5/23 – Getting ready for the Windy Ryon

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Got back from Redding, California and Champions Challenge and it’s back to class and getting ready for the Windy Ryon this week. Buddy and I split 4th and 5th with Keven Daniel and Chase Tryan in the Redding Rodeo and didn’t do any good at the Champions Challenge.

The Windy Ryon, in Saginaw, Texas, is a popular Memorial Day roping and is just down the road from the house. It used to be a 4-header, but this year it’s a progressive 5-header, and you can enter up to 5 times. Since my rodeo partner, Buddy is vacationing this weekend, I am roping with Shay Carrol. He is a really good jackpotter and is not afraid to take chances. As a header I really like to have someone behind me that is trying to win. I’m also roping with Trey Norris, who I circuit rodeo with sometimes and Trey Johnson, who I rodeoed with my rookie year. Trey Johnson is a really good friend of mine, a solid Christian guy and a guy I look up to a lot. He taught me a lot my rookie year, not just about roping, but about life.

The Windy Ryon is a tough set-up in a big arena with a long barrier, and usually hot, dry and windy conditions. I’m working on getting Goose, my rodeo horse who has been out for that past couple weeks due to an abscess, and Rattler, my younger horse, ready for the roping. Rattler is greener, but has potential to be really good. I’m hoping to ride him most of the time to help relieve Goose of a lot of runs. We have the potential to make 15 runs on Friday.

RattlerRattler

With Rattler, we need to focus on a lot of scoring and staying calm in the box, because he runs like a deer and faces like a freak. He’s a solid horse, but just needs to figure out the box. The boxes are in the middle of the arena at the Windy Ryon, so if the heeler does not get a good haze, you’re going to be running your steer to the right. The long barrier, big arena and unpredictable steers make this roping difficult on a head horse, but fun to compete at because of the tough scenarios. If you’re in the area, check it out. There’s roping all weekend and hopefully good watching.

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May 23, 2013 |

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