Yeah the first time i heard of stiching them i thought no way.I love running barrels and reining and I really want to get into cutting I worked on a cutting horse farm starting 2 year olds, and got to ride a few of the finished cutters. It was a blast. I love the little open shows they are so much fun and everyones always nice. I bet you are better then you think and as long as you have fun thats all that matters. Thats sad about the mare, I had one that tore herself up on one of those new vynl (spell check) fences. I have learned horses will find ways to hurt themselves no matter how hard we try to keep them safe. lol I would love to have a horse that i knew what color baby i was going to get everytime , but its nice to be surprised when they are born.