$29,110.67. That’s what I’ve got won after going to 54 rodeos. And I’m 14th in the World.
I feel like I need to get it together. But I know there’s a lot of good rodeos left, and I’m planning to head to every one I can.
I just can’t find that roll. For a while, I only had a couple of calves I could have won something on. Reno and Cody were a mess up, but other than that, I felt like I ran calves that just were not calves you could win on when there’s 170 girls and you need to be in the top 12.
I know there are tides in rodeo, and I know those tides turn and I have to be ready when it’s time. I drew one in Lovington that was walking fresh, and I broke the barrier, and in Dodge, I drew one that smoked me to 4.6. I need the tide to turn and I need to stay positive. Here’s how.
Fighting Out of a Breakaway Roping Slump
Dummy Drills
I’ve been working on stuff physically. Mental game is important, but I can’t lie myself into confidence. I know that if I don’t physically put the time in to be prepared, I won’t be. So, I’ve been doing tons and tons of dummy drills.
- I’ve been concentrating on making sure I take a breath before I nod.
- Then, I practice my nod, and I think about where my left hand rides as I do.
- I ride my horse to the pin, making sure my left hand is strong as I do.
- I bring up my swing, and I control my tip.
- Then I ride to the calf, moving to the dummy like I would a calf in a run.
I’m not just roping the dummy. I’m really breaking it down and being strong with my left hand and strong with my core to the calf, so that my muscles are doing things by memory and I can be confident in that.
Horse Preparation
Any chance I get, I score. I make sure my horses are free, so in my mind, I know I’m ready when it’s time.
Self Care
I’ve been rehabbing my knee, and it’s feeling physically strong. I tore my meniscus 2 years ago, and I did PRP and some things to get it by. I had my daughter Journey, so I wasn’t doing a ton of working out. But something happened a month before it was time to leave for the summer, and it felt awful. They drew 20 ccs of fluid off of it, and it was so much more painful than the first time. It just was bad. It didn’t feel stable. Dr. Tandy Freeman said I need surgery, and I told him I didn’t have time. So I got a brace.
While I’ve been out here, I’ve found a doctor in Salt Lake City who does a procedure where he can go in and woke up the muscles in my leg. I lost a lot of support from those muscles just compensating and trying to brace for the pain. Looking back, I notice it in my riding. Everything was to the left and just off. So this doctor went in and did treatments and woke up the muscle fibers. It hurt so bad I wanted to jump off the table. But I can walk normal, and those muscles are waking back up. The knee is still tore, but the muscles around it are back and working.
Here’s to being prepared when it’s my turn, and getting out of this breakaway roping slump.
