Leighton Berry

Full episode transcript, auto-generated from the audio and lightly formatted (verbatim, not edited).

[Music] Pur I never feel like it's a good decision after I do it I never have even the night like the other night I went and saw Robert Earl Keane at uh St Joe and uh it's a good time to do it and this old lady um offered me a cigarette and I don't know why but she did and I smoked it

I don't know what kind of cigarette it was but it was great then like the next morning that's a I A Taste what do you mean she like randomly is she just well she was just kind of sitting next to me and she was digging in her bag and she saw me like look she had a little fanny pack on and I

was like you what do you got in your fanny pack and she was just like my cigarettes she had like three boxes of cigarettes in this fanny pack and she just handed me this Siggy I was just like righto what was it was it a menthol I couldn't tell I she had like I know she had some Reds in there I think

she had some cam crushes like she like a she had a variety in there it was pretty funny but I was like I'm going to listen to ke smoke this cigarette that's a that's I don't know that works together oh yeah 100% I was like quite a few beers in it was perfect I didn't know you could smoke out there uh at

that place well it's outside yeah I mean I guess but it's still kind of like I guess I just didn't know you could smoke out there yeah I mean not maybe you can maybe you can't but I do I mean well nobody was going to tell you I would hope not everybody else was doing it so oh were they really it was

probably packed it was packed yeah you could even walk around in there yeah that guy that owns that place is a good buddy of mine I've heard he's a cool guy he is the coolest Curtis low he has uh The Green Room is kind of like a like he's got a little like recording studio and then he's got a golf simulator in

there too no [expletive] and that whole deal he owns it with his wife and that was meant to just be like a retirement thing for them for them to just chill really and then during Co it ended up turned into a whole thing yeah well cuz none of the big venues in town doing it could do it and they were like come

on that's the first time I've ever been I loved it yeah cuz they had Robert Earl there like one time a couple years ago and then the doors blew wide open yeah he was cool uh Jas Ed opened for him that was good too yeah you know all of them oh yeah there's like a little bit of a separation sometimes with the

rodeo people in the Texas country thing I've always thought that was a little bit odd it is yeah that there's not more of a connection I know yeah I have a suspicion why though okay I don't know if I want to say it though by the way are we podcasting right now yeah we're casting okay I didn't I usually it's like one

two three go but no I know I'm freaking weird I us I should probably start telling people this the best way to do it I'm glad we did it yeah you just free flow it um and uh yeah if there's any stuff that you want cut U we're not going to I think we should just raw it should just be RAW live

you wanted to say raw dog it yeah I did yeah I appreciate we should raw dog this podcast we should raw dog I appreciate you holding back on that I'm not going to let you though I'm not going to let you what was I talking about um the St Joe thing or no the Texas country music how like Rodeo people cuz there

is in the music deal and I'm not even saying I'm like Mr Cowboy uh you seen cowboy music yes yeah sure but even in the cowboy thing there's like always somebody who's more Cowboy so I'm always uh like a little bit skeptical like I had somebody the other day you real cowboy and I'm like I don't do it for a living you

know it's like take it easy there's different kinds of cowboy for sure there is anyways there's levels to it so there is uh but then there is kind of like a certain standard that like mhm you're just playing dress up if and I don't know exactly what that standard is but anyways there's a lot of guys in music that are just playing

dress up and I think that they get kind of intimidated oh for sure and so they don't want to be around the rodeo cats yeah no I could see that and I think that's a lot of times why that's happening yeah but it's like you don't have to necessarily be able to rope or know everything about cattle to be a cowboy I

mean I don't know I think that the definition of a cowboy at the end of the day would be you know for sure like a somebody who's handy somebody who can ride a horse or work cattle or you know Western lifestyle stuff but I mean doesn't mean if you if you know the cowboy code I think that's the most important thing like

what is the cowboy code Cowboy code is just being truthful to yourself so I believe if you think you're a cowboy and you want to be a good person and you have manners and you stand up for yourself and you believe in what you do 100% like I mean that's all cowboy is really I mean it doesn't matter if he's out there

day working every single day or you know rodeoing for a living or playing cowboy songs I mean if you believe in what you're doing you can wear a good-shaped cowboy hat and call yourself a cowboy yeah but being true to yourself is really important yeah that's what a Cowboy is well but part of that too is knowing what you are and who

you are so I you know I wasn't I was I'm from so I was around like a obviously a ton of like super Cowboy people oh yeah kind of the one of the capitals really yeah and so but I didn't grow up doing it and my family didn't do it family doesn't come from ranching they don't come from Rodeo nothing so it

was all self-taught for me and then I got into it by way of shoe horses and so right what my brother-in-law was a hores shoer taught me so I learned it all that way I kind of learned it the hard way had to teach myself a lot so I dealt with a lot of um I don't know what you would call it

I kind of douchebags it's like it's like easy for somebody to say um you know if you were raised doing something and all you've ever you've had a rope in your hand since you could freaking walk and you were on Horseback since before you could walk it's easy for you to kind of look down on some people that might not be as

good as you or as handy as you oh yeah that's intim um which is not cool but the only time I'm okay with it is when if somebody starts bumping their gums a little bit too much and they're like the most cowboy thing in the room and it's like all right buddy let's see yeah that's what sucks for that guy is everybody

knows he's probably the you know least amount of cowboy maybe he's got a starch Wrangler jean jacket on with his 13m wzs and this brand new resist all Straw Hat sucked down and yeah all this stuff and I mean you know there are wannab bees or whatever and that's fine that's cool but well I'm just saying like in terms of being true

to yourself like when you're saying you don't necessarily have to be able to like you know rope ride or no be that handy or anything to be Cowboy but I feel like I'm pretty cowboy but I couldn't shoot a horse well I guess that's kind of my point though is there's varying levels and varying degrees to it so you can kind of

Lose Yourself but I think like within like being a true Cowboy there's an element of it that is uh there's a lot of Pride but I think there's an element of being humble like when you think that you're like hot stuff and you're the best that to me is not freaking very cowb no nobody likes that exactly no and so whether or

not you're ER or uh or the real thing well and I'm not saying that you can't if you win a gold buckle that if I win a gold buckle this year when I win a gold buckle this year I'm GNA wear it but you w you look at Trevor Brazil whenever you see him in Decor he's not wearing one of his 20s

something odd gold buckles I always I'm so scared I'm going to say the wrong amount of gold buckles that's how many he has is it 26 or should I have seven I think it's 26 but um he wears you know customade buckle with his brand on it and like if that and if you walked up to Trevor Brazil and shook his hand

you know what I mean that you would obviously probably assume who he is but if you had no idea if you didn't know Rodeo you'd just be talking to a cleancut cowboy that you know he would never boast about himself at all I'm like that's the ultimate Cowboy yeah I would agree with you yeah there is some there's some sort of standard

though like I don't I don't know if you can you can't just play dress up no you there's got to be something yeah background I mean yeah but like I said I think if you're if you really believe in what you're doing and you just like I mean who would want to be a cowboy aome Cowboys are the coolest people in the

world and like I'll boast about that I mean they are there's a lot of it though that's romanticized it's not very cool sure yeah maybe to the outside world and things are changing and well no I just mean like it sucks to do uh you know you hear certain songs that romanticize some of it yeah it's like oh yeah I don't want

to fix fence right screw that yeah or fix that old truck yeah I'm out that's not fun no but it's coolest job I've ever had yeah for sure yeah I mean sh is like it's given me such a sense of Pride and like I needed it pretty bad in my life in terms of just not making excuses and just being tough and

yeah they'll make you tough so that all was great but uh how long have you been shooting horses quite a while now probably about 10 years wow yeah I started like at the end of high school but it was just like a summer job I mean I could barely I mean I don't I'm pretty sure my brother-in-law taught me how to put

like a halter on a horse right you know like if you told me to go catch that thing I'd be like I'm watch the sh I don't know that's one thing uh sh shoeing horses it's that's an intimidating Factor especially if but you're married to Barrel Racers you probably have all the ins and outs but boy I'd be pretty nerve-racked to shoot

any horse that costs more than my pickup truck the irony of you saying that you'd be scared it's like I don't want to get on him I say that I do kind of want to get on I'll do Step A to Z but shooting them has never been a thing I could Pro I could trim one maybe if I had to trim

one like I wouldn't mess him up but yeah tacking a Shon I'm out always meant to learn and maybe I still will but I don't know how it's probably a good thing to learn but yeah I don't know it's kind of for the it's a cool trade but pulling off that's for sure yeah can't we all they can usually do it one

