Archive for 2010
Patrick Smith wins another world championship and breaks season earnings record
For the first time in history team ropers have surpassed the $200,000 mark in season earnings. Fast Back cowboy, Patrick Smith, and partner Trevor Brazile won an incredible $120,419 at this year’s Wrangler National Finals Rodeo to clinch the 2010 Team Roping world title. This is Brazile’s first team roping title and Patrick Smith’s second, having won his first in 2005.
Brazile also won the Tie Down Championship, along with the All Around title to complete a Triple Crown win, becoming the first multiple Triple Crown winner since Jim Shoulders in 1958. Brazile earned more than $500,000 in the 2010 rodeo season.
Coming to the national finals in eighth place in the world standings would require a stellar performance by Brazile and Smith to have a chance at winning a team roping world championship.
“The teams ahead of us had roped so well and had such a great year. We had everything to gain and nothing to lose,” explains Smith. “We decided not to get caught up in the numbers and what everyone else was doing, and just go make the best run we could each night.”
Mission accomplished. Brazile and Smith placed in eight out of ten rounds and won second in the average for a phenomenal performance in Las Vegas.
Brady Tryan, one of the three Tryan brothers competing at the WNFR this year, enjoyed extraordinary success on his first trip to the Thomas & Mack. Brady placed in six rounds, winning first or second in four of them, in addition to fourth in the average for total WNFR earnings of $91,000.
“The game plan from the beginning was to win as much as possible,” says Brady. “After competing at the NFR for the first time, I know now I never want to watch from the sidelines again. I want to continue improving so I can keep going back.”
Also winning a substantial paycheck was three-time WNFR qualifier, Keven Daniel, who placed in five rounds, finishing third in the average for a total of $83,274 in 2010 WNFR earnings.
Fast Back congratulates all five of their 2010 WNFR contestants (Clay Tryan, Brady Tryan, Patrick Smith, Keven Daniel and Jerome Schneeberger) who collectively earned over $340,000 at this year’s PRCA national finals.
Clay Tryan breaks PRCA season earnings record
Granbury, TX – A nearly perfect performance in Omaha at the PRCA Justin Boots Championships earned Clay Tryan and his partner, Travis Graves, each $35,955 at the event.
The team won the first round with a rapid 4.3-second run, followed by a 4.2-second win in the second round. In the Semi-Final round, a 4.7-second run was good enough to win second place. The team won the Final round with another consistent 4.6, clinching the event championship, a fantastic follow up to their win at the Justin Boots Playoffs two weeks prior in Puyallup, Washington.
By Saturday, Tryan had surpassed Chad Masters’ year-old record for regular-season earnings by a header with $145,524. Clay currently leads the PRCA standings with $146,608 – $30,000 more than second place header, Chad Masters; and $40,000 ahead of third place header, Turtle Powell.
“It’s always great to have a lead, because you don’t have to win as much as the next guy” says Tryan, “But the fact is we still have to rope really well at the NFR and that’s our goal.”
Fast Back Ropes introduces the Natural
Fast Back Ropes introduces the Natural
Granbury, TX – Fast Back Ropes is excited to introduce a new rope this fall, The Natural. The Natural is a nylon-poly blended, four-strand, with a feel unlike anything Fast Back currently manufactures.
“We have always built ropes with lots of body, among other characteristics,” explains Al Benson, General Manager of Fast Back. “With the evolution of rope making, we realize ropers are unique and not everyone likes the same thing. Ropers speak, we listen and the Natural is the result of that process.”
The Natural is a highly visible natural color made of specially manufactured materials for better grip on the horn. Ropers will appreciate the Natural’s extreme durability and consistent performance in all weather conditions.
The Natural is slightly deader with more tip weight and is very forgiving. This rope will be a good fit for many ropers who are not currently Fast Back users. Ropers who prefer a rope with less body and more tip weight will love the Natural.
“When heeling with this rope, it molds to the ground without bouncing,” explains BFI champion and PRCA heeler, Ryan Motes, “I like that the Natural comes tight fast and grabs and holds the horn extremely well.”
The Natural will be available at retail and online stores October 15, 2010. Stay connected with the latest information and updates by visiting www.fastbackropes.com, and Fast Back Ropes on Facebook, at www.facebook.com/fastbackropes, or information and promotions.
PREPARING FOR THE FINALS: Pushing the Barrier
The USTRC Finals, the biggest event of the year for most ropers, is just around the corner and being properly prepared is key to roping well and winning.
There are a number of things you need to make sure are in order. Make sure your horse is recently and properly shod so that you don’t have to hunt for a farrier at the finals. Make a trip to the vet so your horse is current on his shots and coggins. Have the vet check him over to make sure he’s not sore anywhere.
Making sure your horse is physically ready is just one part of being prepared. Now, how are you practicing? Are you doing things that will benefit you when you rope in Oklahoma City? Make sure the steers you practice on are not slow and worn out because that’s not what you will be roping at the finals. You need to be ready to rope when you get there and have control of your horse.
The worst thing you can do is to practice a lot on the horse you’ll be competing on. I see many people make this mistake of practicing too much at home where things are going well, but when they get to the finals their horse doesn’t work the same. Don’t run too many on him in the practice pen at one time. If your horse is sore or tired he will not be able to perform like he did at home.
