Home//The Team Roping Journal/May 2021/In This Issue
The Team Roping Journal|May 2021Dear RoperDear Roper,In an episode of "The Score" this January, auctioneer Steve Friskup spent a lot of time discussing how the desire to live the Western way of life was driving the horse market through the roof. People from the coasts and the cities are looking to get a piece of land and return to their rural roots in the West and, in turn, the real estate market has exploded in team roping hot spots all over the U.S.In this issue, we get the chance to highlight some of those popular places to relocate and their team roping offerings, including many of the real estate agents who can help you find a place of your own with an arena in your backyard and the pipe entryway of your dreams. These agents…2 min
The Team Roping Journal|May 2021USING DISCIPLINE TO DEAL WITH DISAPPOINTMENTWe all lose. And when we rope competitively, we lose more than we win, I don’t care who you are. Some people handle failure with grace. Others, not so much. But dealing with disappointment is one of the things we all have to try and master. It’s one of the hardest pills to swallow, but it’s also part of it every time you throw your name in the hat. Losing has never been easy on me. I think that’s what’s always been behind my work ethic.You can’t lose all the time and make a living. And even if you’re a recreational roper who ropes for fun, it isn’t fun if you fail all the time. When roping was my job, it’s how I fed my family. You don’t have to…4 min
The Team Roping Journal|May 20215 FLAT with Kory KoontzROPING TO WINHow Kory Koontz reinvigorated his roping before his 2021 Bob Feist Invitational win.It had been 25 years since I won the Bob Feist Invitational, and before going to Guthrie this year, I did some reflecting on how aggressively I used to rope, how I set up my shots and where I put myself in the run. There were little things as I got older that I took for granted about my roping, and I had slipped into riding a position that was way safer and cutting to the inside and having to take another swing or two or three if things didn’t develop just right. All of these different things were causing me to not be the old me who used to win these ropings. So before the…3 min
The Team Roping Journal|May 2021Bit JunkieABOUT THE BIT:Patrick Smith: I just started my own bit line with Teskeys. The ported-chain portion of it is the same, but I get some that are straight-chained, some that are ported-chained. I did a calvary shank in a longer and a regular shank because every horse is different as far as the amount of leverage you’re going to need. All of them are either straight-chain or a chain-port and there’s two different options for the type of shank and two different options for the length.We built one that we’re actually going to call The Rooster Setup because it’s what I ride on him. It’s more of a traditional-looking bit. It has some slope to the shanks that isn’t as aggressive, but it still has a great feel to it.SHANK:The…1 min
The Team Roping Journal|May 2021gearABI TR3 “E” Trevor Brazile EditionTrevor Brazile teamed up with ABI Equine to create an arena drag that is designed for roping and rodeo events. The TR3 E Trevor Brazile Edition has more than 20 years of innovative technology experience. It is designed to prepare your arena and boxes to conditions to help your equine athletes perform at their best.More: 877-857-2605; abiattachments.comBlack Widow GroomerThe Black Widow Groomer is an easy-to-operate arena drag that produces suitable footing for your performance horse needs. Instead of bouncing and jumping over rough terrain while dragging your arena, the Black Widow Groomer is level to the ground to groom all spots of your arena. The drag itself has enough weight to rip up packed ground and turn it into the arena footing that your rope…2 min
The Team Roping Journal|May 2021Central Rocky MountainsFor anyone looking for a place not too hot and not too cold, Colorado is tough to beat—and not just because it’s the corporate headquarters of this magazine.“There are plenty of indoor ropings during the winter months, and our mild Rocky Mountain temperatures mean outdoor summer roping is great,” said Jan Johnson of Re/Max (houseandhorse. com).Johnson said steers aren’t hard to come by and hay is plentiful and affordable, too.“We have some snow and cold snaps each winter, but with more than 300 days of sunshine per year and ridiculously low humidity, most folks ride all winter,” she said. “And the cool weather means fewer bugs, so we don’t worry about termites or chiggers along the Front Range. Not only that, but our ground is good and sand is plentiful…4 min
