Cowboy's Tribulation

Chapter 2

Kate woke up from her nap feeling refreshed. Changing into her workout clothes an wrestling shoes, the later giving her flexible grip on the saddle during maneuvers.  She tucked her trailer key in to the zippered pocket of her pants, grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge and exited the trailer. She unloaded her wheeled saddle rack out of the back of the trailer and made her way to Ranger's stall.
Adjusting the white trick saddle on Ranger's back, Kate double checked the front and back cinches.  Satisfied with the tightness of both, she pulled the stirrup down and patted Ranger on the neck as she left the stall and pulled the bridle off of the rolling saddle rack parked outside the stall door. Walking back over to Ranger, she unbuckled his halter and slipped the bit of the bridle into his mouth.  She put the rest of the bridle behind his ears and smoothed out his forlock to rest between his eyes.  She ducked under Ranger's neck to the other side of him and clipped the rein attached to the bridles bit to the dee ring just in front of the saddles pommel near the horn.  The other rein she would use as a lead till they got out to the arena and she got on to ride.  It too clipped on a dee ring on the left side of the pommel.

After leading Ranger out of the barn, Kate mounted up and nudged him toward the arena where several of the barrel racers were exercising their horses. Once inside the gate Kate rode Ranger next to the rail and started to do some easy warmup stretches that felt good.  Moving Ranger into an easy going lope, Kate began doing a few vaults off the left side, up and over to the right side and then back into the saddle with a scissor kick. 

Stopping Ranger along the rail fence, out of the way of the barrel racers working on their horses around the lone barrel set up in the middle of the arena. Kate finished up her warm up routine.  Ranger stood quietly as she moved over him. Spinning in place on the saddle.  Bending and lifting her legs. She put a Velcro strap, on the right side of the saddle, over her left thigh and leaned over the saddle to the left side and lifted her right leg in the air.  She let her hands pull her weight down toward her left stirrup.  She hung there for a moment enjoying the stretch.  It helped work out the kinks from the long drive.  Ranger stood as she kept doing her tricks. 

He knew now was not a performance just a training run. Kate put his brightly colored racing hood on when they were performing, that was his signal to put on a good show. Right now, Kate was out riding Ranger as something to do. Lord knew he didn't need anymore training.  She nudged him into a walk along the rail, she began her routine of moves. Spin the saddle where she turned around in the saddle till she was facing backwards and then facing forward, keeping her hands on the six inch saddle horn at all times. Next she did spin the horn. When she went to face backward this time, she was on Ranger's neck holding the horn in front of her, she finished the moves with a scissors kick back on to the saddles seat.

  A light tug on the reins had Ranger stopping, while she did a few back bends. Her feet in the strap over the saddle as she reached up and over behind her and grabbed onto the cruppers handles on the back of the saddle. Arching her back into a bend she then leaned forward stretching her thigh muscles and then moving back to the nuetural position and then leaning over her hands stretching the backs of her arms. The stretching felt good and she did a few more.  As Ranger stood quietly, she finished off her moves with a hand stand. Normally she wouldn't do this with Ranger moving but she wanted those muscles near her kidneys to stretch a bit more and she pulled her abs in and sent her legs up. She braced herself in the stand just like a gymnast would on a pommel horse. She eased her legs down and did a twist and turn back onto the saddle. She was glad her folks had not only got her into trick riding as a toddler but had sent her to gymnastic camps every summer till she was thirteen. This had helped her flexibilty and quick reaction time.

 Kate cued Ranger for an easy lope and did a few vaults off of him. She did a half spin the saddle, riding Ranger at a lope side saddle, standing in the left stirrup, she let her left foot drop her stirrup and dropped to the ground letting Rangers easy movement bounce her back up on to the saddle. Kate did this maneuver four times and then did it again but scissor kicked her legs apart and landed astride Ranger. Keeping him going in the same manner, she did the vault again, bounced on the ground then back up onto the saddle in a side saddle fashion and holding the horn. As she passed the gate she noticed Wade Jerrit on his big hazer horse Fido, watching her as she rode by.