Time

7.5 seconds

Outcome

21.6 seconds on three head, worth $6,382 a man for second in the average.

Game Plan

This was our second steer at Tucson. We were second in the first round. Riley and Brady Minor won the first round, but they couldn’t be there for the short round because of The American. So basically, we had the lead in the average and wanted to make a run that put us in a position to have a shot at good average money in the short round. There were only 18 or 20 clean runs after the first round. With it being two and a short, any kind of good jackpot run to go with our first one should have put us somewhere in the top five. There were a handful of 6s and then it jumped to 7s.

Start

The start at Tucson happens fast because it’s a deep box. It’s actually a pretty fast start. I didn’t try to be stupid. Even if you miss it a little though, a 7 second start can turn into a 9 second start. I was rolling and after him.

Adjustment Period

After heeling for a few years, heading is a lot of work. If you aren’t working on yourself, you’ve got horses to work on. It’s a full-time job. Heeling you don’t have as much control. Heading, if something goes wrong, 90-percent of the time, it’s your fault. You’re always working on different scenarios. It’s been a struggle about every day. Tucson was good for us. Hopefully it will get the momentum going heading into Austin and California.

Steer

He was supposed to just be good. He was medium, maybe a step left. He left sharp, and was supposed to be a good, average steer.

Horse

That is Doctor. He came from Ty Blasingame, and he rode him everywhere. I think he’s 11. He’s really simple to ride. He’s average everywhere. He scores decent and he can run a little better than average. You can be aggressive and then come right back and run to the hip, and he’ll go all the way to him. He makes up for everything he’s not great at in try. Whatever you commit to, that’s what he’s going to do. He will never take anything away from you.

Throw

I was disciplined. I wasn’t going to reach. I was committed to go all the way to him. Ryan stayed on the same plan I was thinking, and the steer ran the exact pattern he was supposed to. I took a measured swing and made a good head shot.

Handle

I got it tight from my saddle horn to the steer’s horns. I was far enough out in the arena, so we were rolling by the time I roped him. I picked the steer’s head up so I could get control of him and get his head and shoulders turned. I gave Ryan a decent read. And dallied sharp so I had enough room to finish. You’ve a head of steam built up because you’re running quite a ways. I wanted dallied to the saddle horn and pick him up to gain control and smooth the corner out a little bit. People get busy doing too good of a job there. I was trying to get control of his head and get it tight and then get it out of the way and let Ryan heel him. I think we were 7.5, and it took me 7 seconds of it. That’s how the run was supposed to go, though. That was the run we were wanting to make, and we executed.