Episode 7 Behind The Buckles w/ Hailey Kinsel

Behind the Buckles is back, and this episode we’re hanging out with none other than Hailey Kinsel—world champ, road warrior, and all-around horsepower expert. From hauling across the country to making it look way too easy in the arena, Hailey gives us a real look at life behind the scenes.
We talk about her legendary partnership with Sister, the chaos and commitment that come with rodeo life, and yes—her breeding program (because turns out, raising future superstars is just as serious as running them). There’s a mix of laughs, honest moments, and a few stories that prove even the best in the world are figuring it out as they go.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

And welcome to Behind the Buckles. We have maybe somewhat of an unknown guest to many people. Not a lot of people know who she is, but she's our good friend, and we're so excited to have her on. Haley, you remember Megan and Abby, right? From the birthday party. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:18

For a long time. Every time, every time I see Haley, she's like, hi, Abby. And I'm like, she remembers me because I'm an idiot. I was just not emotionally dealing with my problems like any like responsible adult does. And I just went to the winery.

SPEAKER_03 0:36

That's that's as you should.

SPEAKER_00 0:38

Yeah. I mean, isn't that what everyone does? I had a lot of really knowledgeable things.

SPEAKER_03 0:43

Yeah. There was a there was a lot to unpack there. There was. And we unpacked it.

SPEAKER_00 0:47

Yes. I mean, you you went through it with me. It was great.

SPEAKER_03 0:52

It felt like a team effort for sure.

SPEAKER_00 0:55

It was a team effort that day. Yeah. And then we get to Lake View to the rodeo, and I was like, oh my God. She's like, Abby. And I was like, hey.

SPEAKER_03 1:07

First of all, why were any of us in Lakeview? And we were all a little bit like what did we come? Yeah. It was terrible. Yeah. It's far from everything. It's far. Oh, that was a miserable drive. Doesn't look that far.

SPEAKER_00 1:22

We're a long way. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 1:24

Seems like a good idea at this time.

SPEAKER_00 1:26

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:29

So we'll crack into it so we don't take up too much of your time. I say that to everybody, and then it usually lasts about an hour. And you know, we've had our mixture of barrel racers and bull riders on, so we've got quite a bit of wisdom so far.

SPEAKER_00 1:40

Oh, we threw one team rover. Oh, and we're going to publish it, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:43

Yeah. Um, so let's kind of get a rundown from you of your history. Uh, junior high rodeo, just where you started, how it all started with you and your family and everything.

SPEAKER_03 1:55

Where did it start? Well, I guess uh I've always kind of been around horses. My parents' ranch and both rodeo a bit. They kind of college amateur rodeo. And uh they didn't they went into careers, they didn't really pro rodeo, they both kind of dabbled around it. My mom worked in pro rodeo a lot, so I knew what it was. I was very aware of the kid that went to the bar type of thing. I was allowed to do the rodeo, I think a little bit reluctantly by my parents. You know, they kind of wanted me to do literally anything else, but uh we had the horses to ranch on. It was a necessity to know how to ride because that's as a kid, you know, you're the free laborer. And it's just for me, it's like a trade for room and board. Yes. And yeah, but I mean, it was it was fun. But exactly, exactly. I'm not sure my dad knew we went to school because we homeschooled and he would just knew that he had laborers in the house, so he'd want to work cattle whenever, and mom would have to like argue for time for us to do the schoolwork. But it was fun, you know, because that I got to do the play days, and there was like this small little group and Kapula of old rodeo people, shouldn't say old rodeo people, retired rodeo stars that kind of came around and decided to put together this little youth rodeo club and included Phil Wine. And so y'all know Tammy was a little younger than me, so we were the junior rodeo kids. Corley Cox had made the finals in the early 90s, and her daughter is a little bit older than me. Um, she's married to Jacobs Crawley now. So it's funny. We've all grown up and left Catula, but yeah, very full circle. But those parents were out there setting polls for us when we were five and six and trotting through. And uh I I got a little better, a little better, and got to go to like TYRA, which was a big deal in our little area. Um, never really got very far in the outside of our regional level, just because we live in South Texas and it's far. And my parents were not crazy junior rodeo parents. Um, nothing against them, but we didn't we have the rig and the 10 horses, one for every event. We had one horse that did every event, and it's kind of up to you how well you did. Yeah, yeah, and I loved it. You know, I noticed when I started going to junior high rodeo and high school deal, like, okay, these kids are serious. I've got to practice really hard. They try really hard, get the most out of your horse for sure. Because it doesn't mean if you didn't win, you were just gonna go get a faster one. You were gonna try a little harder and get everything you could. And my mom was awesome about that. As soon as I would get to the point where I was getting everything I could out of a horse, that's when we would step up, you know. Yeah, I love that just because we were, yeah, not fast enough. It was because I was doing all I could and it was working consistently and we got content with it, and then it was like a reward to to move forward. I think that's yeah, it was a great thing.

SPEAKER_00 4:56

Uh junior rodeo parents with 10 head of horses. I do.

SPEAKER_03 5:00

So like these are fantastic. Listen, I can't say anything. I I really want them to buy from me, so uh I was gonna say I'm like spin on so it was actually so funny before you continue.

SPEAKER_02 5:14

I was saying this. Um, at the NFR, we get an Airbnb when Jordan makes it, you know, just so we have a house, and our friends rented a room rented anyway. They split the Airbnb with us because they were there the whole time because their kids were at the junior NFR, and I commend them. I think it's awesome. But I'm like, Vegas is so expensive. And I told them one night, I'm like, I'm sure I had probably had a white call on the way to the rodeo, and I'm like, I'll tell you this. The first time my kids come to Vegas for a rodeo, it's because they're in the top 15. Here we are. Now it's I mean, talk to me like in you know, whenever I had kids I'm fixed with pain, but I'm like, it seems like pretty junior rodeo has gotten a little more intense since we were there, I feel like. But you grew up in Texas, so it's probably always been intense.

SPEAKER_03 6:02

It was always intense down there, it was just a matter of deciding how intense you wanted to be. Um, I'll tell you this, I played tennis a lot, and my mom was like, we could go sit in a country club in the air conditioning and watch the ball bounce back and forth, and that's way more fun for her than sweating and pushing calves and holding goats and all this stuff. So I think it was a little bit of a ploy on my parents' part to try to convince me to do something cheaper, uh, something easier, so that they didn't make it super easy for me, you know. Um, but that's definitely there were the kids that had the rigs and the horses, and I was friends with them. We all we all got along, we had so much fun. I still looked forward to like the junior high finals and stuff, and but I also got made fun of because we go in like a stock trailer and like we'd sleep in the truck, and I didn't think anything of it. It was, I mean, we weren't poor, we just didn't spend the money. And uh, I remember my friends bringing me a cardboard box one time as a joke, like, hey Rayleigh, you can sleep in this and have a living quarter. Oh my god. We're still friends with those out of your parents, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:10

Good job.

SPEAKER_03 7:12

Yeah, yeah, yeah. They wonder why I'm a tight ass now. Um, because now I have trouble like buying food if I don't win at the rodeo. It's a mental block for me.

