Once in a lifetime…

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It is said that once in your lifetime you’ll have one good horse.  Some will search for that one horse, and never have that chance encounter.  Others may have met that horse, but, never realized it until it was too late.  One Dressage Rider may have found her once in a lifetime horse…

I have met a horse that is vying to take his rider Susan Treabess on a quest for a place on the United States Olympic Para Equestrian Team.  Susan and this special horse have their hearts set on competing at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Susan Treabess resides in California and has been training with World Champion Dressage Rider Steffen Peters since 2009.  Susan was born without a left hand, and wears a prosthesis.  Susan participates in a variety of sports, but has been riding since she was five.  Susan has been riding in competitively in Dressage since she was sixteen and her riding career evolved to allow her to compete in International Para-Dressage in 2006.  In 2008 Susan found herself selected to be included on a prestigious list, as a developing rider for the US Para Dressage Team.  Susan is kept busy riding and training for the events that will showcase her and her equine partner to the world in 2012.

Susan’s equine partner, Fugitivo XII a Pure Spanish Horse, is equally talented.  Terry Waechter who is the owner of this beautiful horse was able to provide me a little insight on this majestic stallion. I first met Fugitivo at the 2010 National Celebration of the Pure Spanish Horse.  Fugitivo was indeed magnificent, he stood in a class of his own, with an undeniable presence that was captivating.  He was friendly and approachable and seemed to know he was a champion, and that he was waiting for his human partner to join him in the ring.  That wouldn’t happen until the spring of 2011.

Fugitivo is a nine year old P.R.E. stallion who was imported from Spain as a two year old.  From the moment his hooves touched American soil, Fugitivo was turning heads and winning Championships and awards.  Fugitivo is also a proven breeding stallion having sired nine foals, and currently in Australia for breeding.

Fugitivo and Susan’s progress towards the London 2012 Paralympic Games can be followed on Fugitivo’s website www.fugitivo-xii.com/ or on Facebook at  www.facebook.com/groups/237848992921477/?ref=ts

I wish Fugitivo and Susan great success as they train, show, and prepare for the Olympics.  They are already Champions in their own right both in the Dressage Arena and outside of the arena, with nothing to prove to the world, and I am proud to have met Fugitivo.  Perhaps one day I will have the chance to see Fugitivo and Susan together at a Dressage competition, and capture their special moment as partners. 

Camera Wench

“Have Camera… Will Travel.”

Luke Snyder Win’s PBR’s Last Cowboy Standing

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The Professional Bull Rider’s Last Cowboy Standing was a special event at the Mandalay Bay on April 16, 2011. This was not the event to miss, and even if you couldn’t make it to Las Vegas, you could have watched on pay-per-view. If you were a true PBR fan this was a great way to see the best bulls and the best bull riders go head to head before the World Finals in October.

Ty Murray said it best ‘That’s why they play the game.’ This event was the first of its kind for the PBR, and it highlighted the qualities of a good bull rider – ride for the love of the game, grit, determination, try, drive, and the heart it takes to ride the best bulls and walk away with the knowledge that they are the best of the best. There was no room for mistakes; if a bull rider was not top of his game, he wouldn’t move on to another bull. Go big or go home… there would be no second chances.

This was a very intimate event for the 6,011 people in attendance for this history making, sold out event. Arena side seating closer than the World Finals, but, the crowd was not anything like a World Finals crowd. I am not sure where the true die hard PBR fans were, but they were not at The Last Cowboy Standing. There may have been a few, but they were lost in the crowd. The crowd was not enthusiastic about the bulls or the bull riding, a ninety point ride, or a great save by the bull fighters didn’t attract any interest or cause of concern.

It was so sad to see ‘Make Some Noise,’ appear on the screen after a ninety point ride. You call yourself a bull riding fan??? I don’t think so; a true fan would be out of their seat cheering the bull rider for a great ride and or the bull for a great effort. Sadly the World Finals fans were missing on a Saturday night in Vegas. What was even sadder was to watch the people rush out after, if not before the last ride, not many people stayed to watch the crowing of a champion. I can only hope the fact that it was a one night only event, was what kept the true PBR fan away from their favorite bulls and bull riders. I expect to see you all in Vegas, join me on the red carpet in October.

Luke Snyder is the Last Cowboy Standing. Luke won Round 1 with won 88 points on Slim Chance. In the second round Luke rode Braveheart for 90.5 points. In the third round Luke rode Cooper Tires Wild & Out for 90 points, taking home the $200,000 prize for being the “Last Cowboy Standing.” Luke was the only one out of forty riders who rode all three of his bulls. Luke Snyder did what he had to do, riding all three of his bulls, with focus, determination, and the knowledge that he could be at the top of his game if he wanted it.

Ty Murry said this about Luke’s winning ride, ‘That wasn’t luck, that wasn’t because he drew just right or things just happened to fall into place. He went out there and he went at those bulls, and he was aggressive and he was expecting to ride them. He was making the moves that it takes, and it wasn’t like he just had a perfect seat the whole way… He took charge of it and he looked like a fantastic bull rider this weekend, and it paid off pretty well.’

Luke made this statement about his historic win ‘It totally felt like Vegas in ’01. I totally got in a zone, and it’s a point where you don’t have to think about it. You just slide up and you just let reactions take over. It almost means as much to me now as it did then, because I was young and I thought the world was mine. Now as I’m older – I’m one of the older guys in the locker room, I kind of solidified myself that I can still ride among my peers after tonight.’

Luke was the 2001 PBR World Champion at nineteen, and tonight’s was his three hundredth career Built Ford Tough Series event, which Luke has competed in. Congratulations to Luke on his historic event win.

I would like to thank the fans, the bull riders, the bull fighters for protecting the fallen, and the PBR for allowing me to attend this special event.

And remember two things ‘Ride 8 seconds, Move on. Come up short. GO HOME,’ and ‘PBR The Toughest Sport on Dirt.’

Camera Wench

“Have Camera… Will Travel.”

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