The Team Roping Journal|May 2021The Sooner StateFor pure horse country, tons of roping and great weather, it’s hard to beat Oklahoma—especially the Oklahoma City area. Lately home to the BFI, and as the longtime home of the USTRC Finals, the area isn’t just limited to team roping. For breakaway ropers and barrel racers, the multi-million-dollar Pink and Ruby Buckle events at the Lazy E are huge draws, for instance.“We’re centrally located, prices are good, everybody’s friendly here and we still have that small-town feel,” said wife and mother Nichole Noel, who trains horses along with her husband and sells real estate for Oklahoma City-based Exit Realty Premier (exitrealtypremierok.com; nnoel369@aol.com; 405-703-3565). “From here, you can go into the city and get all your shopping done, but drive 15 minutes and be in the country. That’s huge.”Noel said…2 min
The Team Roping Journal|May 2021THE SCORE“He swings the gate open at the last minute to get us into the fairgrounds. As we’re coming down off the hill, now we’re getting into some dirt roads. As we’re getting down to the bottom of the hill, Ty (Murphy) starts locking it up trying to get the brakes. We’re fishtailing and going back and forth and, all of the sudden, he pulls the emergency brake and he slides right into the back end of the arena.“[Derrick] Begay is in the box and Cade Swor is on my horse and he has Begay’s head rope. He told Begay, ‘I don’t want to rope.’ I pull in just in the nick of time and there’s dust kind of flying right behind me. I have my rope in my hand, I’ve…1 min
The Team Roping Journal|May 2021SEVENTH ANNUAL NTR NATIONAL FINALS PAYS OUT $973,000 IN WICKENBURGContinuing its tradition as one of the highest-paying divisional ropings in the industry, the NTR National Finals presented by Ariat consisted of 19 individual ropings over eight divisions, plus a Rising Stars Dummy Roping Championship, paying out more than $973,000 in cash and prizes.The 2021 edition once again boasted #11.5, #10.5, #9.5 and #8.5 National Finale divisions along with #10.5 and #8.5 VIP Championships—for VIP members 21 and over—plus the #13.5, #12.5, #7, Legends, and All-Girl Championships, and an Open to the World #8.5 Ram Truck Roping. Winners in the four National Finales took home fully tooled trophy saddles and trophy buckles in addition to large cash payouts. In the #7 Championship, the top five spots also took home custom trophy saddles.Colorado’s Dusty Seeley and Josh Warren battled through a…2 min
The Team Roping Journal|May 2021new productsWrangler Footwear[4-in. Heritage Wedge Workboot]wranglerfootwear.com , $120Wrangler and Twisted X have teamed up to offer new premium footwear, set to launch in June or July. This Heritage Wedge work boot features full-grain leathers, a round toe profile and a comfortable air-mesh lining. Comfort in these boots never takes a day off thanks to the Blend85™ upcycled footbeds made with recycled foam. The blown rubber wedge sole provides a stable foundation with increased surface contact.NRS[Martin Saddlery 2-in. Harness Leather Breast Collar w/ Rosettes and Strings]nrsworld.com , $160This Martin Saddlery breast collar is made of 2-inch quality harness leather and features latigo leather rosettes and strings, as well as stainless steel hardware. Style Number: BC2WHRSClassic Equine[Even Better Fan Bag]classicequine.com , $26Fans are welcome respite in hot barns during the summer, whether at…1 min
The Team Roping Journal|May 2021APPLYING GOLF’S POSITIVES TO ROPINGMy hobby is golf, and I’m infatuated with it. I watch the tournaments, and the shows where the commentators break it all down, and interview and analyze the great golfers. Golf is a lot like roping, in that your winning percentage is actually pretty low. In our sport, even the best guys only win a small percentage of the time, and they’re the elite ropers. One thing I’ve noticed about golfers is that you don’t find a lot of pessimism or negativity. Ropers at every level can benefit from borrowing that positivity from the game of golf.Golfers are somehow trained to pull positive thoughts and feelings from whatever they’re doing—be it analyzing the round they just played, their technique, what they’re working on or their goals. Golfers learn to train…4 min
The Team Roping Journal|May 2021Next Level with Logan MedlinPROBLEM:I had a bad habit of letting my horses get too flat through the turn—not rocking in their front end necessarily, but letting them get too cowy and too flat and not collected. I’ve been working on that with Drago, too, keeping my left hand up. I have a bad habit of throwing them their head through their turn. Sadly, that’s translated to my young ones too, so I’ve been working on getting them picked up and into the bridle more.FIXING IT:I address it on the sled to start with. Warming up, I try to push them up into the bridle, asking them to break at the pole with their butt down. I don’t want them bowing—I think sometimes people have them too broke at the pole to where their…2 min
