08/01/2024
We are on the downhill side of the summer rodeo run. It’s no different than life, it has gone by so fast. I’m on a plane headed across the United States from where I left my horses in the west, to Ohio for my next youth race. At every race I give a talk after our grand entry, and as I sit here, I’m thinking about what message I want to deliver to the kids, I’m thinking about the goals I set before I started my summer rodeo run.
Have I reached them? No.
So my focus shifts to what I did accomplish. I have been able to season Money May and get her in the situations to gain the experience she needed, an experience level that can only be gained by being in the middle of it. She made 3 short go finals and hung with the seasoned rodeo horses. I am so proud of her, and what a blast she is to run down an alley. She doesn’t know we aren’t in the standings. She doesn’t know what my goals are. She just knows me, and she knows she loves to run.
Defeat is a word you are familiar with if you compete in any sport, and no one likes it, but I have learned it isn’t necessarily defeat when your best isn’t good enough that day. Your behavior after the game, away from the arena, courts, or the fields - is what truly shapes the lasting impression you leave on others.
This weekend, I’m getting to catch up with a young lady who a year ago was competing at my race. The same race last year, I am traveling to right now. A month after that, she was in an accident and now is in a wheelchair with the future of her ever being able to walk again undetermined. Her attitude and fight to work hard, and not give up is contagious and defeat is not an option.
Sometimes it’s hard to see the impact you can make on others, and I hope Emma knows what a great example she is for others, including myself... that no matter what life throws you, you don’t quit.
There is no such thing as defeat if you choose to not let it stop you from being the person you want to be. In competition, with horses, sports, or anywhere life takes you.
