SL Barrel Horses

SL Barrel Horses Riding coach specializing in barrel racing. I travel to you and your horse(s) to help you achieve your goals 3 turns at a time!

Happy New Year from my barn to yours!
01/01/2025

Happy New Year from my barn to yours!

12/30/2024

As you go into 2025, remember ― there's more to life than the achievement of the goal.

The goal gives you the opportunity to create the plan.
The plan gives you the opportunity to create the routine.
The routine gives you the opportunity to create the life you dream of.

Focus on finding fulfillment in the routine, not just the outcome. Every minute of the process is a blessing.

12/28/2024

𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙨 “𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩.”

So get that out of your head. I share this pic because it was the most perfectly captured of many of my mishaps this year.

When you’re riding a 1300lb rocket… you’re not always going to stick with him. Not every run will be great, even on a great horse.

So what happens when something like this ⬇️ happens and you come out of the pen upset or mad? How does your horse feel? They don’t know if they were the fastest or slowest, they don’t know that it wasn’t a great day, they don’t know, and it’s your job to make this fun for them.

If every time you come out of the pen and name everything that went wrong and are constantly disappointed… why in the world would your horse want to go do it again?

Part of Adios’ attitude this year is me laughing it off. I didn’t make problems out of problems that weren’t there. He is a baby. He is allowed to make mistakes and so am I. To be fair, we still won a lot of money making a lot of mistakes. When it did come together… it was like a symphony... 🎶🎼🎵 however, it’s unrealistic for me to expect that of my partner every time.

Give your horse and yourself some grace.

I owed y’all two tips today!

12/26/2024

All I can tell you is… IT’S WORTH IT!

Being brave.
Putting yourself out there.
Following your heart.
Letting down your walls.
Risking failure.
Exploring new opportunities.
Choosing courage over fear.

Giving yourself a chance to discover what’s out there in this world for you.

Even the stories that don’t end in happily ever after, they’re still worth telling. The pain you feel as a consequence of being a tender-hearted human in a heavy world. The hope that sometimes ends in heartbreak.

The really hard parts of living.... Yup, it's worth it too.

Loving is worth it.
Feeling is worth it.
Trying is worth it.

Not holding back. Not minimizing yourself or your dreams for anything or anybody. Not always taking the safe and easy road when your heart is pulling you in a different direction.

IT'S WORTH IT.
YOU'RE WORTH IT!

Time is fleeting and your energy is sacred. Don’t deny yourself the chance to truly live.

THIS IS YOUR LIFE. NO ONE ELSE'S!

Each minute of the day you let slip away because you are afraid of stepping outside the norm, afraid of what people may say, or afraid of the work is a minute you lost forever.

Get out there and live up to the person God intended for you to be. Don't let anything or anyone hold you back. I promise you....IT'S WORTH IT!

YOU'RE WORTH IT!

12/23/2024

NO MORE EXCUSES!

I get up every morning early just so I can allow myself to have time to devote to Personal Development studying. That consist of research, taking notes, and then creating a Facebook post on my main topic I studied that morning (I am also bad to go down rabbit holes....🙄).

I do this just so I can get started on the right track each day, continue my personal growth, which will spill over in all aspects of my life. It will build on who I am and help me become better with the people who are there for me, my goals, dreams, passion, and for my job training horses.

I have BIG goals for 2024 and I have my BIGGEST one wrote down with a planned system on how to achieve that goal. In my planned system I have wrote down, "Get better fit for my horse." To help accomplish "Getting better fit for my horse" I have created a smaller goal to use part of my personal development time to start walking/jogging and as I build myself up walk less, jog more, and go further each time.
So far it has only made it to paper. I've had my shoes ready for two weeks now! I've just personally been coming up with excuses on why not to do it. It's NEW! It's NOT NORMAL! It's UNCOMFORTABLE!

THIS MORNING THERE ARE NO MORE EXCUSES!!!!

