Situation:
Second callback at the 29th Annual Invitational Team Roping Jackpot in Odessa, Texas
Time:
6.35 seconds
Outcome:
Won the jackpot with a time of 31.13 seconds on five head, worth $21,000 for the team
1) SET UP:
The barrier seemed tough—maybe a little bit long. If you draw a steer that runs hard, then the back end comes really fast. It’s a pretty narrow arena. Those are probably the toughest conditions you’ll ever face in a jackpot.
2) LOOP:
My goal is that I always want the tip of my rope pointed over the steer’s back. I have a little angle on my loop to open my left shoulder, but as I turn in my loop flattens out, therefore it is still square over the steer’s hips.
3) EYES:
I’m watching the head rope go on. A lot of people don’t, but I prefer to watch the head loop go on. As soon as the head loop goes on, I start looking at the legs. I want to watch the head loop go on so I know if I need to hold out one more stride to create my position.
Finding Power in Team Roping Heeling Position with Trey Yates
4) LEGS:
I’ve really worked on not using my legs going down the arena, as far as kicking. Unconsciously, I still kick. When I saw the steer leave, I pitched the reins to my horse and kicked to get up around the corner, knowing that I had to have a pretty good corner or else we were going to get into the wall.
5) STEER:
That steer left running pretty good out of the chute. About three strides out of the lane he broke in the left lead.
6) LEFT HAND:
It’s kind of reacting to the steer. I feel like everyone works on things as far as how to score your horse and things like that. But in the heat of the battle, a lot of our fundamentals go out the window. I know my horse is going to go wherever the steer goes, but when that steer broke into the left lead and headed left, I used my legs more and moved my hand over to move towards the steer.
7) DUKE:
Honestly, I had compliments on that horse. He [was] amazing because the heel barrier was long. I was thoroughly impressed. I’m a chicken when it comes to heel barriers, so I made sure to stay off of it and he would catch up and get around the corner every time. He would stop and pull the steers back. Until the other day, I didn’t know what kind of horse I had. For a horse, in those kinds of conditions, to give 10 solid throws to me is pretty incredible.
