear into a silk purse.
As the week is coming to a close, I think back on some of the things I remember most. The AQHA staff has done everything possible to make sure everyone has a good time. I’ve met some wonderful people from Canada to Florida to California. After you meet someone and get to know their personality, sometimes nicknames are formed. While here this week, I got a nickname, “Mississippi Mary.” I have had various nicknames in my life, but at least this one is suitable for the public.
The friendships and memories I’ve made this week will be treasured the rest of my life. It’s great for people to come together for a week of fun and memories, and the thing that brought us all together is the love of the American Quarter Horse.
August 27 - Bad Practice, Good Experience
I think there is a saying in the horse world something kind of like this: If you have a bad practice, you will stand a good chance of having a better ride in the show pen. Well, my paid practice for trail was not just a little off, not just bad, not awful, but exceptionally HORRIBLE! I have not ridden that badly in several years. I don’t expect to go from the lowest of low to the top, but I have only one way to go – and that is up. Maybe knowing that might comfort me.
Sometimes we have to be grateful for little things. If I don’t fall off during the class, that is a plus. By the way, I have fallen off during a trail pattern at a show. Even though that is not considered a good thing, nobody loved me less for it. I think we put so much pressure on ourselves to perform to a certain standard. Maybe we need to stop and be grateful that we qualified. Not everyone made it that far.
To me it was important to qualify, but it was especially important to come and have fun with my friends. Even if I don’t qualify with my horse next year, I can still come visit with my friends.
I think even as adults, we lose sight of what a horse show is about. How we placed plays a role, but more importantly, we need to set an example for other adults and mostly for children. Anybody can be a winner, but you need to learn how to lose and be happy for the others who placed well that day.
People need to understand, what ever horse show you go to, if you mess up, there is always another one to go to soon. If we make mistakes in the show pen, it will probably be something we can laugh about later. After all, this is not a crisis in life. It is just a horse show – enjoy the moment.
August 26 - Laughing Until It Hurts
This is Day Four of being in Amarillo. My horse, Two Steppin Oreo, aka “J.R.”, hasn’t had any problems adjusting to the stall or the arenas that I have ridden him in. I am very fortunate to have a horse like him. He doesn’t need much longeing or riding to get him ready to show.
Shon Gage is here coaching me and my friend Sandy Slocum. Sandy has already had a good horse show. She made it back to the finals in showmanship. Shon told me after only being here a few hours, she could feel the laidback atmosphere this horse show has.
My friends and I had a great time at the '50s party. In my mind, I was thinking that night was the most I would laugh in one day while at the show, but I was wrong.
I laughed so much yesterday and last night my stomach was sore. Last night, about 15 people gathered around Nickey and Patsy Smith’s trailer visiting. We were sharing stories about ourselves and one another. It is great when we can laugh at ourselves about things we have done and our friends think it is funny, too.
Other people told me their stomachs were sore from laughing, too. I can’t wait to see what tonight brings!
August 22-25 - Arriving in Amarillo
I am Mary Bess Woodruff from Inverness, Mississippi, a small town in the Mississippi Delta, where we don’t even have a red light.
Garry, my husband, and I left Friday from Inverness and drove six hours to Fort Smith, Arkansas, and spent the night with Don and Cathy McGee. On Saturday, we drove eight hours to Amarillo. Sometimes it is stressful to spend that much time with your spouse with no break. We did lots of bonding on the trip. The best part was we were still speaking to each other when we got to Amarillo.
It was exciting to pull up to the barn where you are stalled and think, “I am at the World Show.”
Immediately, you start seeing friends you know and friends you met last year at this show. Until you experience it for yourself, words can’t describe the different atmosphere this show has. Last year was my first time to come to the Select World. I had so many people tell me how fun it was before I was able to show here myself. If you meet a new friend today and you see them tomorrow, you will speak and share what each of you have been doing that day.
For the last several years, Patsy and Nickey Smith have been doing a Louisiana cooking at this show for everybody. This year, Patsy and Gwen Pittman came up with the idea to give the party a theme. They decided a good theme would be ‘50s and ‘60s. The three of us had so much fun talking about what we were going to wear out the party. We all got poodle skirt outfits. I even got my dog one. We had so much fun twirling around in our skirts and dancing Sunday night. It has been a long time since I have laughed that much and hard.
It is amazing to look at all of the people who are showing in their 70s – what an inspiration.
When you get to be a Select exhibitor, it comes with certain privileges. Some of these are:
* If it is too cold, I’m not going to show.
* If it is too hot, I’m not going to show
* And finally, if it is too late, I’m not going to show.
I think when you are a Select exhibitor, showing goes back to what it is all about: THE PEOPLE. In life, we all have hardships, but because of the horse and the people involved with them, we get to forget our problems for a little while and get some pleasure in life. Lots of us would not have had the opportunity to meet each other had it not been for one of God’s greatest gifts – the American Quarter Horse.
The staff at AQHA helps make this horse show fun too. They are so helpful and friendly to everyone. Also, they have events planned for several of the nights during the horse show. The best part about all the activities is that they are all over early so we can get to bed on time!
