Goal Setting

by Shawnee Sagers

What is a Goal?
You set a Goal whenever you say, "I want to..." Your Goal might be that you want to get a pet dog. Or that you want to learn to dance - or to play football well. Or your goal might be to get better grades at school.

For example, I set a goal to become the National Little Britches Rodeo Association Princess.

Why are Goals important?
When you have a Goal, it gives you something to look forward to. Goals are kind of like a ladder. We start at the bottom of the ladder and with each step we take to reach our goal we climb the ladder until we are at the top achieving our goal.

When is a Goal a good Goal?
It's always good to have a wish. But, in order to make a wish become a goal you have to work at it. Here is a list of four things that make a good Goal:

1) A good Goal says EXACTLY what you want.
For example, when I set my goal to become the NLBRA Princess, I didn’t just say “I want to be a princess.” Instead, I said “I want to become the 2008 National Little Britches Rodeo Association Princess.” Once I had the goal imagined exactly as I wanted to achieve it I wrote it down. You can choose any goal you want for yourself, but remember, in order to really have a goal you must write it down!

2) A good Goal says WHEN you want it.
When I decided what I wanted my goal to be then I had to set a target date for when I wanted to achieve the goal. I had it really easy because the date was set for me because it was a competition. You may have a goal to get better grades in school, so you may have a certain time you MUST have it done. But, you may set a goal that doesn’t have a certain time for completion. If this is the case you need to set your own time.

3) A good Goal is when you believe it.
In order to reach a goal, you must really believe that you can achieve the goal. For example if you say ”I want to play in the NBA next year.” that isn’t a real goal. However, if you say “I want to play in the NBA when I am 20 years old.” That is a goal that could happen. For me, I have a future goal of becoming Miss Rodeo America by the time I am 24. I knew that I could not set this as a goal for right now, but becoming the NLBRA Princess is a smaller goal that I could achieve right now, and it also helps me get closer to my future goal. If you believe it you can do it.

4) A good Goal says HOW you're going to get it.
In order to reach a goal, you have to list the steps it will take to do that. For me I knew that I had to practice all of the parts of my contest. I wrote down things such as when and what to practice, I set a daily schedule for myself, I made up and took practice tests, I had to practice riding my horse each day. No matter what your goal is you need to write down and then follow the steps that you must take to reach the goal.

5) A good Goal has an ENDING
You will know when you have reached your goal because certain things happened. I knew that I had reached my goal when I had completed my contest and had been announced the 2008 NLBRA Princess.

6) A good Goal will keep you motivated
In order to reach a goal, you must really want to do it. I suggest writing things down that will help keep you motivated. If the goal is worth achieving, it will be very hard at times. Good goals require work. Sometimes you can become discourages. By writing down some reasons why you want to keep working on your goal you will be more likely to stick to it. I stayed motivated even during the HARD hours and hours of practices because I knew how exciting it would be to win the saddle and wear the crown. I keep a picture of the 2007 Miss Rodeo America as the wallpaper on my phone also, because looking at her helps to remind me of my goal.

Sometimes we don’t achieve our goals the first time. Does this mean that we have failed? Absolutely not, Thomas Edison failed many times before he successfully made a light bulb. Can you imagine if he had given up on his first failed try? Luckily for us he kept trying. I too, failed my first try. I set a goal to be the 2007 Princess and was awarded the 1st attendant. This didn’t stop me from trying again, in fact, it made me try harder to achieve my goal the next year.

I truly believe that each one of you has the ability to do or become whatever you want to, But, life will pass you by and your wishes will just be wishes if you don’t set goals and stick to them.

Out Of My Comfort Zone

By Shauna Winters

I am a talker. I love people. I love crowds. I didn’t necessarily like being in front of people, but it also didn’t cripple me.

I signed my kids up for some rodeos here in Nephi, our home town. My kids were just beginning to ride, so I thought being in front of an audience would be good for them. The first year, I got to go and just sit and watch my kids. When they were done, I got to go home. It was nice, but I am a person who likes to help.

I volunteered to do a snack shack for the Junior High State Qualifier the following year (what was I thinking?). I figured it was a good thing because it helped our association. I also felt like I was contributing to the association in a positive way. I then became the snack shack lady.

Then one day, I was hanging around the office before the rodeo started. Chad (who had been my 5th grade teacher) had been announcing all of the rodeos. He must have told them at some time that it would be nice if someone could come up occasionally and give him a little break. He said, “Shauna could do it”.

First I thought he was joking. Although I like to talk, I was PETRIFIED of the microphone. But because I have a problem with the word “No”, I said “Sure”. So that first rodeo he calls me up to the announcer’s stand. I take the microphone, and I am shaking like a leaf. I start calling out names. As if the microphone wasn’t bad enough, I couldn’t pronounce half of the names. But that wasn’t the worst part. I could hear myself echoing behind me, so I would start to talk and then wait until I heard it over the speakers before continuing.

