Cowboy Code, What is yours?

     The Sun is setting to the west in Oklahoma sky in late September, the clouds are red and orange. Cowboys and Cowgirls are saddling horses to get ready for the evenings performance. Fans have come from all around to see this crazy thing they call rodeo. The season is coming to an end, some lay everything on the line to make it to the big dance in Vegas. Others are there to get closer to the Gold Buckle.

     This weekend I will celebrate my two year old birthday, that is of becoming a bull dogger. I remember it as if it was yesterday. Nothing like jumping a steer for the first time. Now two years later I love it more than ever, but I sometimes wonder what if. What if I can never jump another steer, what if I never win another rodeo, what if I never make it to the NFR, what if I never win a Gold Buckle, What if..... Its the what if in our lives that hold us back from dreams sometimes. It has been a very hard semester for me at college, I haven`t be able to rodeo at all, my horses haven`t been healthy for part of it. I wonder what is my next step in rodeo sometimes, will I ever get to back in the box at the Thomas & Mack? I believe that it is ever Cowboys dream to make it to the big show. Few will make it to the big dance however. There are 300 Steer Wrestlers, that compete enough in the PRCA in order to make it to the NFR. Only 15 go, that means that in ever 100, 5 will go. That means that you have to out haul, win, practice, workout, and so much more. Than the other 95% of your hundred. Sound easy enough right? I`ll let you know when I make the finals.

     If you haven`t ever heard of www.iamsecond.com then you really need to go look at it. Men and women that have made a difference in America tell their stories. Guys like Trevor Brazile, Stephen Baldwin, Mike Huckabee, Toney Dungy, and others share their stories. I would say that I mostly relate to Trevor Brazile`s video, being a cowboy and all. Trevor talks about the "Cowboy Code and the Cowboy Way" in his video, a code that I can Completely relate with. Cowboys are just not another group of before we live to be a Cowboy day in and day out. We respect ourselves, others, and our competitors. It is not just a sport or a job it is a way of life.

     I have played alot of different sports in my life from basketball to football and everything in between. I believe that rodeo is the only sport that competitors cheer on each other. Rodeo is also the only sport that all the competitors are just one big happy family. I remember my first rodeo season realizing that every body cares about how you do and will do anything in the world to help you. I was shocked to find that an even closer family is the bulldoggers. I didn`t start doggin till half way through my junior year and every body was there to help. If it was helping me with my run to make myself better, or a horse to ride. I was reminded of that close family when I got to college I got phone calls from buddies back in Florida. They told me that I needed to come to the Perry, Georgia for the Southeastern Showdown, because nobody could fill my goofy boots!!! The "Cowboy Code" is even more important to bulldoggers.

                           Dad and I at my first State Finals. You rock Dad.

   So on Thanksgiving I thought to myself and Thanked God not just for a loving and Godly family, but also for being a Cowboy and living by HIS word and the "Cowboy Code."

Check out Trevor Brazile`s Video: http://iamsecond.com/#/seconds/Trevor_Brazile/