Old Friends, New Goals

I had an incredible weekend.  It started with a nice evening roping the sled with my roommate.  I finally got my 4-wheeler home and it is running like a top.  Roping the sled was exactly the kind of practice that Solo and I needed!  I got him rating off and really setting up before cranking off to the left.  I think a few days of sled work a week will be great for him and for me as well.  I got a call on Friday night from my friend, Jay.  Jay and I have known each other for probably 12 years or so.  I met him when I first started roping.  He was friends with my dad.  I’ll never forget meeting him.  He was this weird, wild guy with a thick Texas accent and he always wore a visor instead of a ball cap or a cowboy hat, shorts, and flip flops.  I was about 14 years old, I guess, when he first asked me to rope in Taylorsville on the 4^th of July.  I asked my dad if it was ok and he told me the guy was a stick and I should definitely rope with him.  I went out and stuck 3 good ones for him and he was the first guy I ever won a check with.  Thanks to him, I cleared my fees and brought home some money for the first time in my life. 

Me and Jay....doing what we do!

From then on out, he and I roped at every jackpot.  We also grew fairly close as friends.  Although he is 24 years older than I am, I was always a wild child and he was part of the wild crew that I ran with.  I’ll never forget one year there in Taylorsville.  I was a sophomore in college and my wild streak was a mile long.  We had finished up roping and all decided to go to the bar up at Lake Almanor.  The majority of the people going up there were much older than me, but I never had any problems getting snuck into the bar.  Once we got inside, we had ourselves one hell of a time.  We danced and drank and I was the best wing-woman a guy could ask for!  At one point I had gone into the bathroom and there was a girl in there trying to cause some trouble with me.  Keep in mind that back when I was younger, I was feisty as hell.  I had a hard time backing down from a fight.  As we were leaving the bar, that same girl followed me out, still trying to cause trouble.  I suppose she was just jealous because I was cute and young and running around with a huge group of cowboys.  Girls tend to see girls like me and automatically assume that I am promiscuous because I am the only girl with a big group of guys, but the fact of the matter was, I was just the little sister.  I was that cool, fun girl that they liked having around because I was never chasing them.  I was there only for their friendship.  Well, as we were getting into the truck, I had just about enough of that girl’s mouth.  I hollered at her that if she was looking for a fight, to come on with it.  I was already in the pickup with the window down by the time she got to me.  My friend, Cody was driving and my dad’s old buddy Ty was in the back seat with me.  Jay was in the front seat and our friend John was trying to drag our other buddy Larry out of the bar.  The girl started running towards the pickup, bound and determined to pull me out and whoop me.  I reached down to the floorboard of the pickup and grabbed a loose spur that was sitting there.  I had every intention of hitting her with it as soon as she got within my reach.  Ty saw what was happening and grabbed my arms.  He was pretty drunk and he kept saying, “Lacey, no fighting.  Your dad is going to be so mad at me if you go to jail!”  I’m sure he thought he was doing me a favor by keeping me from hitting her, however, by holding my arms behind my back he pretty much turned me into a human punching bag.  As she reached into the pickup to swing at me, I heard Jay yell, “Sick that bitch, Lace!”  I did the only thing I could…I reared back and booted her one in the face.  And that was the end of that.  We all piled in the truck and squealed out of the parking lot and back to the campgrounds. 

Jay and I have had a lot of moments like that, but that is probably one of his favorite “Lacey” stories and he proceeds to tell it to every new person he introduces me to.  We’ve known each other so long that I even lived with him and one of his girlfriends for a little while.  When my dad passed away, he was there for me.  When I had boyfriend troubles, he was there for me.  When I moved out here and didn’t know a soul, although we have only seen each other twice since I’ve lived here, emotionally, he was there for me.  So when he called and said he was going to be roping the World Series only 45 minutes from my house, I knew where I was going to be spending my weekend.  I packed up the puppies that I had left to sell and headed for Hamilton.  It was so good just to see him!  I felt like I was at home and I haven’t felt that way since the last time I saw him which was clear back in April.  He asked me to go to a friend’s wedding with him.  I was supposed to help him woo the ladies and he was supposed to be my wing-man.  Well, it didn’t quite work out as planned because everyone thought I was a gold-digger and that he was a dirty old man.  Lesson learned! 

"Bam I'm White"

It never fails that when we hang out, people automatically think that there is something going on with us.  It’s truly sad that in this day and age, people can’t understand that there can be simply friendship between a man and a woman.  After hanging out with him a while, we talked about me riding his head horse and roping for him in the #9 roping.  The World Series team ropings are outstanding.  They pay like a slot machine.  It’ll cost you $300 a team, but the payout on a roping with 400 teams is over $10,000 a man.  To climb on a horse I had never roped on and rope in that roping was a huge gamble, but I knew that I had just as much ability to win as anyone there.  I showed up the next day with my game face on.  I haven’t competed in a jackpot in almost two years now.  Life’s little circumstances and my own negative attitude kept me locked down in the practice pen.  I’m not going to sit here and tell you I wasn’t nervous as hell.  I was team number 77 and when they announced the #9 roping was starting, I felt my adrenaline starting to spike.  By the time they got to team 50, I started feeling like my heart was going to beat out of my chest.  I can’t tell you why I was so nervous.  I’ve been to huge ropings, made it to the high teams, and still didn’t get nervous.  I guess it was just the fact that I’ve been out of it for so long. 

