Rocking RD Performance Horses

12/22/2023

06/13/2023

I have been busy soaking up life with these two littles but I am getting ready to start giving lessons again. I will be opening my books up to schedule lessons starting July 1st. Please reach out to me at 903-269-6603 to get your lesson scheduled.

03/20/2023

Dr. Noah Grimes, DVM, of Athens Equine in Athens, Texas, shares his top tips for achieving peak fitness in barrel horses.

02/10/2023

Self criticism:

“Man, I shouldn’t have ran it that way”. My heart is still rapidly pounding as I exit the arena. “Gosh, I wish I would have checked up a little. It’s all I had to do. I don’t know why I can’t just get my crap together. Every time I’m in this position, I screw it all up”. Stop. Take a deep breath. Do not beat yourself up. We work so hard to build our self confidence up, just to tear it down after one run. Every time you beat yourself up over a run you are tearing yourself down to rock bottom. It takes time to build self confidence, but it only takes a split second to rip it all away. Not every run is going to be perfect. And that’s okay. We do not live in a perfect world. Mistakes are going to happen. You are going to lose sometimes. It’s part of the journey. Be gentle with your self criticism. Talk to a friendly face or think of something different after a bad run. Give yourself time to reel in your emotions before allowing yourself to self analyze the situation. The more often you can look at the situation and your mistakes without heightened emotions, the higher your chances of leaving your confidence in tact. It’s going to be okay. Allow yourself to believe that you are still human and losing is part of life. You can’t change the run but you can change how you respond to it. Set yourself up to be able to still be confident in yourself on your next run. Self criticism is ruthless if you allow it to be. You got a lot on your plate. The last thing you need is to be at war with yourself and your confidence. So be gentle with your internal criticism. Perfection is not a consistent thing.
-Kayla L.

Photo Credit: Underdog Mindset

12/25/2022

Merry Christmas

12/22/2022

12/21/2022

Ride your Ride:
I’m 3rd out, sitting with my head down and my arms crossed. I can hear the excitement in the arena. “And that is the new fast time!” Is being screamed into the microphone by the announcer. I let out a deep breath and think to myself “okay, least you aren’t following the fast time.” Then I hear it. The girl in front of me has already ran. The crowd is ecstatic. “We have a new world record!” Is being yelled all around me. Crap. I’ve got to follow that. But then I hear my name and the switch flips. It doesn’t matter what has happened before me or after me. All that matters now is me and the thundering hooves underneath me. “Ride your ride.” Is going through my head. It’s something my dad and my mother use to say me to growing up. I never understood it until this moment. Focus on you and your run. It doesn’t matter what anybody else is doing. They can’t run for you. They also can’t control what happens in that arena when you’re in it. Only you can determine the outcome of this run. So ride your ride. Ride your horse to the best of your ability. That is all that you can do. You can’t stress about what every body else has done because you haven’t ran yet. You haven’t stepped into the arena. Ride your ride and be determined to do the best that you can do. You will never know what you are truly capable of if you constantly focus on other people. So ride your ride and see what happens. Who knows you might just be the next hot time for the day. You won’t know until you try your best and step into the pen. So ride your ride.
-Kayla L.

Photo Credit: WPRA by: Springer

11/11/2022

I currently have lesson spots available for weekday afternoons. Please contact me at 903-269-6603 to schedule your lesson.