A Relentless Fourth-of-July Run
Schley talks about what it takes to keep all the rigs going over Cowboy Christmas.

Good morning or afternoon depending on when you are reading today. It has been a busy and exciting couple of weeks since last I sat down to bring you my View from the Drivers Seat.

The week after I went home to visit my family was a whirlwind of rodeos and preparation. I flew into DFW tuesday morning at 9 am and got to the house around lunch time. That night we left the house around 5 that evening to go to the SR in Cleburne,TX. That night we were home and in bed at 12:30 then up again Weds. morning and off to Coleman, TX at 5 am for SR and then the TR and TD that night. We got home from Coleman,TX at 1 am then got up at 5 am to go back to Cleburne,TX for TR and TD on Thurs. morning. Then home for a couple hours and back to Weatherford, TX Thurs. night for TR and TD. Got home that night and to bed around 11:30 pm and then up on Friday morning at 5:30a m to go back to Weatherford for the SR. Friday afternoon and evening was a chance to take a breath and re-group and then Saturday morning we headed out at 4 am to Ponca City, OK for the SR. I didn’t keep track of the hours or miles that we drove that week but I can tell you for sure it was as busy as we have been in awhile. 

The whole time we were running here and there to rodeos in the back of my mind was getting trailers and trucks prepared for leaving on Tuesday for the 3 1/2 month summer run from the house. There is a tremendous amount of preparation and planning that go into getting ready to leave home for that amount of time. I had taken at one point 3 of our trailers to NRS for scheduled maintenance as well as getting new Poly Last flooring put in (which I would personally never own a trailer that did not have it in there) so that our horses would have comfort and protection from the never-ending rough highways. As well as getting new tires on the Bus and having it packed with clothes, kids’ toys, food, and anything else you might need. It has truly been a very busy and hetic couple of weeks.

Our plan was to leave Decatur at or around noon on Tuesday the 17th and head to Santa Fe, NM where we would be in the TD slack on the 18th at 8 am. Like any good plan we may have missed our target by 9 hrs and ended up leaving at 9 PM and driving all night to get there (welcome to the rodeo life). Then we had all day Wednesday to recover and Thursday we had slack in the TR and so we had some rest time there. Thursday night we made the drive to Plesant Grove, UT for Friday morning slack and then after that we were headed to Reno!!

When we arrived in Reno at about 12:30 am Saturday morning there wasn’t a stall one to be had and our 8 head of horses were left to be tied up over night in a warm up arena. At that point you do what you can for them and then get an early start the next morning to get on the list for first come first serve stalls. I am telling you at some point you think it will all settle in and smooth out and just cruise along that is not the case I assure you. About the time you get on cruise there will be detour. Once we got to Reno and were settled in on Saturday we started prep for the rodeo Sunday and the BFI Monday. Our horses have been very sound and very good so we concentrate on keeping them top notch. We have had a few days of layover here in Reno and even though it seems like slack time it has been as busy as any other. Today is Thursday and I have really not had time to sit and take a breath up to now and even as I sit here and write I am constantly reminded by my calendar of rodeo entries that are open and closing and things at the ranch that need to be tended to as well as many other things that are in need of attention.

Tomorrow Friday the 28th I will leave out of Reno and head to Prineville, OR for Saturday. That 7 hr drive will just stretch my legs to prepare me for the 20 hrs on Sunday and Monday from Prineville back to Window Rock, AZ for Tuesday morning slack and then 5 hr across to Prescott, AZ for Tuesday night perf. I am going to feel real busy real quick although looking at my calendar it seems like it will happen fast and then be over as it is already June 27th and it seems like just a short time ago I went to the NFR and started this whole crazy part of my life. I am truly blessed to have this opportunity and it is going to give me opportunity in the future that I am un aware of as of right now. I hope any and all of you are not disappointed in the brevity of the VFD but I find myself short of time and happenings but wanted to give an update to stat off the July 4th week. Until next time and as always I hope you have enjoyed you View from the Drivers Seat and I wish you Gods Blessings and good roping!! And please feel free to email and questions or comments to Joshschley80@gmail.com or follow me on twitter @joshschley80 !!

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