Everything Horses and Livestock® Magazine May 2018 Vol 3 Issue 2

Everything Horses and Livestock Magazine ®

Visit our Website for Videos & More!

ChadMathesRoping.com

Hey everyone, hope you all are doing well and getting started with your roping season. The weather has started to finally break, and we are booked full of clinics and lessons. I wanted to talk about partnerships this time and how important they can be. What is expected of each individual and what can we do to help each other in and out of the arena. Picking a partner can be tough sometimes. A lot of the time there are guys that we think should rope together, but don't for one reason or another. The first thing we look for is similar goals. I've had partners that have had the same goals as myself and I've had ones that did not. I can tell you this for sure, it's a lot easier when you're on the same page. Having a common goal to work toward keeps everyone focused and responsible for holding up their end of the deal. Another common denominator is logistics. How far apart do you live from each other? Being

make an effort to practice. My partner and I alternate traveling to each other's houses to rope. We've been trying to make sure we rope at least once a week during the slow months so that we are prepared when we're busy rodeoing. We live

nothing more frustrating to me than working my tail off and driving 1000 miles a weekend to rope with someone who couldn't make time to run a few either with me or at least at home. The downfall of any team is lack of confidence in each other,

3 hours apart, so we try to get two sessions in each time we go. However, neither of us is opposed to going the same direction two weeks in a row if that's what it calls for. Practice makes the best teams, period. Speaking of practicing, pick someone who enjoys practicing almost as much as they love competing. There's

confidence comes from running a lot of steers together. If you're going to commit, commit to all of it, including the work. Be willing to talk to each other. Don't hold back your opinion just because you think it might hurt someone's feelings. It's way better to talk about what you're thinking than to let it build. Could be anything from

able to practice together is a must if you want to

maximize your wins. I personally won't rope with guys that won't

Everything Horses and Livestock® | May 2018 | EHALmagazine.com 12