by Julie Carter
Roping and rodeo
season is gearing up to the usual spring frenzy and those ropers that find
themselves afoot are doing some horse shopping.
The used-horse
business flourishes but unless you get a far piece beyond your territory,
everybody knows you, your business and the horse you might be looking at.
Heard at the arena:
"He don't know it, but that horse will make your eyes pop," said one
cowboy.
"No way. I
know that horse and he's one of the uglier ones to be found," said the
other cowboy.
"I'm not
talking about his looks," retorted the first cowboy. "I'm talking
about the fact that he stops so hard on his front feet that when your crotch
hits the saddle horn, your eyes will pop."
This is important
criteria to know.
Then there is Joe
and Pete, whose names have been changed since it was established one of them
can read, and didn't so much enjoy his newfound notoriety when their antics
previously hit print.
As a precaution,
their undercover names will be kept to a simple, one syllable.
Joe and Pete, when
we last spoke of them, were going to win the world without bothering with any
roping practice. Not needed, they were sure of that. That spree lasted about
six weeks and came to an unremarkable close.
Spring fever has
again beset the pair and the difference this year is that they both decided
they needed new horses. Joe's horse, Hack Rein, is 20-plus years old and Pete's
trusty steed, Stix, has seen 21 years and counting.
Besides being
naturally tightfisted, neither of them are flush with funds. Rick is the friend
designated to alleviate the current cash flow issue with a little horse trading
in the mix.
Joe is going to
sell Hack Rein to Rick. That gets Rick mounted. Joe has neglected to tell him
that Hack Rein has a slight bob to his head and at times, a serious limp.
Hack Rein is a
heading horse, so Rick will be a header.
Joe is then going
to buy Pete's horse, Stix, who also has a slight bob to his head and on bad
days, will limp slightly. That gets Joe mounted. Stix is also a heading horse,
so Joe will be a header.
Pete is the only
one left afoot. He is looking at a black horse said to be priced extremely
reasonable. As mentioned, that's a serious consideration with this bunch.
The black horse
has been known to occasionally limp and to stop on his front feet pretty hard.
Recall the earlier "eye popper" conversation. He, too, is a heading
horse, but an extremely good bargain.
All three ropers
are now mounted and will shortly begin practice to win the world when the
weather warms up and arenas dry up. It has not yet occurred to them that that
all three of them will have to be headers. The excitement over their
"new" horses has, at least temporarily, clouded that detail of
reality.
The upside of this
is that counting on heelers to show up is just as iffy. The most recent best
excuse by a heeler to not to show up to a roping was he'd decided to enter a
coyote calling contest instead. Hey, it happens.
For those watching
this scenario unfold, there is a suggestion of confidence that the trio may not
figure out that all of them are headers until they go to enter a roping. Like
last year's unnecessary practice, planning ahead is rarely the selected option.
The mental image
of them riding their head-bobbing, gimping horses around the arena while they
try to figure out how to make a team out of three headers, lends itself to a
"three stooges in cowboy hats" moment.
One can almost
already hear the "N'yuk, n'yuk, n'yuk."
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