Pushing the Barrier – February 2011

Lately I’ve been hauling a nine-year-old head horse I recently bought. Hauling a young or inexperienced horse takes extra time because you need to get there early so they can see the lights, the banners in the arena, the flags, etc. and get warmed up.

When hauling a new horse, for the first four events, I try to get there a couple of hours early and ride him around so he can become comfortable with his surroundings. Once you’ve hauled your horse a few times you won’t have to get there quite as early.

A young or inexperienced horse will cost you money if he gets distracted from doing his job. If you’re going to compete and put your money up, it’s important to give your horse every possible opportunity not to make any mistakes so you have a chance for success.

Each horse matures differently and can get scared by something as simple as a banner, a light or even someone moving in the grandstands. I’ve had horses that took months to get over these things and then I’ve had some that were okay after two or three times.

Most horses get nervous in new surroundings, so if you buy a horse and he’s never been in a building or seen banners hanging in the arena, you can’t blame him if he “buggers” or gets scared when he sees it for the first time. Getting him used to these things before you compete is just part of your preparation to rope.

In addition to introducing your horse to new things another crucial part of your preparation is properly warming your horse up before you rope. How much time this takes will also vary from horse to horse and may take a few times on your new horse before you have it figured out.

What’s new with me: The other day was very special for me: my little four-year old boy roped steers for the first time. When we came in the house, he told me that after dinner he needed to voice over his video. I started out talking and then he took over and talked for about two minutes. I don’t know if he knew what he was saying, but he has sat in my lap and listened to me so much that he was throwing out the terminology he’s heard. It was quite comical.

February 1^st will be the first anniversary of speedroping.com and I’ve very pleased and excited with how far we’ve come. We’ve had over 400,000 videos viewed on our site and now have over 550 videos online with 100 of those being free. If you haven’t visited speedroping.com, come by and see what all the fuss is about.

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.

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.

Pushing the Barrier

There are two very different styles of headers. One is the catcher who scores well, usually rides a nice horse, doesn’t miss much, seldom breaks the barrier, sets up his runs and wins by being consistent and not making mistakes.

The second style is a reacher who hits the barrier line, has lots of rope ability, possibly does not own a really nice horse and has learned to use his ability to overcome the lack of a good horse. This guy wins a lot of day monies and if he wins at a jackpot he wins first. But he’s not very consistent and makes a lot of mistakes.

When I started heading these were the two groups that most people fit in. There were guys that could catch and win and then the guys who could reach but struggled at the long score set ups.

When I was growing up and my dad was training a heel horse, he wanted the steers turned in the first forty feet of the arena. It didn’t matter what the steer was like, that’s where he wanted them turned and so I learned to rope fast. But when a customer was trying a heel horse, I was supposed to go catch, handle the steer and set things up for the heeler. That was good for me because it gave me a taste of both worlds – I had to be able to rope fast and also learned to go catch. If I missed when heading for a customer my dad would give me a look that did far more than any lecture and words spoken – so I tried very hard never to miss.

One of the reasons most guys from the east can reach is because of all the short score rodeos where they have to be some kind of four to win anything. Consequently they have a lot of range with their rope. The west brings more catchers because of the 18’ to 25’ feet boxes where they have to let the steer out and go run him down. That’s the way it is everywhere they go and they don’t get a chance to work on the short scores.

I recognized these different styles and realized very few people excelled at both.
That’s the problem with the two meeting in the middle. The east doesn’t have many long score rodeos and when those guys go out west they’re out of their element. It’s two totally different styles of roping. Everything about it is different and that’s why a lot of people struggle at being successful at both.

It’s important to be able to change your style and adapt to the situation. When you need to catch, use a smaller loop and run closer to the steer and let your horse do all the work. Your horse will dictate whether you win or lose.

To be fast, you’re going to hit the barrier, then fire and reach to where ever the steer is. You won’t rely on your horse’s speed as much but on how much control you have so he doesn’t duck. You’ll rely more on your arm and less on your horse and need to be able to operate in a small arena.

These are the two major heading styles that win. One is controlled and consistent; the other is creating your shot and being fast.

What’s new with me: I now have over 100 videos on my website and am continuing to add training videos regularly. We’re working on a classified section where folks will be able to upload video of horses they have for sale. The response has been great and I’m pretty excited. Most recently I’ve added videos from the USTRC roping in San Antonio, and rodeos in Austin and Corpus Christi where you can see how I competed in different situations. If you’ve never been to my website at speedroping.com, there are over 25 free videos to watch that may help your roping.

Pushing the Barrier

One of the biggest debates concerning heading is whether to rope both horns at the same time or rope horns from right to left.

If you’re going to run close, it’s better to have a little right to left with your delivery. This allows you to use a smaller loop while still covering a bigger area. When you run close and rope both horns at the same time, you will likely split horns, figure-eight a front leg or wave your rope off.