The Team Roping Journal|May 2021Inner StrengthMental Approach to Dummy RopingI rope the dummy whenever I feel like I’m not doing a very good job on my loops, and I rope it two or three times a day otherwise just to throw a few loops.When I’m roping the dummy, I’m feeling for my delivery and where the tip of my rope is hitting. I want to feel like my tip is hitting on the far-left side of the steer, and I make sure I am following through with four or five throws with the same feel every time I rope it. I’m focusing on making sure my muscle memory and follow through is the same on every loop, with my tip in front of me rather than behind me.I do a mental check to make sure…1 min
The Team Roping Journal|May 2021CORKILL’S CHAMP SIDELINED INDEFINITELYWith a little help from their Gray Gang—Marty and Champ—Clay Smith and Jade Corkill won the long round at The American in March with a 4.75-second sizzler. Corkill will never know exactly what happened, but it’s pretty clear now that his heel horse finished the run on pure grit. Sixes Posse—the 16-year-old gray Corkill bought in 2019 from Clay Cooper, aka “Champ”— tore the straight sesamoidean ligament in his left front foot during that fateful run. He’s since had the best possible care. But sadly, Champ’s future is now uncertain, and longevity a longshot at best.“It’s hard to see what happened, even if you watch the video of that run,” said Corkill, who won three straight gold buckles from 2012-14. “But I’ve watched it back enough to see his head…5 min
The Team Roping Journal|May 2021North Central FloridaWhile people typically envision beaches when they think of Florida, they should instead envision lots of roping. That’s according to Greg Lord, who, with his daughter, Amy, owns Homes To Ranches Realty based in Ocala (homestoranches. com; greg@homestoranches.com; 352-266-6180).“There’s usually a jackpot within an hour’s drive four times a week, and you have your choice on the weekend, so you can rope all you want,” he said, while running steers in March at his 60-acre Ocala home.All winter, the weather hovers in the 60s and 70s with just a few frosts. And while the coasts of Florida get all the attention, the interior is straight agriculture and tourism, Lord said. Florida is among the top cattle-producing states in the nation. Ocala, in particular, is horse country.“North Central Florida is the…3 min
The Team Roping Journal|May 2021Realtor IndexWith the Western way of life becoming more and more appealing to the masses, having a real estate agent who understands the needs of the team roper in one of the most competitive markets in history is more important than ever before. Families are flocking from the coasts to the Heartland, forcing land prices up and depleting existing inventory. These real estate agents are keyed into rural America, and they have the inside track on the hard-to-find horse properties in team roping’s hot spots.ARIZONA• Award RealtySusan Abare Congress, Arizona 928-713-7482 abarewickenburghomes.comCOLORADO• House and Horse Real EstateJan Johnson Frederick, Colorado 303-847-2432 houseandhorse.com• Orr Land CompanyTammy Ellerman Greeley, Colorado 970-351-8777 orrland.comNEW MEXICO• Zia Real EstateKeli Cox Ruidoso, New Mexico 575-258-8656 zia-realestate.comTEXAS• Triangle RealtyJT Haynes Amarillo, Texas 806-681-3421 trianglerealtyllc.com• The Platinum GroupJake Link…1 min
The Team Roping Journal|May 2021NTR Finals Presented by Ariat WinnersHere are the big winners from the 2021 NTR National Finals presented by Ariat, with full listing of winners on the following pages. For all placings and payout, please visit nationalteamroping.com, where you can also find information on the full NTR schedule for the year across the country.…1 min
The Team Roping Journal|May 2021Ropers (At Home With)Q: What’s life like in Poplarville, Mississippi?A: It’s pretty easygoing. There are a lot of people who used to amateur rodeo who live around here. With guys like my dad and Frank Graves living here, it’s one of the big rodeo towns in the Southeast.Q: Was there ever a doubt about what you’d do for a living?A: No. I don’t think there’s ever been a question about that. My dad rodeoed for a living. At 15-16, I started making a pretty decent living at the amateur rodeos, jackpots and junior rodeos. There was never a thought of doing anything different.Q: What are your most and least favorite parts of the professional rodeo trail?A: My favorite part is just getting to rodeo. I love it. I love everything about it, and…5 min
