When we tried to host our annual photo shoot this year at Ryan Motes’ arena in early June, the unpredictable Texas weather got the best of us. By 8 a.m., just as the rain started drumming down on us, Paden and Wyatt Bray were the only ones who’d made it, with eight horses saddled and manes braided, too.

As they reloaded and pulled out and I sat down for coffee with Ryan, my phone buzzed. It was Paden, inviting our photographer, Jamie Arviso, and myself to their beautiful covered arena not far away. I’d already told everyone the shoot was canceled, so I spent the next cup of coffee reaching out again to ask if they’d come to Brays’ to run a few.

With the rains pummeling the region for a few weeks, most of the guys were thrilled to have somewhere to make some runs. Guys like Brenten Hall and Chase Tryan showed up with their A-string of horses, and Jamie was at the top of her game, as always, with the shots.

One noticeable trend—a change from the early years of my career for sure—was that most of these guys brought and rode top-notch futurity talent for our shoot. You’ll get to see more instructional articles in the coming months from these guys, talking through what their young horses are doing and how they’re perfecting them. Logan Medlin rode the gray that Kendra Santos writes about on page 58, describing his critical prospect-selection process.

After our shoot at the Brays’, we had a big week in Texas shooting for our new venture: Roping.com. You’ll find plenty of content to complement the roping and horse training videos on the site in this issue, too. Scan the QR code next to articles with your phone’s camera to go to a video that supplements the topic.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t point you to page 71, where our second edition of The Breakaway Roping Journal starts. The industry is jumping in to support this project, with advertisers excited to see a place in print for these elite competitors. We’re keeping the sport updated regularly at breakawayroping.com, so follow along there, too.

See you somewhere down the road this summer,

Chelsea