By Katy Fitzgerald
Special To Ropers Sports News
Her personality is contagious. Her spirit is uplifting. Her motivation encourages everyone around her. Her dedication to the sport of rodeo is refreshing. The Coalinga, Calif., native was born to be a winner and has done just that.
"Rodeo is something I had early success with and that was a big motivating force," Nora Hunt-Lee said. "Things beyond the rodeo arena weren’t rewarding, and if I’m not good at some-thing, I don’t spend a lot of time doing it," she laughed. "I always wanted to be the best."
"Nora was always self-motivated, but I remember times she wanted to quit and she said, ‘Dad, even if I cry, make me practice,’" said Bruce Hunt, Nora’s father and head rodeo coach at West Hills Community College in Coalinga, Calif., where Nora spent her first two years of college.
Bruce said as a father that gave him more incentive to push her further.
"I spent a lot of time opening a lot of gates and holding a lot of goats," Bruce said. "I wouldn’t have done that if she didn’t want it or wasn’t motivated."
Nora said by helping others, she has learned you can’t teach someone how to be motivated, they either have it or they don’t.
"[Nora] was always competitive and I was honored to have her on my team," said Ric Griffith, head rodeo coach at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where Nora spent her second two years of college.
Ric said Nora’s work ethic and practice ethic made her one of the better athletes he has coached.
Bruce said when Nora backed in the box, she expected to win and wanted to win, and that was what always pushed her forward.
"You have to want to win, and a lot of it comes from the heart," Ric said. "She has that dedication."
"She was always working hard and wanted to be rewarded," Bruce said. "She enjoyed the moment of success."
"I have been motivated by the success I have experienced because of my hard work," Nora said. "It feels good to hear your name and be the person in first place."
Bruce said he has seen a lot of people who have talent but they don’t want it bad enough.
"She didn’t have any less talent or any more talent than anybody else, but she wanted it more," Bruce said.
"In the 30 years I have been coaching, I have only seen one guy that has come close to working as physically hard as Norie," Bruce said. "Even on the days it was raining, she would find a dry spot to tie a goat or rope the dummy."
Bruce said she always told herself if she worked hard, she would be rewarded. She never thought she wouldn’t qualify for nationals. She worked at it and qualified all eight years of her high school and college rodeo careers.
"She’s had a lot of let-downs just like everyone else, but she’s always been able to rebound so well," Bruce said. "That’s a significant thing in any champion’s life."
Even though rodeo is more of an individual sport, Ric said she was always a team player. He said her attitude toward rodeo is what impressed him the most.
Focusing, prioritizing, and working hard are what Nora said has made her a winner.
"I really believe in setting goals," Nora said. "I think it’s important to set goals on what you want to accomplish and how you want to accomplish them."
Nora had outstanding high school and college rodeo careers, but the success didn’t end there.
"Missing my last calf at my last college finals was the biggest heartbreak of my career but it was followed by two world titles," Nora said.
In the Professional Women’s Rodeo Association, Nora won the breakaway roping in 2002 and the calf roping in 2003.
"Even bigger than that was the persistence I had to be a world champion," Nora said. "I didn’t quit after college, and that pursuit was my greatest accomplishment."
Bruce said all of Nora’s accomplishments in the rodeo arena were significant, but the most exciting were the two world championships.
Nora said once she developed her skill level, she worked on getting mentally tough and that was as much work as the physical practice.
Bruce said he had the basic understanding of how sports psychology worked and he and Nora worked on visualization when she was very young.
"We had a ground-root approach to it from day one, and she took it to the next level," Bruce said.
Bruce said Diana McNab mentored Nora and took her to the next level of sports psychology.
"I don’t think anyone wins world titles without working their guts out, but mental toughness is imperative to success," Nora said.
The clients Nora mentors are now part of the reward of competing again, Bruce said.
"Coaching has been a new chapter in my life that I’m grateful for," Nora said. "It doesn’t fill the void I have now that my competition days are over, but it does give me the opportunity to vicariously experience what I’m familiar with in the rodeo world."
"There’s nothing in the world that will ever replace backing in the box when you’re at the top of your game," Nora said. "But I can’t compare that to the family I’ve chosen to have, and I would never change it."
Nora said when she feels sad about that chapter ending, she just looks at her family and thinks about being blessed to have the opportunity to provide her son, Stix, with those experiences.
As for her future, Nora said she is relieved and proud to say she received her doctoral degree in December. After that, she wants to write children’s books and create more DVDs on mental toughness and sports psychology that are aimed toward the rodeo community.
"Like my instructional DVDs, I really foresee the sports psychology videos producing a lot of interest," Nora said.
Nora said her dream is to create a business for competitive athletes to help them achieve their dreams and goals.
"I’ve had the chance to work with little kids, high school athletes and a couple of professional ropers, and I enjoy it so much," Nora said.
