About Me

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I was raised in California, where my family ranched along with my parents raising us 5 kids, sometimes a few extra with them involved in foster care. I remember as a little girl how I loved watching my Dad ride...especially the gritty horses. He has a special way with horses. I knew from a kid that I wanted to marry a Cowboy...so I did. Although I haven't been a Wyoming Wife for long, my husband and I live an exciting life together. Not only are we partners but were the best of friends. These are going to be stories which include my emotions (which as a female they seem to be on the fritz sometimes!), days gone bad, and days that ended absolutely perfect. All in all...this is just a journal of my crazy, beautiful life as a Wyoming Wife.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Feeling Helpless

I have been so busy working at the store I haven’t been able to help Kody work cows or even just ride. It had been 10 days since I had rode my colt. The last time I rode was about a 15 mile ride moving yearlings to another pasture. They were gentle yearlings, easy to move and there wasn’t a rotten one in the bunch.
I had been cranky with the bi-polar weather, the rain, the cold and the wind. Everyday I have off work there are lighting storms, thunder that will send chills up your spine and rain I swear will leave welts on anything you leave exposed. I was chatting with Kody about the weather dilemma, more so saying this weather needed to change so I could get out and do something. Not five minutes after being on the phone with him, my sister calls and tells me she will work for me on Friday so I can go move bulls with Kody and my father in law Kelly.
We didn’t wake up to terribly early, the wind was supposed to start blowing around 11 o’clock. Our horses were saddled and we were off the gather the bulls into the corrals so they can be turned out for summer with the cows. I personally like moving cows, bulls are rank and slightly violent with each other, they are big and my horse and I are small. Kelly and I weren’t too much man power with the horses we were riding, the colt he was on, Alice was her second ride. Although my horse is still green we can still get up and go, granted on real windy days he had to check out every stick, sagebrush and gate posts. It really is a chore riding young horses.
Kelly and I were off in one direction and for once Kody was on a horse that’s broke, Kody went to gather a few that were off in the distance and Kelly and I thought it would be good if we stuck together to help each other up if one of our horses slipped out from underneath us. Kelly had Kody trot my horse around in a few circles, I told him it wasn’t necessary but he insisted, he told me, “Jordan, I don’t want the fine china to get broke.” I guess I couldn’t argue with that.
Our horses were doing great trailing these bulls, the wind was blowing about 40 m.p.h., our horses were a little jumpy but that is expected with the wind. We gathered all the bulls, they were spread out pretty good. And then…my hat blew off my head. Luckily my horse only jumped once, my stampede string was as tight as it could be, but not tight enough for rip roaring wind.
We get to the gate to push the bulls through, and on the other side of the fence there are 7 horses that rushed to us, and I’m not kidding you the ride went downhill from there. Those horses are nickering, bulls are fighting at the gate they need to go thorough. I swear one bull literally thought about charging my little paint horse and I along with Kelly and Alice. There is barn wood everywhere, old rolls of wire, a boat, an old motor home, everything you don’t want around when your trying to push these bulls through the gate when your riding a colt. Bulls went in every direction, my horse was preoccupied taking everything in, and I’m just trying to stay on him. I whipped him with my reins and finally got him to go while Kody is hootin’ and hollerin’ working all these bulls by himself. I was the helpless girl on a young horse on a windy day with a bunch of junk piled all around us with bulls fighting and my horse jumping all around. Lets just hope the next ride isn’t like that.
To make things even a little better, we got them all in the corral and were short one bull. We loaded our horses and Kody was off trailing the lost bull to the corral. It was a great photo opportunity for me.
Kody also reassured me that he has been there before, riding young horses and sometimes you feel helpless on them…that made me feel a little better.
That’s all for now!
~Wyoming Wife
Here our some pictures of our eventful day!

The bull that made me wonder if it was my last day.  Doesn't he look grumpy?

The instigator


The needy and nosey horses.

The big loop, and the Cowboss for the day.

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