My Last High School Rodeo Essay examples

It was a warm mid-september day and I was preparing to go horseback riding for the very first time. I was celebrating my bestfriend’s birthday with her family and a couple other friends. On the ride over you could feel the jitters in the air and the excitement to try something new. We arrived to Bobby’s Ranch in Westford MA and settled on petting some of the other animals. It was all very bizarre, almost movie-like. We joked around about rookie mistakes and wondered how many of us were going to fall under it’s trap. The ride was scheduled to be an hour long, through the woods and in an orderly fashion. I got on top of a platform and was instructed on how to get up on the saddle and how to use the reins to guide the horse. The birthday girl

A couple of months later competition season came and I was so nervous to go out there and perform in front of a lot of people. After the first

Rodeo has been a part of my life ever since I can remember. I would enter rodeos but things would never go my way. I originally thought that it was because of my lack of practice. I would increase my practice schedule, but the results were still the same. I would have my mom and dad video and study my runs over and over, but again; the result were still the same. It became so frustrating for me, because I knew my potential was better than my performance. Finally, last summer I came to the point of I was done. I was going to give up my dream of rodeo and move onto different things. At first it didn’t bother me, the rodeo deadlines came and went, but it still didn’t set it. Finally when the regional rodeos came I realized what an awful idea it was. I cried to my mom and dad telling them how I wish I would have just persevered though it and continued. I thought it was the worst mistake I had ever made.

& nbsp;              ROUGH RIDERS                                                 Ben Kerfoot                          3/7/02                          Per. 5

Seven nights ago I arrived at Red Dillon’s homestead. Before sleeping that night I dined on a bowl of red chili and a cup of coffee while Red Dillon went over the agreement, he made with the agent from the reservation. After Red finished reviewing the agreement he urged me to have some more food to prepare for tomorrow's bronc riding lesson. That next day I only managed to ride two horses and before being thrown five times, but I learned how to ride with skill. Each horse has a pattern and I can gauge their pattern to find my timing and rhythm to control the broncs. By the end of the week I managed to ride two horses in succession to a complete standstill and I felt accomplished, although Red immediately set up the corral after

At any roping or college rodeo I was getting extremely nervous, and I couldn't rope anything at all. Even if I did rope anything I was messing up on everything; I was not setting my horse up, I was not flanking calves properly, and I was not tying calves like I should have been. But I realized that I was letting my mind get in the way of my success, I never thought that was my problem; I was blaming everyone that was around me and helping, I started blaming more horse each time I roped on him, and I was blaming all of the livestock for all of my problems.

It was just me, my horse, and the four judges, who were there to critique my every single move. I probably looked like an ant standing alone inside such a large area. My heart was pounding so hard that I could hear it beating in my ears. Thump. Thump. Thump. I tried to block it out in order to concentrate on the task at hand. The announcer calls for 805, which was my show number, and up to the first cone I went. I knew that pattern better than I knew my own name. The arena smelled so fresh and clean. I could see the perfectly straight drag lines from the tractor, since I was the first one to go in my class. This was the moment that I had been waiting my entire life for. While waiting at the first cone, the pattern was soaring through my head. Trot to the first cone and stop, then do a turn to the right. Over and over again I kept repeating it silently to myself. Finally, the judges nodded for me to begin, and I started the best pattern

It was a sunny warm day in November when I was scheduled to have cortisone injections in my back. Upon arriving to my appointment, I was given a sedative to relax me and a pain medication so that I would not feel the insertion of the needle in my lower back to administer the cortisone. I did not feel any of the procedure, which lasted approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour. I was given pain medication to take home to help with the pain of the injections, and that’s when the “demon” was released, leading to 8 years of uncontrollable substance abuse.

Have you ever been in a situation where you didn’t think you could do it? Well I have many times and I’m going to write about a time during Rodeo when I didn’t think I was going to be able to do well in goat tying.

In high school many kids often choose not to participate in extra curricular activities saying that there pointless or that only a certain type of person would do something like play football, or join the chess club. While this type of thinking may get some people through school and through life, can it really be looked at as being a healthy lifestyle? Today sports have proven to be a healthy outlet for students, in dealing with stress in the classroom at home and among their peers.

The ideal time to ride came rolling around at approximately six o’clock, when a chilly breeze picked up. Unprepared and starting to shiver, my older sister notified us that she was going to grab her coat from the house. She left my younger sister and I to deal with the horses which was easy, or so we thought that it was. Assuming that it was going to be an effortless task, I took my attention gradually away from the horses, and commenced a conversation with my sister. Totally forgetting about what I was supposed to be doing, I did not perceive that Dexter spooked and pulled back on the board that he was attached to. Turning around and seeing him rear up on his hind feet, shocked me and I froze. My mind went blank for a second, and when it came back, Dexter was darting so rapidly you would assume a bear was chasing him. I could see the fear in his eyes. He was terrified of the post he was dragging behind him. Not knowing what to do, I immediately yelled at the top of my lungs for my older sister. Never in my life has my heart beated so fast. Freaking out, panicking, stressing out, I attempted to grab Dexter’s lead rope, but him being a thoroughbred caused an issue. He was too quick for me to even get near him. I knew I had to something to calm him down, I didn’t want him to get hurt. This horse means the world to my sister, and I want to slow him down

That week I practiced and practiced the warm-ups. I was so nervous and scared that I would make a mistake that would ruin my chances. I pretty much had them down and I felt confident that I would make the drumline. As the week went by I still practiced just to make sure I had them down for sure. The week ended and I started to worry again and doubt myself.

Throughout this vast country we as Americans are entertained by many different things, including movies, music, and sports. Although, there are many ways for me to be entertained, I prefer the enjoyment of sports. As a youngster I enjoyed playing backyard games. We rounded up neighborhood kids and played for fun. We played either football or basketball every weekend. These two sports are the favorites of those who play them around the world. While these sports are alike in many ways, they are very different in other aspects.

“And now to the ladies! Three turns and home, fastest time wins this event folks” The announcer says through the speakers as they say at every rodeo performance and the crowd erupts in cheers. I move my horse to get closer to the alley way that leads into the arena and I walk him in circles so he will remain calm. I go over my checklist in my head and try to remember all the things I had to do leading up to this one run that helps me be successful. Tighten my saddle’s girth, check, clean his feet, check,

I was told during my weigh-in that I would be number three at the starting gate, close to the inside, but not on the rail. I was one of the lucky ones. It was so quiet in the room as everyone there was so hyped up about getting weighed in and learning their number for the starting gate. Soon, we’d be getting dressed in silks that would represent the owner or the trainer of our horses. Post time was 7:00 p.m. There were two kilometres of track and two minutes of excitement. The