week after too yeah I was about to say they do it for themselves yeah it teaches you a lot about life just toughen stuff out but I mean you've clearly lower back strength you did you Rodeo it all through high school didn't you yeah no I've been rodeoing um since I was probably youth R young since I was five probably um I've

got pictures you know same deal as always like in my diapers and my flat felt hat riding a pony around when I was I don't know I mean I couldn't have been older than three and um grew up that way my dad always had goats turned out and I always had a kidro chasing goats around so it was started pretty young for

me and I started uh I'm listening doing the calf riding thing um my drink what did you do you're drink oh my goodness are you getting parched over there oh my gosh that's kind of an important thing to have M we got to get might as well just bring that pretty bottle out here well we're not we're just drinking water is that

it see it's sorry pretty bottle of water I just like to you know my go-to is to ask questions and then just start looking for my drink right when somebody's answering you know no you're good no but there you go heck yeah thank you wet your whistle there we go um yeah just from the get-go just Road Cavs did that deal started

riding steers had you know had the PBR turned on every night wanted to be a bull rider and um you know that was during the time that JB was you know young and in his prime and syano and all those cool guys so I was like totally into the PBR thing and um my dad rode beback horses um for about 15 years

and um never quite made the N far but was always relevant he made or he traveled with Pete Hawkins and guys like that John Brockway and um so I basically was always around like really cool old school bearback Riders and that were really good and the me that mentality was always there you know what I mean just the mentality of a bearback

rider from the time I was little and bucking things around and uh Pete Hawkins actually it's one of the coolest things I have it's um it's like a little bitty mini Barstow bearback riging uh branded it was for my first birthday I believe it's branded 2000 I'm born in 99 and it's signed by Pete Hawkins and that was like my first birthday

gift actually from my Uncle Pete was uh was a little Junior Barstow rigging I still got it in my dad's house and um so I always kind of had it in the back of my mind I always loved watching the bear back riding um obviously you know whenever I was coming around like the whole Pony thing wasn't really a thing like I

would go we had horses and I would go put a saddle blanket in that riggan on them and like that little Junior Riggins had some head underneath it I used to go pull it down on rope horses and just L them around and spur the [expletive] out of them and stuff like that you know and um my dad started Team Roping a

little bit and so I you know always had a rope in my hand so I started Team Roping when I was like six seven years old uh was always horseback we had um not a bunch of cows but we raised like 30 40 head of cor any cows and so getting a cowboy and go to the team Rens with my dad and

just I had an old uh half solid black half Mustang horse called lightning and he had a roach man and a pretty decently long tail he wasn't too ugly but ready he could couldn't put a bit in his mouth around with a hackamore sometimes he'd run smooth off you know one of those like that's a good one to have taught me how

to be a cowboy for sure for sure and um so just grew up kicking him around and um got to be about 12 or 13 all my kid or friends were roping calvs and so that was like something I just wanted to do cuz my friends didn't I actually started to throw away the team ropes when I started roping Cavs really loved

roping calvs and did that for you know pursued that hard all the way through high school and then when oh I didn't know that yeah that's like that was turning into my main deal was rope and calves and then um when I was 15 years old um I was like always relevant in the all-around races but like a couple times I'd win

reserve and you know was just like really wanted to be the all-around guy so I was like what can I what event can I add you know and um the Bron riding just never appealed to me and the bullet riding dream got hung up you know like I turned into just full time event guy I got tired of getting slammed on my

head and stuff so yeah um pull my dad's stuff out and said I wanted to start getting on some bearback horses so I think it would have been I was close to 16 but about 15 and I started getting on like some little weak jump kickers and you know probably got on five or six head my the year I was 15 and

then when I was 16 is when I kind of like flipped the switch and was like all right let's I'm going to start entering the high school rodeos and did you quit C open at that point nope that's uh the team ring was what kind of faded so I did all three all the way through college but the Team Roping turned into

like I used to practice every day and um this helped when my dad roped pretty you know consecutively for I don't know up until probably up until the I have two siblings and when we all started Rodeo you know full-time dad work he owns a triple W metal building puts up metal building so if he was he you know usually whenever he

got home I would have horses saddled in the steers pin and when he got home from running around at jobs we would rope steers and then whenever my sister started you know tying goats and barrel racing and pole bending and my little brother Cade started to pick up a rope and ride my old calf horse it was like so much going on

he had to kind of just turn into a rodeo coach yeah no kid he ain't got no time so Props to him and um what's your dad's name Kirby triple what's it triple W metal buildings triple W metal buildings yes sir and uh out of uh ail WEA Texas technically triple wal building stands for Weatherford welding works that's what so he started

building pipe fence whenever he was like getting out of college and so he rodeo and bu pipe fence and uh did that deal he grew up in the Houston area real poor um single mom he had two brother or two sisters and just kind of one of those deals he was just a cooligan who ended up getting a bear backer again put

in his hand and um what was never afraid to work hard you know and always made it happen type deal and um you know so did he teach you most of everything or did you end up kind of going more of like get some coaches for sure um yeah he's definitely my number one like role model and Mentor but um when I

started to take the calf R seriously we went down and saw Joe Beaver in Huntsville when he had his place in Huntsville and um I went to my first Joe B roping school I was probably 13 um and we went down there for three days and I really fell in love with it there I fell in love with like the grind of

it we like we freaking strung and tied so many Cavs ropes so many uh Cavs out of the Shute like he had a barrel with a saddle we would break away until our arms fell off and I mean and it was just I was around a bunch of kids that wanted to do it and that really like I like gained some good

friends down there that were the same age as me and then from then on it was like all right like I want to make the finals and the calf roping and so like that was it I was like whatever I got to do to rope every day and pursue this is what I'm going to do so going into high school I actually

convinced my parents to homeschool me because I'd kind of given up on Sports like I've always been like an athlete but never like I always knew I was just a cowboy like you know I love playing football and baseball and all that stuff but I just wanted to R every day and by the time I got home from school if I had

to go to practice I couldn't even ride my horses and then if I didn't have to go to practice it would be about dark by the time I got home and we didn't have Arena lights at the time so I just felt like I was kind of you know pissing it away a little bit and I didn't like that so I was

like whatever I got to do to be at home like I'll do my schoolwork or whatever but I could have more time to ride my horses and work on my horsemanship and rope every day rope the dummy and um good friend of mine chance Webster uh who lived in Brock he would he's a year or two older than me so he got

his driver's license and we were just on the same page on a grind and so my dad you know did a damn good job making sure we always had Cals rope and sometimes they'd be you know they we'd let them get real big for sure before we ever got new ones they're so expensive which they still are um but we would just

I mean we would just rope all day long like as much as we could I'd do school from like 9: to noon when I was done I'd clean stalls and do whatever Barn work I had to do and then the rest of the afternoon it was about you know flanking a time from the post roping the dummy 100 times and exercising horses

and riding young ones I was taking in some horses and back then you could actually like I had a couple of horses that only cost like maybe $4,000 that were just awesome practice horses like that time is pass you know what I mean that's what scares me about the future my kids want to rodos how much these dang horses cost well yeah

much less if you have a daughter yeah especially that especially that so um Good Luck so like I you know I'd do whatever it took to have like one or two horses I could just rope on a bunch every day and then like one good horse that I take through rodos and then like whoever would send me an outside horse like even

if it meant like something young I just had to I was like whatever I can do to get reps in very cool so we did that you know and that was the deal and then once the bearback riding hit and I did start to get successful and wining the all-around deals at all the high school rodeos and the you know you get

to be about 16 17 years old and it's that testosterone starts to flow through you and you get a driver's license you're like I'm I want to rope Cavs and team rope and ride be back and just I just want to do it all like I looked up to guys like Ty Murray and obviously Trevor Brazil and Phil line is the only

one I could date back that ever did like rote Cavs and then did a rough stock event he rode bulls and he did the damn near all the events but he was real you know he made the NFR and the bull rid in the calf ROP and so I was like then it turned into like I want to be a calf roper

and a bearback rider and I can always team rope when I'm older and um yeah that's whenever it kind of took off for me and um the bearback riding was just there was just no feeling like it so it slowly mold fed me into like this is all I want to do yeah what do you think about some of the kids that

maybe didn't uh that maybe got a lot better horses uh from an early age yeah that's kind of I would say what shut me out of the CF open um no like you know I've never been like I didn't grow up poor I was never on my own my dad worked very hard for what we had but he always made sure I

was going to earn everything that I had so like I had to put in the work too sure I didn't have pay for everything but I had if I wasn't going to put in the work and practice every day and in a way I don't think he would ever made me quit if I sucked but you know if I wasn't winning I

wasn't happy and obviously I felt like I was letting my dad down who was paying my fees and feeding my horses and getting me to the rodeos sure so it was like you know once I was getting into college like and I feel like I've always been pretty independent but I was like maybe without him having to tell me I knew that

