Importance Of Rodeo

Many events throughout an individual 's life will help to shape the kind of person they become. These events can be both depressing and inspirational. Examples of life altering events may include the loss of a loved one, the birth of a child, near-death experiences, or even participating in large scale events that comply with either their life goals or career paths. One event that has helped to shape my own life was attending the NHSFR, or National High School Finals Rodeo. I qualified as the only sophomore in bull riding, being the only competitor in the top 8 that was not an outgoing senior that year. To me, rodeo is not just a sport or something to do on the weekends, rodeo is a way of life. When you are a professional competitor, you are away from home for the majority of the season, living in hotel rooms or the backseat of your vehicle. This is the kind …show more content…
During my ride at state, the bull stopped bucking and remained motionless for approximately 1.5 seconds. While stopped, I could clearly hear everyone behind the chutes screaming at me to spur him, but among the various voices I heard my dad’s words of wisdom, ‘keep your spurs set!’ When the bull did begin bucking again, he cranked it back to the left, which is rodeo slang for, he spun to the left hard. Had I had my feet out of him and been spurring, I would have been rocked to one side and bucked off. Yet I persisted. I kept my spurs set just long enough to track him back to the left and finish the ride quite extravagantly. At the time, spurring seemed like a very small action to take, but had I done it, I would never have made it to Nationals. Small actions clearly have big