Practice and prepare at home so that your horse is performing at peak and working well when you compete. There are many drills you can do at home that will give you a better chance to win once you get there. Check out my videos on getting your rope up, swinging your rope, riding your horse across the line and how to prepare your horse at my website at speedroping.com. Studying these will help you prepare. You have to remember, not only do you have to be prepared, but your horse must also be prepared.
Remember, it’s not about roping well in the practice pen. It’s about you and your horse preparing in the practice pen so you can rope well when you leave home. I’ve spent my entire life preparing to perform to the best of my ability so that when I left home my odds of performing well were high.
I didn’t start off winning when I went pro. There’s much to be learned from your failures. It’s just that wins receive much more publicity. You must realize the importance of practicing correctly at home if you’re going to have a chance to succeed during competition where you’ll have obstacles to overcome. Most people that put up money and rope at the USTRC Finals can catch if they draw well. But, what if you don’t? You need to be able to overcome circumstances like steers that don’t start, steers that slow down or run left.
Proper preparation includes reserving stalls and having plenty of shavings in them to prevent your horse from having to stand on concrete for days. You should have your truck and trailer maintained and ready to go. Another consideration is your ropes. I’ll have ropes on hand in a variety of lays, from XXS to Soft. You never know beforehand if it’s going to be 80 degrees or 30 degrees when you get to Oklahoma City, and that makes a major difference in how your ropes feel.
There is so much preparation involved in making a winning run. You need to make sure you have taken every step necessary. Throughout my career I have had many failures and it makes the drive home much better if I realize, as I go through my mental checklist, that I didn’t overlook anything.
SPICER GRIPP Success Story
Spicer Gripp Success Story:
Al,
I don’t know if you remember but I was at the shop with Steve during stephenville. I was going to thank you for converting me to xs ultimate 4s. I won the pro-am at the Spicer Gripp with one and that’s all I’ve had in my rope bag since. I was just going to say thank you for the advice and helping me win my first saddle.
Zane Tisdale
PRACTICING THE RIGHT WAY: Fast Back Focus
Practicing the Right Way:
Fast Back Focus with Clay Tryan
When you are preparing to rope at an event, it’s very important to practice for the arena, cattle and set up at the competition. For instance, if I’m headed to the BFI where the score is long and the arena is big, then that’s going to be the set up in my practice pen. It wouldn’t make sense for me to practice in an NFR set up where the arena is small and narrow.
I would also try to practice on cattle that run harder like they do at the BFI so that’s what my horse and I are prepared for.
Many people practice the same way all the time under the same conditions every time. Then when they go to a roping and have a longer score than at home, they’re not used to it and it makes the conditions seem harder than they actually are. Know the arena, format and cattle where you will be competing and try to simulate that as much as possible during practice.
Remember that when you’re practicing you’re showing your horse what you want him to do. If you practice in the wrong set up, then you’re giving your horse the wrong instructions. Practicing in a similar set up will give you and your horse confidence when you compete.
MIKE WHITE RETIRES FROM BULL RIDING:
PUSHING THE BARRIER: The Handle, with Speed Williams
Pushing the Barrier
Handling steers is one of the most important factors that allow headers to be successful. There are two common scenarios that prevent good handles. One is where the head horse drops his left shoulder and ducks, going left really hard. This causes the steer to jerk away from the heeler and his back end to be wild making him difficult to heel. The other scenario is when the head horse doesn’t respond to the bridle, or is weak, and doesn’t have control of the steer’s head. Here the steer seems to drift down the arena and the heeler ends up inside and has to throw over the steer’s hip where the right front leg is blocking entry of the heel loop.
There are many headers who reach and have acquired good range with their rope but still don’t realize how important it is to protect the heeler and keep the steer’s feet together. The header’s job is to get it on as fast as you can and to give their heeler the best throw possible.
Most jackpot headers who set up their runs and have a lot of steers caught behind them are very disciplined. They understand the importance of taking care of their heeler and setting up the run where the heeler can finish fast. There are a lot of headers who complain that their heelers can’t catch. If you consistently have heelers who can’t catch behind you, take a good look at you and your horse to see what’s causing it, especially if they’re catching for other headers.
The art of handling a steer is to get control of his head as smoothly as possible without breaking stride or changing speed. When I started heading I was taught to slow a steer down and hop him off and that is still widely taught today. The problem with this is once a heeler picks up the bridle reins, he loses all the momentum he had going down the arena. When heelers have to pull on the reins, they quit swinging their rope as fast and when the steer takes off again they have to start over from scratch. Heelers rope better when they can keep speed on their rope. Once they have to pull back a lot of things can happen: their swing goes to the right, it slows down, they lean forward, and all of these can make getting the heel rope under the steer more difficult.
You want to handle the steer smoothly in full stride and come back towards the heading box in a 10 to 15 degree angle. This angle allows for better entry of the heel loop. I learned this heading for Clay O’Brien Cooper.
What’s new with me: Since February 1st there have been 110,000 videos viewed at my website, www.speedroping.com. We now have 180 videos and are adding more every week. I’m very happy with the response and am receiving great feedback. If you’ve never been to my site, drop in and view some of the videos that are available to non-members. My plan is to build a complete library where people can get answers to their roping questions.
The First Event!
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