Commitment - Rope Myers

To Commit: act, carry out, do, execute, accomplish, achieve, complete, go for broke

Commitment is a decision in the Heart that produces results. In steer wrestling commitment is vital to making a good catch, regaining your feet, or getting a clean fall.  In the catch, if you haven’t decided on the inside then, you will hesitate when it is time to act on the outside, and hesitation in the catch is a miss.  If you are not fully committed to being soft in your legs and a steer gets strong you won’t carry out regaining your feet.  It takes full dedication to hook the nose when the steer is coming fast to accomplish a clean fall. 

So how do we get our heart to fully commit?  The short answer is “love and wisdom”.  Commitment, dedication, devotion, fidelity, fortitude are heart words, but they are heart words that the head will fight against if wisdom isn't applied.  For Instance you may love steer wrestling and you may be willing to jump, but if you don’t know the right technique after a few wrecks your mind will be screaming “don’t do it!”  Conversely, you can study the technique all you want but if something on the inside doesn't hunger to drop onto the back of a running steer all of the reason in the world won’t convince your body to do it.  It has to be both.  Sometimes love comes before wisdom, sometimes the other way around but when they are both together the result is commitment.  You have to love what you are doing to execute a plan that seems scary, but it takes wisdom to complete the task. 

Commitment is important when you go to flank a calf, or when you reach in the team roping, or when you step off a fast horse in the goat tying.  In fact, commitment is necessary to be successful in any rodeo event.  Beyond that commitment is one of the essential keys to life in general. Whether it is getting good grades, having a great marriage, excelling at work, or having great relationships; commitment is critical.  So, find a way to love what you are doing and seek the wisdom to do it well and you will find your commitment level will rise so you can excel at whatever you are doing.  Choose something you love about your job, then learn to do it well.  Remember to love learning, figure out how you learn and you will achieve good grades.  Stir up the love you once had for your spouse, ask the Father how to love her well then go for broke to have a great marriage.

God's Blessing in Disguise - Seth Peterson

Last summer I learned an extremely valuable lesson that turned out to benefit me greatly in High School Rodeo. My name is Seth Peterson and am a junior from North Dakota. During last year’s major rodeo run in the summer, we never really had any good weather. It was either raining, cold, or extremely windy. Once in a while we got lucky and it was nice, but then the ground was still muddy from the week prior’s bad weather. At the time it seemed like I was having the worst luck in the world but it turned out that it was another one of God’s blessings in disguise.

            

That fall we left on a Friday to go to the first High School Rodeo of the year and guess what, more crummy weather. The mud in the arena was already four inches deep, at the least, and it was supposed to rain even more the next day during the rodeo. So the next day I get up, start warming the horses up, and all of my friends are complaining about the weather. They said how bad the arena is, and they all just wanted to draw out and go home. But I was so used to this weather that it was just another day for me, that’s when I realized something. During those bad weather days, when everyone else doesn't even want to be there, those are the days that you need to perform your best. Those days are going to be the easiest times to win points because hardly anyone else is going to have a positive attitude and they’re just going out there cause they have to. And the points you win those days could just be the determining factor in whether or not you win the year end title. It’s not easy going out in pouring rain and four inch deep mud, but I promise you at the end of the year, when you have a cushion to fall back on in the year end race and there’s not as much pressure on you, you’re going to be glad you went out and got the job done on that day. 

The first three rodeos we had were all pretty bad weather, but I still went out and got the job done. I went out and made business man runs and ended up winning the first three high school rodeos in the team roping and tie down roping. Those days helped me lead the tie down roping and be sitting second in the team roping, in the year end, going into this spring. Those days also helped me market myself and get my first two sponsors in Diamond Equine and Willard Rope Co. God’s blessings seem to always come even when you think he has passed you by. Thank God for he gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

                       

“For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever.” 2 Corinthians 4:17

Never Doubt Yourself - Bobbi York

First of all, hello! My name is Bobbi York and I'm a junior from Douglas, Wyoming. And I am a junior that attends a boarding school in Colorado Springs, Colorado. When I left home my freshman year, I was a scared 14 year old who suddenly was on her own. Luckily, rodeo is a sports team at my school and that's where I found my place. I, unlike so many, only started to rodeo my freshman year and started roping my sophomore year. My very first rodeo was November 14 (yes I can remember the date) in Kiowa, Colorado. I competed in poles and trail and one could say it did not go as planned. 

1. I forgot my clothes for the 3 day rodeo. 

2. I wanted my parents. 

3. I realized that I was the newby and all those kids there were better than me.  

Well my amazing family surprised me, I borrowed clothes from teammates but #3 is something I struggle with daily. When I show up to the rodeo I constantly think that I will be beat by these other girls or that I don't belong here. And that's wrong on so many levels. From waking up at 5 to rope the bale to roping til it's dark after school. I have put the hours of practice in to be able to be the "top 5" as Rope says. As much as I practice, I remember that I have not been doing this as long and I certainly can't afford what these other girls can (horses, trailers, trucks, etc.) But, that's where my biggest downfall is: mentally. My biggest role model and coach, Beth Hiatt, has told me since freshman year that my biggest enemy is in the mirror. My doubt and lack of confidence is not from anyone else but me. Doubt is my biggest downfall and my area of weakness.

