by Savage Glascock
posted November 4, 2009
) Photo by www.glascockphotography.com Avery Pettway and Leather |
Anyway, I may be way wrong again, but I think it works like this: The first three divisions are separated by ˝ of a second and the fourth division is separated from the third by a full second. Teams A through Z go for broke in qualifying rounds and they are placed in divisions based on their run times. Then they go to the finals in their respective divisions. However, there is a hitch. If you kick serious tale in your division, you automatically advance however many divisions your time dictates. I guess that makes it so that someone who had a bad qualifying round can still go for all the marbles, but the ones in the lower divisions who run like the wind have to sweat bullets until the whole show is over to see if they won.
So out of 700 teams from all over the planet, Avery Pettway and her best buddy Stamped Leather ran hard in the qualifier and placed 6th in the 4th division. That's when I got all lathered up and beside myself and wrote that thing the other day about being Champions of the Universe and all. Avery and Leather would be the number 3 team in division 4 which meant they were one of the first teams to run last Saturday night.
What they did was have the run of their life to date. On a good-hearted horse that cost a fraction of what was spent on a lot of the competition, Avery Pettway trounced everybody in the 4th division as well as everyone in the 3rd. She and Leather wound up in division 2 and finished 66th in the world. This is what Daniel, the world's 66th best stall mucker, said:
"Ultimately though, this is not a story about accolades or pride. This is a story about a girl and her horse. A relationship built on hard work and trust. A relationship with ups and downs but fueled by perseverance. After two injuries this year and the World Championship closing in, Leather’s body finally began to heal. Practice after practice over the past eight weeks, they experienced together consistent improvement. It is a story of a girl learning to trust her horse all over again (at a high rate of speed). It is a story of a horse learning to trust his rider as she has trained him and guided him and asked much of him. It is a story of a girl and her horse going to the World Championship not sure if they were worthy to be there. It is a story that culminates with a girl and her horse accomplishing more than she ever dreamed: their fastest run ever, a Division 2 finish and 66th in the World…and all barrels standing. Ultimately, it is a story about a girl and her horse...and their discovery that they together are worthy indeed."
A girl and her horse. How can it get any better than that?
Savage Glascock
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