The Grand Horizontals - 7 - Corner Like a Cowgirl
Jordan Briggs - 2021 Barrel Race Champion - cowgirlmagazine.com
The Grand Horizontals - 7 - Corner Like A Cowgirl
A variation on the “Half Ass” lesson
For five nights in a row, they prepare for under 15 seconds of hard-riding glory. Their status is marked in winnings calculated by a formula that combines time plus error points for kicking over the barrels. They are described as ‘teams:’ rider and horse. Several of the riders call their horses “Sister.”
Professional Rodeo barrel racing “requires a combination of the horse's athletic ability and the horsemanship skills of a rider in order to safely and successfully maneuver the horse around three barrels placed in a triangle pattern within a large arena.”
How do you hold your corner as your horse digs deep into the sawdust to round the barrel without knocking it over? And then drive full gallop down the line to finish your run in under 15 seconds?
Those deep-turning maneuvers demand side-bending flexibility and hip-to-clavicle alignment: all in the service of balancing on, while steering, a 1000-pound animal galloping at top speed. The movement of dropping the hip and shoulder together and its corollary, fanning the ribs to spread the clavicle and hip apart, is the core of this lesson and one of the tricks a cowgirl needs to keep from knocking over the barrel.
You’ll want a stool or low chair for this lesson. (The saddle is optional.) The lesson explores leaving the comfort of the seat, one '‘cheek’ at a time. How do you balance with different alignments of the shoulder and clavicle: with the dropping hip, opposite the dropping hip, clavicles with and opposite the lifting hip.
Saddle stool - Wayfare.com
The lesson is colloquially called the “Half Ass” lesson. It can be a bit of a workout. An alternative is to have a small pad on hand. Rather than drop one ‘cheek’ off the edge of your chair, lift the opposite hip with your pad and continue with the group. But if you are going to indulge your inner rodeo queen barrel rider, it’s worth challenging those obliques and glutes.
Get on your boots, fringe and spangled denim. We are riding. Or swinging a club. Or paddling that kayak. Or negotiating a slippery parking lot.
The Healing Sound this week: The Triple Warmer - HEEEEEEEE - balancing all the energies down the center line
No Science Nerd Candy this week. Instead, try resisting the rabbit hole of 2021 NFR Barrel Racing Championship:
How You Might Feel After This Lesson: Connected through the entire torso; Ribs open and flexible; Breath deep and wide; Arms resting easily in shoulder sockets; Shoulder girdle - shoulder blades, clavicles - resting comfortably over upper ribs; Torso supported by pelvis, chest free to adjust as needed; Ready to swing; Ready to reach; Regal posture with your beauty bones ready for viewing.
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