Lacadaisical Competitor

Back in our NM days when my kids were younger, they were into 4H and horses. They were also on the Red River Junior Ski Team. As homeschoolers, we thought it was important to have our kids in all sorts of social activities. Whether that was necessary or not is not important. The real importance was the fun we had doing the activities. My son was very competitive in all that he did. Not that he was a big winner, but he did want to win and tried hard to do so. I could tell you stories about his competitive spirit. On the other hand Jesse was lackadaisical at best. Hmm, that could be a great name for her pottery business, Lacadaisical Potter, and she could sign her name with a daisy rather than a leaf. I digress. Jesse seemed to enjoy the social aspect of competing, but she never won, nor did she seem to care if she won or lost. If you know Jesse now, you might find this hard to believe.
Look at the differences in riders.

My sister came to watch the kids at a 4H rodeo in Cimarron, NM one year. Jesse was entered in barrel racing, which is very exciting when the rider whips and rides and the crowd goes wild cheering. I can remember my sister saying that she thought Jesse would be great at barrels and was looking forward to watching her compete. I told my sister not to get her hopes up. Sure enough, Jesse came loping out on her horse, Jolene. They looked like they were out for a Sunday ride. They did the barrels smoothly and beautifully, but extremely slow. My sister laughed and laughed.

At another rodeo in Tucumcari, Jesse was entered in goat tying. This is where the rider speeds down the arena to where a goat is staked out on a length of rope. The rider leaps off her horse, nanny slams the goat, and ties its legs – similar to calf roping. Once again, Jesse loped down the arena, stepped carefully off of her horse, slammed the goat (she liked that part) and then began tying it. She tied it and retied it and then tied it again. It took forever. As she came out of the arena, I told Toby not to say anything to her about her performance, but he couldn’t help it. His words to her were, "So, did you knit it some britches?!"

As for her competitive skiing, well it was a bit like her rodeo performances. She always looked good, but she never tried hard, never went very fast, and never won. That is why I find this picture so stinkin’ funny. Jesse is currently in CO with friends and she won a race!