First order of business:
We need a name for the above buckskin. What should we call The Hunk who also happens to be a knock out? Suggestions?
We knew you’d help.
Second order of business:
Catching up with Bella:
As you know, Phil went home after the trial period. Hudson had nothing to do with this (If I keep repeating this statement, it might be true?), other than pointing out Phil might be a tad timid for a rope horse.
Bella has shopped for months, while practicing on the spare rope horses that belong to friends. Somehow, she STILL managed to make it into the national team roping finals. Without owning a horse, or even roping off the same horse. For us wanna-be dressage queens, that’s a feat equivalent with catch-riding a bunch of different level dressage horses, and qualifying to ride in a National-Level Grand Prix.
She found her horse two weeks before Nationals. The above buckskin with no name.
Bella is a competitor. With a capital C.
I asked Bella if there was a live feed, so I could watch the roping. She said she’d text me her competition numbers, but timing was inexact, since they run one hundred teams an hour.
Pause while Jane tries to process that statement.
“Um. How many teams ARE there?”, I ask.
“Twelve hundred or so, I think, was the last count?”, Bella replies.
Or twelve hours straight of roping. For three days.
2,400 horses and riders? Holy crap! I try to picture this. Fail. Turn the image into sprinkles on a cake. Much better. Now I can visualize the odds.
Strangely, the odds make me hungry.
Focus, Jane, FOCUS.
She’s doing this on a horse she’s known less than 10 days?
Carlos, Bella’s boyfriend and my adopted brother, texted me the above photo on the last night of competition:
Carlos: “high point entry”
I immediately texted back.
Jane: “Thanks. What does that MEAN?”
Carlos: “finals”
Jane: “Thanks. What does THAT mean?”
Carlos: “Good run, they could win.”
Holy crap. I really really really need to go to the gym. In this lifetime.
Jane, still not sure I understand: “Uh. So she made it into the elite group that competes to win the whole shebang? The national title?”
Carlos: “Yep”.
Man of few words.
I think about the variables involved: two horses, two people, one random ticked-off steer determined NOT to be caught, and probably around 6 seconds for the two horses, two people, two ropes, and one ticked-off steer to come together at speed.
It feels physically impossible. So much could go wrong. You aren’t relying on only yourself and your horse. Off by a fraction in timing, communication…a rogue steer…partner misses, you miss…it all happens.
Out of 1200 teams, they made it into the elite high point teams, despite a rough first day of competition: all her points were scored on day two. Day three, she’s qualified for a shot at the national title.
(They didn’t win the title, but they did rank very high in the finals!)
We are SO PROUD of you, Bella!
Bella and Carlos, at team roping practice:
Comment away!
Let’s hear those “I’m a bad *ss – but handsome – dude who happens to be a real softie” names…
Great names, guys! I’ll let you know what Bella decides…it might take awhile: we all have to get to know our horses, right? I texted her my two cents, honestly unsure if any really fit him: Brody (Love names that end in “y”) Brannon, Rory, Clay, Bronson, and while this might be a little close to her former rope horse’s name, “Cash”. Be nice if he turned out to be a Cash Cow!
Funny, I looked at the picture and thought Justin Time. And then the first comment was Justin.
She found him just in time. A winning run is just in time. The announcer can pronounce it. And he can be Justin or Timer around the barn.
He is SO gorgeous, and big congrats to Bella!
For his name, I’d suggest Justin, after the beautiful buckskin used in “Dances with Wolves”, but The Dude is pretty cool, too. 🙂
A.K.A.
Then you can change his barn name as often as you like and never have to change the name he competes under. (This is why I am not allowed to name horses, by the way.)
The Dude!
I’m terrible at names but he is a handsome Dude. He looks so smart and sweet. Sometimes I think you have to know a horse for a while before his name comes to you.
All our animal names come from books/movies, so here’s my list of suggestions for a buckskin horse that does cowboy stuff. His name needs to be cool, but easily understood by the guy on the microphone who has already named off 1200 other horse names.
Here goes:
ENDER. <<— my top pick
STARBUCK although everyone will think "coffee" and not "galactica"
BONES
TRIBBLE you did say "softy"
FLUFFY <<– why you shouldn't let Hagrid name your horse
TOTO well, you AREN'T in Kansas, are you?
HOBBIT second breakfast anyone? How about dessert?
Funny, Shaun and I were just talking over the same issue: a name the announcer won’t fumble after 100 teams an hour. Personally, I love Starbuck, or possibly even BuckStar (though that has the potential to turn in to “Buckster?”) Laughed like a hyaena over “Fluffy” and Hagrid.
That horse is way too pretty for a bronc nose. JMHO.
I’m thinking Leonardo. Leo for short.
you know, like the ninja turtle. And the artist….
sorry I left it as the wrong person. I just can’t rid of that damn account.
No worries! Great names,everyone, keep ‘me coming!
What about Redford? I was thinking of this because years ago my trainer had a bay TB named Robert. I thought that was a weird name for him until I learned that she was gaga over Robert Redford because he was/is so manly and handsome. So she wanted the horse to have a handsome/manly name. In that vein he could be Clint, Eastwood, Viggo, Mortensen (Mort), Marlon, Brando, Harrison, or Ford. I think you get the idea. Or look at a map and find cool names of Old West towns. Good luck!
Oooh! Seconded Lori M. Name him The Doctor. Doc for short. ‘Cause he’s clearly very talented… and has a lot of heart… maybe two of them.
Hombre, Trozo (chunk in spanish), gruesa (means solid). You have to say those two with the spanish roll on your soft vowels so they sound manly.
Garth! Good for her, that’s amazing.
If he was at my house, he’d probably end up as Buck, but it totally doesn’t suit him (we have a dun named Dunny, and a chestnut who was nicknamed Red at a past barn). Willy Nelson?
john.
My personal favorite that comes to mind?! ‘A Little Amaretto’, call him Rhett. #1 on my list. Others you might consider, Daino (Buckskin in Italian), Gunner, Tonka, Sargent (Sarge), ‘Ride Like The Wind Cowboy’, call him Cowboy. or Hudson. I’ve never met a horse named Rhett though, and the show name across the loudspeaker makes people think. Normally horses get names that don’t mean a thing, or are goofy and don’t make a whole lot of sense. Amaretto makes me think of his color, so there you have it! Hope this helps…he is one beautiful boy and Bella is lucky to have scored such a winner. CONGRATS! 🙂
He’s a really beautiful horse! I suggest Sundance.
(This might be a second comment. Not sure the first one went through.)
I think you should name him “Brûlée.” It rolls off the tongue and would sound awesome over a loudspeaker at a competition.
Mostly though it’s because his coloring made me think of dessert. 🙂
I think you should call him Rambler
For some reason, Brûlée comes to mind. It sounds a bit exotic, because he’s got a bit of flair to him. I think I’d the sound of it over a loudspeaker. But really it’s just because his coloring made me think of dessert. (“Caramel” didn’t seem quite right. “Heath” was also in the running briefly, but I think his dark socks are more “flame torched” than “chocolate covered.”)
What? You were the one who started it with the sprinkles on cake reference.
Rambler
Bart. Because he’s clearly a cowboy.
He’s gorgeous! No name ideas, but good luck, he deserves something epic.
How about doctor who?
john.