SITUATION:
Section 2 of the WCRA Semi-Finals at the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Oklahoma

TIME:

4.88 seconds

RESULT:

First in section 2, winning $7,000 a man and a spot at the finals in Chicago.

a) Loop:

I’m throwing that loop where a lot of guys would say is late in the stride. A lot of the time, I would like to be catching the cow at that point. I would like my bottom strand to already be on the ground and the steer to be crossing it. You can tell he’s covering a lot of ground so he ends up going into my loop immediately.

b) Steer:

I thought that was a pretty good steer. He was a little bit slower. The hardest part about roping that cow was making sure you didn’t break the barrier. He was going faster when I heeled him than he was when Lane headed him. Lane almost sped him up through the corner. That’s probably what got my timing off just a little.

c) Handle:

Lane and I have an illusive speed. Our runs develop really fast in the field. Almost all of that has to do with Cuervo, Lane’s horse. He maintains, maybe even accelerates, his speed through the corner. Cuervo goes up and then comes back to the left when he pulls a steer. You need a pretty fast heel horse but I feel like he set that steer up perfect. It is definitely a fast handle.

d) Eyes

I try to focus 100 percent on the right hock. Right below where the top strand of my rope is hitting is where my focal point is. My main reason for picking up the right hock is I can find it as soon as the steer clears the chute. I’m going to try and bring my top strand to that right hock.

e) Mindset: 

Lane and I are very rarely too slow. My thought going in there was if Lane was going to turn the steer fast enough to make it to Chicago. I paid little attention to what everyone else was doing. I mainly focused on getting the start that I wanted and a spot that I wanted. I wanted to take the first shot that I could. I wanted to make sure that I completed my steps. It’s combining everything that I’ve worked for into one run, versus being committed to just catch.

f) Horse:

That is X. I bought him in December of 2014. He was a green 8-year-old then, but he showed a lot of potential. He’s my first opportunity to have a great one. He was flawless on this run. I got the start that I wanted. He left and kept enough space in the corner. He’s a smaller horse, so I ride him pretty close to the cow. He’s 100 percent locked on. If I need to keep swinging, he’s going to go stride for stride.