Slightly pin-eared, tail swishing around, pushy Canadian cattle shoving us back into the herd, but we're still out here doing the damn thing. Photo Credit: Roughstock Studio Cutting, it's the variables that get ya and make you question why we do this insanely expensive sport. Those variable that weasel into your brain and tap dance around in that category labelled "mental toughness." From questioning your physical and mental capacities, to questioning your horses abilities an

Krystal Meade was the Northern Alberta Reined Cow Horse Club's 2016 Green As Grass Rein-Box Reserve Champion with her horse, Herc. Photo Credit: Natalie Jackman/Have-Dog-Will-Travel Photography ------------------------------- When I dreamt up the “Influencers” series, I was thinking about people, horses and organizations that positively impact the horse industry. As many of you know, I am a huge supporter of beginner and novice competitors and I’m always on the lookout for

I'm going dark people. I'm shutting down the blog for a month. Okay, I'm being dramatic, but I am going to stop posting for a little bit. I want to finish the website i've been working on for.. ya know.. a year and I want to re-evaluate my content and start publishing regular monthly series on more of a schedule. I've slowly moved away from telling the stories of celebrated competitors, and I want to bring that back into the fold, but in a different way. And, of course, I w

Bringing it back to the OG puking unicorn that started it all for The Beginner's Guide Here it is, a curated list of 6 resolutions for all you amazing novice competitors sparkle throwing, cow-cutting unicorns, out there looking forward to a successful new year in the show pen! 1.Thou Shall Not Switch Training Programs After One Bad Run I know... you bought this magical unicorn that used to mark 75's like it was easy with its previous rider. You spent a lot of money. You're he

Oh, you were starting to think I only interview Canadian riders these days? Who I, ahem, ...know personally. Well ya thought wrong! In honour of the NCHA World Finals having kicked off, and the first go-round of the 2,000 Limit Rider starting tomorrow (Wednesday the 29th), I asked Jameson Grimes if he'd be interested in taking part in the blog. Jameson is the Assistant Trainer at Mike Wood Performance Horses in Scottsdale, Arizona and he is currently number one in the world i

Cheylin Patenaude may be young, but she is fierce competition in the show pen. This year she made sure her presence was known by consistently topping the leaderboard at shows across Canada with her dynamic mare, Gracies Cat. Cheylin worked hard to rise to the top - showing her horse, helping out loping horses at shows, all the while still in school, and always maintaining a humble and kind attitude. When people say, "that's a good kid", I tend to think of Cheylin. Plus, her a

Meteoric. That's a word you could use to describe the year Kate Rusnack had in the 2,000 Limit Rider with her gelding, Bet This Cats Smart. You could also include words such as... awesome, tough-to-beat, and awesome to watch. This duo was undeniable from the minute they cracked out at their first NCHA show this spring. The pair warranted their fair share of hype from the get-go. Bet This Cats Smart is a bit of a celebrity in Canadian circles, having had a very successful aged

If you interview one Roberts (aka our interview last week, Stacey Roberts), you should probably interview the other. Meet Dustin Roberts - husband to Stacey, dad to Sloan, has some great one-liners, is an all-around nice guy, and oh yeah... can be a pretty tough competitor in the cutting horse pen. When I first met Dusty (... am I allowed to call you by your barn name in this post?!) I remember thinking he had nerves of fricken' steel. The guy used to ride broncs back in the

Stacey Roberts, Okotoks, Alberta, recently placed top five in Alberta in the 2,000 Limit Rider and also made the Okotoks Novice Challenge finals this year. Stacey has had her ups and downs showing in the 2,000 Limit, just like the the rest of us, but this year during the Okotoks Classic I remember watching her ride her gelding, Two Spot, like he was a damn Mercuria horse and thinking to myself, "this girl is going to do something big next year." She definitely has what it tak

I've shared so many of my ups and downs with ya'll, I thought maybe it was time to start exposing you to other "beginners" in the show pen. So keep an eye on the blog for interviews with riders that battled their way through the 2,000 LR, and beyond, in their first couple years of showing. Beginner's deserve interviews too guys! First up is Cali Brandt, Vanderhoof BC. Cali and I go way back... on social media. When she purchased her first show horse, Star, a mare that I kne

How I look when I go to sleep at night after giving advice from the sidelines, and not having to actually show myself Somehow between showing my pony, working for a trainer, and airing all my dirty show-related laundry to the world via this blog (we ain't talking about dirt covered white Iconoclast's anymore ya'll!) I have become known as someone that shows their horse. Um... duh, you're saying, but hear me out - I've actually re-evaluated and shifted gears this year with my

A real photograph of Lady trying to deal with me as her rider I had a terrible show this past weekend, like all that talk of strong mental game, believing in your unicorn, and all that other glittery shit I preach... it disappeared. *Poof* Gone. I went to look for it directly before my first run on Saturday, but no surprise here, it was nowhere to be found. Pro-tip - you shouldn't go looking for your mental game, nor your glitter, as they are calling your name to walk to the

Lady trying to figure out why I'm constantly trying to turn her into a Donkey - Begin Scene - "I'm done. I hate this horse. I'm going to sell her." The rider exclaims, desperately waiting for some sort of unfounded praised to be hurled her way, or agreement that selling her horse is the right thing, so she can feel a bit better about herself. Her coach sighs heavily and slowly walks away from the immature beginner cutting horse rider who is approaching code red: full blown, i

Look at this rare photo of a cutting horse in its natural habitat Have you ever had a bad dream where a bad man in a ski mask sneaks up behind you, puts a gun to your head and screams, "GIVE ME ALL YOUR MONEY." That's literally how I feel every time I pay one of my entry fees. Except, the secretary of our association is like super nice and definitely doesn't wear a ski mask. I mean even though we're in the frozen arctic of Canada that would be super weird of her. BUT STILL, y

Nerves is such a big hurdle that so many beginners face. Cutting is literally a death trap for someone that experiences nervousness in sport. So many factors that can make you nervous. I mean, not that I EVER do this (me.. not me... nerves of steel over here ya'll, like super bendy, cheap steel, but steel all the same), but if you go to warm up your horse and you're already nervous about how they've been working that week. If you're nervous about your competition. If you're n

Another accurate depiction of my horse after I get in her way and completely ruin our runs Wow ya'll, when you stay up late one night and chuck out a post to the blogosphere about unicorns, glitter and tears, and you relate it to cutting - you definitely don't think it's going to get the insane reception it's received. 350+ shares on Facebook, 7800 views on my blog, and I'm starting to feel like - WOW, you guys really do like me! (Also starting to feel like - how am I going t

Lately I haven’t been writing on this blog very much. Aside from the fact that #LoperLife usually leaves me pretty drained, I’ve actually been hustlin’ trying to sell myself (err… I mean… my work) as a freelance journalist. So if you are an editor/business person reading this, you should hire me to write for your magazine/company. I can do promotion, interviews, self-deprecation, I’ll write reviews, heck I’ll write about dirt. If you need me to write 5,000 words on dirt, I ca