The Tevis, and Tommys Rear Cinch Day

John Crandell and his horse Heraldic have made history once again. Winning the western states Tevis Cup - yet again. Not only finishing first, but coming in almost 2 hours ahead of the nearest competition. (The second place horse that finished right behind Heraldic was John's horse as well.......) What athletes! I would love to know the training techniques, feeding formulas, throw of the dice luck, and whatever else goes into winning such a challenging race like that time and time again. He's obviously got the right recipe for success going.

I've been having a great time browsing the photos and stories on the Tevis website and also on Endurance.net. Some great stuff on there:

http://www.teviscup.org/

http://www.endurance.net/international/USA/2010Tevis/

Meanwhile, back at the ranch.....

Tommy got his first taste of a back cinch today, much to his dismay. I told him that he had to put his big boy pants on, and this is what everybody gets around here when they get started. I know from his past history that he has had a saddle on before, and also a few rides - so I didn't need to spend too much time sacking him out for the rigging. But, he let me know right away that he was less than impressed with a western saddles rear cinch snugged up around his gut. After doing a few crow hopping laps in the sand, he lined out pretty well and proceeded to wear his outfit like a trooper. It's not going to take very much to get him used to this sort of stuff. It's around 100 degrees this afternoon out in the round pen, so we only worked for a little while. He is a good boy and is learning things fast.

Awwhh........isn't he pretty? I can't help but love this guy.

When he lines out and decides to move forward freely, his frame rounds up and he starts using his hip very nicely. It won't take very much to get a good top line developed.
" That's cold!" After a nice little workout in the blazing hot afternoon sun, Tommy got a good hosing down. The water was a bit chilly for his liking to start with, but.......
By the time the second photo was snapped, he was a happy camper to be cooled off. =:)
-Shannon.