I was going to eventually be on my own you know what I mean I wasn't going to go to college and be like hey Dad like I need some money to you know I'm out of hay or whatever I was like I'm going to college now so I need to win and make this happen on my own and I felt like that

was the only way that was going to you know keep me from staying right where I was like get into that old school mentality of like if I don't win like we go back to eating like pork and beans you know yeah I struggle with the idea like thinking about having my own kids and then them rodeoing I guess doing anything in

life you I feel like there's a real big importance to making kids confident and having a lot of success early because that confidence can lead to taking some extra risks in life like in a good way it can give them the confidence to go for some things yeah you got I mean but you can't raise them like sheep exactly but the flip

side of that is if they don't ever really face any real adversity like everything's a little bit too easy for him like life's going to kick him in the teeth at some point yeah it's like if you don't it will and then like what are you going to do yeah exactly so it's a slippery slope it's a huge slippery slope but you

hear about all these great Champions whatever sport they did and they talk about their background and it's like very few of them were like you know which there are some but like very few are like no I you know I grew up we were oilfield rich and I just had everything I could ever imagine or want and you know now I'm here

you know it's like most of them are miserable that does happen but most of them have this background story of like my dad kicked my ass you know like you know like it was just like life was tough growing up and now they're their mental you know they're calloused like they're they went through all that and then they had to make it

happen themselves you know before they got to be like 18 years old and like I mean how many greats can you count that have all had such a hard pth and like so that's where I say you know for me where I give my dad props it's like I was never going to go a day without you know eating or having what

I needed but it was like if I wasn't willing to put in the work which I don't think I can't ever remember a time where I just sat in the dirt and was like I don't think I want to do this but it was like I knew he was counting on me to do my handle my part so that he felt like

it was okay to help me for get to the next step and he always helped me get to the next step but I had I had to want it and I had to get there myself Gary you like to see kids that they just get interested in something like at a very surface level and then the parents just throw the kitchen sink

at it yeah and give them everything and it's like dude we haven't even decided if uh hey is it is it cool if the smoke goes up in that camera there yeah is that cool yeah right on uh but yeah it's like there's no extra drive to like see if they actually really want it and you just throw a bunch of money

you just you can't I mean I feel like you know I've thought about it a lot like I'd want my kids to have everything you know I would never want them to you know feel like that their dad didn't love them or they didn't have what they needed like obviously but it's like and I think I got to take that from my

dad it's like if they if they're not showing me themselves that they really want to do it then I'm going to pretend like I don't care if they do it or not so it's like if you if you want to play baseball like well I'll get you everything you need to play baseball but you're going to like show up to every practice

and try harder than any kid on that team and show me how bad you want it or we'll go home and you know build fence or do something you know like until you really show me that you want it that's kind of how my dad always did it and you know like I said we were never neglected or anything like that but

it was like you know or even and there was some punishments to things like if you didn't if your stalls were dirty you didn't clean your stalls for 2 days it was like you know sorry like I don't I don't know that I have the check to go get these Cals you know what I mean like your horses are standing and good

for pissing [expletive] you know what I mean so it's like priorities were there you know what I mean and every kid sure is going to complain a little bit or I was perfect dude you were I was so perfect give your mom gray hairs yeah right how about your mom was is are they your parents still together all that um my parents

are separated but um I'm still very much in touch with both of them and um where's she at um she lives down the road um yep not very far from me and um and yeah no I've got great characteristics from both of them and um like we were talking about music you know my mom's the one that would you know she played

a lot of music so that's kind of where I got that from and oh really yeah so oh okay so we uh yeah no it was just a one of those deals I always just tried to you know be better the next day and that's just kind of continued on up until now I'm 25 now yeah still trying to stay on that

path yeah heck yeah man y'all have such a grind what a lonely Journey Rodeo there's a lot of similarities to the music thing but we get we get so much more attention uh and like I guess uh I don't know I think there's actually less loneliness often times you have a band around you there's some people that you can go through it

with a little bit more but even the idea of uh you guys travel so far for such a short amount of time you know at least I mean we'll be there all day at a place right and then get to interact with all sorts of people and you guys got to go to slack at the next deal but not always like I

mean obviously it takes a little bit more to set up y'all's equipment and everything like you got to be there yeah accordingly or whatever you might get there when the rodeo starts and not pack up and leave until the whole parking lot's gone but that's I've always thought that um you know we live like rock stars and it's cool to you know

see what y'all do because it's like the guys that I get to meet um you know that play music for a living it's like our lifestyle is just really not that much different at all and the similarities that come with it and the fun that comes with it and traveling to places and the vices yeah all that I mean stuff you got

to look out for it's incredibly the same I mean we're in a way like I'm sure you can say that you got the best job in the world just like I can and what's better than traveling around the country with your best buddies doing what you love for money you know what I mean and not necessarily having to work you know like

of course I work I have a dumpster in company and you shoot horses but at the end of the day I'm a professional bearback Rider and you're a professional songwriter you know music player so it's like at the end of the day you got to work hard but it's like the main thing we get to do is like man like I feel

I don't feel sorry but it's like I wish everyone could experience it because there's no nothing like doing the lifestyle yeah cuz the outcomes are cool and the stuff you get to do is really cool but the part that people don't really see is the work that goes in between sure and that like that goes for both of them um you know

a lot of people I talk to I just talk so much and it sounds like a freaking like a cliche at this point but like getting addicted to the process rather than the outcome yes and um and like my Journey's been such a like a steady like simmer I haven't had like a big explosive moment but I've also not gone backwards it's

just been like a steady climb sure um and some people you know kind of make you think that's like a bad thing but I'm super thankful for it because it's made me just really enjoy the process like the work that goes into writing a song and making a record and going out and playing the shows and just that whole process rather than

just getting addicted to like if this first song I put out just exploded like I would have zero perspective on the work feel the same and it like no it actually wouldn't be as rewarding and everybody's story is different you know that's one thing that I've learned um I think this really hit me after I made the NFR in 2020 um when

I was 21 and then I ended up breaking my back and I got to Rodeo the last two months but I didn't make it in 2021 when it went back to Vegas after covid yeah so I felt like I never really made the NFR and something I obviously struggled a lot with my mind and I had to like learn something that everybody's

path is a little bit different okay and it's like it literally everybody's is a little bit different what do you mean you struggled in your mind were you just doubting yourself well it was hard cuz like I knew I belong there and it's like I'd made the NFR during covid so like the most diff not difficult but I mean in a way

difficult but very different year than any other year right so it's like even though I was there it was like not in the Thomas and Mac where I dreamed of going since I was 2 years old you know and it was like I went there I competed I did well and it's like all you want is to make it again after your

first time you know I was still young and you know I was like this is going to be it you know and then the next year things go back to a little bit more normality and it goes back to Las Vegas and granted like you know I broke my back in Odessa which is like the first rode of the year uh pretty

much like I think it was like January 8th that I broke my back I had surgery on around like the 20th of January had a spinal fusion on my T12 and L1 and was expected to sit out8 months for sure and one wreck or was that like a cumulative thing no it was um it was one wreck I had a horse it

was it was actually it's funny cuz I've been smashing people are like oh my God he's dead but this horse actually just kind of like the way she dropped her butt and she went to smash me leaving there the gate was coming open my shoulders were really far back and she just hit me right on top of like my neck and my

shoulders and compressed my spine oh yeah real hard and um so is that considered like a compression fracture it would be and then I what was Major or more made it more major was there's a ligament but there's couple ligaments but there's a ligament right behind your spine and I actually tore that ligament so I was very lucky that it didn't end

up going any worse or else it could have been you know a whole different story but um you know sitting out that year I was expected to sit out eight months for sure and he was advising I probably sit out the rest of the year being that you know I would come back around August and that you know may or may not

be enough time or obviously probably not enough time to make the NFR barely enough so it wasn't worth it exactly but I like put my mind to it and got on my first SP back I think a week before Dodge City in August and started rodeon with zero dollars one uh this first week of August and my first horseback I was like

89 points at Dodge City and I was like here we go like I'm just I was like I'm just going to pretend like I'll be the first guy to make the NFR in two months and I ended up 23rd in the world so it was cool but I was like watching the NFR that year I was like man like d you know

