There are four seasons in roping, and these days everybody’s rodeo program and schedule looks a little bit different. One thing that’s never changed is the importance of Houston since they added team roping, because winning $65,000-plus makes you almost a shoo-in to make the NFR.
Congratulations to New Mexico’s Korbin Rice and Missouri’s Cooper Freeman for getting it done at Houston this year. They’re a couple of young guys you may or may not have heard of before now, but a trip to Las Vegas in December now looks likely. Good for them.
The Race Is On by Reno
It’s a big deal to get a jump on the pack in the wintertime like that, and it takes some of the pressure off. Everybody used to spend the spring in California, but that’s not necessarily the case anymore. And like I’ve always said, the race is really on once Reno hits in June.
With the way the regular season starts on October 1 of the previous year now, we’re already eight months into it when June rolls around. I always liked the summer run best, because we were going to several rodeos a week instead of just one. That let me get into a rhythm, and keep rolling.
The Stress Behind Cowboy Christmas
I always really liked the Fourth of July run, and going to seven or eight rodeos a week. The week after that is amazing now, too, and it’s a race. There’s a lot of stress, between coordinating getting up right at rodeos, trying to get trades and sometimes having two or three buddy-group rigs on the road. Charter planes are expensive.
What does let up a little that week after Cowboy Christmas is the distance between rodeos. Several rodeos are grouped within reasonable range in Wyoming and Colorado. One big change is that back when we rodeoed, they were almost all two-headers. Between the two rounds and the average, it was almost like going to three rodeos, because you had three chances. Now more and more rodeos are one-headers, which makes the luck of the draw a bigger factor. It’s also harder on horses.
All the one-headers and tournament-style, sudden-death rodeos are do-or-die. They also often come with multiple trips to the same rodeo, which is like it used to be before they made it back-to-back. Anytime you have to go back to the same rodeo, there’s more expense against your profit. And the guys who don’t win lose more money.
Summer Run Survival Stories
Every year there are stories about guys getting stranded out there on the summer run, and that just adds to the stress of it all. One year over the Fourth of July run when I was roping with Jhett Johnson, we left a rodeo—Cody, Wyoming, maybe—and had to drive all night to make slack at St. Paul, Oregon, the next morning. The alternator went out in our truck, and we were stuck on the side of the road at 1 a.m. We tried it all, including charter flights, to make it work, but ended up having to turn out.
More stress, and when you feel that desperate you might even hitchhike. I saw a picture one time of (tie-down roper) Jeff Copenhaver that was pretty memorable. He broke down over the Fourth of July on the side of the road, and here came a semi with a flatbed that winched his truck and two-horse trailer—horse still loaded—onto the back of that semi and drove him to the rodeo.
One Steer Can Change Everything
Where you end up on the priority list, which determines whether you have a first run or a rerun on the cattle, can impact your attitude also. Everybody wants the best crack at ’em, and things like reruns and going last are obvious advantages. But you have no control over that, so you have to roll with the punches and do your best.
Let’s face it, there are times you go to a rodeo and hoe it out of one in the first perf and first run on the cattle. You’re so proud of the run you made on that steer, then don’t win a dime. It always just boils down to taking it one steer at a time. And remember that one win or good run can change everything.
Never say die, because winning is the best confidence booster. I’ve seen so many teams that were about to throw in the towel have a big hit. Sometimes one last Hail Mary at the buzzer, and you’re right back in the race.
—TRJ—