It can be VERY difficult when you start chasing your dreams, goals, and passion. Hardly anyone will understand you. You have to find out the hard way who has your back. You get pulled back and down on by certain people around you that you make feel uncomfortable by you chasing your TRUE potential. They do this because they don't have the courage to do what it takes, and you have to find out these people really don't support you or want the best for you. If they did they would be encouraging you, pushing you harder and ALLOWING you all the space you needed to GROW and chase your passion. Instead they keep coming up with excuses for you like:
●"Just wait, it will come."
● Asking you, "Why do you have to be so passionate?"
●"You don't have to put that much effort in."
●"You care more about that than me."
●"You spend more time with your passion than you should."
●"Do you really think you have what it takes?"
⬆️⬆️⬆️
That last one is a BIG ONE! That will make you question yourself and test you for sure!

These people are only showing you where you stand in their lives and how little they really support you or want the best for you.

WE HAVE ONE LIFE! LIVE IT CHASING YOUR FULL POTENTIAL AND PURPOSE!!!

DON'T LET ANYTHING OR ANYONE STOP YOU FROM BECOMING THE BEST VERSION OF YOU AND FOR CHASING YOUR PURPOSE, YOUR PASSION!

It is hard enough fighting against ourselves. Control your environment!

"IT'S ME AGAINST ME!"

Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

I'm walking out the door for my first walk right now!

📍This post was a re-share from this day last year.
I am very thankful for all I was able to accomplish over this past year with my goals, personal development, and my personal fitness. I am thankful for all the much needed changes in my life for the better. I am beyond thankful for everyone who has been there for me through it all!

I am still on track for my 10 year goals and I am still knocking it out with my morning exercises. It isn't easy a lot of days but I know I MUST make it happen!

📸: Wild Hearts Photography

12/23/2024

Do you ever find yourself excited, but not wanting to share because of what other people will think? Your family. Your friends. Your coworkers. You know some people just have a negative spin on things…. Or the infamous “must be nice.” Are you worried sharing will make others perceive you as arrogant? Where is the line between arrogance and being proud of yourself?

If you’re proud of something you accomplished, something you finally saved up to buy, or your hard work finally paying off, you should not let people take away from your celebrating. Life is hard and all wins should be celebrated in life no matter how small.

𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗗𝗘

➡️Self-Acceptance: Pride often stems from a healthy self-esteem and recognition of one’s achievements or qualities.

➡️Humility: Proud individuals can acknowledge their strengths while also recognizing their limitations or weaknesses, and acknowledge the contributions of others.

➡️Positivity: Pride is usually expressed in a positive and inspiring manner, encouraging others to feel good about their own accomplishments.

➡️Confidence: It reflects self-assuredness without needing to diminish others or seek validation.

𝗖𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲

➡️Overestimation: Cocky or arrogant individuals often overestimate their abilities and may lack a realistic view of themselves.

➡️Diminishing Others: They may belittle or dismiss the achievements of others to elevate their own status.

➡️Defensiveness: Arrogance can lead to defensiveness when criticized, as it threatens their inflated self-image.

➡️Entitlement: There is often a sense of entitlement or superiority, believing they deserve more respect or recognition than others.

Never be afraid to celebrate your wins. If your people aren’t proud of you, they aren’t your people.

📸Amy MP Photography

Truth!!
12/15/2024

Truth!!

12/08/2024

💁‍♀️ Let's Talk... Truth Bombs About Gold Buckle Dreams

It's December so most of us are playing couch jockey while the best in the business are doing their thing in Vegas. It's a crazy couple of weeks out there... 10 high powered rounds of competition, autograph signings, practice before the sun comes up, and of course stalls still need mucked....

Is the NFR on your vision board as a future goal?
Let's break down what it really takes to make it through 10 rounds in Vegas.... Therapy Edition.

✅ Fast Horses - We've watched most of these pairs work all year long. We know they're lightning fast. But more important than being fast.... These horses are displaying the ideal level of fitness and stamina. It doesn't matter how fast your horse is, if he breaks down after round 2. There's no room for shortcuts in fitness at this level. The foundation of stabilizing muscle allows the horse compete without depleting oxygen and energy supplies past the point of recovery, so when that fast twitch muscle engages you get a whole lot of horsepower without running the tank dry.

