The Fight: Open Title Fights Breakdown with Jaxson Tucker
Jaxson Tucker talks about being high-call and more about his and Cole Davison's run at the Open Title Fights at Rancho Rio in Wickenburg, Arizona.
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Situation: 

Open Title Fights 

Setup: 

The steers were really good there. Some of them were a little bit weak and some of them ran. The barrier wasn’t too long. I ran two lopers and, in the short round, I was high call with Jake Clay and our steer really ran.

STEER:

I ran this steer in the first round with Jake Clay. On this run, I remember him because he high loped. He was good.

HANDLE:

I don’t know how perfect it was. I thought it was pretty good. I was trying to push up right there to make sure I could keep the steer’s head the whole time. If I got the steer’s head coming back to me, then he would open up and let Cole heel him. Cole’s horse is just so good no matter where you put them.

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HORSE:

The Bay Bomber (12) is not the fastest thing in the world. My good horse was hurt during that time and I had that horse out there. He’s not fast, but he lets me score good and lets me win a lot.

David Key’s 5 Steps to a Good Handle

SCORE:

You probably had to see the cattle about front leg to halfway out there. Some of them lopers you had to see halfway out there. They were all good, but there were some that tried and some that loped and, the ones that loped, you had to see half a cow on them. That box is kind of weird because they can move it back and forth. They have it deep and wide for the World Series deal. It was kind of odd to have it as a regular setup.

Science of Score

Score Sharp with Riley Minor

Trevor Brazile’s Scoring Theory 

LEFT HAND:

I got my hand up his neck because I don’t want to keep any tension on the reins pulling him. I’m just trying to let him free-will pull the steer across the arena. I’m really just watching to see if the steer’s head is coming back to me. Then, the hops are all going to open up and it will be easier for Cole to heel him.

COLE DAVISON:

3 Tips for Balancing Your Loop with Cole Davison

I like roping with him. He has amazing horses and we’re second partners. I practice with him almost every day. He’s been really good to me and helps me a lot. That horse right there—Apollo—I think is one of the best horses in the world. He heels fast with a big, open swing. It just feels easier for me to turn him good steers at the jackpots. I just think about not messing up and pushing up and keeping the steer’s head bent because he throws fast all the time, so as long as I can get the steers opened up it seems like it’s easy for him every single time.

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LEGS:

You can’t see it here, but I want to keep my left leg in him to keep him pushed up. I want to gather him up in the corner. I try to run my reins up his neck so he doesn’t have any tension and he can just kind of pull at his own will. I just try to use my left leg a lot when I pull the steers across the arena. Once I get my horse started and picked up in the corner and gathered up, then I want to use my right leg to kick across the arena and get him facing.

Tucker Wins Open and #15 at South Georgia Classic

SHORT ROUND:

A lot of teams started dropping out toward the end. It seemed like you could maybe come back and have a chance to win pretty decent money because it kind of got easy at the end. In the short round, it was as tough as it could possibly be. Everyone was just banging it out of there. The top five callbacks were 6 every time. I had to be 6-something to win the roping and had a 2-second lead going into the short round. It kind of looked like I was going to have a chance to place with Cole, but it ended up no chance at all.

The Score: Season 2, Episode 22 with Brenten Hall

MINDSET:

I think about it so weird. Brenten Hall and I talk about it a lot. We both think about it so simply. Every time I go into a roping, I think to myself, ‘If you break a barrier, you’re obviously not going to have a chance, so get out at the barrier and do not miss.’ I’m pretty simple. I try not to think about much. I try to not go to a roping and think about how I’m swinging or how I’m riding. I just want to get out at the barrier and get my horse running as hard as he can before I even throw. Just don’t mess up. 

 [SHOP: Brenten Hall’s Head Rope]

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Jaxson Tucker Kaitlin Gustave Photo
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