I made it once like but I've never been to the Thomas and Mack like you know and then I had like my best friend Cole Riner who I Trav with that year before you know he easily made it again Jess po like all these guys that are the same age as me so I was like man like do I really belong there

like I know I broke my back obviously but just like how hard is it going to be to make it after making it once and not making it again and I was like everybody's story is a little bit differently like you have to look at that and um like Trevor Brazil has a really good speech about never doing very well at like

the high school things like he was like I never I never made the Short Round at Nationals I never won a national title like I was you know I never did this and that you know and it the MJ story and these K well these kids think that if they don't you know if they're not a state champion or they don't win

Nationals it's like oh man like I suck you know like I why you know how am I even going to make it in pro rodeo and it's like Trevor's a perfect example he's like I never did very good at any of those deals but then it was my you know the story that happened with me after that is where I started to

find my own and dial it in and everything happens for a reason so it's like for me it was like I had to just tell myself like everybody's story is different but now I can you know I've got the pen and the paper so it's like what am I going to do about it coming into this next year and it's like well

I'm gonna you know not to sound cocky or anything I'm going to step on their throats and go for it like I'm I do belong here I can do this so it's like my story is different I had that happen but I told myself I was like I'm never going to watch the NFR from the couch again if I can help it

if I plan to make the NFR I'm going to make the NFR so yeah every year since I've been very blessed with health and like the energy dude yeah that would be that would be the probably the bigger difference between what I do in uh rodeo and like y'all is that but your story could be different you know you don't know when

that when you're going to come out with that song that you may not even be totally in love with and then oh totally next thing you know it's like you know you wake up the next morning and you've got 8,000 new followers and you know people are calling you and you know and that's I think that's going to happen for you're very

talented obviously well thanks dude that's the only reason I was bringing that up I was just trying to get a compliment no but that idea of cuz I grew up playing sports and stuff so like I that mentality of uh like let's freaking I'm going to step on their throats like I'm going to win this thing go is like part of why

I like music is that only gets you so far you know I mean it's an art it is Art yeah so it's like we're talking about how you make people feel yeah right so it's like on yeah it's got that little fruity element to it where it's you know you can't if I were to walk out on stage with that mentality to

a certain degree it's like okay that's a little you're not playing heavy metal it's a little weird you're trying to you know you're trying to you got a different a different sound a different vibe than anyone that's the coolest part and like no different than okay put it this way like in the bearback riding all the fundamentals are the same it doesn't

matter where you're at who you are where you come from all the fundamentals for bearback riding are the same like squeeze your hand lift set your feet keep your chin down keep your shoulders back you know keep your free hold your free arm still like all the fundamentals are the exact same where it's like in music you know everybody I mean maybe

the fundamentals are the same but everybody's different and no different than when you watch the top 15 guys at the NFR in the bearback riding all we're all trying to do the same fundamentals but every single guy looks a little bit different you know what I mean it doesn't matter if you're the same height and weight or not everybody does it a

little bit differently well that's why any event that's judged is that's where I like I actually tend to like those more in a way because there's there is some gray area oh yeah like I know that makes kind of everybody uncomfortable because we love things to be clearcut and black and white but most of the beauty in life kind of lies in

the gray absolutely you know it's not about but somebody just thinking you look better when you do it yep I mean that's kind of the that's the beauty that's the poetic nature of it exactly and then like no different than there's times where you feel like you should have won and you didn't and then times when you won and you maybe knew

you shouldn't have you know what I mean it's like I mean it goes both ways so you got to take it when you can get it sucks when it doesn't go your way but like it's part of it and like that's I always think about you guys playing music and doing all these things I'm like they're all like the goal is the

same you know what I mean it's like sure there's different levels and I'm sure guys have different aspirations but it's like you're out there in a sense with the same fundamentals is you know there's a lot more music players than there are bearback Riders I can tell you that and you have your one unique sound the one unique way you play guitar

or write songs and it's like that's what makes you unique it's like your story is different than everybody's so it's just a matter of time before I don't feel people in Rodeo are uh talk a bunch about that like I don't hear a lot of people talk about that like lean into what makes you into your uniqueness you know I think I

find myself to be like a very visual person um I've always felt like things came maybe a little bit harder for me than like maybe other people whether you call that like a Talent thing or just like the way things come naturally like always use my little brother as an instance like he's the youngest and he's always been very talented at like

whatever he chooses to do like from the start you know it's like he understood it like right away and I always felt like I had to kind of work at things which he works his ass off but I always felt like I had to work at things like twice as much to just to get like it figured out you know what I

mean like it just didn't come natural to me whether like I get it anything out yeah it just didn't come natural and like whether you talk about playing football or roping or be back riding like it definitely took me maybe a little bit longer than most other kids but like I was just determined I was never going to quit until I figured

it out and developed a style and figured out a way to win in a sense so you know moving on to now where like I feel like I'm still young but you know I'm going into my fourth NFR I'm 25 years old um I feel like I'm stepping into my the first initial start of my Prime if you will yeah but it's

come from like a lot of visual representation of like the things that I want and the things that I want to accomplish and like what it's going to take to get there which for me is just a lot of hard work and it's like it no you don't have to be you don't have to work out every day to be a world

champion bearback Rider I can tell you that right now Keen Keenan Hayes he's a true Cowboy like he probably laugh at you if you try to give him you know your workout routine like he's just naturally strong you know he's in great shape he's just a cowboy like he just goes out there and does his deal and that's what works for him

but I know for a fact if I you know just cowboyed around and you know did a little bit of you know drank a little bit too much or didn't really eat right and showed up to the NFR freaking went on podcast smok cigar cigars hey cigars are good for you they're good for your mental health um but you know that for

me just I don't feel like I'm prepared and the only thing that I like to think of before I nod my head on a beback horse was the fact that I showed up I've been training all week I've rode this horse a bunch of times in my head like I'm physically prepared I'm mentally prepared everything's right my equipment feels good I've done

all the works now it's like now when I'm cracking my hand around I can shut my brain off and just let my body do what it knows how to do and hopefully have fun and not overthink it because you can't anything to me it's like when you get to that point you got to learn to just shut it off a little bit

right like all over overthink things you know do too much strain on my body ride that horse a million times in my head and then get there and I'm not thinking about what he's going to do or if he's going to do back flips or if he's going to go left like I mean it's like now it's time for me I know

I'm prepared and I'm here to win so like let's shut the brain off the and just now I can be a cowboy now I can just be a you know bear back Rider and not think about it as much well so is that a mental state that you had to train yourself for sure for sure cuz I used to you know I

wasn't sure what was enough you know am I working out enough am I you know am I doing things right you know am I in a sense living right like do I deserve to win like that's always the thing I hear people you know when they ask you in interviews after you won and you know people are kind of like real excited

and kind of dumbfounded and they're like oh my gosh you know I can't believe it and I've never wanted to be that way I've never wanted to have like have that star struck moment and like sure it's a grand moment winning first anywhere it doesn't matter where when you win first that's a good feeling that's what you went there to do but

it's like to me and like I said I don't I'm not a cocky guy I don't think I'm better than anybody but when I win it's like the first thing I want to say was I expected to win like I all the things you just said I expected because I know for a fact everything I was doing all week long to prepare

for this moment was spoton and I got here I had the goal in mind I've had the goal in mind now you know I was blessed with the right horses underneath me and the health to do it but that everything I did leading up to this point was supposed to happen because of the things I did leading up yeah if you don't

if you don't believe that you could do it then you might as well not be there to begin with OR it's just not going to happen very often you know and like that I wouldn't never want to just win something huge and just be like wow did I really do it like I really won first like you know just like your brain

can't compute how like sure you're excited or whatever but you're like and yes you have to be humble first and foremost I'm going to give thanks to God I would not be here and doing what I'm doing if it wasn't for him all the crazy things I've endured and injuries and everything it's like number one like you know open that book and

stay right with God the things Le even giving you the it's a blessing to even have the drive to want to do it yeah oh absolutely no just to have the mindset like and that's just what I you know obviously I'm going to do everything I can down here with my body and my mind to win but it's like you know I

definitely have gone In and Out Of Reach with like my relationship with Christ and I know whenever it's strong I nobody can beat me whenever my when I'm at my Peak mental capacity with being right with the Lord and just feeling His blessings being shower down upon me and the things that he works in my life that sometimes I for don't see

