Breaking The Ellensburg Rodeo Arena Record with Tanner Baldwin

Tanner Baldwin breaks down his arena record run from the Ellensburg (Washington) Rodeo.

Tanner Baldwin TRJ File Photo/Kaitlin Gustave

Situation: Second round at the 2019 Ellensburg (Washington) Rodeo

Time: 4.1 seconds

Outcome: Won the round and broke the arena record, worth $3,300

[Watch: Baldwin and Garza lead the Larimer County Fair & Rodeo with a 4.0]

a) NANO:

Nano was up there in great position. He was just high enough where he could get around the steer and not cut in. His horse didn’t run by. His horse followed the steer just right—great position. He has a lot of distance.

b) PLAYBOY:

My horse was outstanding. He’s been to every rodeo all summer. He’s sore and tired and he still gives me every opportunity to win. He scored amazing, ran hard across the line and he’s so solid right there in the move. If I keep my left foot in him, he won’t drop his shoulder at all—he’ll keep his shoulders squared up and I can handle steers a lot better.

c) HANDLE:

I’m usually not very good at handling cattle. I got him on a tight rope right there. The only thing that I could think of when I headed the steer was, ‘Don’t duck.’

[READ: Freeze Frame with Aaron Tsinigine]

d) STEER:

I’m not going to say he was the fastest steer, but he wasn’t the slowest. He left there just fast enough that I got out good. I couldn’t even believe that I got out. He left good, but he wasn’t so strong that he was trying to outrun me. I like them to run a little bit left and he came left just right.

e) LEFT HAND:

My hand is up there on Playboy’s neck, not down pulling out. I’m trying to push my horse forward up the fence a little bit.

f) BODY POSITION:

My right foot isn’t really doing much but keeping me balanced. You really can’t see my left foot, but I really have my left foot down and in my horse’s side, trying to keep his shoulders up and not dropping out.

[READ: Freeze Frame with Brock Hanson]

g) ARENA RECORD:

It happened so fast. It was a great feeling. It’s unbelievable but fun. When I looked up, I knew it because the day before, Billy Bob [Brown] and Evan [Arnold] were 4.2 seconds. I was talking to somebody and they told me that they tied the arena record. When I looked up and I saw 4.1, I didn’t really know how to feel. It was a great feeling, for sure, but it was a shock. It was so fast—I didn’t know what happened.