➡️ Truth Bomb #1 - The average competition horse isn't fit enough to make 3 runs at a weekend show on manicured ground. That's why you see more hit barrels as the days progress. Your horse isn't "Out To Get You." He didn't sit in his stall the night before plotting how he was going to smash your knee on the barrel or how he would run off to embarrass you. Their brains simply don't work that way! A horse reacts to a stimuli... Meaning if his muscles are depleted of oxygen before he makes it to the next barrel and he's already fighting soreness from the run before... His body's going to shift that compensation, stiffen up, and slice that barrel.
I've been guilty myself of blaming a horse for "just trying to hit out of spite." After nearly 2 decades of studying the body and fighting a personal health battle, I've learned to look for that underlying problem that is always there lurking....

➡️ Bonus Truth Bomb - You will Never see a professional level rider on fb bragging about how their horse worked when they drug them out of the pasture after not being ridden for weeks.... Your horse deserves more respect. Do Better.

✅ This horse race is 10 rounds of two athletes working in sync and helping each other navigate whatever changes need to be made with each round. Maybe a turn angle needs adjusted or they need one more step behind the barrel. Core strength, finely tuned Fast Twitch muscle and Proprioception allow for these adjustments to be made at the blink of an eye. No rider was born with these skills... They are conditioned with fitness, training, and repetition. Experience is what makes it looks so natural.

➡️ Truth Bomb #2 - Fitness... It ain't just for horses!! - It's been proven through numerous studies that a rider's fitness level has a direct impact on the performance of their horse. A rider that dumps forward over the point of balance at the wither will make their horse take more concussion to the joints in the front legs. A rider that leans in and has more weight in the inside stirrup unloads the horse's hind leg that gives them the strength to drive into the turn... So both shoulders drop (horse and human) and the barrel goes down or they squeeze by angling the turn towards the timer and making a "V" on the back side. .. It's all about that core, Y'all...

➡️ Here's a bonus Truth Bomb... Riders get the same body fatigue that horses do. So when you're exhausted from 3 days of mucking stalls and walking miles at a race.... Your body is automatically creating compensation patterns and trying to force adrenaline and fast twitch muscle to take over for a nonexistent foundation of stabilizing muscle. Your horse feels every compensation your body takes and reacts accordingly. Tension in your muscles creates tension in your horse... File that fact to your memory bank.

✅ Mental Fatigue will drain your body faster than a slot machine can drain your pocketbook... Every day is jam packed with autograph signings, pictures, crowds of people... Oh yeah, and then you have to do the thing you actually showed up to do. Sounds super easy right? These contestants are just living a dream...
Seriously, the average person (myself included) can't begin to imagine the mental demand they're going through. Mental strength is something that takes time to build and master. Staying grounded, hydrated, and keeping the body nourished is key to keeping the mind sharp.
Preparation also breeds confidence. How many times have you read an article where the winner said.... "I just trusted my horse. I knew my horse was feeling great. He really wanted to work tonight." Those feelings aren't just luck. They're the result of preparation, consistency, and positive results.

➡️ Truth Bomb #3 - When you enter a race, how mentally prepared are you? In counseling they talk a lot about emotional flooding. Any resting heart rate over 100 means your body is in flight, which limits your ability to make rational decisions, causes muscle tension, and depletes your muscles of oxygen as fast as exercise does. Have you ever been up next to run and can literally hear your heart beating in your ears? Then as soon as you take off, your brain just shuts off and you remember nothing? It's because you're emotionally flooded. Your brain is the central command for your whole body and right now it's all alarm bells and chaos. Being a prey animal, your horse is going to react to the stimuli you're putting out. Tension builds more tension, and muscles cannot perform correctly stiff and uncomfortable. The result is an unfavorable performance.... And a horse that will end up with ulcers.
➡️ Fun Therapy Fact: A nervous rider will have more downward force in their stirrups which also puts more pressure on the horse's spine.