or forget about but then I and I sometimes have to backtrack to remember it's like holy smokes like he really this is he's been doing this all along you know well and sometimes the blessings aren't exactly what we uh had envisioned not at all no different than breaking my back but I don't people ask me about the back injury and I don't

uh complain about it or wish it wouldn't happen I'm like that was the best dang thing that ever happened to me that's great that's good to hear you say cuz typically people associate blessings with things that we just immediately assume are like quote unquote good no I'm bad you got to have the bad things roll in or the unfortunate things roll in

so you can learn and grow from that there's no growth from you know great things happening all the time sure we all have aspirations to have a great life and you know every day should be great and I mean I live that way every day is a just talking about being a parent and how you raise a kid like to raise a

good kid like there's got to be some adversity right yes to be able to build character and perseverance you got to give a kid something to persevere through so like why would God be any different you think he's just going to let us just roll through live nope if anything I think that's one of the greatest curses um is people that you

know everything just goes great for them all the time no adversity and I'm like do you sure that's God doing that for you right cuz it might teach you pretty bad habits and stuff I got a pretty good friend of mine that's you know he's been clean for a while um but he was pretty bad off into some into some stuff and

there was one day we were talking I think I've told this story before on the podcast and there was one day we were talking and he had said uh yeah the last time I got pulled over you know I had you know stuff in my console and I was drunk and you know by the grace of God you know that guy he

let me off he didn't take me to jail and I go well did you quit after that and he was like well no and I'm like so mean to tell me God made sure he didn't take you to jail so you could continue to do drugs and drink and he was like oh wow I've never thought of it I'm like you sure

that was God and not somebody else you know yeah cuz like that discipline and you know it's just like a like if he truly is your father or whatever not to get too religious but if he really is your father like you he's probably going to smack you around a little bit for sure no and I and I'm not that this is

a bad topic but I do I can derail a little bit when I'm talking about it and get real heated I'm you know like I said at the end of the day I'm a cowboy and maybe people look at me smoking this cigar right now and they're like oh I was saying not to be too religious I don't want to we you

I was just saying I can sometimes I get a little bit I will go into the if you want to go into it I will go into the freaking deepest darkest places and talk about religion it's fun I just hope you know which I know I'm not a hypocrite obviously I'm just like I said just a cowboy just like good things in

life but you can two guys can smoke a cigar and have a conversation about you know God and it's not a big deal yeah I think it'll okay the person that people get here or if they're around me or whatever they see it's the real thing yeah and that's I think that's all you can be I mean there's no there's no faking

it in this industry yeah like my church ain't I go to a little local church here and they're not getting something different when I go there exactly you know like is what it is yeah we're just people trying to figure it out so had you had you been I guess I mean I'd imagine just geographically you were raised in like a Christian

home sort of yeah no I was um I feel like I've had to um I've definitely developed my own relationship with Christ over the years I mean everybody's got to grow up obviously and you know some people you see as kids grow up in a house like that and kind of just you know different representation maybe they get a sour taste or

something and they don't pursue it but it's been I mean I'm sure everybody can relate to you know an uphill and downhill battle with trying to you know figure out what you're going to do or you know obviously devoting time to him but I think it's like the thing things he's done in my young adult life that were just you know there

was just no mistake about it's like and understanding and honestly I got to give credit to my wife who I got married uh in April and she oh it was just in April it was just in April yeah oh well congrats thank you and um you know and there's a reason why I married her CU she's been the one like I wasn't

necessarily distant with my relationship in Christ but like ever since we've been together like she's always kind of held me to standard and maybe not even maybe that's not even a good word like she's always just been real you know open and upfront about how you know with her relationship with Christ which is like she always is working on that and like

you know she's the type that she'll open her car door and she'll be blaring Christian music you know and it's like things that you know I didn't do or and it's like you know she keeps me in line and on track with that now you know now it's like a it's just like working out like I'm not going to go a morning

without you know reading a devotional or something out of my Bible or giving you know giving thanks mainly like that's I just I'm I feel like if you're a very thankful person then good things will come and Tre how quickly I can become unthankful oh so I mean I can it's absurd yeah in the day like even though like I said and

that's why you got to work at it every day because think about how many days on end you could go with just being sour and you know not take not accepting anything that is being put right in front of you but that's why I've learned you know it's like I mean yet yes I feel like I bust my ass to be successful

but if my relationship wasn't like it is right now with Christ I really don't feel like I'd be where I'm at even remotely close to where I'm at because he's the one that's just kind of paved the way for me and you know you got to got to give that guy props you got to give that guy props be thankful man there's

so many things to be thankful for that you don't even think about and that's a whole another rabbit hole but just be thankful for your overall life and the fact that you get to wake up and it doesn't matter how hard things are or not or if you if you're healthy and you know you got a good person to spend your life

with and you get to wake up in the morning and chase after something that you want you know what I mean it's like it don't matter how long it takes till you get it's like if you have the opportunity to like you said enjoy the process and go after it then like that's in its own I mean that's a perfect life right

there and then when you obtain it right like you were saying like when you do get what you want in life it's like that what that's not even the grandest part it's like looking back at like wow that took a lot of lot of everything I've never been proud of anything that was easy to do no it's there's no there is nothing

no meaning behind it maybe not no meaning but it's a lot more fun when there's like a lot tears and blood and hard work and yeah you know you were it was something you got to watch unfold over time you're like I'm going to get this I'm going to get this start and then it happens you're like I knew it was going

to happen I didn't know when you know maybe next year maybe in 10 but I'm going to keep chasing it till I get it no different than that gold buckle I told myself I was going to win one at my first NFR and I didn't and my second and I didn't in my third and I didn't and my fourth I have an

opportunity so I'm going to keep saying that I am until it happens yeah what you're uh second in the world third yep okay yep third in the world and climbing that's what I'm talking about dude yeah I'll be there the first I think week well we're going to have to meet up yeah I'm curious about the mental uh the mental part of

it seems like some of the old school dudes have some things to say about some new school guys where I can see a little bit of what they're saying where maybe sometimes like the workout regiment and all the extracurriculars that go along with like being a top tier athlete can sometimes almost Cloud you mentally where it's like dude you just got to

go out there and freaking I mean I'm saying this like it's so easy but I see what they're saying CU you got to do what works for you and it's like I think you know it's different for everybody trying to figure that out but like I said like what works for me you know probably ain't going to work for Kenan you know

and um there's guys that you feed off of and relate to and there's you know guys that want to do the same similar thing that you're doing and believe the way that you're doing things and you know and I think you know trying to if I'm going to say anything to like the Next Generation of guys it's like you know not that

I think everything that I do is perfect but it's like if I were to put on a rodeo school or whatever and it was only by me you know I would be telling them obviously I would just be showing them through proof like what I did to get to where I'm at and hopefully where I'm going to be but it's like you

know it's not that those other guys couldn't teach you about bearback riding or whatever but it's what works for them you know just might not work for you and that's it's taken me up until a year or two ago to really figure that out cuz you know and it might change on the given day and that's what's so cool about like Casey

field you know six-time world champion was he's you know he's always been a hard worker and mentally prepared but like what that guy I mean what worked for him it might change on a given day but he always knew exactly what it was going to take to win that day and it didn't matter if it meant training hard you know all week

for that one or two horses that he had drawn or you know or just spending time with his family and you know not really worrying about it and showing up to their odeio not even really knowing what horse or you know maybe knowing the name but he never looked into that horse or you know he didn't matter cuz he was like I'm

just going to you know that's what was going to work for him that day so it's like you take a little bit from guys like him and you take a little bit from guys like you know that are over here and it's like for me like I said it's not like I don't think that me training every day as hard as I

can is going to you know ultimately get me that gold buckle cuz like I said you don't need to be just in intense shape or certain body fat percentage to win a gold buckle or whatever but it's like for me I have to know going in that I trained in a sense harder than everybody like you know I feel like I'm faster

