March 2009

The past month has been one of the most interesting times of my life. I’ve been given the opportunity to change the concept of team roping and bring fun back into team roping through our match ropings. I believe in the concept and am excited that we can make team roping fun to watch.

Thanks to my partners, I have the people, help and tools to get this done. It’s a drastic change to go from spending the day in the arena to spending all day in a meeting, but actually I enjoy it. It’s a whole new world to me that is very intriguing and interesting. I never knew there could be so many decisions to make about a sport I’ve been in all my life. You have to anticipate every possible scenario and have an answer for it.

So the big and frequent question is - am I retiring? I haven’t gotten to that point, but it is on the table and being discussed. After the winter rodeos and the George Strait roping I will have enough information to make that decision. I have priced all my horses and will sell most of them, but not until after March. The bottom line is that I enjoy what I’m doing and believe I can contribute to a positive change in our sport.

One of the most appealing aspects of this new career is being able to spend more time with my family. I can be home every night and eat dinner with my wife and kids and that’s worth a lot. Most people don’t realize how hard it is for professional cowboys to be away from their families for long periods of time.

Besides the times I’ve been hurt I’ve never been two weeks without roping. I did that in January when I first came to Phoenix and was pleasantly surprised to find that the two weeks went by before I realize I hadn’t roped. That tells me I’m doing the right thing and I’m preparing for a change in life.

We have been conducting some training sessions in Phoenix and have trained a combination of ropers, producers and secretaries as Match Pros (people able to train others to run Speed's Match Ropings). We have come to realize the secretaries are the most vital part of making ropings work. We are now accepting applications for experienced roping secretaries to be trained for Speed’s Match Ropings on a regional basis. Be sure and visit our website at www.matchroping.com or more information and upcoming events. If you are interested in producing one of our match ropings, please contact us.

www.fastbackropes.com