Breaking It Down
Speed Williams
By Speed Williams
speedroping.com
I just got home from teaching a clinic at Josh Allen’s in Quincy, Washington. The first two days were for beginners and the second two days were open to anyone. Teaching new people always drives home the importance of fundamentals, effective practice, and the importance of understanding your weaknesses.
You can practice three times a week and run 15-20 steers each session and, unless you have a specific purpose for your practice, your number will be the same 10 years from now. I know guys who have roped for 20 years and have never improved or had their number raised.
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By Speed Williams
speedroping.com
One of the biggest challenges to being successful in rodeo is keeping your horses working. When Rich and I started roping together we had a difference of opinion on this subject. I would only ride my good horses, Bob and Viper, at the bigger rodeos. I normally used my third, fourth, and fifth string horses at the smaller rodeos that didn’t pay as well.
By Speed Williams
speedroping.com
Recently Dustin Egusquiza asked if I would help him improve his jackpot roping. I told him I would be more than happy to help if I could post video of his runs on speedroping.com and talk about what we worked on. Dustin is early in his professional rodeo career and incredibly talented. His short game is quite amazing and he is able to throw very fast.
By Speed Williams
speedroping.com
Roping has been part of my life as long as I can remember. The story goes that I used to rope my dad’s toes before I could walk. He had a big dog they used to put a small saddle on and I would ride him and rope anything that got in my way. But, in my entire career, never before have I backed in the box where my partner and I could win over half a million dollars like we did at the American Rodeo. I sure hope our sport continues to grow and people get more opportunities to rope or rodeo for that kind of money.