In The Arena

What advice would you give someone that has success in the practice pen, but falls apart at a rodeo or roping?

In my opinion, in order to compete well you have to compete often. I know it can be hard and expensive to do, but roping for money is not the same as practicing. It doesn’t matter if it is for $100.00 or $20,000, you can’t get that feel at home or at a friend’s practice pen.

What advice would you give on working the barrier correctly?

First your horse has to be able to score and has to be able to leave off your hand when you release him. If that is happening, then it goes to the rider. The best way for me is to set up a rope barrier and practice scoring and getting a start at home on a competition set up.

What are some of the mistakes you see ropers make in the pen?

The biggest mistakes I see is people going to practice and just going through the motions and not working on anything. Although at times you have the opposite which is someone trying to work on everything. I like working on one thing at a time.

What do you look for in a roping prospect?

I look at a horse’s ability but more important is their mind. I have had some really talented horses but they were too fragile minded to take the pressure.

If you missed our other interviews with Brock, click here and here.

Stay tuned……more from Brock coming up!

How are you feeling about your 2012 season?

Great, I have one of the best headers who also has one of the best horses. He can rope fast and he also jackpots great.

What do you look for in a roping partner?

I look for someone who has the same desires and work ethic as I do, Brock and I both want to be great equally as much. Good horsemanship and someone who is versatile and can win in any set up.

Rodeo is such a mental game, how do you stay focused?

Just take it run by run and you always need to know that you are going to catch the next one. Not looking back and dreading a miss. You just need to realize why you missed and fix it the next time.

 What advice would you give someone that has success in the practice pen, but falls apart at a rodeo or roping?

 Most of the time they need more experience. The more roping you go to the more comfortable you will be and the more confident you can be. Everyone has been there and went through it.

If you missed Ryan’s first interview click here. Stay tuned…….next week Ryan talks about what he looks for in a roping horse prospect!

What horses are in your trailer this year?

 Maximus is our mainstay mount so far, and the hazing horse is Roadblock.  I have a green horse named Tucson that is making a strong comeback from an injury.  We have won good  on him in the past also, and could use him when our schedule calls for it. 

Being on the road I am sure is filled with ups and downs, what keeps you motivated?

 I would say it is the simple fact that I love to bulldog!  I like the challenge of making and hauling my own horses, and all the success I’ve had is that much sweeter because of the way I feel when I can make and win on a horse. That to me is the cowboy way.  My uncle Brady told me this spring that his dad, my late Grandpa Rinehart, who is also Jake Rineharts grandpa, told Brady “Todd has become a self-made man.”  That meant a lot to me to hear that from a great man like him.   So it’s a drive that goes deep, much deeper than money or glory!

Since steer wrestling is your event of choice, do you participate in any other events?

Not lately, I used to donate in the calf roping, back when that’s what they called it!  I team rope very little, but will probably do it more when the kids get older.

Do you do any alternative therapies with your horses, as in swimming, acupuncture, chiropractic, etc?

I have done all these at different times, and seen good results as well as no differences with all, depending on the case.  I do believe they all have their place, and are useful. 

How did you get started in rodeo? Have you always been a steer wrestler?

 We started in 4H rodeos when I was 8, and have been doing some form of rodeo since.  Calf roping was my first love, then bull dogging replaced it. 

Be sure and check out our other interviews with Todd and his wife Wendy here.

We will have more with Todd Suhn next week!

Ryan, tell OTRR a little bit about how you got started roping?

My Dad ropes so I grew up around it and roped as a kid.

How long have you been rodeoing?

My rookie year was 2001. I was lucky enough to rope with my dad the first three years of my career.

The conditions must have been perfect that day for you to tie the world record with Brock Hanson at the Nacogdoches Pro Rodeo, talk to us about the go.

We had a good steer, Brock got a great start and had the loop on him fast. The steer was fading to the left just a bit and he handled it great. I heeled him up around the hips and it came tight quick.

Tying that record, you must have been on top of the world, tell us how you felt.  

It’s amazing how it felt. It is pretty cool to have the title now and to hear how many people have got to watch the run on Facebook or the internet and just how quick news travels. We hadn’t left the arena and our phones were blowing up with people from everywhere.

Stay tuned………much more from Ryan in the next couple of weeks!

Tying that record, you must have been on top of the world, tell us how you felt.  

I was really excited and made a few phone calls and told my family and a few of the others that have put a lot of time in to helping me. We laughed and enjoyed the moment and hoped that it would hold on until the rodeo was over.

How are you feeling about your 2012 season?

It has been going really good and I have a really good horse (Stripper) and a really good partner (Ryan Motes), so I am excited for the spring rodeos. I made a few costly mistakes that could have made this a better winter but I will hopefully learn from them and try to improve.

What do you look for in a roping partner?

Obviously I look for someone that ropes well but also I look for someone that has good horses, a strong work ethic and that takes care of business. There is so much that goes in to roping for a living that the actual catching steers is a small part but important.

Rodeo is such a mental game, how do you stay focused?

Staying focused is tough but important. I have a lot of people behind me for support and my wife Tarae goes with me as well and supports me 100%, so that really helps. Sometimes the best thing is to take a minute, go to a movie or do something to relax so that when you’re competing you’re not burnt out or overly anxious.

Stay tuned…more from Brock next week! If you missed Brock’s first interview click here!

Brock, tell OTRR a little bit about how you got started roping?

I grew up in a roping family. My dad, Denny Hanson and my brother, Brett Hanson both team rope.  My mom, Susan Hanson doesn’t rope but she rides and spent her share of time behind the wheel taking us to jr. rodeos and high school rodeos.

How long have you been rodeoing?

I entered my first rodeo at age 7. It was a CJRA (Colorado Jr. Rodeo Association) rodeo. In my age group, I was allowed to compete in pole bending, barrel racing and goat tying. I grew up going to CJRA’s and high school rodeos and around age 16 I stated competing in amateur rodeos.

Have you always been a header?

I started out heading and headed for my brother at the Jr. Rodeos until I was 12. He graduated in to another age group, so I switched to heeling so I could rope with Luke Lancaster at the Jr. Rodeos. I stayed heeling until about three years ago when I decided to switch and start heading again.

The conditions must have been perfect that day for you to tie the world record with a 3.3 with Ryan Motes at the Nacogdoches Pro Rodeo, talk to us about the go.

It was a fast set up, when we got there for the slack there was already a 3.6 and a 3.7. There wasn’t really a chance to just go make a good run and expect to win something. I got a really good start and Ryan hazed the steer a step left to set up a fast run. I roped the steer and turned him off and as soon as he was legal, Ryan had him heeled and dallied on a short rope. He gave a good pull back so I could get a good face.

Stay tuned……….lots more from Brock!!