SPEAKER_00 7:21

You just keep that uh box in your head, like here. Like, I could go back to that. I could do it. Go back to the box, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:28

So you 100%. You did every event, right? In high school, like in junior high rodeo and college rodeo too.

SPEAKER_03 7:35

Yeah, every event, every single one they let me enter. Not that I should, but I you know, I I wanted to win all around, won a couple all-around titles. It was fun. That was a big pull for me. Um, and you know, the goat tying and the roping, I I love looking, I love I love tying goats, and more so like the getting off part than the goat tying function part, but I was I was pretty good. But what was great about those is when you didn't have a great barrel horse, or let's say your barrel horse was hurt, you know, it gave you something to focus on that was almost, I should say, nearly direct correlation. The harder you worked, the better you did. Yes, there was still a luck of the draw and all that, but there was a whole lot of just rewarding your effort. Um, so those events were good for me. Pole bending, don't ask me why anybody does that. I things are flying at you, a million things could go wrong. You just it's all about who you should. Yeah, I got really good as a pole bender, my senior year of high school at the perfect time to quit.

SPEAKER_00 8:35

Um, this our whole lives, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 8:38

But anyway, it's it's good for the horses and it was good for the all-around points. But otherwise, I will say my first saddle I ever won was a bulldozer saddle, so that's embarrassing.

SPEAKER_02 8:52

But you have horse. I we had this argument when Kathy Grimes was on a couple weeks ago, but we were talking about barrels and poles and breakaway, and I was like, I loved goat tying because the same thing, like if I didn't have like if my barrel horse was hurt or something, and Abby was like, Well, I hate the goat tying.

SPEAKER_00 9:10

Well, I said I hated the poles, and I said I didn't like ever get really like the goat tying. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:18

I'm so glad that they ended, you know. I I mean I know that you can still do it at certain events, or like the East Coast still has a lot of pole bending and stuff. I don't mind that we don't have to do it at the priorities. Yeah, I think it stopped where it needs to stop. Uh, but I'm happy for the breakaway ropers, like that was always super competitive. Um the girls that are roping now and winning now, I was roping with in college and they were keeping my tail at the jackpot's bin, and they still are. So we joke about like, would you come out of retirement? Apparently, no, y'all are going too fast for me. It's more of a quality roper, not a steam roper. Um and then I team roped a little bit, just again, all around point. So I had to try something else and kind of a little bit of a stubbornness. I wanted to try it all and be good at it all. Road cutting horses a little bit. That got me actually sitting down. Thought I knew how to sit down all that. Um, so it was nice. I was kind of a well-rounded kid as far as rodeoing goes. I did all that through high school, all through college, finally retired from the goat time my senior year of college. And it probably honestly was better for my knees and back once it was over. But I did enjoy it.

SPEAKER_02 10:31

I can, I can, yeah, I get that for sure. And then so in college, because I don't really know your high school horses, but the last year or the first year I was at the college finals, I can't remember, but it was the year that you had sister there that you when you won it. I don't know if we were there together two years or one year, but you also had TJ and you ran him for quite a few years in the pro rodeos too. So was he kind of your like first really badass barrel horse before sister, or did you know your horse trivia? How was that?

SPEAKER_03 11:01

Yeah, I had an awesome horse, junior high in high school, that we kind of had fun, and she's the horse that taught me to love racing, the one that taught you how to win. And she uh had a couple injuries, was just getting older, and I retired her at the start of my freshman year of college. So going into college, I was riding my mom's feral horse, borrowing hers, mostly roping tank codes. I got to focus on my freshman year, and it was that fall we would we'd look for some horses. I tried several horses, just couldn't really find a fit, but felt like I was at that gap where if I'm gonna college rodeo, I want to do this well, and so this was gonna be the first like real barrel horse we had bought because they were kind of just ranch horses or off the track or something like that, and so I'm looking for that. Meanwhile, that fall there's this sale that has a two-year-old we like. That was sis. We bought her, and I'm thinking, like, good idea. It's nice to have a cult coming up, but I have three years of college rodeo ahead of me, and now I have a two-year-old, so that doesn't make any sense. So we actually bought sis before we found TJ. Oh and yeah, it was super cool because I mean have heard her, and I'm thinking, I've got some good cults, but I don't have anything for right now still. So I kept riding her horse through the college rodeos. We did fine that first year, got our feet wet, learned how to college rodeo, learned how to show up on time, pay your feet and cash, etc.

SPEAKER_04 12:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:30

And then uh that that summer at the end of my freshman year is when we found TJ. And so I had uh started kind of amateur rodeos and bought my card to try to fill my permit and made the college finals my sophomore year. I was gonna go to a few rodeos on the way to and on the way home from college finals, and I filled my permit on the way to it. So then I was like, at this decision of this is June of my after my stop by your college, you buy your card. I can't go for rookie. I'm at AM. Like AM doesn't let you out of class. They yeah, they think rodeos cute, but so I'm thinking I've got two years of college left. I want to focus on the college rodeos, but I also want to try to get into some of these building rodeos, so I kind of threw rookie in the year out the window. Let's not worry about that, let's just take pro rodeo on its own and learn how to do it. So I bought my cart. Um, so I went to that first college finals on him. Um, I think I won my college region that year on it. We we just hit it off. He was just awesome, he was just a good boy. Um, he he's who taught me how to pro rodeo too. Same thing, how to show up on time, how to get to the arena, where to park. And uh he was great because he put up with a lot, a lot of rookie things for me. Um, a lot of things of I I don't know how to do this. And I just imagine if I had a younger, more sensitive horse and was trying to do that, like on cis, for example. I think I'd have ruined her and me to the whole school room. So how did he when you're 10? Okay, okay, bought him. Um, so yeah, I was looking for a young mare. I had tried like several four to six-year-old mares. I bought an aged gelding, and that's the best thing I could have ever done. Yes, I recommend to anyone ever that wants to learn anything from your horse. Buy the aged gelding. Yes, he may not pass a vet check, it doesn't matter. He's still running barrels now, he's 22. Oh, he is a friend of mine's kid is riding him and junior high rodeoing on him, so he'll never leave my possession. But he'll he has taught, I think, four or five kids now after me. Um, and we were still right. I think the last place my mom wrote him at a cordeo when he was 19 and placed on him. And after that, he started going to the junior hybrid.

SPEAKER_02 14:54

Yeah, oh I know that. Yeah, and I not to jump ahead because your story is awesome and there's a lot to it, and I don't want to skip too much ahead, but you also ran him in the Thomas and Mac.

SPEAKER_03 15:06

I did, yeah, in 2018, my the 10th round. Yeah, he worked with me to the finals until 2021 is the last year I took her in the back up. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So awesome stuff. No, I take that back. I actually wrote him in the grand entry in 2022. That was a bad idea. Oh my gosh, that was for real. Yes, he did. He had run down that alley before.

SPEAKER_02 15:31

You were trying to be sentimental and taking minutes.

SPEAKER_04 15:33

He was like, oh no, I'm going.