If you’re going to rope from 10, 12 feet or further back from the steer then you should rope both horns at the same time. When throwing from a distance you have to rope both horns at the same time – roping right to left will not work. One drawback to roping both horns at the same time is the odds of catching your steer if he moves to the left decrease dramatically.

When I first started heading there were guys that ran up close to the steer and caught and then there were guys who reached all the time. There were only a few that did both and for that reason most people taught either one way or the other. The key to be being a successful header is to be able to do both.

What’s new with me: I’ve just gotten back from the George Strait Team Roping and have posted my runs on my site at speedwilliamsteamroping.com. Clay Cooper and I made two 3.73-second runs there that you can view. We now have 70 videos on the site and are adding more all the time. I’m getting some good feedback from subscribers.

Pushing the Barrier

Last month we talked about riding across the line. The next step in the process is having your rope ready when you get there. Not being ready to rope is one of the biggest obstacles that hinder ropers. Many people don’t swing their rope right away or they are swinging at the wrong angle when they reach the steer. By the time this is corrected they are half or three-quarters of the way down the arena.

This is the biggest thing that separates low number from high number headers. Low number headers tend to track their steer while high number headers are ready to rope as soon as they get in position. There are a number of drills you can do on the ground and on your horse to help you rope faster.

Ground drills on the dummy will ultimately improve your roping horseback. One thing you can do is walk or trot on foot towards the heading dummy and throw when you get in position.  Do the same basic drill on your horse roping the mechanical dummy. Throw as soon as you are in position. This is hard for many people because they try so hard to catch and I promise you will miss quite a bit in the beginning. My philosophy is if you never miss or fail in the practice pen, then you’re not challenging yourself enough.

Another good ground drill is to move around and throw and catch from different positions. People repeatedly tend to rope the dummy from where they can catch and seldom challenge themselves. It’s just like playing “Around the World” in basketball. You need to be able to throw and catch from any possible position on your horse.

What’s new with me – My website is growing with new videos being added every week at speedwilliamsteamroping.com. Paying members can now see video from my runs at the San Angelo rodeo and the Wildfire Open roping. I’ve also loaded videos from my practices and exercises I’m doing with my new horse. We’ve added a feature I’m pretty excited about. If you have a horse for sale that you think I would be interested in you can upload video for me to look at. The access code is compaccess. Very soon we will have a classified ad section where you can pay to post video of horses you have for sale.

Pushing the Barrier

How you ride across the line is the biggest difference in headers that win and headers that place. Most ropers underestimate the importance of how well your horse leaves off your hand and how well you catch up to your cattle.

A major problem is that headers tend to pull on the bridle rein as they’re leaving the box. They use the reins for balance and to pull themselves from the back of the saddle – all without realizing it. Once you release your horse’s head when leaving the box, you have to let him go and allow him to run.

To prevent using the reins for balance put weight in your stirrups and lean forward while you ride across the line, this will prevent the momentum from blowing you back, out of the saddle. Balancing properly, with the horse, as you leave the box, allows you to catch up to the cow much faster and not run as far down the arena. When you pull on the reins as you’re leaving the box, your horse accelerates at a slow speed and you end up further down the arena before you get your shot.

On a young horse the best way to keep him quiet is never make him run. Just ease out and let him lope up to the cow at a slow speed. When you’re competing, you have to get your horse from the back of the box to the cow as quickly as possible and then rate. The faster your horse can run across the line, the more time you have to catch and handle the cow.

What’s new with me – I can’t remember when I’ve enjoyed myself like I have the last couple of weeks. I have a young man at the house for a month-long school. Every day I spend a few hours working on my videos for my website at www.speedroping.com. After lunch we go to the roping pen. The entire session is filmed and afterwards Casey and I review his roping and talk about what he needs to work on. Then I burn a DVD that he takes to his trailer to study. Being able to teach like this is very gratifying. What makes this more fun is having my family in the arena roping with me. There’s never been a time in my life where I wasn’t under a lot of pressure of one kind or another. It’s very refreshing to relax and enjoy what I’m doing.

Pushing the Barrier

Scoring is one of the most crucial aspects of heading. When scoring your horse should “leave off your hand” which means that when you release tension on the bridle reins, your horse needs to be moving forward smoothly. Scoring well is the biggest separation between low numbered and high numbered headers.

In the practice pen don’t nod when the steer is looking forward. This is a good test to see how well you score because both you and your horse have to react to the cow. It’s very embarrassing when you take off and the cow doesn’t leave the chute. This happens more than you know to high numbered headers.

This was the number one thing I worked on when I was roping and practicing all the time. Having the ability to react instantly is such a mental deal and happens so fast you have to be really focused. One of the biggest drawbacks to rodeo is how the all night drives affect your reaction time. Likewise, if you’re at an all day jackpot it’s difficult to stay focused and to react quickly when the steer leaves the chute.

If there’s one thing I could tell ropers to help them win is to practice making their horse leave off their hand. It doesn’t matter where you are roping or what the set up is – when the reins drop your horse needs to take off smoothly.