#13 Shoot Out Monday Oct 28 2013

#13 Shoot Out

2013 Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping

Monday October 28 2013
By Melinda Clements

 

          Do you ever give up?  Do you ever say, “I quit!” Do you ever ask yourself, “Is this for real? Is it worth it?”  Do you ever ask yourself how much is enough?

          About the time we want to pull up stakes and walk away team roping humbles you, reassures you and a bit like the good Lord above reconfirms you haven’t lost until you fail to rise again. You aren’t beaten until you quit!

          Sam Livingston and Calvin Taylor have been roping together a long time.  Not only are they neighbors but they are best friends.  They love team roping and it is a hobby for them that sustains and motivates them to do great things.

          “It is always a goal to come to a big event like this one and do well,” Livingston said. “We have been roping together since probably 2003.  We have roped everywhere from Maine to Maui.”

          Livingston went on to say this was probably only the second time he had even made a short round at the Finals in the last eight years. “I guess you could say I’ve paid my dues,” he said with a grin.

          Livingston and Taylor was the second high team back going into the short go round of the #13 Shoot Out at the  2013 Cinch USTRC National Finals of Rodeo.  A little less than one second separated the top four teams in the short round.  $97,100 was on the line in addition to Martin Championship Trophy Saddles, Tony Lama Boots, Gist Championship Gold Buckles and Western Horseman Collectors Prints.  It was enough to take your breath away.

          Sometimes the road to the top is strewn with one obstacle after another.  Perhaps that is what makes life interesting.  Taylor could certainly attest to that.  He was just glad to be in the short round.  His trip to Oklahoma City had involved two breakdowns, truck and trailer, a lot of frustration and a point in time when he and God had a serious conversation as the point of all this.

          “I was so frazzled and frustrated that I did not even catch one steer on Saturday.  Sunday was a little better but still not good,” he said with tears brimming on lashes. “Today is unbelievable.”

          When the eleventh high call back team of Nick Lauer and Buster Record took the lead in the average it became a tedious climb to the last team to rope.  The roping was tough and competitive.  Everyone had their eyes on the prize line and the money.  It was nothing to scoff at.

          When it came time for Livingston and Taylor to rope they knew exactly what they had to do.  The pair needed a time of 8.98 on their short round steer to take the lead away from Lauer and Record.  In the mind’s eye it was just a good solid practice run.  They could do this. 

          “It was so nerve wrecking,” Livingston said.  “I was starved for oxygen and could not breathe.  I didn’t even know how to respond except to go rope.”  The pair did, indeed, go rope. 

          The pair posted a time of 8.06 on their short go round steer.  It was exactly enough to roll them into first place in the average with one team left to rope. 

          “I just wanted things to slow down,” Taylor said. “I wanted to remember basics.”  It certainly seems like things were coming together.  They were, at least, assured second place.

          As Zachary and Blair Small rode into the box to make their short round run nerves were on edge.  It was pressure in an unbelievable format.  The youngsters needed an 8.34 to move Taylor and Livingston.  The pair roped well and rose heroically to the occasion but posted a time of 9.87 which would move them to fourth place.  Taylor and Livington could not grasp what had happened.  They had actually nailed down the win in the #13 Shoot Out.  Who would have thought!

          “Oh wow!” Livingston said as he stared emotionally at his new Martin Championship Trophy Saddle. “This is the biggest thing I’ve ever won.  I just thought I was starved for oxygen earlier.  In eight years this is only the second time I’ve even made the short go round.  Unbelievable!”

          “Sam has roped well all week,” Taylor said. “I never even caught a steer on Saturday. Sunday was a little better and now this.  Wow! I just wanted everything to slow down and I needed to focus.  I needed to get them caught.  It had been a crazy start with one obstacle after another.  And it works out like this. Wow!”

          Both Taylor and Livingston rope with their family and spend a lot of time roping with their kids.  They may not practice much together despite being neighbors but they enjoy and love what they do.  Sometimes it gets discouraging and frustrating but you never quit, you never say die! 

          “This is my biggest check ever,” Taylor said. “I still cannot grasp all this.  I’ve been so blessed by all this, by the USTRC, by the format, the roping and the people who put it together. This is why we all rope.”

          As Taylor and Livingston posed for pictures and completed interviews you could read the emotion in their faces.  We all struggle and face difficulties on the road to greatness.  We all take two steps forward and ten steps back and paying our dues gets tedious and tests our fortitude.  However, team roping instills in us the will to keep trying, to keep getting up, to keep roping.  It’s what makes roping the positive addiction that it is.