SPEAKER_02 15:35

He's like, Yeah, this is for real. By the end of that, a couple bulldoggers' knees were hurting from from a large horse in there, hash him around the room. We've talked about the grand entry. It's like sink or swim, or you know, it's it can get dicey in there for sure. Um so you had him and you ran him in college, and then so how old was Sis when you started running her? And did you and your mom train her together, or was it like it was it a team effort, or was it you, or how did that work?

SPEAKER_03 16:03

Definitely more like a team effort. I mean, I was in school and committed to school and committed to college radio. So when I was busy with that, she would go down south. And then when I would have like a few weeks' break or a month where I'm more at home, I would get her up to school and I'd ride her up there. So that was her age three and four. And we held her till she was five. My mom wanted me to go experience my first BFA and so entered her. That went awful. Uh she's terrible, terrible at her first maturity. And then she kind of just turned a corner and figured it out after that. Honestly, it was just getting better and better. So I was running her, that was my junior year of college, and started going to some rodeos, went to some on the way to the college finals with the intention to run TJ there. And I won a rodeo on her on the way, and I got under a lot once I got there by my coach and whoever else, like, why don't you ride the fast yellow one? It was like, because I know this horse, her little brain will explode this building when people yell at her. So she's not ready. So I kind of went on him the rest of the year, some rodeos and sent her home. Started my senior year. I was still riding him primarily at the college rodeos and most of my circuit rodeos. Um, but then that following winter, we'd got he's who got me qualified to the buildings, and so I went to some of those rodeos on her. She placed at Fort Worth, Angelo, and um the one the American that February. And that's that was my senior year. So then finally, uh my last year, which I think is when I saw you there. Um, yeah, we I think that was the year we first met up there. I was on her, and that was my last one. I got on our college finals and she won that too.

SPEAKER_02 17:44

So yeah, I think that started to be like, hey, my horse is fast. I was like sixth at the college finals, but sister did win it.

SPEAKER_03 17:51

So that was okay. That's when you have that one benchmark horse, and she got to do the benchmark horse for a few years. That's pretty fun. Yeah, for sure. That mine was Callahan Frostley's Brownie. Uh oh yeah. When oh wait, yeah, TJ and I won second in the short round there. My sophomore year, like that was the year Callahan won it. And it was like, oh, we like we were a tenth off of Brownie. That means I have a good horse.

SPEAKER_00 18:16

Exactly. I love that.

SPEAKER_02 18:18

Yeah, like hyping yourself up. You're like, hey, I was pretty close. I was super close. That's enough to make you buy your card and then it's the rodeos. Yeah. Exactly. And so that year, because one of my questions was, when did you know sister was like the real deal? Like, did was it obviously you won the American that year, but was how far before that were you like, holy shit, this is a really nice horse?

SPEAKER_03 18:44

Yeah, I sh would say some was their five-year-old year when she when she first started just making gnarly mistakes and clock. I think that it was diamonds and her fraternity, uh, which I entered because it was in Brian. It was in school there, and I went to class in between the rounds. I couldn't go to the other fraternities because you had been gone for like a week and I was in school. So, but that one I made it to, and I made an awful, awful run. She just ran off the first, elevated up on the backside of the second, somehow turned the third and split the round. And I was like, Okay, so if we could ever just go around them in a normal fashion, this thing's fast.

SPEAKER_01 19:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:28

Then she started to put runs together. Uh the first pro radio entered she placed at it was a small one, but still kind of like, okay, Stevie wanted on truck. Same thing, you had a benchmark horse. Yeah, okay, well, she clocked with that one. Funny is Equistat wasn't as big a deal back then. I mean, people kept up with it, but I didn't. And so I have this Google Doc still on my phone everywhere where I kept record of every single place I ran her and every check she won. And in like the first two years, it would always say something like so-and-so won it on this horse with this, and sis ran this. It was my benchmark, you know? Yeah, so I still keep it. It's a very detailed record. I'll have to publish it someday. But it was I love that because yeah, so you guys have like standard patterns up north a lot. We did we don't have a lot of standard patterns, that's not really a big deal down here. Now they have the lazy e it's kind of your only one in the area, but otherwise, that wasn't a thing. So the first summer I was reviewing, even up until 2018, I didn't really understand the concept of a standard pattern, and so I would write down, like, well, some and so ran a 16.8, and I was a nine, so that's good.

SPEAKER_00 20:40

Yeah, that's that's in the document. You're like, Oh, yeah, turns out, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:46

And then they're like, apparently, this is like a standard thing. We don't we don't really do that. Uh we don't do this big enough.

SPEAKER_02 20:54

Yeah, that's for sure.

SPEAKER_00 20:56

So now, so now fast forward all of the accolades, all the things that have happened, and what do you think? How is the transition? Like, tell us about the horses in your trailer now. I mean, obviously, we're not counting out sister, but how has how has we transitioned to adding these horses to your trailer to compliment her?

SPEAKER_03 21:16

Yeah, it's definitely been about complimenting. And I I learned that from TJ her. They were they were my tandem team for a long time, and they had setups they fit and setups they didn't. And for the most part, sis is the kind of horse that would try anyone, but I learned what she just didn't like. She would still go try it. But if she wasn't her favorite, I would kind of look at okay, what kind of horse do I need to fill that gap um to be able to get on that setup? Or just a place that was just unfavorable for for whatever reason, but I still needed to be there. Um, so finding a horse that would handle something off the fence is uh tighter setups, the older she's got, the easier she's got in the wide open stuff and a much higher. Harder when there's walls. They get harder. Um, anyway, she's definitely got a grade here. But yeah, I've always had young horses coming up and hold them along and tried to place on them and at least get them proven, whether it was to sell or to raise babies or whatever. And um, now I feel like I have this group of mares. I'm kind of concentrated on mares, just for that reason, something that I could eventually breed, or if it was a gelding, it was something I would prove and sell. And so now I'm up to these three other mares. One of them is a full sister to her. Um, and that's Libby. One of them is Reese, and she's a judge cash out of Dolly, who's kind of fun because I'm Dolly than FR, you know. Um, that was pretty special. I bought her in a sale as a two-year-old, and um, I remember I was up there and I had money because of sis, and I was like, I I like this Philly, and I didn't know she would muck like an absolute son of a gun. She uh will try to kill me about once a day, but uh yeah, super nice. Um, never in the pattern, thankfully, only at home, knock on something wood.

SPEAKER_00 23:11

She's just kicking on your toes.

SPEAKER_03 23:12

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then spider is probably the one that most people see most often. And I bought her because she particularly loves to run into a wall. I mean, if there's a fence somewhere, she's your gal, closed gate, she's not gonna set up, she's not gonna be scared. Um, she's good, she's fast enough outside, but she's more prefers the type of setups. And that's that's been great to have because in the winter time, that's about all you run at. And like I said, as sister's gotten older, she's probably learned to dislike those setups as much. Um so yeah, they've been quite the team. I feel like just trying to kind of figure out who fits in where. I've ridden some awesome horses in the meantime, too. I've heard some people for for some other people, and they were great. It's nice to invest in my own horses, though. At this point, yeah, that's where every horse that's here I own or own a part of, and um, you know, just feel really worth your time. And uh so those I've definitely had those awesome stepping stone horses in between, like the jewels and Valentina, and they were wonderful. And they've liked me or taught me what I liked in a horse and what I have around. And uh so yeah, I'm super grateful for that. And now just trying to kind of develop this team um and something to help out, sisters, or eventually your sister's not gonna run girls forever. So I would like to because I enjoy it very much.