Now, we have all had a case of the nerves. It's human nature. But you can't blame your horse for poor performance if you weren't in the right frame of mind either. Ever notice that fractious horses often have fractious humans? It's not a coincidence.... If your nerves are affecting your performance, I suggest working with a sports coach or counselor.
There is no reason to destroy your body doing an event that is supposed to be fun. It's ok to need some help on your mental game. It'll probably help more than the 12 calming pastes you just bought for your "crazy" horse....

👉 Can we take a minute to just stop and appreciate the level of dedication these top athletes have? Most of us will only ever see those lights in Vegas from the stands.... But I know there's a young kid out there with NFR written on a vision board that will make it. I hope this post finds you and gives you some insight to things most don't think about. As you're standing in line for autographs, try to appreciate the fact that your idol came physically and mentally prepared enough to give you their time and energy... And just what stress that causes the body. They may be the best in the business, but they're also human just like you and me. A kind word and a compliment help relieve stress and boost energy.

💜 Let's be good humans...

As much as I’ve struggled with this mare over the years, the last year and even in the last 6 months, our bond has grown...
10/21/2024

As much as I’ve struggled with this mare over the years, the last year and even in the last 6 months, our bond has grown exponential. I actually love this horse and I’m so glad I never gave up on her despite what people have told me to do! It’s only up from here!

10/17/2024

I have the bestest best friend/sister from another mister in the whole wide world. I’m heading to the 2024 Journey On Podcast Summit next Thursday with Valarie and while we are gone, Maegan and/or Eva are going to come ride my horse for me so that I can go to the barrel race on Oct 29th!!

I wasn’t going to go bc I didn’t think it was fair to run her after she sits for 5 days.

So we did the darn thing last night! We attended our very first barrel race!Last night was full of firsts at Gilroy Rode...
10/16/2024

So we did the darn thing last night! We attended our very first barrel race!

Last night was full of firsts at Gilroy Rodeo Rodeo Grounds Barrel Races - Tuesday October 15…

1st time riding in a warmup pen
1st time running time-onlys
1st time in an arena with wings
1st time standing in line for says time-onlys
1st standing waiting for our turn
1st time riding in the dark
1st time in an arena with lights
AND
1st time ENTERED in a barrel race!

Our time was a 35.212. My goal was to at least lope the pattern and leave them all up. We accomplished 99% of our goals, we loped most of the pattern, left all the barrels up but spooked at the shadow of barrel 3. All in all it was a great day/night full of accomplishments!

I’m so grateful to every single person that has supported this journey!

Today was an active rest day. My back was bothering me a little bit so I opted to hand walk Dori with my mom. We walked ...
10/13/2024

Today was an active rest day. My back was bothering me a little bit so I opted to hand walk Dori with my mom. We walked the loop we’ve been riding and it’s just over a mile in distance.

She did really well, there was NO screaming for her friends, she was fairly relaxed, although she would get a little ahead of me, I’d ask her to circle around and she’d find her spot again.

I’ve decided as the days get cool and I have days I can’t or don’t ride (my long days at the store for example), I will take Dori for a walk so we still get exercise….

Video just posted but here is the Equilab data from today’s complete ride!
10/12/2024

Video just posted but here is the Equilab data from today’s complete ride!

10/12/2024

Today I was able to get a video of our barrel practice! We’ve been on this small pattern 3x this week. It’s not the best pattern and the footing isn’t close to be great but it’s working right now.

I figured out that I need to slide my hand down my rein on my second barrel but it’ll all come back with time.

Once the field is disked we can do more work on a bigger pattern with better footing (until the rain comes, then we’ll haul out).

So I made the choice on June 5th that it was now or never! I hauled Dori to my best friend’s house and put my first real...
10/12/2024

So I made the choice on June 5th that it was now or never! I hauled Dori to my best friend’s house and put my first real ride on her in 2yrs.

