While at the State Fair last Sunday, Pat and I wandered by chance into the area where the cutting competition was taking place. (Possibly it was just a demo and not a competition, since there weren't many people watching and it was the penultimate day of the fair.) What is cutting? Well, it's definitely a cowboy sport, based on actual herding techniques used on ranches. The objective is to separate a single cow from the herd and keep it under control. A huge part of succeeding at this sport clearly depends on the cutting horse; that is, a horse with the ability to stop and turn on a dime, and with a strong instinct to take charge of the cow. I've never seen such agile and smart horses! They were amazing! The cutting we watched only involved a single heifer, not a herd, but even so, I could tell how much skill and intuition it takes on the part of both horse and rider. Here are a few pictures that I grabbed of the event (I really wish I'd brought a decent camera and lens with me!).
These horses can put on the brakes like nobody's business!
This composite shows how they can turn on a dime. I was most impressed by this particular horse, who seemed especially smart and responsive.
Here he is again, in action. Once he got the heifer under his control, he actually used his entire body, including his head, to move it where he wanted it to go. Pretty cool!
Tomorrow... awesome model trains!
1 comment:
I can see that taking a lot of practice and skill. Great action shots!
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