SPEAKER_01 24:37

Yeah, yeah. For sure. I'm gonna keep going. And go ahead, Nike. As you're as you say that, like, are you currently pulling embryos on, sister? Do we have a lot of sister babies on the ground?

SPEAKER_00 24:50

Or is that why we have brother?

SPEAKER_01 24:51

That's why we have brother, yeah. But yeah, like, do you are is that something that you're like investing in every year?

SPEAKER_03 24:58

It's actually not, so I'm a little different about it, only because sis has been like such a constant for me for so long, and she's never really had time off. I guess I always kind of thought at some point she'd get hurt. Well, she's won't, um, which is great, but um, I say it, she's had a couple small injuries. Yeah, yeah, she's really just never needed a few months off. So um it got me in the habit of noticing that her heat cycles were very simple. She doesn't really change, so I didn't want to change that for her. And yeah, at this age, I just decided to wait until she's done. So there are zero sister babies on the ground or cooking. Um I she's 15 now, so I know at some point we've gotta make that happen. But um, but you know, they're all mine and I probably won't sell them anyway because I'm a boarder. So uh I just haven't really done it. So meanwhile, we've read the stud. And yeah, when we got brother and he came out looking exactly like her with a pair of you know what, I decided to let him and it's been fun to see because all his mares I've invested in over the year. Um, and I've been able to prove at the rodeos and the Turities, and right now I can cross them on him if they are an outcross. And so that's so kind of just been able to dabble in breeding game, doing that with him, figure out what I like, and hopefully eventually when I decide to breed her, I will know exactly what set I want to and what direction I want to go. And I I know it does work for some people to do it at the same time. I just have so much respect for that mare, and I feel like I didn't want to give two jobs at once. Yeah. Um, and so for now, she's doing good enough at this job, and it's the one she likes to do. And when the day comes she does want to do that, we'll try a different job. Yeah, I love that.

SPEAKER_02 26:46

And honestly, just you you know Flash, but she's not sister, but I never bred her, and she's retired, and this is the very first year that I bred her and gonna be the very first baby, you know. So it and because it was kind of the same way. Obviously, I wasn't going as hard as you, but kind of the same thing. You love them so much, and like you can, of course, breed them. I'm not saying that. Like we had Kathy on, she's a great testament to how it does work and everything. Yeah, but I was a little like you. Um, but I did want to say this before we skip over it and we're gonna have to backtrack anyway. And yes, even though sister is still very young and beautiful and perfect and smart, um, but you do have these other mares, where do you choose to run, sister? Is it just like the previous ones that she's kicked ass at, or like rodeos you like? How do you go about deciding where to run her?

SPEAKER_03 27:33

Yeah, it's a good question. I try to play their strings best I can, which used to, you know, when they want her, I feel like when you're seasoning a horse, you ask them to be exposed to everything. And even if they don't like to handle it. And from then on, she would handle it. She would try. And then over the years, I got to realize she didn't. It's not more than just those runs. It's just she's not having as much fun. So I would stop asking her to go to her weak places, and uh, even if she would win it, you know, I would still be good. But um, I'll just go to where I feel like she's strongest. So um Fort Worth and Houston, I have never hit a barrel at those two or Calgary. I've checked every trip down the alley. We'll keep going to those, you know. Um there's a lot of others that she's done great at, and we'll keep going to those. Also, uh, we'll just be picking about where we draw. Um, so I went to some new roadies last year that I hadn't taken her to, like Nampa and Elko. Uh, but I drew well and I felt like she had a good shot and she was awesome. Um so I think you just gotta stay flexible about that. And uh I try not to get too stuck in the route of well, this is how I do it, you know, or how she does it. I just try to look at like year by year what makes the most sense. I'm planning to go a little bit different route this year than I normally would, maybe not go as far west just to avoid some miles, which means I may be going to a couple new rodeos. So again, I'll just stay picky about if I draw to win it, I'll get on it. If I draw to place, well, I might get on something else.

SPEAKER_04 29:06

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00 29:07

Mm-hmm. Do you think where you were talking about her early on her paturity year? I'm sure it wasn't terrible, but I know what you're saying. Like her just having some Yes. But but you've done a good job of letting her be her. Like she no horses me, she's perfect to all of us. But I mean, there there could have been things early on that like maybe you kind of wanted to bust her chops for, but you've just like let it go, and that's become her confidence. Just like you're saying, you're not gonna run her someplace. Like you've let her just be a confident mare, right? I mean, and you feel like that you are you transparent, or now we have. I will say, I'm kind of jumping ahead here, but I did. I'm sorry, I don't know exactly what happened to Spider at San Anton after she worked super great, and then you got on Libby, but it actually made my heart feel so good when I watched you run Libby, even though you were in it to win a really great check, and you just let her go in there just like a trainer would, and just let her find her spot. You wrote her across the pin, let her find her spot. And I mean, she didn't know that she was up in that perf. You gave her so much confidence, and so I don't know. I think I feel like that's kudos to you for part of the reason why sister's longevity has been for so long. Like, I yes, yes. And did that come like with you and your mom with your training? Is that kind of something that your mom has instilled as well?

SPEAKER_03 30:32

Definitely, I appreciate that. I I think that's always been a theme with my mom, and she's always looking forward, not just that what can this win today, but it's more like how is this run gonna affect this horse next year or the year after? And the trick to me is even the Sith at this age, I'm still looking at well, what runs should I make this summer that may keep them healthy to run next winter? Like that's in my that's in the back of my mind. You know, obviously you have to be gamey in the moment, and there are times to ask them for what they've got. Um, like Libby, you know, kind of going in the first round. I put her in in San Antonio and thought, well, let's just see how she knows it. And it was mediocre. So that tells me I've got to go back to the wild card. What does she need from me? Well, she just needs to get better. That's all yeah, better than yesterday because that means she's not ready to win a check today. I realize that we're fine, no problem. There's a lot of people in San Antonio, but by next year, I think I'll have a horse to win it. Yeah, because the way we approach it right now. So yeah, I think that just has to stay in your mind. And it's hard when there is so much money in those first few years of competition. Um, and I think that's I think you just have to read your horse, you know. No, are they the horse that's ready to win today? Or if not, it's not a loss, it's just a look at it like what is what are we preparing for?

SPEAKER_00 31:53

There's still a win.

