I’ve got some good horses lined up for the Fourth (of July, the series of lucrative rodeos referred to as Cowboy Christmas). I’ve got (Stace Smith Pro Rodeo’s) R.D. Mercer in Springdale (Ark.), and I’ve got a good horse in Prescott (Ariz.).
I’m just looking for good things.
The Fourth is seven days of non-stop going. When it’s over, you’re ready for a long nap. We’ll go hard, that’s for sure. We left a car in Albuquerque (N.M.) the other day to fly to Reno. I just kept my ears open for things, and I found a guy who picked up our car in Albuquerque and drove it to Denver.
We’ll start in Prescott, then we’ll drive to Phoenix and fly back to Tulsa so we can work Springdale. I’m actually flying into Bentonville (Ark.), and my buddy Eric Norris is picking me up in Bentonville. I’ll work Springdale, then I’ll hook back up with Justin McDaniel and drive back to Tulsa so we can fly do Denver to work Greeley (Colo).
We’ll drive to Oakley, Utah, which is basically Salt Lake City; that next day, we’re in Cody, Wyo. The on (July) 3rd, we’ve got Red Lodge and Livingston (Mont.) on the same day. That night we have an all-nighter to make St. Paul and Molalla (Ore.) the last day. If a guy ends up getting two really good ones, he may have to charter a plane to make sure he gets to them all.
Last year, I got to Oregon and I hadn’t won a lick. I was walking around with my bottom lip stick out feeling sorry for myself, and I ended up winning Molalla and St. Paul. Winning those two rodeos on the Fourth made for having a good week after all.
How you make the Fourth work is you fly a lot, you drive a lot and you rub two nickels together and hope by the end of the week they turn into $100 bills.