If you were in attendance at that rodeo, I am apologizing now. My brother called me just to tell me I sounded horrible. My own MOTHER called me to tell me it was terrible and laugh her butt off at me. My friend called me to tell me it was “pretty bad”. Well thanks for all the votes of confidence folks.

I got through that first rodeo though, but apparently someone was either deaf or had a lot of faith, because I am still announcing rodeos. I love it. I love to watch the kids compete. I love it more to see their faces when they are winning. But most of all, I am thankful for all of the people it has brought into my life. I have made some amazing friends and I have witnessed some amazing growth, not only in my own kids, but everyone else’s as well.

Focusing on Personal Best

by Lori Pierce

I have been struggling with my kids always worrying about winning and being the best. Also them having all the best horses and equipment that goes along with rodeos. It is no different than when a kid comes home and wants a certain pair of designer pants because every popular child has them or when your child comes home and wants to cut their hair like their friends hair.

In rodeo, it can be a lot the same. The kids want the best barrel horse because one of their friends/competitors just got a new horse. Or they want a living quarters trailer because everyone else has one. Well we can not afford all of the latest trends. But as a mom I want my kids to have the best and feel that they fit in and are a part of the in crowd. However, that does not have to be the case in rodeo.

In our family, we focus on the best that we are as individuals and the best that we have as a family. As well as focusing on doing better each time we compete. My rewards system is not focused around if they win or not but if they try hard and did better than they did the time before. I have found that in doing this my kids have actually started to win even though they do not have the most expensive horses or the most expensive equipment. They are learning to be proud of themselves because they are doing better each time than the time before. They are becoming much better cowgirls and they actually are doing their share of placing in the top.

I also have found that by slowly improving with what they have to work with they have learned that their own level of improvement has grown. They slowly have become better and better and it has made them much more confident in their abilities and the abilities of their horses to actually compete against the kids they thought they would never be able to compete against. This is something that has really worked with my oldest daughter and I can see it working slowly with my youngest as well. I know that if I had the money I probably would have went out and purchased a better horse and a better trailer and all of that stuff. However, I am glad in some ways that we were not able to do that because I really feel it has made my girls a lot better cowgirls.

So You Want To Be A Rodeo Queen(Part1)

By Kendra Sagers

Nearly every little cowgirl wants to grow up to become a rodeo queen. I was no different, and for that matter neither is my daughter. The world of rodeo queening, and it is a whole new world, is an exciting one. Glitz, glamour, and all eyes on you in the arena or on stage. Who could blame a little girl for having a dream like this? Certainly not me. Dreams are great, but what do you do when your aspiring rodeo queen wants to put her dreams in to action. Just the thought can leave many rodeo moms running scared. I know, remember I am one. So many questions come to mind. How do we get started? Where do we find contests? How do we know which contests to enter? How do we prepare? And, probably the scariest question of all, how are we going to afford it? Don’t worry; there are answers to all of these questions and more. In fact, you can compete in MAJOR rodeo queen contests and, if you are creative, you don’t even have to sell major body organs on eBay to do it. While each of these topics could, and soon will likely be, a topic in and of themselves let me start by giving a short version here.

The first step is to take it one step at a time. First, how old is your daughter? Your daughter’s age may determine what contests are available to for her to compete in. If your daughter is very young, let’s say under 9 or 10, I would start by looking at local and 4-H type contests. Many of these are horsemanship only contests. Your daughter is already interested in horses and if you are a rodeo mom she probably already has a horse so the battle is nearly over. In fact, no matter the age of your daughter I recommend that you find one of these low key kinds of contests to begin with any way. This way you will be able to get a better feel if your daughter really wants to be a rodeo queen or just likes the idea of it all. Also, it is important to keep in mind that being a rodeo queen at any level is a lot of hard work. So make sure you have this conversation from the start.

One of the best places to find contests to try out in is to talk to other rodeo queens. Don’t be afraid to walk up to any current queen and ask for information. They had better be friendly and willing to help, after all that is their job. There is no better place to get information than from the people who are doing what you want to do.

Once you have decided on a contest to enter, I suggest you contact the coordinator and get the rules as early as possible. The more time you have to prepare, the less stress you will be under. You can not fully prepare until you know what you are preparing for. Once you have the rules, simply follow them. Don’t try to tweak or stretch them, just follow them.

One of the best ways to learn what to prepare for is to attend a contest and watch. Go in to the contest with an open mind, even if you know one of the girls trying out. Watch and see what catches your eye. What looks right? What looks wrong? What stands out good or bad? And then, did your opinion agree with the judges? If so, you are probably on the right track. If not, you may want to talk to the judges and see if they can tell you what they saw that you didn’t. (Talking to the judges may also be a good place to find help for your daughter.)

