I told (my wife) Steph I would go back and relive that entire day again. Even knowing the result, even knowing the heartache, it’s going to follow everything. I would go back and relive that day again because that was the most fun day that I’ve had besides my wedding and my kids being born—from the support from the fans and knowing that your whole life, you’ve wanted to run one for a gold buckle, and I got to run one for two.
You know what I mean? It doesn’t get any better. That’s the reason we practice so hard. The reason why we give so much to this thing is for those feelings, those moments, those times in our career we look back on and remember fondly.
LISTEN: Round 10, the NFR Aftermath and 2025 with Coleman Proctor
Every year in the fall, Logan (Medlin) and I sit down and talk about our plan for next year. Are we happy where we’re at? What are our goals? We kind of go through the list. When we decided to rope again in 2025, I told him, “Hey, I don’t think we peaked. I don’t think we’re on the way down. I feel like our team is still ascending.”
My horses have gotten a lot better, and they’re a lot more seasoned now than they ever have been. As far as the rodeos go, I feel like I’ve got the best set of horses I’ve ever had in my career and I’ve got the best partner I’ve ever had in my career. Our rhythm is really good, our run is extremely fast and Heisman shows no signs of slowing down.
Was Round 10 a failure as far as results go for this year? Possibly. But if it helps me win a gold buckle next year, then it really wasn’t. It was just a step in the right direction. And don’t get me wrong, it took me a day or two before I even looked at it on film. I’ve gone over it in my head a lot.
I could have had my swing off as I nodded, and I could have been ahead of the run a little bit as it was. I left off the corner, and I was with the run. I wasn’t ahead of it really. And so that put me where, when I was fixing to throw my rope, I was going to have to reach. And when you’re reaching, you’re kind of roping both horns at the same time. And out there, I really try to work on—even when I do reach—bringing my delivery right to left to allow me coverage. One thing I’ve struggled with my whole career is steers that step left. Anytime you’re roping both horns the same time the steer steps left, he can get out of that catch zone pretty quick.
READ: There’s More to Life Than Gold Buckles
Speed (Williams) talks about having a wide margin for error, so that’s something I really train up on when getting ready for out there. That’s why it’s so important for me to get the great starts that I do. Because that allows me to rope right to left, which gives me the confidence to be feeling my rope. It’s not a blind shot, but when you’re being mid-3, you’re cutting it loose really before you’ve got a clear look at the horns.
You know what I’m saying? You’re seeing the horns and delivering all at the same time. So when I come bringing it to him right there, I’m kind of roping both horns the same time, and I push through the middle of my delivery to get it to him, and he steps left and I split him. And that’s just the end of the story. I’ll never forget when I pulled my slack right there, I sat up on my saddle and I said, “That just happened.”
Every practice, we say, “It’s Round 10, how fast do we gotta be to win the world?” That’s why I do pushups when I miss: for this moment. And so, when you look back, you can be mad at the result, but also find what you would have done different. What would you do different next time and learn from the process? And then thank God it was a lesson that paid me $148,000 and an incredible week. It was a lesson I learned and was able to go home and take my family on vacation.
—TRJ—