I feel like I'm stronger so but a lot of the words it's all a mental thing you're talking about when it comes down to it how I feel like so I feel stronger yes it's how I feel where like what's going through my mind before I crawl over that bucking horse it's like did I need to drink you know two beers a

couple hours ago to just chill myself out and do this or did I need to drink a gallon of water and go for a run that morning it's like whatever it takes to get that mindset where you're you feel like you're at home you're in your body you're seeing everything that's when I know when things are crystal clear I feel like that's

whenever I'm at my best and that's not getting too revved up that's not getting too nervous or like rried about the outcome or worried about who's there watching or how much is on the line it's like the higher the stakes the better it gets it's like and it's so cool when you can like take a deep breath and have like one of

the best horses in the world at probably a very high stakes event and be like running your hand in and for me like I always like to be as kind of as fast in the shoot as I can I've always like had that mentality like when you kind of go over the bar like turn the switch on get in get out like

show the judges that you're here to win get the buck and shoot get your [expletive] right and go you know what I mean like don't mess around in there so it's like and that also keeps you from thinking about anything but when you're at the NFR and you don't have that luxury the rule at the NFR is you've got to have your

hand run in your rigging before the horse but behind you leaves the arena or you get fined so because they it's a production they want you to be ready so when you're got your hand running and the fifth or 10th round you know in the in the TV pin and you've got you know this B ass horse that maybe you've had it

before maybe not you know pretty much all 15 of them you got a chance to be 90 and you got your hand cracked around and you're kind of looking out there in the yellow shoots and the yellow Arena and you're waiting all you're doing is waiting for that horse to leave the arena and you take like one big deep breath and you

can kind of take it all in and like just relax just for a second and just like understand like mentally where you're at and what you're about to do it's like the coolest feeling in the world cuz you're not just tapping your leg on the side of the buck and shoot just like come on come on come on is she out is

she out like can I go can I go can I go it's like nope take a deep breath like I'm you know fifth round 10th round the NFR like got whatever underneath me like I'm fixing you're in total control of your own mind I'm like I'm fixing to Spur this thing as hard as is there specific one or maybe a couple that

stand out in your mind where you were just mentally in total control regardless of the outcome where you just had that feeling yeah and I talked about this a little bit um not long after uh Joey Austin one we did a little podcast together um back in uh it had been yeah I guess beginning of March in 23 and this was right

after I won um uh San Antonio and I had gunfire and just kind of the way things leading up to this the way it happened I'm not going to say that I like dream dreamt of this but like i' never had gunfire before a frontier Rodeo company and they've you know she's world champion and guys that you know very rarely are they

even 90 it's usually 90 plus and uh that Short Round at Santa Tone's so cool because it's like there's not one in there that you don't want and the way they do the draft is um or they don't draw the Short Round they let you come up there and select your horse but the order is completely random so doesn't matter how much

money you had coming in or no average nothing it's like draft day is like completely randomized there's um there's 11 guys in the Short Round because they take one from the wild card and then there's 12 horses to pick from so even the last guy gets at least one to pick from and it's in the first two years of making the Short

Round at San Antonio back toback I got to pick dead last both times I got on the same horse both times and it went pretty good but I was always like man I can't wait to have like a you know top three or four pick you know at San Antonio and be able to go up there and pick Virgil or Nightcrawler or

gunfire Stevie Nicks you know one that's you're like hell yeah I got a chance to win first and I remember them going down the list and it was everybody kind of already has their number one pick in mind right and you know most of them are kind of the similar same horses but and I didn't know obviously I was like I'm just

going to wait till they kind of say my name and I'm going to go up there and um I ended up being fifth pick and for whatever the guys behind me just had their set horses that they wanted to pick and they had won the rodeo on gunfire the year before and like Virgil had gone Nightcrawler went Keenan picked Stevie um someone

went up there and picked topnotch I think of col pickets and then uh Lucia that year I'd come from the wild card and I heard Anthony Luccia come on the mic saying you know the guy that make come all the way from the Wild Card around I was like No And I remember just I was looking at the little tag that had

16 gunfire on it and I was just like no [expletive] I was like I'm fifth pick and I'm going to I'm going to get gunfire like the one they wanted on last like how is this still on here and as soon as I picked him I was just like no doubt about I before I knew the draw I was like I'm gonna

go last I'm G to win San Anton like I just was like in my mind like I'm going to be the last one to go I'm G to win sanone and I just started to thank that speak that sure enough they draw the order which isn't completely random but just due to deliveries and I ended up being 11th on the list so

I'm I know I'm going last I'm like that box is checked and I was like I'm just going to be completely I'm going to get ready do my normal routine and then when I get there I'm just going to be completely present and just make this happen and you know they're rolling me up from the back and I got you know a

couple of guys that are helping me pull and I'm making sure everything's good to go and I remember just being like this these moments don't happen like all the time and I was like and I said this too before but I was like it could may never happen again hopefully it does right like hopefully this these moments just keep coming and happening

but I was like you don't know how many you're going to get where you're at one of the biggest rodeos in the world and you're getting on one of the best bucking horses in the world and you got a chance to like do something spectacular like something great you know like be 95 points or whatever it is and I was like but

to do that like I've got to be just cool common collected and just expect it to happen and I remember running my hand in and gunfire is usually like pretty chill in the Bucking sheet like kind of just ready to go and uh for whatever reason like I was sliding up to nod and she gave this big climbed up out of the

buck and shoot and just had one little freak out I remember knowing that I was in the zone cuz whenever this was all happening like I remember just standing on the side of the slats like usually you know you kind of get into your hand or you know not freak out but you're just like try to make sure nothing happens and I

just remember just sitting there and I was like as soon as she goes back down I'm just going to slide up and Nod and as soon as she just like took her head off the shoot and her front feet at the ground I just cool C and collectively slid up and the only thing you're thinking of with gunfire is she going to

turn back to the right or is she going to turn back to the left cuz she always does one or the other and I was like I didn't really care but I was like if I had to prefer it she'd go to the left and the last two years she'd gone to the right and sure enough went out there hit twice right

in front of the buck and shoots and I just felt her getting her right her left lead and just come around to the left and I was like I'm going to owner right here and I remember just being clear through the ride after the whistle making sure I spurred two jumps after and I was just like no doubt in my mind I

was like I just wanted sand in tone you know and it was like oh yeah everything from nothing happened fast like I can replay every instance and I was like that's how I need to be from here on out you don't need to be slapping yourself in the face and you know just getting just motorized up and you know trying to be

like trying to turn your testosterone levels you know real high and just get you know some guys seem like they got to get in such a you know Zone to like do it you know like almost like you're going into a fist fight and it's like sure it's a tough physical event but like if you're just breathing and doing what you've been

doing interesting it's like it gets so much slower and easier and because your mind is you know it's there it's not like I'm going to Bear down as hard as I can and lift as hard as I can and just try to go fast and you know you get off and you're like maybe you made a good ride maybe what justed it's

like a blur yeah you're like I didn't even see a see a jump you know what I mean like it look I hope it looked good you know like I'm wondering what my score is but no it's like when you're just calm like and I think I take some of that from ring Cals where you're like you know high pressure situation Short

Round High call your calf is not yeah that's all finesse yeah if you're not if he's not wanting to stand in the in the rope and shoot and you're just having to sit there with your horse backed in the corner waiting for a good go and everything's you know you're trying try not to let all these things you know they're announcing you

can hear the announcer you know he's High Calling The Short Round he's got to be 8 n to win the ROP and you're waiting on your calf to stand up it's the same thing you can't just be like oh God like I hope I get a good go like I hope I get a good start I hope I don't break the barrier

like I hope I don't miss you know yeah because I mean you want to go far enough into that I mean you still have an animal between your legs or you're exactly catching all that energy or you're hyped up and your hores you know now he's not wanting to stand in there it's the same thing for a for a bucking horse you

know you got to be they feel your energy I 100% believe that they can feel a fly on their back so whatever you're putting in on that bucking shoot when you get in there and you're calm and you just pet them on the neck a couple times it's like it's all good let's they feel more yeah from your body than you know

about your own body you can tell the difference between someone who has a little bit of horsemanship in the Bron riding or beback riding events versus some that don't and it's like it definitely feeds in into those horses for sure yeah not to get to uh I don't know there was like a point in time where the horsemanship stuff started like from

like the pellis and like kind of that whole world of stuff where it start you know like people would kind of dog it because it was a little bit like I don't even know how to describe it like groundwork was a big thing and then you know you got like a lot of the schools that came out of it where it's like

got to use this certain type of little halter and all that kind of goofy stuff but there's a lot to be said about those things just being able to read your energy and just like how you freaking present yourself to them and like how like they can just I just firmly believe they can read all of it yes every last bit of

it and you can tell that from and I even though like I said I'm not a huge Sports guy I mean I watch sports but I'm not like you know religious about it or anything but like obviously watching like all the greats you know like whether it be Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant or Tom Brady any of those guys like the you

know the dogs it's like when you're watching them perform or compete it's like they all carry similar things you know what I mean it's like their mannerism they the way they speak you know they the way they look confident and fluent out there not they're not trying to make nothing happen they're just playing their game you know what I mean they just