SPEAKER_03 31:55

It's still there's still a win in it, and you have to get in that mindset before you go down the alley. I I think a lot of us are good at retrospectively looking back and going, oh, it's okay, we gained experience. Well, what kind of experience did you gain? If you went in, you know, nervous or putting them in a situation they weren't ready for, and then they felt scared, they're not, they didn't get good experience. Yeah, yeah, they're scary experience. So uh yeah, it's something I try to keep in my mind before I make that run. What are they actually ready for? Let's keep our heads screwed on. And of course, we're going in to win something. Um, I've never unofficiated a rodeo in my life, and I uh season a lot of horses at them because just in case we went too much, that's gonna count. But there are a lot of rodeos, a lot of rodeos I've entered that were not about winning money. They were about being ready for the next one, or the one whether it's tomorrow or next week, maybe two months from now, um, a year from now. I think you just kind of have to keep thinking forward when it comes to a rodeo horse.

SPEAKER_02 32:54

I even think about um, I was down at the Hondo with Jordan, and I do want to give Callie Wright a quick shout out because Spider came from her, and we love Cali and everything. Um, but you chose to run Cali, or not Cali, Spider, uh the Hondo in Phoenix, right? And there's a ton of money to be won there. So is that just kind of the same thing, like you're in this for the longevity of your horses and everything, and you know Spider can go win? I'm pretty sure she made the four man there, if I my memory doesn't escape me. Um, but is that kind of those decisions too? Like, hey, this is far, still a great rodeo, but I'm gonna leave sis home, even though this money is so huge.

SPEAKER_03 33:30

Oh, sure. And and I think that comes back to goals too, you know. In the end, my my highest goal is goal is you know, something about goal book. So if it counts for world scenes, that's gonna take precedence. But there are amazing events that pay a ton of money, like that one. You can win 100,000 three days. So, reason I don't get on Sis there, only reason it's loud. That place is intense, and I know it is. Spider is one of the coolest cucumber horses, like she almost thinks everybody's there to cheer for her, and so that's actually an asset to me. I can ride in when Kid Rock is doing a sound check and she's fine. Sis might I might have to enter like 10 slacks after that, like that. There is a lot of back and there, and you'd think that goes away. Seasoning doesn't mean that they're just seasoned and well done. I mean, it just means they're ready to cook again next week. Like Sis has a lot of times I have to go enter a slack because I ran in too many night perfs the week before and she's too wound up. So just keeping all those things in mind. I I feel like it's a it's a whole picture, and it's horse by horse for sure, but definitely sis is you know, a lot of who taught me that. Um back to your point, Abby. But I even go back to like that horse from high school. It's the first hot-blooded animal I ever stepped on. I learned where to take her, when to take her, where to warm up, how to do it to where she was going to be confident, comfortable, and perform the next time. Um, same thing with recovery. I take recovery so seriously because that's the last thing they remember from when you leave that place. And therefore, their memory of however that run went is gonna be how they felt after. Um, so I if I know if this is gonna be a basket case in the warm-up pen, then that recovery is gonna be tough. It'll be hard to get two, three runs on her. It really doesn't benefit her. Um, so yeah, just kind of looking at things like that. It's a definitely like a marathon, not a sprint kind of concept. Horse by horse, stand through your whole year.

SPEAKER_01 35:32

Yeah, absolutely. And so speaking of recovery, what are your like pre-runslash post-runs look like on those horses?

SPEAKER_03 35:42

Oh, I think it it depends on the horse for sure. I have my favorite things. I spending a lot of time with them, grooming them myself, getting them ready so I know just every little detail. Um, if it's a horse that needs to get again, I'm getting there early and getting the arena. Uh the horse that needs to avoid it, I'm keeping them away. Never gonna do anything just for myself. Oh, I I need to go practice the arena. Well, you can go walking there on foot. Um, you know, same thing with practices. I'm not nothing against it, but if I get there and there's an open arena, I'm probably not cruising a horse through, unless they're the kind of horse that absolutely needs it. Because more than not, we're doing that for ourselves. Yeah, absolutely. I'm gonna save that sort of thing uh for when I absolutely need it. Um, I want them to feel good. I want them to feel like a million bucks. I want them to feel kind of proud and confident. Um, not to the point of running me over. They need to know like who's in charge. I am a small person. So like if they're too much, we're screwed. But uh, you know, before that run, I do want them to feel like they can take on the world. Uh, because I'm about to ask them to run for a lot of people and they need to be brave. So I'm kind of doing things to cultivate that in and then afterwards, same thing. I want them to feel like they did their best. I hope that wasn't scary for you. Like if we need to calm down up there by the arena, we'll do that. If we need to get the heck out of there, because they're about to do a pyro show. That's how we can get the heck out of the show. Don't worry about that later. Yeah, Reno, exactly. I mean, we're getting back there as fast as we can. Um, same thing with staying flexible about whether you stay on site or stay off site. Sometimes it's more fun to stay offsite at friends, sometimes it's cooler to stay on the ground. But what's your verse actually? Like what's better in that sense, and just stay really disciplined. It's super boring about stuff like that. Um, a lot of walk-in afterwards, before and after, and just to help them relax their body and um, you know, then just the basic thing ice and legs, you know, doing your therapies, the things that matter.

SPEAKER_00 37:44

Yeah, I feel like to you, because I don't see which I really I want to ask you about this too, but I really do commend you um on your fate, like your social media presence. But do you think some of Sister's longevity also is just exactly what you're saying, obviously, but also like I don't see you just jumping on board with all of the Betty fads. Like, we don't you know and I'm not, I know you have to be careful with this, but yeah, like how I know like Parina, all of those things, but I mean, do you try to like treat them like horses? Let's just say it that way.

SPEAKER_03 38:20

Yeah, there. I mean, I I'll get controversial. People will do all sorts of things because somebody said you had to, or it was the best idea. And had you ever just like looked at a horse and gone, do they really need that, or do they want that? Um, you know, there are therapies I have tried on her, and she's a watchy sun frosty girl, and she was more stressed by the sound or of the therapy than the therapy was gonna do us any good. And that's you know, sometimes we got better at them, sometimes we never did. And so we don't worry about it. Um, I do try to keep it as simple as possible. Um, you can throw LASIKs in that category. Some people like to give LASIKs or run. I don't mind. If you ever try to walk up to that horse with a pin in your hand, you'll figure out she doesn't get LASIK. And it's not because I don't think it works, I don't think it works great. I run horses on LASIKs, they need it. If but I do diagnostic work to know that they need it. Um, same with any other med. I mean, I know if that horse is sore. I'm not gonna give a med just in case they're sore that day. I know if they're sore, so I know they need. Um, but like I'm I'm definitely doing the diagnostic work. I've at the vet. I've I've got a team of people that make sure we know those things. So maybe if you don't want to be specific horse by horse, you better try all the fad stuff, and you better do it all, and you better give every single pace to every single horse because you need to cover your bases. But if you have done the one and you know your horse, you probably don't need all. So that would be my thought. But I will just say this and leave it at that. My father, he's a very practical businessman, and he had told me when I was first winning on cyst, Haley, if you would make one run, just one winning with a mesquite branch in your hand off a tree with the thorns, just and just tap her on the butt one time, just one time run home. If you'd win with it, we could sell the mesquite trees in South Texas, and I never forgot that because he's not wrong. Betty's are fickle.

