The clouds that had been hovering over us all day had finally arrived, big fat drops falling across my horse's neck heralded their arrival. He clamped his ears down tight to his head in response, shaking his head side to side in obvious disgust. The gray horse paid the downfall no mind, he simply grunted as he worked his back deeper and deeper into the sand. From his left side to his right, he rolled completely over. Pulling his front legs back under himself with another loud grunt, he hiked himself up out of the sand and gave his body a monumental shake. He stood with a hind foot cocked now, licking his lips and putting on a show of perfect relaxation for the world to see.

The rain was really coming down now, and my mount's disgust was growing by the second.

"That horse ride double?"

"Only if you hurry up!"

Without hesitation he swung up behind me, water dripping from the front of his straw hat made it's way down the back of my neck, drawing a shiver and giving me goosebumps. We made quite a sight, riding double on my good horse and ponying a horse a piece on each side! I knew we wouldn't all fit through the narrow gate by the chutes, so I took a detour to the bigger out gate. Our 3 horses squeezed together and made their way through the double gate as the rain really started to fall. It had been steady before, but now it was an all out onslaught.

He rode all the way to my trailer with me, and helped me strip both horses of their saddles. We jumped all three horses in the trailer, then ran to the truck. It was raining hard enough that I couldn't see the arena right across the road in front of us, so I knew we weren't going anywhere anytime soon. A quick call to my dad revealed he had decided to ride out the storm in the concession stand, so we were content to simply sit and watch it rain.

We talked for what seemed like hours, it was effortless. He told me about his summer plans, a bid for rookie of the year and his dreams of the year end finals. It wasn't anything I hadn't heard before, but coming from him it could tell he'd do it, there was a genuine feel to his words. He sat in the passenger seat with a fat CD case between us on the console, flipping lazily through the 100s of brightly colored discs. We had the same taste in music it appeared, well, with a few exceptions that he openly laughed at. I hadn't been watching the clock, and was shocked to see that we'd been held captive by the downpour for over an hour. It's intensity had kept up, it was raining as hard now as it had when we ran for cover after loading the horses.

I watched him from the end of the arena. He smiled and laughed easily among his competitors, his enthusiasm was infectious. I sat in my spot in the catch pen, waiting for the next run to go out and trail another steer in. There were only a few more ropers to go, so it wouldn't be a long wait. It was getting hot, the sun was almost straight above the valley. The clouds to the south looked as if they held rain, but whether they would bring a downpour was anyones guess.
I trailed the last three steers from the arena, then helped to track all the extras from one end to the other. Few people were still in the arena, I was riding my own horse and leading my Dad's. It had been along day for the both of them, both were walking with their heads low, calm and relaxed. The breeze had layed the heat for the time being, and I couldn't help but feel good to be on a good horse with the bright sunlight warming my back. It was almost a lullaby; the sound of my horse's feet as they shuffled through the sand, the soft swish of their tails as they swatted at flies along with the low movement of their breathing. The rocking of my gelding's stride was so relaxing that I found myself becoming drowsy. Through my stupor I could hear hoof beats, and felt my horse raise his head as a rider approached. The big gray horse that I had watched win the round was now naked of saddle and bridle, he wore a plain rope halter and lead, nothing else. He and his rider both appeared to have had a dip in the creek, the horse was dark with water from knees to withers, and his rider's jeans were damp as well.
He rode to the middle of the pen then swung off in one rapid motion, flipping his horse's lead rope across his neck as he moved. As he stepped away, his horse immediately dropped his nose to search for the opportune place to roll. He searched for a moment or two, intent on finding the deepest spot to flop down in.I pulled my ponies up and smiled ot myself as the other horse lay himself down.