Competition and Happy Ending!

It went by so quickly! I met so many incredible people and had such a great time! Neo went to the BEST HOME with his new mom. We got so many compliments on how calm and sweet Neo was, I was proud to show off my first mustang. The first portion of the competition involved backing in the Y shape, getting on the trailer, hoof picking, and trotting cones all in hand. After, we headed out to the trail challenge. You can see some pictures from Friday above. Below are Saturday's arena pattern and downtown Norco challenge.








Sunday was the big day. Time for Neo to find the perfect home, and he did. I walked him out (reluctantly) into the arena bareback and took the microphone. I talked about his calm demeanor, positive attitude, and smart as a whip brain. We trotted around while the bidding process started. There a LOT of people interested. I am not kidding when I tell you he was one of the best. When the bidding was over Priscilla had won her true love. She had visited him many times throughout the weekend and was taken with his personality and looks of her previous mustang Rio. They were from the same Elko, Nevada herd so maybe they were related. Either way, it was meant to be. You can tell from the picture below that this mustang had a very, very happy ending! It looks like they are both smiling in this picture:

Getting ready for the big day...

After 90 days of preparing, the big weekend finally came. Andy and I set the alarm to 2am and made it out to the barn by 3 Thursday May 13th. Neo was lying down in his stall when we got there. We hooked up the trailer and loaded him up. 9 hours later we made it to Norco, CA. It really is a "horse town". The sidewalks are bridle paths and there are more tack stores than grocery stores. Most every house had a paddock in the backyard. After we unpacked, I saddled Neo up and neaded out with Janet and Charlie (2 other trainers). We went up the hills and took a look around at what our competition trails might be like. It was steep and Neo handled it like a pro. I knew from that moment he was going to do well and take good care of us both! Here are some pics from that first day: