Shadow and I went thru the starting line at a swift canter. As I lined him up for cones 1, 2 & 3, he picked up a little speed. The cones were set up so they led you right into Gate A of the Hazards. Coming out of Gate D, you were lined up for the next set of 3 cones. Although I had not walked the course at all, it just flowed and Shadow and I whipped our way around it.
Into Gate A at Hazard 1, straight thru B and out between the barrel and the wall to make a right hand circle back around to go thru C, then out A to make another right hand circle to go back in thru D. Out thru A to cones 4, 5 & 6 and into hazard 2. There were times I felt the cart sliding thru the turns and as before with Kat, I found myself standing on the rails of the cart, leaning my weight over the wheels to keep them on the ground.
Hazard 2 was two left hand circles. In thru A, circle around and thru B, circling around thru C, out thru D and turn left for the next 3 cones. Going thru cones 7, 8 & 9 I felt Shadow picking up speed, but since there was a slight curve to the right to make Gate A on Hazard 3, I had to slow him down. Problem was, he didn't want to. Shadow was having a blast out there too!
We made it thru Hazard 3 and I let him go whizzing out and thru cones 10, 11 & 12 because Hazard 4 was simply two right hand circles. One circle going in thru A, out thru B, widening it to go in thru C and come out of D with a straight shot to the finish line. Once we made it thru D I leaned forward and let Shadow go. I didn't have to push him or encourage him much, Shadow just dug in and took off. Once we crossed the finish line, I heard the people in the stands start to cheer. I let him make two laps of the gazebo while easing back on him to slow things down. He had done his job and as we came towards the stands I leaned forward and said "He did all the work" Peggy announced our time of 2:00:39, the fastest time and we were the winners. The cheering and clapping got really loud right about then.
I drove Shadow out the gate and back over to JoAnn. She knew he still had it and as I jumped off the cart, I went up and hugged the little guy. He had done an awesome job and we both had fun out there. As quick as that it was over and we needed to tear things down, getting it all moved out of the arena for the next classes. We all thought it went rather well and talking to Jim later, he said the people watching were thrilled watching me go thru it so fast. I told him "That's what is exciting, that's what they want to see. You gotta give them what they want and that's exactly what we did."
6 comments:
Was JoAnn worried that the cart might flip?
I'm not sure if she was worried about it, but there were times it very easily could and I wasn't risking it.
Sounds awesome!
That sounds like a lot of fun!
That sounds like a lot of fun!
Jodi it is a wicked blast. I' you're ever anywhere in these parts, I would be glad to take you for a spin on the cart to experience it. However, that comes with a warning- it can be addicting and then it gets expensive.
Post a Comment