Getting Kids to Practice Part 2

Practice can be either a fight or a joy. I personally would like it to be joyful. Like I have said in an earlier post, it is hard to get my kids out to practice. There is always something “better” or more “fun” to do. I think that if the farm/arena where we keep our horses were in our backyard it wouldn’t be as hard, but you use and do what you can. Anyway...I have learned in the past that if I have to fight with them to get them to practice that it just isn’t fun anymore and I hate it as much as they do. So I have come up with some things that I do to make it fun for them instead of work.

1. I let them know in advance (way in advance) that we will be leaving for the farm at a certain time. I try to make it a time that doesn’t interfere with what they have planned. We usually go out to ride at 5:00 p.m. in the summer.

2. I invite their friends to practice with us. This is the BIGGEST and easiest way to get them to come out and ride. If their friends are there, they want to socialize. They will want to ride. It turns into a fun time for all. Even if they don’t “practice perfect” they are having a fun time doing what they do.

3. The last thing that I have found to be successful is to have some type of reward system. If they practice good and don’t argue for X number of days they get something (candy bar, soda, movie rental, etc.)

These are ideas that work for me and my kids, hopefully they or some version of it works for you.

Getting Kids to Practice Part 1

by Edna Hancock

My kids are an interesting bunch. They are all very talented but most of them are also very lazy. I really have a hard time motivating them to practice consistently. Sure most of them will practice real hard if a big rodeo or finals is coming up. I just don’t think that works really well as opposed to a consistent practice all week/month/year long.

Shane my 13 yr old is the easiest to get to practice and it is much easier to motivate then the others. It may be that he really LOVES rodeo. We have always said that he was born 100 years too late. Anyway with Shane (and all the kids really) we have a practice grid that includes all of his rodeo events broken down into areas and the horses that he rides in each one. It also includes each day of the month and rodeos that are coming up. Since he participates in 3 different rodeo associations, he has a lot of different events that he does. If you can see the upcoming rodeo and know what events are coming up, he can then practice for those events harder.

Here is an example of what I mean. Calf roping could be broken down into the following areas:
1. Rope the sparky (we have a Sparky tie down machine that I pull behind our 4 wheeler)
2. Rope calves
3. Tie the sparky
4. Tie the calves
5. Run down rope and throw the calves
6. Getting off the horse
7. Score calves
8. Ground rope
9. Work the barrier
10. Ride (Since he rides our horse Holly in these events the exercise of the horse, ride and lunge would also be included in that event)
11. Lunge

We don’t practice everything every day. That would become an unbearable practice. We would be out there for 8 to 9 hours daily with the 9 events he does between the three associations. He will ground rope and tie our dummies daily for a few minutes each day. He will ride the horse daily to condition her. He will practice other items every other day depending on what he needs the work on. He is really good on getting off the horse so we don’t practice that as often.

I have also found that a lot of the main ideas behind each event have the same theory and that if you practice ground roping for breakaway with a little bit of a change it also works for team roping. Shane just needs to know what the change is and do it consistently and be aware of what he is practicing for.

After the rodeo is over you can evaluate what he did right and wrong then change the practice schedule to match his weaknesses and strengths. My experience is that if he tries to practice perfect and follow the schedule he usually does well

Getting It All Done

by Teresa Fackrell

As you look at each week, you may feel overwhelmed with so many things to get done. As a rodeo mom, you have daily mom duties but you also have to make sure that your chores are done daily and you get your kids to practice. This week for example, not only do I have to work a normal work schedule but we leave on Thursday for a High School Rodeo that is all day Friday and Saturday.

In addition to working, I need to get the all the laundry done, go to the grocery store, pack the trailer and get my daughter to practice on Monday and Wednesday and be ready to leave Thursday as soon as I get home from work. Here are some tips to help get you through it and get motivated to do more.

First, congratulate yourself. Women are amazing. We are great at multi-tasking. Although I may be stressed about it today, by Thursday when I leave I know I will have everything ready and we will have a great weekend at the rodeo.

Second, can I mention lists? The best way to get things done is to know exactly what you need to do. So today before I leave work, I will make a list of all the things that need to happen by Thursday. Also when, I clean and go through the trailer we are staying in, I will make a list of things that need to be bought before we go. You should also prioritize the list. There is always too much to do. So make sure you only do what is important. There is always a great sense of accomplishment when you get mark things off of the list.

Third, put your priorities on a schedule. Most people waste a lot of time because things are not scheduled. If you break your tasks up into manageable pieces of time, you will get a lot more done. Also, you need to learn to set time limits for things. For example, tonight we only have 2 hours for practice because we need to get home and start cleaning the trailer. So only practice for 2 hours. It is way easy to let things go beyond schedule but if you stick to it, I promise you will get more done.

Fourth, reward yourself. One of my favorite rewards is to do absolutely nothing Sunday morning when we get home from a rodeo. Really. I make some coffee in the morning, grab a blanket and watch HGTV for a couple of hours. Yes I don’t watch anything horse related. Or I pop in a movie usually a chick flick. Then when I have chilled for a little while I will get my children back to work, clean the trailer and deal with everything else left over after a rodeo weekend.