7/31 Drew Horner: Uncoiled. Preparing for a Profession

I have been asked over the past few years, especially now, what can I do to prepare myself to compete at the top level of team roping? Or how can I be a professional team roper? Most of the time I get a question it is – what the steps are to get to the top level of Team Roping? I love talking to people wanting to get better! It excites me when people are curious to pursue something and go after it. Seeing people succeed at whatever it is they want to succeed at makes me smile. Over the next couple weeks, I am going to answer these questions on how you can pursue being a professional team roper in our sport. I am going to explain the stepping stones into pro rodeo, what the tier system looks like in pro rodeo, and also getting into the higher level jackpots and onto the open jackpots. I will also include how I moved up through the ranks of rodeo, what goals I set specifically, and what it was like at certain stages of my roping career.

The first thing people need to realize in order to be good at something is that nothing in life that is worth while comes easy. It takes a lot more than just showing up and expecting to win at any level. I am not going to talk much about practice, or mental prep, or the hard work aspect in this series, but I am going to explain the steps to take in order to get to the top level of roping.

The first step of pursuing roping as a career is learning how to be a great jackpotter at the level you are at. Learning how to win at the jackpots you are at is huge. It builds confidence and puts you in pressure situations that you need to learn how to handle. Also, winning at the jackpot level will teach you how to catch every time. You need to be able catch 90% of your cattle in competition, not at home in the practice pen, before you can start stepping your game up to incorporating speed into your runs. When you can win jackpots at your level, step yourself up and move into the higher numbers.

Learn how to win at the higher level the same way you did in the lower numbers. Put yourself in high-pressure situations and learn how your body reacts to that. Everyone is different. Everyone reacts differently. You have to figure that out for yourself. Experience is the only way to learn those things. OK, so now you are in the number 13 and 15 jackpots. You got a few wins under your belt and you know what it feels like to be high call in a 15 and succeed in that situation. This is when you can start to take chances and learn how to be fast. The next step is to start entering the amateur rodeos and open jackpots. You need to always be able to win at the jackpots. Never lose your ability to catch 90% of your cattle in competition at the jackpots. Jackpotting is crucial to being a successful professional Team Roper.

Moving onto the open jackpots and the amateur rodeo associations. You need to be good at both of these levels before you step up to the Pro Rodeos. Typically your competing against the same level as what you’ll see at the pro rodeos, but you don’t have to travel as far, and the expenses are significantly cheaper. For me, I set goals to move up through the ranks of rodeo. My first few goals when I was at this stage of my roping were:

1) Qualify for the finals for every amateur rodeo association I bought my card in

2) Win Rookie of the Year in the United Professional Rodeo Association

3) Win the United States Team Roping Championships (USTRC) Open Tour Year End Header

I reached all of these goals. I amateur rodeoed for only one year. I did all of this in 2009. I qualified for the finals in the United Professional Rodeo Association (UPRA) and the American Cowboy Rodeo Association (ACRA). I did not get to compete at both finals, because they both were scheduled on the same weekend. I chose the UPRA finals.

Buddy and I holding my cardboard check I won for the USTRC Open Tour Year End Header. 2009

That year was the year I started roping with Buddy Hawkins. We had a good year. We went to a bunch of jackpots and started learning how to win at the open level. We did ok amateur rodeoing that year. We went into the UPRA finals at 15th, the lowest seed. I won the USTRC Open Tour header and Buddy was the runner-up on the year end heeling. We learned a lot that year as to how both of us were in and out of the arena. We developed a strong relationship through all of it. It was awesome! We went everywhere, entering some pro rodeos on our permit, which I’ll explain about in a future blog, and going to the amateurs as much as possible, all while picking up jackpots as much as we could. We went everywhere there was a USTRC roping. One night we drove from San Angelo, Texas, all the way up to Sydney, Iowa. We did well at almost every jackpot we went to, and struggled throughout the rodeos. It was our first full year of amateur rodeoing. We were both learning what the road was really like, and what it was like being away from home. He was married and I was single and young, so for him it was tougher. We ended up rodeoing out of his house in Kansas for the summer. I had a blast. I was with a new great friend and partner, and was on the road learning everything I could about being on the rodeo road. I spent a couple months in Kansas with him, and we had fun doing it. This was the beginning of our partnership, and relationship.

So now, you bought your card for the amateur rodeo association. For me it was the UPRA and the ACRA. There are plenty of amateur rodeo associations all over the country. Just ask around, or search it on the internet, and you will learn fast what association is best for you. When you’re here, entering open jackpots and amateur rodeoing on the weekends, you can start to take chances. You need to start stepping out of your comfort zone to learn to get better. You never want to get stuck in one spot, or one level of competition, just because you didn’t face your fears and learn how to lose by taking chances. You have to learn how to reach in competition consistently, or learn how to throw at the fastest legal hop when the steer turns. You’re not in the lower numbers anymore, so in order to win, you have got to be able to turn steers faster or catch steers that are not handled well. In order to be good and win, you have to step up. When your partner messes up, you need to be able to make up for his mistake. As a header, this means catch steers when your partner misses the haze. As a heeler, this means if your partner ropes a neck and ducks, you need to be able to heel that steer by two feet, fast enough to win something. Which, by the way, is exactly what Buddy did for us at the Spanish Fork Utah rodeo the other day. If you go to my fan page and watch the video, you will see me reach, rope a neck, and duck for Buddy. He just rode up, turned in, and pulled off an amazing heel shot for us to be 4.2, which is exactly what we needed to do in order to win any money at that rodeo. The video is on my fan page, and it is a pretty nice shot. My advice at this level is to learn as much as you can. You need to expect to win, but also learn to lose. Back in the box knowing what you are going to do and then let your reactions take over. This stage is where you learn a lot about rodeo, and not just about the sport. You will learn a ton about yourself at this stage when you get into competition. This stage will prepare you for your next big step, stepping into Circuit Rodeoing and All American Rodeoing for the next year. One thing I will add is DO NOT STAY IN THE AMATEUR STAGE LONG!!! There are negatives about amateur rodeoing that could hinder your future. You do not want to develop an amateur style of roping that you have to break when you get to the pro level. I’ll explain what I mean by this in a future post also. You want to learn how to be competitive at that level, but you do not want to get stuck in that level. I suggest set goals, reach those goals, and then move onto the next stage of Rodeo immediately.

Cover of the PSN Buddy and I were on after winning the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo. 2013

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