Situation

This is a futurity run on my 5-year-old, Copperton. On the back side of the turn, the steer took his head away from Blake (Hughes) and got flat. When he does that, the only option Blake has is to dump over the front and pull the cow to get back into control. So you can see there, where the steer is taking a big, open jump, Blake’s pulling on him pretty hard. 

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Normally…

Ideally, when the steer is moving pretty round at the end of the rope (rather than flat like this one is), he’ll pull the tip through for you. But when he planes out, having good reach over the steer’s back gets me enough tip through there to get the left leg.

READ MORE: The Ideal Heel Horse Stop

Problem-Solving

I came through shallow and I barely got the left leg. I have more to the back and the right of the cow than I do to the left of the cow. So it comes tight faster to the left of the cow, and it stays lower on the feet—meaning, I can pretty easily lose that leg. When that happens, I know I’ve got to go all the way to the top of my slack and hold it. That means I’ll have to dally sharp.

I held it there to come tight on the legs to not lose one of them. I’m waiting on that rope to come tight where I can see it and feel it to not lose it. Honestly, that steer is tough even if we’re riding our [seasoned] jackpot/rodeo horses. When you’re bouncing saddles and getting off one 5- or 6-year-old and on another, that’s a tough steer.

—TRJ—

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