Jay had me all fired up.  He had blown my mind with all this information on how his horse would break, how he stood in the box, how hard he could run to cattle, how he handled cattle, how he faced…it was a lot to take in.  They called our number and I rode into the box.  I heard Jay tell me to back him all the way into the corner and I did as he said.  Not knowing how hard the horse would break and not wanting to be thrown out of position, I did something that I never do…I tucked my rope up under my arm and grabbed to horn for stability.  I called for my steer and held my horse in the box so that I wouldn’t break the barrier.  I got out perfect and was surprised at how smooth the horse broke.  My arm went up and I started to swing.  As we took off down the arena, I realized that there was one thing I overlooked about this horse.  Jay rodeos on him.  That means that he is going to run a little wider than what I’m used to.  I reached out and roped my steer, but I was roping with a brand new rope from a little different position than I’m used to.  When I dallied and went left, I still had a lot of action in my slack and I ended up waving it off.  It was a bummer.  I wanted to turn a few good ones for Jay and take home that big paycheck , but it just wasn’t in the cards. 

Although the fees were pricey, I wasn’t sorry that I spent the money.  It has been two years since I have roped in a jackpot.  That was exactly the fire that I needed under my ass to get out there and start competing again. It was exactly what I needed to rid myself of that negativity that I wasn’t ready. We tend to hold ourselves back because we are afraid of looking foolish.  It’s a ridiculous feeling really.  I have been holding back because I am afraid that I haven’t practiced enough.  I might go out and throw a stupid loop and look like a total amateur.  But the harsh realization is that EVERYONE misses from time to time.  Watch the NRF sometime and you’ll see that even the best in the business miss!  You never know how successful you’ll be until you get out there and give it your all.  Just entering that roping and backing in the box gave me the confidence I needed to go out and start actually competing again.  I have slowly but surely gained confidence to pick up a rope and start training my horse.  I now have that confidence to actually go and enter so that I can start competing and winning.  The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.  I haven’t felt this much like myself in such a long time and that confidence is spilling out into all aspects of my life. My self-confidence has gone up significantly.  When I first moved out here, I was one old lady amongst a bunch of college kids.  But the harsh realization is that maybe I have a lot more in common with them than I thought.  The majority of the people here in Texas who are my age are married and settled down with children.  I think that is great that these people are able to settle down and make a life with someone else.  However, it’s not for everyone!

I’m not going to sit here and say that I don’t want to meet that on person that I can spend a lifetime of happiness with, because I do!  But it is more apparent to me now more than ever that I am not satisfied with settling down right now.  So, if that means that the majority of my friends are college kids, then so be it.  I used to think maybe that made me seem immature.  But now that I look at it from a new perspective, I’m not immature.  I have a lot going for me.  I just don’t believe in settling for the sake of not being lonely.  Someday, I’ll meet someone who is going to look at me and say, “That’s my girl.  She may be a little wild and crazy, but I love her for it.  She is hard-working and honest…she doesn’t need a man to take care of her!  She may not NEED me but she WANTS me and that is what makes us special.”  Maybe that is a lot to ask for…I don’t know.  But just to have someone by my side who is proud of me, supportive, and has no intention of changing me is my ultimate goal. 

This blog post today has been a series of scattered thoughts, so I apologize for that.  I have written it over the course of 3 days as I have been super busy with several different projects.  I would like to confirm that I did get an offer for the job that I was wanting.  I will have to take a minor hiatus from training on my horse for a couple weeks as I will be traveling for my new job training.  But rest assured, I believe that this new career is going to open up many possibilities for my future.  I see myself roping a lot more and for the first time in a long time, I see some stability in my future.  Maybe my nomad spirit will be quieted…at least for a while!  Thank you all, as always, for your constant love and support!  I have received many emails and messages from folks saying that I am motivating them to get back in that saddle and ride and that you are all enjoying reading about my life and experiences.  I guess I’m not as boring as I thought!  Much love and blessings to all of my readers!  I’d like to end today with something that I read recently that has been driving me every single day.  Since I found it, I read it daily and it brings me so much comfort.  “I DECLARE that God has a great plan for my life.  He is directing my steps.  And even though I may not always understand how, I know my situation is not a surprise to God.  He will work out every detail to my advantage.  In His perfect timing, everything will turn out right.  This is my declaration!”