I Promise You

What feels like many years ago, I began writing this blog.

It took awhile, but eventually it found its' voice and the goal was to encourage women who broke the mold.

Women who wanted to be better cowboygirls, hands, horsemen....women who wanted to be masters of living a life out loud. 

And then I became jaded and discouraged and I quit writing because I felt for the most part, we as women weren't building each other up, and we had lost sight of the goal to become better at life....in whatever capacity fate was leading us...be that horseback or on high heels.

But then I stumbled upon this post on Instagram, and it breathed life back into me, and my heart, and my pen.

THIS is what Buckaroo Barbie is about and why I started writing in the first place. 

Thank you, Kari. Beautiful words and photograph due to Kari Gibbons. 

"We'll be looking back, maybe ten years from now, and maybe I'll have a little more figured out. 

Maybe I'll be a little less in your way, maybe a little less, "Kari, get behind me!" from your boss. 

I promise I'll keep doing my best, because this is the best thing that's ever happened to me." 

- Kari Gibbons

Thanks for the inspiration Kari! 

xo xo Liz 

Casting Into A Dream

It was like many early mornings in the past, but instead of driving to the barn to catch ponies, I wore rubber boots and gingerly stepped onto a boat full of men to spend the day fishing for calico bass, sea bass, and fingers crossed, a yellow tail or two.

4 AM on a boat has to be one of my new favorite experiences ever. Darkness envelopes the boat like a cloak, the bait is loaded with silly looking pelicans snapping sardines up whenever they can, and then everyone troops below deck and crams themselves into the tiniest bunks you’ve ever seen. I shivered myself to sleep on the cold vinyl covering, but there may be nothing better than being rocked to sleep as you sail to the islands to fish.

My love has been fly fishing, the beautiful flies, the wading to better pools, and the constant back and forth of my line kissing the water…BUT…this was fun. This was a rush and exhausting and something totally different and I wanted to go again the very next day. I only got one picture, I promise I caught at least 3 more and they make damn good eating too!

How many Buckaroo Barbies do we have that love to fish?? Are you a dyed-in-the-wool river rat or do you find your fun out on the open sea???

We missed all you girls while we were away, hope you're ready to get back to our regular posts! Adrian is FINALLY starting to slowly recover from her horse wreck and life is almost back to normal. Hope you have a wonderful Monday night Dolls! 

xo xo Liz

Throwback Thursday | Mishaps & Hidden Traps

I can’t remember what we were doing that day. All I can remember for sure is that the colors seemed incredibly intense and that it was just Tilly and me and the pack of oddly assorted dogs running along beside us.

That morning Tilly had several Border Collies with her including her main dog Ila, and a little rat dog named Clancey. They took turns running behind their mistress and then darting into the brush to sniff what must have particularly tempting smells. 

We had just trotted off a hill and had fallen into single file right next to the fence, and I felt like we had been in a hurry.

All of a sudden a terrible howling, squalling noise erupted from the black and white airborne form of Ila. 

Tilly's dog was on the other side of the barbed wire fence and her body was flipping up in the air and all the while she was screaming in a completely non-animal way. Or a very animal way, if you’ve ever listened to an animal in pain.

At first I thought she was losing in a sore manner to something that was quite upset, like a badger attached to her nose, when I realized her front paw was caught in a trap. Tilly and I jumped off our horses, snagged our way through the fence and shoved our way past the rest of the now very concerned pack of dogs milling around their friend.

“If you can hold her, I’ll try and get this off.” I said. I was stronger than Tilly, plus her dog never really liked me.

Tilly latched onto her dog’s collar and as soon as my fingertips touched the trap holding the paw she snapped at me.

I yanked my hand back, cursing under my breath while Tilly wrestled with her dog and got her head locked down beneath her knee, effectively cutting off her air and her ability to bite me...I hoped.

The trap attached to Ila's paw had no teeth, and on the first try I couldn’t get it open. Second try and she was free, skulking through the sagebrush like WE were the ones who had hurt her, not just set her free.

I patted Tilly on the back when her dog continued to run around just fine, no limping or broken bones. We climbed back through the fence and as soon as Tilly’s seat hit the saddle, her horse bucked straight up in the air, very neatly and very hard, about 4 times. Which her horse very rarely did.

“Hang on, Tilly!!” I hollered in what I hoped was an encouraging voice.

And like that it was over.

Reins fixed, chinks settled into back place...we trotted off.

It’s always seemed funny to me how short in real time wrecks usually turn out to be, even though the event itself feels unending. A seemingly still and calm scene is briefly thrown into the sharp relief of colors, sounds, and smells and then all is still yet again. And life continues on.

