As we’re working on this column, I’m on my way between watching my son Treston rope at the National High School Finals Rodeo and the Old West Futurity in Utah. Watching all those kids do battle at the NHSFR left me with a few takeaways.
1. Your high school career doesn’t define you.
I can see that now, but I couldn’t see it then because I just wanted to do well.
I made it to Nationals one time in the team roping and lost my rope, and I never made it in the calf roping. It’s two and a short. If Greeley was Nationals, did Kaleb Driggers or Tyler Wade win it? That’s just what it is. We all know the good guys don’t always win. In Texas, when I was a kid,I think I won my region every year, but it’s a heavily weighted two and a short rodeo, and I didn’t get it done.
2. What Ketch Kelton and Denton Dunning did was impressive.
That second steer they ran was a risky shot where Denton took it. But that’s when you know you’re in the zone. They looked really professional in context with the pack. Those kids were grinding it out from an early age, eaten up with roping. It’s clear they’ve got so many more hours in the arena than most kids their age, and they’re seeing the results. Other kids can catch up, but it will take a while, and a whole lot of reps.
3. Ketch is making an all-around statement.
I’m an all-around guy, but I love the fact that Ketch has a clear, better event, and he still does all the others. He does the cow horse, the bulldogging, the calf roping. I know he’s an Ironman protégé, and I love to watch that. It shows that he can still dominate in his main event while he’s perfecting the other stuff as he goes. He’s becoming a better horseman, a better cowboy, all around.
Most people would say, ‘Hey, I’m obviously really proficient at team roping, and I need to choose that path.’ But Ketch is proof you don’t have to. He’s still winning in the team roping. To be an all-around guy, at your core, you have to value being a cowboy more than being a whatever-event-you-want-to-put-in-that-space. That has to override everything.
4. Denton is like “Champ.”
He seems like a ClayO. He’s so nonchalant about his craft. He’s not flamboyant, but he ropes so well. There’s no flash, nothing wild—he’s just excellent at what he does.
—TRJ—
