Like the old saying says, "You can’t win ’em all." You have to have the mindset that you’re going to win or be successful at every roping or rodeo you go to. If you didn’t think you had a chance to win, why would you leave the house? I’ve never left home thinking I wasn’t going to win something in my whole career. But as we all know, no one wins every single time. And sometimes no matter how much you prepare and how mentally positive you are, you won’t win. The luck of the draw has a lot to do with it. There are times we all get discouraged and down if a week of bad times turns into a month or two. But you can’t let your emotions get you down too much, because when the turning point does come, it can go weeks and months the other way. You have to be ready to capitalize when the opportune time comes. So much of this sport is about attitude. It’s so easy to get discouraged, and the tough times seem to run in cycles. You can get into a mindset where you’re whipped down when things aren’t going your way. But you have to keep the attitude that the next steer you run is going to be the turning point.

It’s easy to see other ropers having good times, and to think about how lucky they are. You need to remember that the draw basically runs in thirds. A third of the steers you draw are good ones, a third are medium type cattle and a third are runners. As hard as it is, you have to keep that positive attitude that the next steer might be the one that turns it all around. What you don’t want to let happen is to be so down when that good one comes along that you don’t capitalize on him.

Sometimes you magnify your problems by trying too hard to compensate for drawing bad. You try to do more than is humanly possible. Then that spills over into your horsemanship, and you start reaching further and ducking off. Your handles get worse and you make it hard on your heeler. You can only do so much on a runner or trashy steer, it doesn’t matter who you are. You can’t force it. Keep a good attitude, knowing that at some point it’s going to change and they will run that good one in there for you.

Clay (O’Brien Cooper) and I never really broke the ice this winter. We never consistently drew on the better end of the steers. You see the pack out there in front of you and there’s really not anything you can do. You just have to keep your attitude up and wait to get your break. Of all the obstacles in roping, the draw is the one you can’t conquer. If you start trying to do too much, it messes up your rhythm and your attitude will keep you from winning on a good one, because you’re not ready.

When you get up at a rodeo also plays into the patience game. If you get a second run on the steers, they’ll be slower and you’ve had the advantage of getting to watch the start. That’s huge. If you’re up right at the beginning, it’s a huge disadvantage. You don’t get to watch the start, and you don’t know what your steer’s going to do. Very seldom do they win good money on the first run on the cattle. Most of the money is won on the reruns. But you aren’t going to get up when you want to every time.

The number of runs on the cattle is so significant. A lot of times the same time that won the first round won’t even place in the second round, after the steers have slowed down and everybody has the start figured out. If you’re patient and you’ve been through these situations enough, you know when the ice does break you have to be able to capitalize. It can all change so quickly in the roping and rodeo industry. And as bad as it can be for a long time, it can turn around and be that good or better for a long time, too. You want to peak, be on your game and have your horses working good at the right time—at the major events. That’s where you can put the icing on the cake. That’s when you want to be at the top of your game and drawing toward the top.

If you’ll be patient and just keep catching, you’ll be ready when it’s your turn to win. Sometimes it’s important to make good runs on steers you can’t win on, so you keep your confidence up and keep that momentum on your side. It basically all boils down to fundamentals in team roping, whether you’re trying to make a 4-second run or just stop the clock. The rules of the game always apply. Get out of the barrier, rope the steer around the horns, the heeler catches two feet and you stop the clock. It’s pretty simple, really, but a lot can go wrong. You can buy good horses and do all the right things, but pulling that chip out of that hat is out of your hands. You have to be patient and you have to be confident. You can’t get discouraged. A lot of people think throwing in the towel and going home or switching partners is the answer. But the top guys in the industry, who’ve been out here making a living at this for a long time, learn that jumping ship too quickly is not the answer.