The Team Roping Journal|May 2021RECIPE FOR SUCCESSIn laymen’s terms, 3S Services is an oil and gas company, but as owner Brandon Webb of Carrizo Springs, Texas, explains, it’s really much more.“It’s not all oil and gas. It’s an energy company. We build pipelines, we build facilities. We have a big, big maintenance program that we do. 3S Services is the umbrella. I have engineering design firms. I have a powerline business—your infrastructure, your distribution of powerlines. I have INE, meaning, it’s all your below-the-powerlines electrical. We work in hospitals all over the place. So, we work in and out of the oil and gas industry.”Webb, 43, who won Cheyenne Frontier Days in 2017 heading for Kollin VonAhn, built the company from scratch.“I got married really, really early on,” Webb said. “I was 21 and my wife…3 min
The Team Roping Journal|May 2021Game Plan with Dustin EgusquizaWHEN TO REACHDustin Egusquiza is the most prolific reacher of this generation, but he’s also mastered the layup, too. Here’s how he’s evolved.TRIAL AND ERRORI grew up reaching, so that’s been where I was the most comfortable. But over the years, I’ve done a ton of trial and error. I go to ropings every day, and sometimes I’m doing something wrong, and then doing stuff right, and learning when to do what. San Antonio is always one of my favorite rodeos of the year, but my other favorite rodeos are Pendleton, Salinas and Cheyenne, so I really do have to focus on riding my horse and roping the steer.LESSON LEARNEDNow I have an idea of what each roping will be like before it starts, and what the setup will be…2 min
The Team Roping Journal|May 2021LIVING THE DreamIf you haven’t heard about the dozens of headers and heelers who relocated over the past decade to Stephenville, Texas, or Wickenburg, Arizona, then you’ve been under a rock. We decided to shed some light on just why certain places are popular with team ropers, plus give you all the details on a handful of other hot spots in which to make yourself a home and throw a loop or two.Sun CityThe mass winter migration of ropers to the greater Phoenix area has almost outgrown the significant roping infrastructure. People have realized that Arizona’s beautiful weather and staggering choices of jackpot formats, arenas and producers aren’t going away anytime soon. The rodeo scene is fantastic—especially the junior rodeo associations in many suburbs and statewide. Plus, Phoenix offers great employment opportunities,…3 min
The Team Roping Journal|May 2021The “Cowboy Capital”Much like in Arizona, inventory is exceedingly low in Texas, according to Molly Powell. She’s an NFR barrel racer married to world champion header Turtle Powell; they live near the “Cowboy Capital” town of Stephenville. People flock to the pretty rolling hills southwest of Fort Worth because it’s “the perfect union of weather and horse country,” Powell said. Plus, the investment is sound considering the Texas economy is always insulated by oil, which is going up now.“The sandy loam soil makes it a great place to keep horses, build arenas and grow Bermuda grass, and we have the best vets in the country,” she said.The other big draw is the area’s proximity to hubs of major team roping events in Fort Worth, Oklahoma City and San Antonio, plus big local…3 min
The Team Roping Journal|May 2021Rodeo RegretsThere’s no such thing as a perfect person, cowboys included. As hard as we try to do the right thing and make our best decisions at life’s countless crossroads, we’re all human. Most mistakes and failures are mere stumbles, and so insignificant in the grand scheme of life that they are fast forgotten. Others stand out so much that even decades later they still feel fresh. They were big enough deals that we just never really got over them. Rodeo regrets are no different than any others that might make us remorseful. We polled an elite eight of some of the most respected ropers of all time to gather their reflections on moves they wish they hadn’t made.Jake BarnesI have two regrets from my rodeo career that really stand out.…12 min
The Team Roping Journal|May 2021El CharroRoberto Torres, Jr., is a born-and-raised Coloradan who followed his father, Roberto Torres, Sr., into the folds of team roping and charro competitions when he was a young teenager. Today, Torres, Jr., 35, is helping run his family’s business—four Mexican restaurants in the Denver metro area called Las Delicias—as well as competing in charreadas on an international level and pursuing his passion for team roping.Rodeo and charro culture share some similar beginnings, though charro traditions date back to the 16th century, some 300 years before the first rodeo was held in Deer Trail, Colorado, in 1869. Still, each is rooted in the skills men and women were required to have when working with cattle and horses on large swaths of land. It is worth noting, though, that the original charros…8 min