What do you mean “real ride”, you may ask? Well I’d put a few quick rides on her between her coming home in 2022 and her getting hurt, the couple of quick rides a year-ish later as part of her rehab in 2023, but nothing more than like 10 minutes and not consistently.

So hauled to Maegan’s and rode in the arena, w/t/c and worked around the barrels. I came home and committed to at minimum 20 mins a ride at least 3x/week. Some weeks were more, some were less and a several weeks I didn’t ride do to the heat, work or life…I hauled her to new places and started riding outside.

Between June 5th and today, October 11th, I’ve ridden 38 times! That is more than I’ve ridden Dori in all the 12 yrs I’ve owned her combined!

Tuesday, we are entered in our very first barrel race!

Day 2 of consistent barrel horse training! Today after barrel practice, we went for our walk. This is the 3rd time we we...
10/10/2024

Day 2 of consistent barrel horse training! Today after barrel practice, we went for our walk. This is the 3rd time we went right out the driveway. The first time was two weeks ago and we tried to going straight past the driveway and it was a fight. Yesterday, we went up the driveway and turned right, but it was a fight and I ended up leading Dori down the street and riding back.

Today, we made a right out the driveway and rode all the way to our turn around spot! There was a small fight but not enough to get off and lead her! This was a big step outside her comfort zone and Dori did good!

I’m going to be vulnerable here. I’m struggling with my motivation the last few weeks and the heat wave has helped, but ...
10/08/2024

I’m going to be vulnerable here. I’m struggling with my motivation the last few weeks and the heat wave has helped, but I’m ready to get back at it.

So here goes the vulnerable part…I have never fully started my own barrel horse. I trained Chatty myself but there were tons of holes in his training. I have acquired horses that already knew the pattern but needed tuning or issues fixed or were just ready to compete and I took over the reins.

Dori is the first horse I’ve done the training with mostly myself! Maegan has been there and put some stuff on that I struggled with or helped me through a hard spot but I’m doing most of it myself with the guidance of a few VERY select people.

Tomorrow we will ride for the first time in two weeks and will be preparing for our first barrel race together! I’ve had Dori on the pattern, she’s been on the pattern with Maegan but nothing consistent.

My brother brought me home some barrels so we are starting our barrel training (consistently tomorrow), while working through to challenges that I joined to help me get her more broke.

Last night, I entered out first race! Pray for us. We aren’t ready, but are we ever going to truly be ready?!? The longer I put it off the longer I’m out of the arena and we have to start somewhere!

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3605 Dryden Avenue
Gilroy, CA
95020

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Monday 1:30pm - 4pm
Wednesday 11am - 3pm
Thursday 1:30pm - 4pm
Friday 10am - 3pm

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+14086079491

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Videos

Today I was able to get a video of our barrel practice! We’ve been on this small pattern 3x this week. It’s not the best pattern and the footing isn’t close to be great but it’s working right now. I figured out that I need to slide my hand down my rein on my second barrel but it’ll all come back with time. Once the field is disked we can do more work on a bigger pattern with better footing (until the rain comes, then we’ll haul out).

Put my mare on the barrels today. Going to make a couple changes to my tack, ditching split reins and getting a shorter cinch…now I know where we are and what we have to do

We’ve been doing some stuff and things…we aren’t sharing our whole story just yet but I wanted to share a snippet of today’s session with Dori. Today was our second saddling since her injury last September…we are working on relaxation in everything we do!

Itty bitty snippet of what we’ve been working on! I’m not allowed to tell you how just yet, but wait until you see that finished product 😉😉… shout out to Jen Rohlen of HorseGirl.me for all your guidance, support, kick in the butt, etc the last couple of months!

Did some work my girl today…below is a video of how we ended….

Dori Update:: 3 weeks post xrays…. I let her work in the round pen today. She played and then trotted around nicely. I didn’t see a limp today. I went ahead and put her back in her pen without her wrap to give it a couple of hours to “breathe” and see what the leg does. I will make a second post with pics from today. I feel that we will be back to work very shortly!

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