MAKING TIME

For 10 minutes before work, after work, before school, after school, you can fit in practice on a dummy with a different assortment of horns. I like to do a 10-minute practice session. You can do this no matter what the weather is, or what else you have going on in your life. Throughout these 10 minutes, mentally keep track of how and where you miss, so you can easily identify where you need work for your next practice session or for when you have more time to rope the dummy.

FIRST THREE MINUTES

You can throw four to five loops a minute. So for three minutes, you can throw 12 to 15 loops. I like to get to the same spot every time, roping in position and getting comfortable in that spot.

NEXT FOUR MINUTES

For the next two minutes, I want to work on what shot gives me heck. I practice my weakness—mine is behind the steer. If I get too close, that’s my weakness. Then for another two minutes, I practice being too wide.

TWO MORE MINUTES

That’s seven minutes now. For the next two minutes, I practice dropping a coil and expanding my reach.

THE LAST, PRESSURE-PACKED MINUTE

For the last minute, I practice my goal for next year—be it the last four rounds of the NFR, or the #10 Shootout in Oklahoma City. If it’s a four-header, you have four loops for the last minute in that situation. Here’s my first steer, second steer, third steer, short round. I try to put as much pressure on myself as I can, inside my head trying to pull it all out in that minute right there. When you’re done with your 10 minutes, there’s not much you haven’t practiced on the ground. I get myself ready for whatever is coming my way even when I don’t have the time for anything else.