Keep It Simple: The Heeler’s Job Is to Catch Two Feet

Keep It Simple

I feel like a heeler’s got one job, and that’s to catch all the time. I know that sounds silly, but I like to keep it simple. It’s not rocket science. You can try to reinvent the wheel, but I don’t think you can.

Don’t Change a Whole Lot

Horses tend to get a little quicker if you’ve been rodeoing on them, and a six-head jackpot and fresh steers make conditions a bit more difficult than if you’re at home jackpotting in the winter.

But for me, I don’t try to change a whole lot. You just rope the roping. As a heeler, I don’t feel like you can control much—you just react to what’s going on.

Do Your Job

The header has so much control of everything, whether you’re rodeoing or jackpotting. With fresh steers, I think it’s all up to the header in a sense. If he does a good job, he’s helping the heeler catch. But you’ve still got to do the same thing and do your job and catch two feet.

The Turn Is Important

I try to ride the line of letting the steer start through the turn where I’m not running them over, but at the same time, I’m not being late. I want to let the steer leave when he starts through the turn, but I don’t want to be passing up throws when I could have been throwing, either. I just try to ride the line between being conservative and aggressive.

Make It Repeatable

That’s the tricky part about heeling—doing it on a consistent basis. I think you’ve just got to do your thing and just make it repeatable and just do it over and over.

—TRJ—