           

Even in my walk with the Lord I have doubted myself. I saw myself as a baby christian who, when faced with adversity, would not be able to handle it as I should. But that's the beautiful thing about Christ. Doubt and comparing ourselves is such a worldly matter. To Christ, we are all the same. It's like going to the rodeo. We all are the same and have the opportunity to be great. I have to constantly remind myself that... 

for every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1). 

Excitement from the Beginning - Abbea Faris

Last weekend in Gillete at the first college rodeo of the spring.

There are a few things I do each time before I compete to get myself mentally ready for my run. God helps us handle what we are given. I rope the dummy and picture the run in my head. My horse firing, breaking and tracking the calf/steer, the animal (hopefully) running straight, scoring, having proper horsemanship, taking my shot, and having a smooth catch. 

Being mentally prepared going into my run helps me be confident, excited, blessed, and FOCUSED . I focus on only on scoring well and roping the steer/calf. The people and excitement on the side lines are all kind of a blur. It gets the adrenaline going, but I block it all out. I walk into the box as close to the pin as possible. My little mare was trained to enter the box right where she leaves it, which is obviously, breaking to the pin. I will stop and check to see if the correct calf/steer is loaded that I have drawn, and I will also look at the calf’s head and picture my loop going over his head. I tell myself to breath and stay quiet and calm for my horses’ sake. Being nervous will not help a horse stand quiet in the box, and can greatly effect scoring. We turn around, concentrating on the steer/calf and back a couple steps and hopefully stand in the corner. If not, I will walk her forward, or usually move her front end over. When everything feels and looks right ill nod my head and try to see the start I planned on seeing. Sometimes, the start is just reaction and best judgment. From there on out, it is just muscle memory and reaction for me. Living in Laramie, Wyoming, we have to practice in all sorts of different weather conditions, which I feel is a major advantage for me. If it is hot, windy, cold, raining, or perfect weather, I have practiced in all the above and just stay focused on my run.

During each run I am focused, but it is just such a blur during it. Some of my greatest runs happen so quick that I don’t remember. Good thing there are video recorders. Sometimes I will watch some of my greatest runs to see how I have improved, or not, and just give myself that excitement and joy and confidence again.

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

3 Things to Remember - Hunter Washburn

I want to see what you want to know. We've talked about cold reading cattle, how to read the barrier and get out sharper. Now I want to see your comments on what you think is a big part of rodeo. Finance plans, going down the road, animal welfare, do's and don't's of rodeo AKA: RODEO 101. There are so many things out there one can think of and put in their arsenal of good ideas and practices.

One thing I want to talk about this time is, "why make the same mistakes as everyone around you does". One thing my parents have told me is if your going to do something and get ahead in this world you have to have a couple things.

One: God before all things. Without his presence in our lives we are not whole. With that being said I did my own thing for awhile, just put God and my Bible on the shelf. The devil has a way of showing us that you can do anything you want and still be one of the best in anything. So you think, "why can he/she be so successful and so far from the Lord?". Well, the devil wants you to not care and do whatever you want. My point is this:  if you want a life that that has meaning, find God and pursue him.  You will have a life of hardship, but nothing worth doing comes easy. I've always known about God, but never followed him till my sophomore year of high school. The start of my junior year God lead me to Sky Ranch to the elite rodeo clinic. This is where I was saved and began a new life. Now I'm on to bigger and better things in rodeo, and I owe it all to my family and my Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.  

Two: Learn from others' mistakes. This one is sometimes hard to do, but I've found to ask, "what happened with that run?". And ask several people. You might agree or disagree but you have to be open to new things.

Three: dedication and practice. Without these two things you won't be successful in life or in the arena. Once I was told luck is where preparation meets opportunity. Sure I might have drawn the best steer but I still have to use what I've learned and worked on for the last couple months or years to make the best of that steer. 

The Start - Rope Myers

The Start...

This is probably the least practiced but most important part of being successful as you continue on to the next levels in rodeo.

Often in practice, very little thought is given to how much of a head start is given to each animal. While most get the hang of catching up in the right part of the arena, in the practice pen they don’t have a clear enough understanding or enough repetitions to really be proficient at this vital part of rodeo.

First: Practice

At the next rodeo, you go to sit behind the box and with the aid of a friend practice the start. Put the hand you hold the reins 2 inches above either their shoulder or knee, and as each animal leaves the chute, drop your hand when the proper head start has been reached.  Then have your friend judge how well you got the start. After about 10-15 runs switch and let your partner do the same, and you can judge how they did on the start.  You will be surprised how this exercise will sharpen you up on your scoring ability.

Second: DIY

So many people leave this very important element up to someone else. They walk up and ask the guy on the back of the box what the start is. While he may be honest and he may even be good at scoring, that guy is looking to see what “he” needs to see and you may not score the same as he does. If you “throw them for the show and score them for the dough” why would you leave something as important as that to the prevailing opinion?  Figure out the start for yourself!

Third: See the Big Picture

While the goal is to be close to the barrier, you need to realize there are times when six inches late may be a better start that knocking it out of the latch. There are other times when your best chance of placing is to try to see how far you can stretch it.  Also, if I am going hard at the barrier rope it is going to let me catch up quicker than if I am pulling when I get there.  

Never Give Up - Hunter Washburn

One of the most important things in rodeo is learning how to win at every level. It is comprised of many things; including horsemanship, reading cattle as soon as you nod your head, how to enter, and what days are the best to be at the rodeo. You have to go, pay your dues and just keep on going until you get it down and begin winning consistently.