Mt Isa (Saturday)

Had a slow start today. Turns out driving 1400km in one day had taken a bit of a toll on the boys! I woke them up about nine and cooked us eggs and bacon for breakfast. Turns out their eyes are bigger than their bellies and Graeme ended up having to finish it off. We headed back to the grounds about ten, with the boys each getting a feather for good luck from Georgia (Angela's niece). We arrived just in time to see the station buck jump. It's a form of Bronc riding, in a stock saddle, and the rider has to crack a whip. Funniest thing I've seen in a while! A few thrills and spills from that one!! This afternoon I didn't have anything in particular to do, so I watched some rodeo, read a bit of my book, bought some jeans that turned out a bit big, so hopefully they fit someone at home because they are nice jeans! The evening section started at 7.30 with the bareback, Brock's event. His horse came out and did pretty much the exact opposite of what he expected, but he still got him rode, with a score of 66. (The score is out of 100. Two judges have fifty points each- 25 on the rider and 25 on the horses ability. ) hopefully that will be enough to get him through to the final tomorrow...
Dad, I think you should come out of retirement. Or at least start running some schools. Out of the 43 horses bucked out in the second division saddle bronc, only 3 have been ridden! (For those of you who don't know, my dad was the Tasmanian saddle bronc champion from 1980-1990! He came back for a once off at Sorell about five years after he retired. Won it. His expertise is highly sought after by the boys down home.)


I was doing some thinking (again, I know) about how easy everything used to be. I was watching the boys bouncing over fences, jumping around, thinking how I used to feel so at home in this environment. Now I'm getting bogged all the time, feeling completely un-useful. And thinking how if I'd know just how much being in a chair would change all those little things, would I have changed anything. Would I have stopped riding. No. I loved my job, and would go back to it tomorrow if I could. Even knowing what I know. There is no point living in fear of what might happen. Or worrying about what already has happened. Get on with what you love. Enjoy life.
Also on the thinking topic, I am so excited about this new saddle idea, and the possibilities it will open for me. Not so excited about how much it will cost, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it!
Brock misses out on the short round by two points unfortunately, but the steer wrestlers have been missing a lot, so Luke might be in with a shot in the morning....
Bed time!

For Ella ;)