The ladder to the top starts on the bottom rung. In roping’s case, that usually means your little local-area jackpots, where you first hone your skills and learn all the aspects of competing. When I was 11-12-13 years old, my family had a jackpot on the weekends in Southern California. There were a few other arenas in the area also, so that’s where the process of learning to compete started for me. 

As soon as I got my driver’s license, I moved to Arizona at 16. There were a lot of good ropers and ropings there, then I spread out and started enlarging my circle by roping against people in different regions, and amateur rodeoing in Oklahoma and Texas. As you rise up the ranks, you reach a new confidence level each step of the way.

I was amazed by how good the ropers were in different areas. That’s how I met Jake (Barnes)—by amateur rodeoing and jackpotting in Texas. You start to team up and rope with the other good guys in each region, and that’s how relationships, partnerships and allies are developed around the country. 

That’s how you grow, get better and rise to the next level, and there are people you meet and rope with along the way that are on that same track. Jake and Tee Woolman both came from Don Beasley’s jackpot and amateur rodeo teams down in South Texas. Ironically, I rodeoed and hit the big time with Jake after he came out of that environment around Beasley—down in South Texas, which is known for short scores and fast times. 

Speed (Williams) came from the Southeast amateur rodeo scene, and honed his skills coming from quick setups. That became the process of how people rose to the PRCA level. Guys had to go through stages, which typically meant the high school, college and amateur ranks. You rise to the top of one, then go on to the next one. 

There is so much for kids to do today that it’s almost overwhelming when I look at it. We had high school, college and jackpots, but the biggest proving ground back in our younger days was the amateur rodeos. There are so many junior and youth events now, in addition to the World Series ropings. 

Today’s young ropers have a massive proving ground, and it’s unbelievable how fast they get really good. The saturation of events available to them lets them learn the process so much faster. But there’s no way to bypass this process. It takes a lot of runs, trial and error in different scenarios, and failure before you learn to succeed. 

The kids who become obsessed with competition are driven to work hard, and they learn about the highs and lows of victories and defeats with determination, grit and staying power. They are not going to give up. They are going to succeed, no matter what.

This whole process has a natural way of weeding out the ones who don’t want it bad enough. For kids like me, roping was an obsession. For others, it became a hobby and something they did for fun. And that’s ok, too. 

I’ve now seen the whole spectrum from a 40,000-foot view. I got to witness the generation before me—the amateur kings, like Don Beasley, who shaped the next generation, because guys like me studied him. The Camarillos benefited from Don Beasley’s camp, because Leo won championships with Tee and Jake. Leo kept himself on top with both of those kids who benefited from the process I’m talking about here. And I benefited from watching it. 

As you look at the years gone by—teams like Speed and Rich (Skelton), and now Kaleb (Driggers) and Junior (Nogueira), and TWade (Tyler Wade) and Wesley (Thorp) making their mark—you have a window of time where you’ve risen to the top and are battling against the best. What I now know is that it’s just a window of time. You also have to be prepared to make your exit, and be thankful for the time you had on top. 

One of my favorite scenes from the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie was where the main character is looking for that place to step off the boat. I was blessed to compete at the highest level for almost four decades. What a blessing to witness, be friends with and compete against all the great ropers from each generation. Don’t get stuck. Step off the boat, and into your next chapter.

—TRJ—