More than graduation, Brailey wanted Grandma and Papa to come watch her and Tex in the trail riding event last Friday morning. And even though they had a lot of things going on at home, they stayed another night for her and went with us to see her navigate the course. You can see how much my dad loves Tex in these pictures. It is amazing the bond the two of them have. Whenever my dad comes over and Tex hears his voice, his ears perk up, no matter where he is. I told you I think horses are people - I think my dad agrees when it comes to Texi-Man.
When we got to the trail course, my dad was amazed at the tall trees. I hadn't even noticed them in all my trips to this place. But they are quite tall!
Brailey and her best friend, Grandma. These two are tight with each other. They are also a lot alike - dancers, actresses, cookers, artists, decorators, fashionistas, gardeners, cowgirls, cat lovers, dog lovers, and even more!
After she warmed him up in the arena, his feet got clogged with dirt. Brailey asked her dad if he could please clean them, and he was just leaving to go find a hoof pick when Papa appeared with his knife and cleaned them all out for her. Brailey's hero!
The first obstacle. Who would want to walk through this spooky wall? Tex did it. Last year Alvin and I didn't even come close to it.
We all got to come along on the course and watch her. This allowed me to take pictures.
The Best Trainer Ever, Pasty Hayes, brought our horse Mater to take him through the course. Last year Brady rode Mater on the course, and he refused almost all of the obstacles. This year, he did almost every single one. Patsy did an outstanding job with him!
I can't believe he walked up on this! But the turn always gets him. You can see Papa below, trying to coach her through it. This trail course stuff, which she absolutely loves, is going to help Brailey learn to ride even better. Papa was an excellent coach, giving tiny bits of the best advice, thinking things over.
One of the obstacles was confusing, so Papa walked through it to show her where to go. It was quite funny! Only my dad would do such a thing.
It was a great morning! Both Tex and Mater did well. With graduation and the awards assembly, my camera ran out of memory. (I can't believe I take so many pictures!) But I got a few good ones. There are two more trail events coming up in the series, so hopefully Brailey will do well in them, if we are able to make them work in our busy summer schedule. It is a wonderful event run by fun, amazing people. I highly recommend doing it, if you are interested. Fun and challenging - what more can you ask for?