they look cool common collected you know they're do you ever feel like sometimes when you're not cool common collected okay I feel like this at times where when I'm not cool common collected I have to kind of fake it to a certain degree to try to get my because you're not always going to mentally be in that spot sure there sometimes that

it's just it just not clicking yeah or tougher to get to for sure tougher to get to and so there's like little things where if I can just go through the motions enough to get into rep yeah right like and force myself to be calm cool and Collective because I've had times where people would be like man you just look like you're

just freaking you know you don't care about anything it's just effortless and I'm like dude I was freaking out on the inside you know what I mean and like you're kind of having to fake it to a certain degree to try to get yourself there and the outcome might have ended up being good but I guess that comes from repeti where you've

been there enough exactly or just the simple fact of telling whether you got to say it out loud or I'm big on saying things out loud um but like you know obviously if you're about to sit on stage in front of 5,000 people or something you know and it's like hey dude I'm fre I'm freaking out in front of 50 okay so

hey you're going to be selling out arenas for too long you know it's like no different you know than being in the 10th round the NFR and having the world champion bucking horse it's like there's a lot going on like all the eyes are on you and it's like you know that you've been playing your songs all week and you know that

you've been practicing all week and I've been working out all week and riding my spur board and it's like now and like your heart's beating if your heart ain't beaten then you probably shouldn't be doing it right like you can't be you can't walk in there like oh this shit's easy like I'm I just don't buy it no if your heart ain't

beating a little bit then you're like a psychopath yeah then that's just you can't tell me that even the great Mike Tyson any of those guys like going into a fight like especially being beted on to win or expecting to win like putting the pressure on the Casey fields or the you know whoever like it's like no like it does happen to

all of us like everybody gets a little bit anxious or nervous or excited like excited is a better word for me if I'm ever like a little bit you know up there I'm like boy I'm excited to be here like I'm just excited to be here and then when you sit down or when you crack your hand around in your rigging or

grab your guitar pick it's like deep breath dude that's a big one there's a practical side to it where it's I mean freaking breathing oxygen to the brain yeah let the blood flow and now it's like now I'm going to put on the best show whether it's for five people or 5,000 people or whether it's a 2,000 added Rodeo or $50,000 added

Rodeo it's like they all get the same treatment I'm going to do my job every time it's like this is what I came here to do so it's like put and sometimes you find yourself putting more pressure on your on your situation than there is just to make it fun you know what I mean like I said when you're playing around for

five of your buddies or you know pretend you're playing at the grand old opera you know whether dude I get more nervous with that right yeah dude I still do when I show people a song I get nervous that's practice pin stuff like I get I get more nervous to do good in a practice pin situation because there's no music there's only

usually just like usually the Buddies you're getting on with and like the pickup men you know and it's like you can literally hear everything like if you're blowing air out they can hear it if you're when you're setting your feet they can hear it's so different than a rodeo and it's like the pressure to do good and make things look right there's

no judges watching you can't just like be going down the wall and knowing they're not probably watching your left leg and you know not do as much with it or whatever it's like NOP practice pin like I need to Ace this thing and you got to man you got to like raise the stakes you got to somehow put yourself in that high

pressure situation this is the 10th round the NFR like this is a soldout Arena you know do you all ever gamble in the practice pen that's you know I've tried before I think you should man oh for sure put something on it every other sport it exists and we you know we usually only get on a you know I mean I can

say for myself anymore I used to get on like all the timer like as much as I could but now it's like we get on at the stay Smith Clinic over Thanksgiving weekend um usually we'll get on like whatever they're not taking the NFR for practice and it's pretty intense cuz it's usually like we'll do like eight from 8 to 12 we'll

do like fundamentals with the kids and or like the younger guys and put them on the spur board and make sure they're equipment's good and like some kids have never been on one some have only been on 15 or 20 some have been on 50 so it's like you just put in like you start your whole school and you're going through Basics

and then around lunch we break for lunch and we start to get ready to get on and then like all those kids get on top of the Bucking shoots to watch all the NFR guys get on so it's like you know not only do not only do you have all your buddies watching you're practicing for the NFR and now you got like

you know you know 14 to 18 year olds that are like got their phones out like they're ready to and I remember being the same kid like I was like ready to watch you know Richie Champion or tillen Hooper one of those guys tea off on one cuz I didn't know how to do that yet you know so it was like oh

man I'm going to watch this and then it fires those kids up to get on after then when we start rolling in like the younger horses and stuff isn't it weird to think that like some of those guys that you looked up to were thinking the same thing same thing yeah like they were kind of a little they were a little nervous

you know isn't that weird to think about it is because when you're on the other end of that you would never think tillen was like gave a [expletive] what you thought right but like deep down he did deep down yeah it's like it's like it's there you may never look like it's going to phase you at all and like in reality it

shouldn't you should look cool Comm and collected but it's like there's that little spark in your brain that's like I you need to perform now and it's like but that's what's cool about it is you take that pressure and you put yourself in those high pressure situations all week long and think about it and like that's where music plays into a big

role in my life is like I love to be on a run and listening to like sometimes just my music but like I've got a whole playlist that plays like a lot of the similar music that they play at the rodeos like a lot of the rock and roll music they play at the rodeos and what's funny is in my live set

like I play some like I play White Wedding like every Rodeo I've ever been to plays white wedding and when I play it at my show a lot of people are like oh my gosh I can't believe you played Billy Idol like who would have ever thought you play White Wedding and I'm like Rodeo I go to like just for that instance

I used so they used to always play White Wedding when they were running the flags um before the bearback riding at the Weatherford pro rodeo I specifically remember this like they don't do it anymore it's changed a lot but whenever I would go to the rodeo as a kid because that was like the one pro rodeo I would go to like my

hometown rodeo and they would do like all the stuff and then they've always bucked Bulls there that's what it is they always buck a first section of bulls then go to the steer wrestling and then in between events they have Flags okay so then the flag girls would come out and I remember them they every per they would play White Wedding like

the you know beginning of it and so like there was times like and I specifically remember in high school like when flipping through my music I had a different thing for different songs but like when white wedding would come on I would picture myself having like Scarlet's web of Peete cars at my hometown rodeo and they're playing they're running and I'm first

and they're playing you know white wedding running the flags and I'm crawling in the buck and shoot to get on Scarlet's web to you know at my hometown like I would just think about different scenarios constantly and I still do that like and especially when I'm running when I'm working out it's different you kind of got to like lock into something else

but when you're running and you know your Oxygen's flowing you got lots of blood flow and it's like you're playing that music in your head and you're picturing those and some of those things like maybe not to the tea have happened but like just const like my heart will start beating faster I'll look at my watch and I'm like I'm in the

zone right now like I'm literally putting myself on vir your mind's already been there my mind's there and then when I show up there I'm like dude I've literally dreamt this moment thought about this moment talked about this moment it's like this is so cool now I've got to take it in right because it's like I would hate to waste it by

being so damn nervous whether I did good or not when it's over I just don't remember the ride because that happens to a lot of us like a lot of guys say they just have they just don't remember any jumps like dude I don't okay so my worst or the amount of times that I've looked out like my van window at a

venue I've been sitting out there sound check you know when I look out there and I'm just like Lord please let there be humans here please let them show up please let some humans be here and then I look out that window and it's just dead oh and then I got to like I got to wait for like merch guy to come

open the band door and look at me like I'm like a battered little kid that's been abused and he's like it's not looking good I'm like don't cuz you don't have to have to do then you have to put your mind in that scenario you I know but here's the thing it's like those shows where I'm like gosh dang I mean I

still go out there and freaking do my thing and we have a great time but even if there's one person that is like turns into the biggest I love it like I'm still going to do my thing uh but even some of the shows where we just don't sound good and I'm like not doing very good I'm just not in like I

don't know I just know I'm just not in it or something I don't know like I'm just not doing that good not everybody but I remember like every moment of that right but then there will be ones where I'm like it happens I'm not that I'm not that worried about it and then I show up and it's like we sold it out

and I'm like holy cow and it's freaking incredible it was amazing and such a cool crowd and we sounded good and it was a blur that's the Flow State and that pisses me off I'm like why do I have to remember the ones that were a nightmare and then the other ones that are great I don't so maybe I need to do

a better job I don't know but I but that sounds really cool the way you're describing that you're able to like really take it in I struggle with that cuz when it's going good I'm like I go into like a let's freaking do this yeah it's a that's a it's a flow State that's not easy to find and comes and goes so