SPEAKER_02 40:22

Absolutely. You know what we could do? Um, we're an upcoming podcast. Let's brand the mesquite tree for us. That's a good idea. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, market and endorsed. I'll sign it if you want. And like you said, the diagnostic, and yeah, you better cover your bases. But in reality, if you spend the money up front to do the actual vet work and know what your horse needs, you're probably gonna save money in the long run by not going with all the I'm not gonna call it junk because some of it does work, right? Yeah, it's functional stuff. Yeah, but you maybe don't need all that, and you might know that up front for less of a cost.

SPEAKER_03 40:58

Or you might need something different. I mean, you you might figure out that that was doing some of it, but that was just a band-aid and you were missing the big problem. Right. So I think just kind of know your horse, do the work. Um, it's the same as like I like to brush them and saddle them every day. It's not because I could hire good help to do it. Um, it's not because my, you know, when we're at the finals, I saddle my horse every night. My mother is perfectly capable of saddling a horse, but I'm the one that knows what's normal on that horse. Uh, and sounds every detail. So I want to be the one to saddle so that I see it. So if there's something different, we don't miss a butt. Um, and that's normal for me to be that aware of my horse. And not just since she has taught me that, she's incredibly sensitive. So you know if something's off and she's very expressive, but it's helpful with the horses that aren't so expressive. The ones that you know, they're a little more stoic and they maybe won't show you something, and you tend to pay attention.

SPEAKER_00 41:56

So I am gonna ask you a tough question, and you can answer it like how you would like to, but it's along these lines because I'm not gonna lie. The world gasped in 2024 in the 10th round when you didn't show up on sister. And me included, like, I don't know that I could have made that choice. I I honestly might have done made the wrong choice, and no, I don't even you don't have to talk about you what happened to her, but I probably would have given her something and been like, okay, sis, we just gotta get through this one round, this is all we have to do. And you did not do that.

SPEAKER_03 42:28

And I mean, that's something to talk about, like, yeah, I'm sure it's uh not the popular choice.

SPEAKER_00 42:36

Oh, it is the popular choice. It was maybe it should be. No, yeah, nobody thought coming.

SPEAKER_03 42:42

No, for sure. Um, yeah, no, I'm happy to talk about it. Um, she had strained her hamstring muscle, one of the small muscles that attached to the hamstring in the ninth round. Um, debate whether we started around the fifth round. We had a slip in that round, and she got a little short on me up until that point, but she wins the ninth round. Yeah, uh, I was 15th on the ground and she had a weird step leaving the third barrel, and I didn't feel like she ran out of start. And that night she was just acting a little more tired. Um, she's actually a pretty stoic horse when the adrenaline is on. She won't show you anything. So it was the next morning that we keep swelling, and truthfully, she was hardly lame. Like if you couldn't see nothing, but you could see the issue. Um, Dr. Tanner was on site, I had him look at it for me, and uh he pinpointed it by hand and said, This is what I think it is. Um, he talked called my vet uh Charlie Buchanan and they talked it out and they said, What do you want to do? And I I don't know how to explain this. I didn't make a decision. I just knew I just there there there was no thought. There was just no thought. It was just like this it's more than she doesn't owe me anything. I know I've said that, but it's it's more like a what is she gonna remember? From this. What's she gonna get out of this? Um, and you know, there's there's some strategy to it. We've got to go be the fastest horse tonight. I'm coming in, I think I was gonna be 13th on the ground. Cassie was gonna be first out. We had to outrun Jarvis that night to win it, and I have a horse that is less than her best, and at her best, I know we could do it, but also at her best, she had been beat another night. So, I mean, I could make a mistake, it just wasn't worth it. In the end, I think, like, my horse is just worth more to me. And it was more than just what this gold buckle is or what this the horse is long term, uh, whether she came back or not. Um, I was looking at like, I want a rodeo on her next year. Yeah, back to the finals. Um, and so yeah, I had JLo sitting there. I knew that uh getting on her, she was gonna take a couple warm-up runs, and I didn't allow myself that. I had one round, so I didn't say anything uh to anybody. I texted my one friend in media, Janie Johnson, who's an absolute pro. Hey, just why you get you get these details. I'm getting on cis. Otherwise, I just kept it close to the belt. Um, not because I didn't trust anybody, but I'm just the person that wants to keep it quiet. And um, but you know, the girls go back so dang supportive. I rode into the warm-up pen and I had two or three of them come over. They didn't know a thing, and they came over and said, J Lo's gonna be awesome tonight.

SPEAKER_00 45:30

Yeah, I love that.

SPEAKER_03 45:31

Go get him. Um, so you know, there's when it comes down to it, yes, there are people that would have made the wrong decision. And any other time, maybe I would have too. But there's also some dang good horseman women in Rebecca. And um, they're right around me. I think they would have made the same decision. Um, it was this the the support I had just echoed that voice in my head that said what to do.

SPEAKER_00 45:54

You did the right, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 45:56

Yeah, and I knew that I still had to be gamey and go give it all I got. And in my head, I was still going to win that round. Um, and we made a respectable run and we got to hang it up right there. Now, was I mad? Hell yeah. Like, are you kidding? I'm not gonna pretend like I'm not human. That sucks. Oh, absolutely. Yeah, first yeah, yeah. Rodeo could be like a bad boyfriend. It dangles the carrot, tells you everything you want to hear, and then is just like, wait, no, we're just friends. Yeah, wait, yeah. I mean, honestly, it was it sucked, but it was just part of it to me. But was I gonna put my horse in a position she didn't deserve to be in, you know? Never, never, not not one of them.

SPEAKER_00 46:37

Yeah, yeah, it's very respectful. Like, I appreciate that, and I appreciate that showing like your trainer side of all of those things very much.

SPEAKER_01 46:45

Also, the fact that you got to jump on JLo in front of the 10th round, that's also pretty nifty because she's not something to an eye at. Like, she's pretty pretty outstanding, also.

SPEAKER_03 46:56

So she's amazing. Kenny and Del and Ivy were so supportive of that and sending her with me. And that was the last one she got makes the Thomas Mac. Yeah, I'm the only other person that's been able to ride her in the Thomas Mac. And when I tell you that thing feels like a Cadillac when it takes off, uh, not to lope. She's quite rough in a loping circle, but to run so smooth, so fast. And um, so it was a you know a blessing in disguise. Yeah, fifth gold buckle would be cooler, but I'd rather have my horse.

SPEAKER_01 47:26

No, yeah, you still have uh a healthy, happy horse that you got to run it the next next year, and hopefully you'll get to run there this year too. So and many more to come.

SPEAKER_02 47:35

Yeah, so because you know, a lot of world titles and a lot of wins. So I'm gonna ask two separate ones. What's your favorite win you've ever had on Sister? And then favorite trip to the finals that you've ever had on Sister.

