Do I go for it?

The big question. My first venture into big time barrel racing, (for me thats where more than 20 barrel racers get together :-) did not go so well. All sorts of reasons and excuses, accept and move forward. Next weekend is another big race and I am going should I? or shouldn't I? Is the horse healthy and sound? Yes, Am I healthy and sound? Sort of LOL. So the thing to do is layout an exercise plan for the week, (don't skip any days) and see if horse is healthy and sound before the race. At the end of the week, do a recheck, is the horse healthy and sound? if yes then go. The reason this is so important is that if your horse is not feeling good and is hurting then it makes it hard for them to perform at their best and it creates a big distraction for you. Going to your first few Big events is not easy. Takes a lot of guts to try so give yourself a break and plan a few tries :-)