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Horse Training Article's
Cowboy Up! - By Lynn K. Brown
Do I really understand the meaning of this expression? I do now. My dad has told me this all my life. He used to say "you need to ride that colt," I would respond with "is he going to do anything dumb," my dad's response was "no, and if he does COWBOY UP." Now if my dad told me "he won't do anything" that is when I took a deep seat! What my dad was doing for me was giving me confidence. Instead of saying "you can do it, have confidence," he was telling me, "I have confidence in you, you can do anything!"
As my son has gotten older I have used the same expression. He didn't understand the expression very well, since he doesn't ride broncy colts, nor has he had to chase a yearling steer at "mach 3" across a 150 acre "pasture" and trust his horse to watch where his feet are. I started using the phrase "get an attitude."
I use both phrases to my students but what do they really mean?
I have had people ask me "what does it take to be a winner?" My
answer is always ATTITUDE. What is attitude, Mental Positioning.
In college we called it Psychocybernetics. There is a book on
this subject. It is mentally practicing what you need to do to
make that perfect run or reliving that perfect run, mentally over
and over.
How do you accomplish this having a good ATTITUDE. First be
prepared. I tell people all the time "go back to basics." If
you have a good foundation then when things get out of "sync" you
have something to fall back on to fix the error, either at the
time it is happening or later.
You and your horse should be healthy. If you are not sleeping
well, eating correctly and getting enough exercise then you
cannot be mentally healthy. Your horse should be on a good
conditioning/exercise plan and on a good nutrition plan.
Pretty does as pretty is! When I go to a jackpot/rodeo I "clean
up" my horse. I clip her, maybe braid her mane, sometimes
even give her a bath. When there is no "dress code" I still
make sure I look good myself. Clean jeans, shirt and a
little makeup and I feel prepared to go out in public. This may
sound a little elementary but I have seen barrel racers show up
in tennis shoes, high water pants and their shirttails hanging
out!
Be aggressive. Being aggressive means to be assertive. Set a
goal and know what your plan is to attain that goal. Then get
with the program and say there are no options. I will achieve my
goal, no doubts, no questions. Don't let others mentally confuse
you. I have seen riders come out and say the "ground on third is
really bad." YOU decide whether the ground is bad. Don't let
others mentally confuse you.
I typically warm up my horses the same way each time I go to a
jackpot or a rodeo. I mentally prepare myself and my horse to
get ready. I am not unfriendly to others I am mentally preparing
myself and my horse for the arena, arena conditions and making a
plan.
Be simple. Don't try to win the barrel race when you have only
exhibitioned 3 times. Be realistic when setting your goals. I
don't recommend "fixing" ten things that I think are wrong from
the last run. If I am making a run to fix something I only fix
one problem at a time.
Be fun. Barrel racing is not life or death! I love to run
barrels because it gives me a high! An adrenaline rush --
especially at a rodeo with the crowds yelling. So what happens
if I don't do well -- so what! -- there is another rodeo.
What went wrong at this one, fix it and go to the next one. This
run is over, quit reliving it. Don't beat yourself up and don't
thump on your horse! You both did the best you could.
My Mentor told me that the thing I did the best was give my colts
confidence and I stayed out of "their face". The way that I
teach people about confidence is to have them believe that
everything will be perfect and their horse will do everything
correctly. I have no doubt in my mind when I go "to the gate"
that the run will be outstanding whether I am riding a colt or an
open horse. My horse and I are a team. My colt needs my
confidence to assure him that I am helping him when he needs the
help. My open horse has the confidence; I have given it to her
so what do I have to worry about except sitting up and riding
her. It's an attitude.
So remember the next time you go to that rodeo "COWBOY
UP."
Lynn K. Brown is a six times MSCF qualifier, two times Dodge National Circuit Finals Qualifier and former Colorado State University Rodeo coach.
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