SPEAKER_03 47:52

Oh man, I've had so many favorite wins. I feel like a lucky kid. Like I they're all individually good. I think I'll say this the most recent favorite win, which kind of stands out only because a lot of the ones I had early on were um I I maybe didn't notice it at the time how great it was because it was bam, bam, bam. And so then when we won Spanish Fork this year, past summer in 25, she ran 57, won by almost four tenths. It was the most statement of a statement of this horse is still about it.

SPEAKER_04 48:31

Yeah, no, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 48:34

Um, that was pretty dang special. I never won that rodeo. I placed there a little, but um, that was pretty much a throw down. I felt so confident that run, she felt confident. Uh it was just no nobody saw it all in people in the stage. It was black after you know, pulling up in the whirlpin and everybody's jaws are gapped and shearing, like with just your girls out.

SPEAKER_01 49:01

Yeah, that's yeah.

SPEAKER_03 49:02

Yeah, but NFR wise, um 2017 will always be special because of round three and um and round 10 being able to run those two ones. Yes, but um but nothing can ever take away from 2020 for me. Um, I had just gone through a very, very painful period of my personal life and felt like I was battling all year to just enjoy life, and I was so locked in that year to doing my best there, and it was just I knew my face was gonna show up and I didn't want to fail there. I didn't want to be half myself, and so I was committed to being all there for her, and it was like we were on a different level. Uh, and I can barely remember that. It's all a blur, but I just remember loving it. Uh that the way she kind of came through for me that whole year, but especially that week. And then I got to ride her in my victory lap for the aggregate win. Um don't recommend. Like we were, I was about to outrun the flag horse. I'm polling, she's polling. It was not pretty, but it was so worth it, it was like a moment for her. So I think that one will always be my favorite overall NFR.

SPEAKER_02 50:17

Yeah, and I mean, top gun, average world champion in an NFR that's in a completely different place, and that's in your home state. I can't even imagine, like for such a crazy year. Um that yeah, like, and to have your horse come through for you, it's you know, our horses are our best friends, so we know that for sure. They they know, they just know what you need, they do, and she's been so awesome for you. And so now I do want you to tell us about brother, and he's a head horse, right? And um, was he ever gonna be a barrel horse, or was he what was your plans with him?

SPEAKER_03 50:56

Yeah, he is trained and pretty dang nice. He had an injury as a two-year-old that just never really lived right. Um he got hung up in a fence. Yeah, I to say he could run barrels at some point. Sure, he could. Does he need to at this point? No, thankfully. She's done plenty to prove what she is, and now uh it's so fun because I have Libby, and the the better she does, the more it's like, hey, we did twice. Uh so I I love that I have to share with the world. Um, will I ever haul him? I don't know. Hauling is so hard. And I have mentioned to y'all that I invested in mares, which means I have 18 mares sitting around here and one male. And he's just so um so it's a lot better that he uh lives either at the team rover's houses or at the breeding farm most of the time. Um, but when he is home, he's a joy. Maybe someday, you know, we'll see. But for now, I'll just kind of see how he does with his style career. And uh I've I've just enjoyed being part of that as well and letting him kind of shine where he should read. But uh but roping on him, he seems to hell that he likes it. Um and it's nice to be able to prove their versatility. I'd always been told by all the team ropers that sis would have made a great head horse, and I wasn't gonna let him cry. So it's like here you go, here's your proof.

SPEAKER_02 52:21

Yes, they probably the bulldoggers probably wouldn't have minded minded either.

SPEAKER_03 52:26

No, not not I don't know if any of them would have. I remember she got loose at Houston one year early on his first year there, and Scott Cormos caught her. And I tried over there, said sorry, she's for sale, ha ha. You know, joking around. And he said, Okay. No, no, no. That was a I was just kidding. Yeah, yeah. But yeah, she might have been a really nice bulldogging horse. You're probably right. Maybe, maybe in her future years, she's kind of a competitor. If she ever stops running barrels, she might need a new job.

SPEAKER_01 52:58

Yeah, I can't see her just like being okay with uh going half speed at the Pee Wee Rodius. Yeah, she doesn't seem like the kind, so the headshake would pull a child off.

SPEAKER_03 53:11

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 53:12

Eject. They can't for sure. Oldest colts that you have by brother.

SPEAKER_03 53:18

They're two-year-olds.

SPEAKER_00 53:19

Okay, they are okay.

SPEAKER_03 53:21

Yeah, I I try kind of tested the waters, want to see what a semen was like, how everything was gonna go. Uh Bread Spray is a new alive Jimmer Kitty. So um I I sold some cold, but they have one. So I have one year old is my oldest, and she beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 53:36

Um, so I don't know, I'm excited. And then how many yearlings do you have this year?

SPEAKER_03 53:41

I have got two yearlings walking around here. I bred several others, but sold some and yeah, bred a couple outside mares. We did a limited book that year, and then his book's been open the last two years. Um, this year's been fun. I just I have a spider baby on the ground. Oh, good. Yeah, I do have one of those. Um, and then another a couple of the other mares that, like I mentioned, I rodeoed on when sis was kind of young and um been able to breed those a lion's sharefair. It's yeah, just get to experiment a little bit and see what fits in best, but they all came out pretty so far. So it's I feel like very lucky breeding.

SPEAKER_02 54:19

Yeah, absolutely. I know we've jumped around a lot and I'll let them ask more questions, but one last rodeo question for me. Because we know life is hard, and you talked about 2020. You've been through some shit, you know. Unfortunately, it was a little public, right? And yeah, it was. Um, so what goes into you know staying mentally tough on the road, you know, keeping it all together, because even when it isn't public, some stuff in life is hard, and rodeo is extremely hard. So, what do you do to kind of stay mentally with it and on the road?

