Horsin' Around

I saw this little guy swinging that lariat underneath that great big hat and immediately turned my car around to go watch him up close and personal.

Well, it wasn't exactly up close and personal cuz ya don't wanta get in the way of a young cowboy practicing his roping. 

So, after asking his mom if I could take his picture, I stayed back and snapped a few shots.  

He played shy at first, but knowing the strange lady was about to take his picture, he gathered himself and his rope and prepared to take off on a dead run to catch that stationary bull outside his temporary living quarters. 

He's from a rodeo family, and they stayed at our local fairgrounds overnight between the Kootenai River Days Rodeo and yesterday's edition of the Cheney Rodeo. 

Once the little roper with a great big future got into his routine, the shyness disappeared and confidence reigned supreme as he took trip after trip past those bull horns. 

"He does this all day long," his mother told me.  

I wish I had caught his name because I sure would have tucked it away in my memory bank for about 15 years from now when he's a famous world champion calf roper working his craft aboard a fast horse. 

After thanking the family for the photo opportunity, I moved on to the horse show and hung out with family and friends for a couple of hours. 

One grandma friend I know had a little help from her granddaughter sprucing up her saddle for some horse show classes, and another grandma (who happens to be the daughter of Schweitzer Mountain Resort's first-ever manager Sam Wormington) kept close watch on Miss Elsa. 

Good thing too, cuz Miss Elsa (so named for her great-grandma Elsa Wormington) took a blue ribbon in her equitation class.  I have a feeling both Sam and Elsa, Sr. were smiling from above.  

I also talked with another grandma, Ethel Welker, who had come to the show to watch her granddaughter ride.  She took time out to buy a piece of fresh blueberry pie from the Yetter's, son Matteo and mom Moriha, who operated the horse-show food booth. 

And, there was the perennial horse show fan, grandma and longtime family friend, Mardette Lewis.  She brought tears to my sister Laurie's eyes when she mentioned how proud our mother would be to see Laurie riding her newest horse.  Mardette always mentions Mother because the two used to ride together and later sit and gab at the horse shows. 

After the horse show, I came home where I spent the whole afternoon hanging out with doggies and Bill, and, later, picking blueberries. 

While picking blueberries, I looked down the road and saw a blue wagon, pulled by two Percherons and carrying a whole lot of people coming our way.  So, I put my blueberry bowl down, ran to the road and asked if they'd hang around until I got my camera.

The driver was Jerry Schilling, who works at Yoke's and lives down the road from us.  He was taking his daughter and some out-of-town visitors for a trip around the neighborhood. From their expressions and enthusiasm, I think a good time was had by all. 

Always fun sights when horses or horse-related activities are involved.

Happy Monday.