After making a living roping for 50 years, I’ve come to realize that finding your own game plan and having confidence in the fact that it works for you and you’re successful with it is really the main goal. You hear some people say you’ve got to do it this way or that way, like there’s only one way to do it. But that’s really just not the case.
There are so many different viewpoints of how successful ropers use their own systems, do their own thing and win. And in the end, it kind of doesn’t matter how they think about riding their horse or position, the things they do with their timing, swing and delivery, how much they feed their loop, and whether they feed it on the last swing or not—as long as it works.
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If what you’ve been doing doesn’t work, you’d obviously be crazy to stay with a system just because somebody told you to do it that way. But one method might not work best for everyone.
There are just so many different ways to look at it, and it all comes down to you owning your own style. I started by watching the Camarillos, Walt Woodard, Denny Watkins and local guys like Gary Mouw and Don Beasley when I was really young. I would watch, study and mimic things I saw them do.
Throughout my whole career, I watched great ropers, right on down the line, including Allen Bach, JD Yates, Bobby Harris, Rich Skelton and Mike Beers. Decade after decade, I saw them all, even in that last little five- or six-year run of being out on the road and back at the NFR, when I was studying kids like Jade Corkill, Kollin VonAhn, Patrick Smith and Travis Graves.
I’ve just always been fascinated with great roping and great ropers. I haven’t been afraid to experiment, and that’s been one of the most fun parts of roping. I enjoy practicing, preparing and trying new things, and trying to implement things that are people’s strengths and make them the great ropers they are. If I could fit something they did into my system, I was never too proud to do that.
When I teach roping schools, I tell people that what we’re after is results. Some people get frustrated because they struggle with all the multitasking that goes on within one run, where they have to do three of four things at the same time. Which thing should you put in the forefront of your mind and focus on because it’s most important, they wonder?
The most important thing to me early on was timing. Leo, Jerold and Walt could rope those steers when their hind legs left the ground. I spent several years working on that, and it was a game-changer for me. Once I got timing down, it became pretty natural and easy.
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When I started rodeoing, I had to work more on my positioning, so that became the most important thing I thought of most. I knew if I could set up the shot I wanted, I was going to rope the steer by two feet.
Sometimes you have to bounce around between which thing is the most important to focus on. That’s what the practice pen is for—to work on isolating things like the mechanics of your swing and elements of your horsemanship, then really drill down and have that be your first focus.
For lower-numbered ropers trying to get better, mastering those core fundamentals is critical. There’s not just one way to execute them, but you have to get good at doing those fundamentals your way. The guys who are successful at every level have done the work and mastered them. That’s why they’re as good as they are.
I like listening to what everybody has to say, and using today’s technology, too. I get on YouTube and Facebook, and read and listen to what people have to say who are successful, because I love information. And if I hear something that’s fascinating or different to me, I can’t wait to go try it and see if I can do what they say works for them.
It’s just fun to soak up knowledge other people have worked on and believe in. Having video cameras in our phones is part of why roping is getting so crazy good. Instant feedback is in the palm of our hands.
Learn from the best. Looking to elevate your team roping skills? From short, one-minute roping tips to hours of full-length training sessions from World Champions like Jake Barnes, Lari Dee Guy, Clay O’Brien Cooper, Caleb Smidt, and Patrick Smith, Roping.com is the ultimate experience for every type of roper.
—TRJ—