Kind of funny, isn’t it?

xo xo Liz

Silver Bits & Champagne

Always take your makeup off at night. Be kind to yourself in your thoughts. Put your phone away. LAUGH!!! Keep two bottles of Champagne in the fridge just because. Eat your greens. Spend time with your horse NOT training on something. Look people in the eye. Smile more. Be the first person to offer to help out. Buy your friend roses just because. Invest in gear and clothing of quality. Try something new. LAUGH!!! Learn to stand on your head just so you can impress a toddler at some point in your life. Always feed your animals first. Realize that you are 100 times stronger than you fully understand now. Get your toes done. Call your mother or father and tell them thank you. Get excited for fall but enjoy the last of summer. LAUGH!!! Color outside the lines. Learn to cook something you always order at a restaurant. Seek excellence. Allow yourself to have a bad day, week, or month; it’ll get better. Catch a few sunrises/sunsets with your dog and a cup of coffee a few times a month. Just be. Love your crazy, imperfect life and take ACTION to be the person you want to be!!

xo xo Liz

Consistency Is The Key

We all want it; that butt-tucking, tail-dragging, foot-reaching stop in our horses. The ideas of how to achieve it are many and varied, and reasons to not ask your horse for this stop are also becoming common, according to conversations on many horsemanship groups.

For me, I feel like most horses learn to stop hard or instantly brace before a human ever climbs on their back. If I can lead my colt by his feet (with his feet roped), tail, and his back cinch area with the least amount of pressure, that awareness to pressure is going to translate to the first time I pull on the reins and ask for a stop. On the other hand, if I’ve never given back the pressure when he’s responded, I’m not aware of my body weight and language on the ground, that’s going to translate to that colt’s stop as well when I eventually ask for it by bracing, becoming stiff all through his back, and getting frustrated.

When I start asking a horse to stop, I want him collected first. I don’t mean giving at his head with one of those awful, bendy, chicken necks…I mean collected all through his body. When a horse is properly collected his hind legs reach further forward and his whole body rounds up….preparing him to succeed at stopping nicely.

As soon as that horse gives his head, I sit down, say “whoa” (not hoe, that’s who stands on a street corner!!) and pull back evenly on my reins. I don’t increase the pressure, just hold it steady, and as soon as he stops I give the reins back to him.  I also always ask my colts to back up after stopping, because I feel that teaches them to keep their weight shifted to the back, freeing them up to jump side to side in order to stop a cow if needed, or jump ahead to get in front of something.

I believe as the rider my body language is incredibly important, especially when asking for a stop. If I’m stiff through my arms, down my shoulders and back and bracing my feet in the stirrups…that’s just going to translate to my horse. He’ll be wondering what in the heck is so awful to make me feel so uncomfortable on him, and he’ll usually mimic me with a brace and stiffness of his own.

The key to anything in life is doing things consistently. If you’re experimenting with something different each week to try and get a good stop on your horse, he’s just going to end up confused and you’re going to end up frustrated.

I used to feel my horses footfalls in order to know when to ask for a stop from my older horses, but since I got Lyme disease my sense of timing feels really off. To hopefully avoid that and not confuse my horses as much as possible, now I kind of tell them I’m going to ask for a stop before I actually do it. The same time I sit down in the saddle I touch my hands to my horse’s neck and say “whoa.” Then I begin to ask for a stop. Since I do that consistently, now when I start to sit down and as soon as my hands touch their neck, my horse puts the breaks on.

It’s nice to know that even though I could be failing my horse, there’s a way for me to set it up for him get around my shortcomings. 

Disclaimer: Adrian and I do not consider ourselves to be an authority on making nice horses, makeup, fashion, or life; we just share what works for us.

xo xo Liz

Jessica Simpson Reposted Buckaroo Barbie!!!

So, we were planning on posting a horsemanship blog today, but then something so exciting happened that we had to share it with you all!!

Ya’ll know who Jessica Simpson is, right? Of course you do, unless you live under a rock! The other day I bought the CUTEST pair of heels that she designed that are also the most comfortable heels I’ve ever worn. Seriously, not exaggerating at all.

I’ve been wearing them with everything and have been taking some photos in preparation for a post I’m writing on How To Walk In High Heels! I posted the photo on my Instagram last week and hardly anyone noticed. Artisitcally, I am super proud of this photo because it has a lot of the things I love in it….my sister’s art, heels, a book of the West, and fashion. Le sigh. Beauty and art.

Well 20 minutes ago I got a notification saying that Jessica Simpson Style took a photo of me on Instagram!! Heart racing, hands trembling I pushed the button and OMG!!!! They reposted my picture!!!

Here it is.

Even if you don’t wear heels, go ahead and look at it anyway, because I care!!

And in case you didn’t know, the fact that they used my hashtags is AMAZING!! The fact that they used the term #cowgirlblogger and #buckaroobarbie is a REALLY BIG DEAL!! 

YAYA for Buckaroo Barbie being talked about by mainstream media!! 

Xo xo Liz