Daily Archives: December 21, 2009
Trevor Brazile's work ethic has taken him to the top of his sport
LAS VEGAS — Trevor Brazile accomplished a feat this year that only one other cowboy has been able to pull off in rodeo history — win seven world all-around championships.
But, it was not until the final day of the 51st Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas that he earned his gold buckle to equal Ty Murray’s accomplishments.
After a pedestrian run at the NFR, Brazile had enough to overcome Josh Peek who took him to the very end before Brazile could claim the championship.
In the process, he passed Larry Mahan and Tom Ferguson, who had won six world all-around titles.
Brazile was humbled and honored to reach that point after his 13th season in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.
“The only day better than the 10th round is the day after the 10th round,” he said. “It’s a relief. It’s been a tough week. If there’s a lesson for anybody out there, confidence is good, but there’s no room for cockiness in this sport. You can get set back really easy. This is the quickest serving of humble pie you can get in any sport.
“Just to know that there are guys out there battling. There’s nothing that says in the next year that you can’t get over the hump. I’m going to take everything I learned this year and make next year the best one I’ve ever had.”
Brazile came into the NFR with a commanding $144,638 lead over Clint Robinson in the world all-around race, but his run toward the title was not as easy as many had expected. Robinson was eliminated in the seventh round, but Peek emerged as the new threat and battled Brazile to the very end.
That was not the way many had expected the scenario to play out. There were some who saw Brazile make a mockery of the title run, maybe win the buckle by around the fifth round.
But in the end, his route toward his seventh world all-around championship was a lot more difficult.
He didn’t win his first sizable check at the NFR until the fifth round when he tied Cody Ohl for first place ($15,342) in tie-down roping with a time of 7.1 seconds. Prior to that, he had only sixth-place checks of $2,764 in team roping and tie-down roping to show for his efforts.
A final charge also gave Brazile the tie-down roping title after entering the NFR with a $32,123 edge over Hunter Herrin. He eventually won the event, beating brother-in-law Tuf Cooper by $13,994. The two world championship buckles moved him into third place on the all-time list with Dean Oliver and Charayne James with 11 buckles each.
He didn’t break his yearly earnings record ($425,115 set in 2007), but he did win $346,779 to surpass $300,000 in season earnings for a record fourth consecutive year.
But, most of all, he won his seventh world all-around title, the most important buckle he has ever owned.
“Winning an individual title is great,” he said. “But, winning the all-around is the most important thing for me. I want to be an all-around cowboy, not just a tie-down roper, team roper or steer roper. I want to do it all. (read more)
Posted in Rodeo News
Leave a comment
Jolee Lautaret gives some advice…..
Jolee what are your plans for the 2010 season and who will be in the trailer?
I plan to mostly retire Belle this coming season but I do plan to run her some places, like Tucson, where she has excelled in the past. But she won’t be hauling full time. We are going to take the futurity horses and start them at the rodeos, mostly in the circuit, and get the two year olds trained and start taking them to the jackpots for time onlys. That is a time consuming process, especially for us as there are no jackpots closer than about three hours from the house. Rodeo time will be pretty limited, just hoping to make the CFR. I did qualify for the Dodge National CFR this year so we will go to Pocatello in April. I am so excited for that, it is an awesome rodeo, one of my favorites. I am not sure who I will run but it will be a good time regardless.
Is there any type of snack food, you all like to have in the trailer when you get ready to leave for the rodeo?
I can drive a million miles with a bag of cheddar Chex mix. That stuff is addicting. I really try to avoid junk food but I do like an occasion candy bar. And bananas, we eat lots of those on the road.
We generally try to eat at least one good meal a day, solid, non-fast food. Then we can go with a pb&j or something like that for a snack.
What advice would each of you give someone starting out in rodeo?
It’s so tough out there, and so expensive. I see lots of barrel racers get a horse going good and get excited about trying to haul and make the NFR. They go hard in the winter and get their horses sore and themselves broke . Their confidence bottoms out. I think the best thing someone starting out can do is find someone they trust who has been there, done that to give them some guidance. A veteran can lower your stress by helping you with where to go, where to keep horses, what a particular arena is like, and helping you pick the right rodeos to enter. I think the key to success is picking your situations. Some horses can handle all ground and all conditions but most are stronger in certain set ups. Just because your horse might have trouble with the ground in Denver or doesn’t run good in wide open arenas like Tucson, for example, doesn’t mean you can’t be successful in plenty of other places. I think if you have someone helping you out so you don’t have to do so much trial and error to figure out where you can have the most success, that can be a huge advantage to your animal’s heath and to your own pocketbook.
Could you take a moment and tell us about your experience about the WPRA Finals this year!
The Finals this year was kinda tough for us. Mom had a brain tumor removed about a month prior to the Finals and she wasn’t able to ride during that time. I was actually just happy that we were there, together, and she was able to ride and rope. The past three years we have been very involved in the production of the Finals, as I was a director of the WPRA, so it was so stressful, hoping everything came together the right way. It was nice to go this year and just be a competitor.
I ran Daisy and finished fifth in the futurity, which was awesome. She really worked great. Mom and Sophie entered the Finals just one point behind the leader for the year end title but had some tough luck with runs that weren’t quite quick enough. I know, had they been at full strength, they would have been tough to beat for the championship. But I also believe they are champions anyway, just being there and competing given the situation.
We placed in a round of the roping, which was awesome. We didn’t get to practice together at all for six weeks prior to competition and I only roped a few days during that time. Plus, I was riding a colt—it was only his second time away from home so there were lots of challenges there. Certainly not the ideal situation coming into a yearend event, but we did alright for the circumstances. I am proud of us!
Be sure and visits Jolee’s website! http://www.gojolee.com/
We would like to give a HUGE thanks to Jolee for taking the time to be a part of OTRR!! Good Luck this season Jolee!
Posted in Rodeo Interviews
Leave a comment