SPEAKER_03 54:53

Oh, I can tell you there's multiple ways to do it. One way is to be completely locked into your sport and be in overdrive, and it does work until you burn out. And I did that one. Um, I definitely by 2021, I was tired. I was tired of it. I wanted everyone to leave me alone. Um, I wasn't a very very healthy person for a while, and it took me a couple years to kind of reset my body, mind. Um, I still won in the meantime. Um, I felt like I was in a much healthier place in 22, but even then I I had some changes to make. Um, just because you pour yourself that much into a sport, you lose yourself a little bit in it. And uh I feel now I am doing a better job than I was of balancing my my health and my commitment to my horses and myself sport with the desire to it as instead of letting that be all of it for me. And I feel like I've probably gotten as close as I could to being able to do the work life balance, you know, that they talked about. Never thought that would apply to someone like me. Um, and yet here we are. I'm in the healthiest I've ever been, I'm the happiest I've ever been. Um, no, not everything's perfect, but there are a lot of things I would still change. And would I go back and change what happens? Yeah. I mean people are like, oh, I don't regret what happened to me because maybe a stronger person. You're kidding me, right? Like with uh, but that said, I'm not gonna let it go in vain. And at that point, the thing I did right was was this. I had wonderful people around me, and I've kept those people around me. We have worked at that, even when I have done a terrible job checking in and keeping my accountability where they check in on me and make sure that I'm still pursuing what I want to pursue. Uh Lady Nate Pet Hart pulled a lot into me in that time period, still does, but she gave me this bracelet that year because she said, What do you want to get out of this? And I said, I just don't want everything I'm doing to be in vain because I feel like I could let what happened to me control the rest of what I do. And I don't want that to happen. She gave me a bracelet that said embrace, and it was to truly embrace everything around good, bad, ugly, fun, not fun, live it fully, um, accept it fully. Um, let it break you a little bit, it will not kill you. Um, as long as you let it just sit for a second, make sense of it. I think a lot of times when you are that locked into competing, you avoid the hard thoughts, avoid the hard questions. And trust me, there's a time and place for it. It's called your bubble. When you're competing, somebody says something or there's a trigger that's outside the bubble, you let it bounce off. You deal with that later. But afterwards, the trick is to go deal with it. Um, like go ahead and think about it. Man, that bothered me. I want to get through it so that tomorrow it's not a thought anymore. Um, and so that I can grow from and actually be a better person from it. Um, I feel like I'm still working on that. I feel like there's still things that I went through that I have allowed to fester and not address, and therefore have taken it out on other people. Um, and I don't like that part of myself, but we're all human, we're all still on our journey. And so I give myself a lot of grace for it, maybe more than I should. But I do I believe in that. Like self-forgiveness, man, you don't always have a good day, and some things are harder than you let on. But um, handling stuff with grace is important. I also noticed that when you're going through things, you're never the only one who's dealt with it. It might be the only way, it might be a unique way, but there were women out there that called me and said, I I've been there too. This has happened to me. They'd share their story. And for them to reach out was huge because to me, they've got it all together. Like that, these are women I've looked at my whole life. Like, what do you mean you've dealt with hard things too? And uh hearing that was awesome. And that's been such a blessing now, because now when my friends go through stuff, they know they can call me. And being able to counsel some women through uh tough situations like that has been a healing form for me as well. Um, and I'm not scared to say and talk about anything that I've gone through before, um, because I think it might help somebody deal with their stuff too. But uh just learning not to be scared of it and don't hide from it. Yes, there's a time and place when you're competing, that ain't it. But when you're back in the trailer by yourself, that is so that you can get through it. Um, so that's just kind of helped me, I guess, keep it moving forward. And I I definitely don't want it to affect anybody negatively. Sometimes it does. I, you know, hate that, but also again, self-forgiveness.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:01

Yes, you know, you're we're all human. Yeah. So kind of along those lines, except for now it almost seems like irrelevant because you were just such a rock star right there.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:11

I'm like, that might have been the best answer we've ever had. Well, you've only had what four podcasts between me and Kate.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:17

Oh no, no, when they're knocking out the park. Um, okay, not to like age you because you're that's okay, I'm 31. That's a little badass, but you've kind of gone through a change from when you first started rodeoing to now with social media. Because in the early years, when you were early years, like it's been so long, but um 10 years ago, yeah. It was such such a precedence, and now we have like influencers and phenomena and all of all of this outside pressure to do things, and you've done a good job of keeping up, like it's not like you're irrelevant on social media, but to have you how did you ride that wave of being with the pressure of not just succumbing to being like I changed my underwear today, but on social media, you know what I mean? Like you've done a very good job of that.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:18

I'm gonna tag you in the comments. Um, don't even know how to do that. Maybe this might be because I did come along when Facebook was new. I wasn't allowed to have one when I was in high school. But we actually allowed to have a face to face. That was like the rough joke, was all the grown-up men would be like, Well, I'm sitting on the pot with my newspaper, and that was so cringy. Yeah, I am never you're gonna do that. I would go back through like old Facebook statuses of country song lyrics when I was like 16. Like it was cringe at those. I cringe at my own stuff, and me too taught me what I did not need to share with the world. Um, also, I would say going through what I did go through in in such a public way with a divorce. Um, I learned that people on the internet aren't necessarily your friends, nothing against them. Fans are cool, but they can be fickle, they're your biggest fan when they need something to talk about, and when you're not when you get something else, they'll throw you under the bus too. So um, understandably so. Uh grace to them too, but I just need to give them a little less ammo. And so that uh coupled with the idea that this is like the longest I have looked at my phone uh right now, and I don't like it. No, I like y'all, y'all look great, but uh I just I'm not the person that wants to walk around talking about everything I'm doing. I know that there is a lot of beauty in it and there's good things to share, and I get that a lot. Why don't you share more behind the scenes? Why don't you do a tutorial on uh conditioning? Whatever, but I don't care.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:56

Yeah, that's fine.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:58

Somebody's probably really good at it and somebody likes it. I just am not that kind of person, I don't want to do it, and so I just do what I want to do. Yes, maybe maybe it's selfish for now. Maybe there'll come a day where I'm really bored and I want to tell you everything I want to do at all minutes of the day, or I think you can, but until then, then I'm just gonna keep doing me. And so just know that behind the scenes I'm driving, I'm working, I've just got done mowing. Unless you want to see a video of that, take one, but I can go back. I I'm just gonna keep doing me for a while, and yeah, I mean, you can just kind of trust that I'm working at it, but I don't feel like I have to prove that I am. Uh, but to each their own, there's people that absolutely love to. Um, personally, I'm not the person that gets on social media to see what somebody's doing today. I just don't get where the jackpots are. Yes, that's how we feel about that too.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:56

Yes, yeah. The three of us trying to run our social media with this whole podcast thing, spin up and go. You know, if you tell a good person, tolerance.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:07

I know a couple. Yeah, for free. No, trust me. Um, it's it's definitely not me. Uh seems or I would be floundering.

unknown 1:04:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:18

Luckily, we have great friends like you and Ruger and everybody and Cade that's been our guest and Kathy, and we've been so lucky. And these interviews, I feel like are so interesting to a lot of people because the curtain doesn't get pulled back all the time, you know, to get to talk to everybody like this. And so I I do think it's really awesome. So, do you guys have any other? I mean, I feel like we're gonna get off this, and I'm gonna be like, I have 50,000 more five.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:43

I feel like I could keep the brain forever.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:45

So but when you come to Caldwell, you stay out at the ranch or whatever, the ranch. Yeah, we might have to want to come back to another birthday party.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:54

I'm sure that'd be great. One of my kids will be having a birthday party at some point.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:59

So we might just have to set this all up. I actually just have a repeat. Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:03

Might have a little more backed up.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:07

You said we've got a repeat. Um, yeah, I do have never mind. I'm not gonna call him out on the podcast. I'll text you about it later. But thank you so much, Haley. Seriously, couldn't be more grateful. Um, we'll be tagging you shortly. And this interview was awesome.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:26

Good luck, and we hope to see you soon. Congrats, like you're killing it, obviously. So thanks, guys. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:31

I appreciate it. If you post on social media a day in the life, we will know that that's like an SOS for help. Yeah, and we'll reach out. Seriously, that means I've been kidnapped.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:40

Like I am taking outside horses, all stallions, or I do a video like that. You just know I've been kidnapped. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:48

So if you need help, we'll text you.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:50

Well, thank you for letting us track you down for this.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:52

You're amazing. Stay in care. Have a good night. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:56

You too.