RL Performance Horses LLC

10/28/2026

Huge congrats to our good friend Melinda Dawson Roche on her new stallion Lethal. 🤎 He looks amazing! Opal with LUNAR MEDIA PDX killed it once again on this flyer design, and Megan Amelia Cobb did a fantastic job on the photos as always!

I want to give a shout out and big thank you to Megan Cobb for her fantastic professional pictures of Lethal. And to Opal Luna with Lunar Media PDX for doing an outstanding job and being se easy to work on logo and flyer design. I can’t wait to show everyone.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
I highly recommend Lunar Media PDX for marketing material and Megan Cobb for beautiful professional photos.

10/27/2026

Saddling yearlings for the first time can be tough, but we try to make it a calm experience for our horses! 🫶

If you saw last week’s video about saddling c**ts, you know we do our best to keep things easy and consistent when we work with these babies. We run our c**ts through all the basic exercises they know prior to trying a saddle with them for the first time, and that doesn’t change once the saddle is finally on. After a yearling gets time to adjust to the new saddle by themselves, Timi rejoins them in the round pen to run through the same basic exercises again.

Tom (RLRunningDownADream) was amazing when he got saddled for the first time last week, so we wanted to show what the process looks like with a c**t that is a little more afraid. Gwen (Hella Good) started out jumping every time the pad or saddle touched her, and by the end of our training session, she had relaxed enough to wear the saddle normally. Doing drills our c**ts are familiar with helps them quickly get comfortable moving in the saddle — building up their confidence before we try riding them for the first time in a few weeks!

It’s exciting seeing our yearlings progress so fast, and we can’t wait to share more of their journey with you! What parts of the c**t starting process do you want to see as we get deeper into Gwen & Tom’s training? Sound off in the comments below! 👇

**tstarting

10/24/2026

Our c**t starting saddle has been through it all! 🫩🤣

Around here, we don’t get rid of our old saddles — we use them for starting our yearlings! This saddle is the first one Timi ever puts on her c**ts, and once it’s on, she turns them loose in the round pen to get used to it. The yearlings rub this saddle against the fence, lay on it, and even roll on it! By the end of the training session, the saddle may get beat up, but the c**t wearing it is usually more relaxed and comfortable with the experience.

Want to learn more about how we introduce saddles to our yearlings? You’re in luck! Check out yesterday’s reel about saddling c**ts now on our page, and come back on Monday to learn more about working with newly-saddled yearlings. Follow us so you don’t miss out! 🐎

**tstarting

10/23/2026

Saddling a horse for the first time is a huge undertaking! This is how we do it safely. 👀

After our yearlings get used to leaving their friends in the pasture and doing groundwork in the round pen, we start preparing to introduce them to a saddle. We do our best to keep the entire process calm and friendly, going through all the same exercises they’ve been getting familiar with to help them focus. We let the c**ts smell both the pad and saddle before ever putting it on them, and we take as many breaks as they need to build their confidence up.

Staying safe is important, so we keep a firm grip on the saddle, keep the lead rope of the halter loose, and exit the round pen as soon as the saddle is on. Our biggest goal here is keeping ourselves safe while making it a positive experience for the yearlings we’re working with! Tom (RL RunningDownADream) did incredibly well during this session, so we’re feeling confident and excited to keep working with him.

Now that the saddle is on — what’s the next step in getting a c**t comfortable with all this new gear? Come back on Monday for part 2, where Timi will demonstrate the exercises she does with the yearlings after they’ve been saddled. Follow our page so you don’t miss it! 🫶

**tstarting

10/22/2026

There are tons of amazing sires out there, but there’s a few that are our absolute favorites! 🤎🐴

Anyone who knows Timi knows she loves c**ts by The Goodbye Lane. With their talent, speed, and loving dispositions, it’s no wonder this sire is a favorite in our breeding program! We also love working with c**ts by Dash Ta Fame, since they’re usually fast and very gentle as well. One stud we specifically love getting mares out of is Tres Seis! They cross well with lots of stallions and produce talented babies, just like our mare Zacalo did with Abbey Road and her sisters.

Now that you know our faves, we want to hear about yours! Which studs do you like to breed your horses to? Tell us in the comments! 👇

10/21/2026

Wally did great at the Southern Idaho Barrel Racing Association finals race this past weekend! 🎉🤎

We’ve been a bit off the last few weeks, so it was really exciting to have such a positive experience at this race. GamblingOnWallStreet made a beautiful run, placing in the 1D in the open, senior, and big money races. He added over $1,100 to his LTE, and it was so exciting to see all our recent hard work pay off!

I love getting to go to this race every fall — Lana Parker does an amazing job putting these SIBRA races on, and it’s bittersweet knowing this is the last one with her at the helm. I’m so grateful to her for creating opportunities for us to bring horses along and run with some of the best in our own community! Big thanks to Lana for everything you’ve done for all of us over the years. 🫶

Follow our page to keep up with Wally and all our other upcoming horses!

10/20/2026

This one barrel drill is a simple exercise we love doing to get our horses comfortable in their turns! 🛢️

The ability to execute 3 perfect turns is an important skill for our barrel horses to have. They go too close if they’re more focused on the barrel than their rider, and too wide if they’re not comfortable being near the barrel. Whether we’re loping or trotting, this drill helps our horses lock in on the instructions we’re giving them and follow the path we set for them around the barrel. It’s a great exercise for building their confidence and getting them comfortable with holding their bodies correctly in their turns.

Do you use one barrel drills in your training program? Sound off in the comments below! 💬

10/17/2026

Helena (Flash N Dash Millie) is all set to start her training with DaCota Ray Monk! 🤩

Last week at the Pink Buckle, we dropped Helena off with DaCota to start her futurity training at Diamond DM Performance Horses. We’ve been working hard all summer to get her ready to go, and we’re so excited to see what these two can accomplish together! Helena is pretty laid back, but she’s super talented and a very hard worker. Our initial plan was to let DaCota do all of the barrel training with her, but Helena is so advanced that we ended up playing with her on the barrels quite a bit over the last several weeks. We know she’s got the drive to go all the way, and she’s in great hands with DaCota’s expert guidance!

Follow our page to keep up with Helena as she begins her training in Texas! 🌵