A Review of my 2019 Rodeo + Horse Goals

What's up guys!! So this blog is going to be a little more on the personal side as I am talking through what my 2019 goals were, if I achieved them, what I learned from them, and how that will effect my goals for next year! Personally, novel blogs can get boring for me to read so I figured a list-type layout would be way more engaging.... so without further-a-do, let's dive right into it!

1. TO WIN…
1. a Saddle- okay so this is something that I think I put on every single goal sheet of every year because who doesn't want to win a saddle?? So, although I did not win a saddle this year, this goal did push me to enter much bigger barrel races and to make sure I made it to all the association races to qualify for year end awards! I was literally .05 away from winning the 3D year end saddle on Moonshine and I am not disappointed at all (ok maybe just like .01% lol). But not only did she get 2nd, but we will also be getting the very first buckle that we have ever won together. So long story short, I am not sure if this is the best goal to write down (simply because it does rely on a lot of luck) BUT it did push me a lot to read this everyday and guess what? It'll be on my list for next year, too (; 
2. Run consistent 18s - This goal was something that shifted around throughout the year. I used to think that if I changed my goals throughout the year, that meant that I was accepting failure. But I came to realize that it is much more important for me to be realistic with them then it is to hope for something that will very likely not happen yet (even if that just means that it simply wasn't my time). That was this goal. At the beginning of the year it was to "run a 17 on a standard with Moonshine", and it quickly became clear to me that 1) this was Moonshine's first year out, and pushing her to give me a 17 would probably scare her out of wanting to do it and 2) she may not even be a 17s horse. So I shifted my mentality so that I could create a really solid year with and for her. Before this year, Moonshine had never ran an 18 before! After this year, she has 8 18's under her belt. I am so proud of her and next year, my goal will just be to find consistent improvement from the beginning of the year, to the end. 
2. Get coaching from an NFR Barrel Racer this was a goal that took me a while to decide how the heck I was going to do but found it really important because I don't have a coach at all! But by the grace of God, I stumbled upon the Married With Horses podcast that Jackie Jatzlau and her husband are on! After a while of listening, I found out that Jackie is a 2 time NFR qualifier AND she gives virtual coaching lessons. Of course, I had to take advantage of these. I did my first one right before my finals in August and will be doing my next one a little later on in the year! I definitely suggest setting an ambitious goal, that way you have a whole year for your brain to manifest how you are going to work it out. It's a great way to make things that you didn't think could happen, happen. 
3. Enter 2 BIG barrel races
1. WCBRA Finals- yessss!! This so happened and it was SO exciting. Again with being ambitious, I decided that I was going to go to these finals about 2 1/2 months before them, and I had to run at 10 races to qualify. This was so difficult to pull through as I was already a part of another association that had a summer series! But I did it and we made it and we had an incredible finals. It was the most rewarding feeling to know that I had made it and pushed myself to make sure that it was going to happen. 
2. All American Barrel Race this was my first big race of the year and at the time it was pretty intimidating! I had pros and beginners around me (and a lot of them!). But Moonshine also won the most money that she had all year at this race! It was definitely one to remember and I will absolutely be back next year!! Overall, entering 2 BIG races became the absolute highlights of my summer. Next year we will up the game even more (; 
4. Find a really good barrel horse prospect holy shizzz guys this one is an awesome one. At the beginning of the year, I decided that I need to expand my barrel horse team and make sure that I get myself prepared for 2020. Again, I feel like God stepped in with this one when he made me double check and do research on my broodmare's family and history (she's 10). Little did I know, she has huge potential to be a fast barrel horse, and I made my decision to make her my 2020 prospect (uber long story short). This was a huge blessing because saving up for a nice barrel horse is not something that can just happen in a year. This winter is pretty much dedicated to her! I am so excited to see how she finishes!!! 
5. Gain the experience, horse power, mental strength this year needed to rodeo BIG next year (through traveling a lot more, having horses that are strong, healthy and ready, improving my team and I through experience)  I love that I made this one. Originally, this was to get ready to CA circuit rodeo in 2020, but after doing a good evaluation on my current team of horses, I made the decision that I would need another year to do so. SO, I dedicated 2019 to prep, practice, and putting all the things together. It was nice to always come back to the fact that I am doing this to learn and nothing else. 

There you have it!! A review of my 2019 rodeo goals and aspirations. It was so crazy to see how all of these manifested into my life just because I wrote them down and kept coming back to them. I hope that you learned something from all of this and can use that to apply to your own life ♥ Thank you so much for reading this & I'll see you in the next one ♥♥♥