often it's like but that flow state that Triad state where everything is just fluently going your way whether it's you know selling out shows or you're just consecutively drawing good and it's like you're going through the same routine every time but you're just kicking ass and winning constantly you know it's like winning is easy it's it losing's hard you know winning is

so easy yeah but it's the losing that's tough and it's like you know you got to learn to let go of that and try to find that flow State again where everything's in Rhythm everything sounds good Everything feels good it's like you're just in a constant state of happiness and I'm here to win especially when you're in the depth of the you

know for us the summer whenever it's like you're getting on one every day in a different state usually you know Fourth of July rodeo and it's like you can't really that's when things go out the window like yeah you've been training but like we're not I can't get my cold plunge today I can't stretch today like we're we barely got any sleep

now we got to get on this airplane and we got to go like I'm stove up I'm stiff like dehydrated whatever all these problems inj I mean but when you're in that flow State and like you do all that but now you've transitioned your mind to like well at the end of the day I'm just a bear back Rider like I'm just

a cowboy like I wear this cowboy hat I'm tough as Nails I'm a be back rider that's who I am that's you know look at these guys that have been you know doing this way before the horses were as good as they are way before the equipment was as good as it is and they were just catboys you know what I mean

so it's like now I'm going to show up I'm I can call myself an athlete do all these things but now it's like get in that state of mind of like I'm going to rare back and be back like this is like I'm just getting on like I'm sore as [expletive] you know we're tired we're going but it's like best job you

know best job in the world best job TR trying to enjoy it more I've been talk there was there's a big crooper that I was talking to uh recently and he was talk we were just talking about the idea of keeping the love keeping the love for it mhm and some of the noise and then just the um you know he enjoys

the process but in some ways the process starts to overshadow like why the heck did I even pick up a rope to begin with yeah like what did I even love about this so trying to like find that little initial spark again what's your why yeah to a degree kind of and so we were and then there was so I had a

conversation with him but then I had the opportunity to go write um and spent some time with a big artist and you know he's in ways I can observe he's kind of in a golden cage type scenario where it's like you know you're sitting out there looking and all sorts like thousands and thousands of people and you're in a fancy bus and

all this kind of stuff but and he was talking about the idea of just getting together and just being able to jam like let's just jam out for a little bit cuz he's just you know you go to writing sessions and it all just becomes like part of this machine and it's like well but who are you like what do you want

to say like why did you even you originally started doing this because you just picked up a guitar in your room by yourself and you just wrote some things that made you feel a certain way so like getting back to that and then like the CF Ropers like he was talking about you know just going out and jamming he actually used the

words Jam which I loved and uh cuz I didn't tell him the story about the other guy and he was like man there was one day I just wanted to go out there and he goes you ever Jam Just Go with your buddies and just jam and I was like that's funny you say that those the best I told him that story

you know he's like man I went out the other day and I you know I you know I turn Loosey calf and I just track it no rope you know and I just go through the motions just think about it and uh and so it was just interesting the similarities between the two of those yeah it's so similar it's like getting back

to basics like why do you do it and it kind of clears your mind a little bit yeah and it's and it may be just having a beer with you know some old bearback riders that are retired and when you see the fire in their eye you know come back like with it just by sitting there having a conversation about your year

or whatever it's like man like this you know getting back to those real basic finer moments in life where you're like I'm so lucky to do this like and I'm so lucky to know that like even though times ticking and days are going by it's like I'm right I'm right here like I know what I'm doing I know you know things are

going to not always be this way hopefully obviously my the goal is to never you know always be pursuing a better life a better quality of life a positive life but it's like I won't ride beback horses forever you know what I mean so it's like if you learn now to take me too me too I don't want to do it whenever

I'm you know I give props to will low like he's still slamming bear backs he's 40 years old he's tougher than I've ever thought about being but you know I'm I this is all I want to do right now and um I have other aspirations in life and I'm I feel like I'm always going to be pushing to be successful at whatever

I do but it's like you know right now this is hands down and you know I don't want to basically be the guy that's like you know P Rodeo is kind of just pulling you out like it's like all right no more for you like you're getting old you're getting beat up like you know it's like I want to be able to

just yeah you want to you want to break up with Rodeo yeah I just want to conquer my goals and I there's no way it's going to be regardless of how you leave Rodeo there's nothing that's going to be easy about it whether you've accomplished all your goals or not but it's like to be you know to wake up and almost in

a sense like no different than like when I'm you know praying to God and being thankful I'm like Lord thank you that I'm 25 years old and I feel good and I'm you know I'm doing exactly what I want to be doing in life and you know I don't know what the future holds but today I get to train today I get

to choose to you know eat good foods and you know talk to positive people and no different than like get all my [expletive] done this morning and then we get to have this good podcast and talk about good things it's like just keep life moving in a positive rotation and but like taking it all in taking in all the good times but

busting your ass you know what I mean don't get left behind but it's like take it all in understand that what you're doing is pretty damn cool and hopefully even if you're not in a space where you know you're not there yet where you're doing what you're doing if you're pushing and pursuing what you want to be doing every day then that's

the process and that's what you got to fall in love with the determined mind the dedication all the hard stuff it's like that's what you got to learn to enjoy or else life's going to be pretty hard no kidding yeah I've always taken the route it's not really a matter of what I do it's just how I do it want to focus

on how I do it 100% And The what can kind of change here and there's a lot of different stuff I'm into but if I treat people right um yeah I had somebody the other day tell I asked I asked them like what their goals were and they said uh I want to treat people better than I do today yeah and like

I want to like I want to be a better per and it was it was it was striking cuz typically when you ask people like where do you see yourself in fight like goals thing it's like really tangible bigger house whatever yeah I know and it was very like I want to have a better relationship with my freaking wife and like treat

my parents better things that matter yeah it was weird but it was it was it was humbling because it was so striking to me where was like D I would not have answered that question that way well in this and I don't mean to go back to any other podcast this has been a pretty damn fun one probably the funnest one um

but I did one with um ton Ridge is coming out with a few podcasts I with t Ty Harris and Cole and um that's something that I've and I've said this quite a few times before um but they asked me it's kind of the same question like what my goals are what I would like to be remembered as type deal um you

know of course like of course I want to be a world champion of course I want to make the nrx amount of times and do all these things like of course I got it written down like I'm going to do it but at the very end of the day you know this comes from one of my biggest role models that I've actually

never had the pleasure of meeting and um but that would be case 's dad Louis field uh who passed away from cancer back in 2016 I believe but um growing up always knowing who he was and obviously learning so much more about him as I got to be close friends with like guys like Casey and Tien that were around him a lot

and some older Bay rack Riders you know Louis's kind of motto was like he's like I just you know whenever I go I just want people to think that I was a good man and a great Cowboy or a good cowboy and a great man he's like nothing else really ever mattered to me other than that like whenever you're put in that

pine box it's like what do you really want to be remembered as cuz I know there's some world champions that you know people might not even show up so it's like you know who you are at the end of the day like I said live in the cowboy code you don't have to be a cowboy to do that you can be a

regular person you don't even need a cowboy hat if you want to live the cowboy code and just treat people well and you know everything that comes your way you know you have to know that was blessings from God and who you are as a person is whether you're able to receive those things or not and I truly believe that so it's

like at the end of the day if I accomplish all my goals great if not if I can if I can go down as a as a great man and a good cowboy you know and all my friends can say that and have a have a beer around my casket saying that I don't care if I win the world 10 times over

make the NFR 100 times over it's like that's that at the end of the day that's all I could ask for I can get down with that dude yeah 100% that's where we end it cheers to that cheers to that absolutely dude thanks for doing it thanks for having resist all was the one I put out music video and Tim Ensley he

shot a bunch of footage for years for Resistol and uh they were kind enough to let us use a bunch of footage so we made the music video and that's where wild horse films he's good [expletive] yeah so you're in my music video I don't even know if you know that oh no I did yeah I was going to I'm driving here

I was like cuz Tim sent me that and I watched it over and uh I don't think I had your number at the time but I was like that's pretty damn cool so I was like yeah I'm big fan of your music obviously oh yeah that's not why I was I was for resist all yeah well that resist all hats that's all

I wear and um but no cheers with that and man I think you're going to go on to do great things and hopefully we'll just be uh both jamming at the NFR one day we're going to jam at the N I'm going to have you up there with me at sometime that'd be pretty cool I can play a little acoustic can you

really yeah uhoh not great but I mean I got four cords in me for sure it's Che Cheers see y'all [Music] sing theet [Music]