From someone who has won the NFR
"From someone who won the NFR As someone who has ran through Vegas and stood toe to toe with the biggest names in rodeo, I can tell you one thing; confidence is everything. I have ran on the toughest ground, in the worst conditions, and against the fastest horses this national rodeo has ever seen. I cannot express the adrenaline that pulses through your veins as you brace yourself and your partner to continue through the alleyway. The alleyway is unlike any other. Going through it in the first round for the first time was incredible. Just knowing that you were running into the arena filled with so many people. In those stands, is the one girl that many of us were at one point in our lives. The girl who watches and dreams to have this opportunity to be in our boots, in our saddle. To even fathom the emotions you feel once you breach into the arena is impossible. Your first time is an once in a lifetime feeling. It really hits you that you've made it big time when you see the faces, while running at your first barrel. After your first barrel, everything else is muscle memory and you remember why you're here. The big confidence booster is once you round third and head for the gate. The home stretch. The amount of emotion, and pride, and just any other positive feeling that hits you when you hear them start screaming is fantastic. No matter how good or bad that run was, that run home is what makes it all worth while. Now coming back through the gate is the calming part. You've ran and that run is over and you can breathe. Soon everything just turns back into the barn you practice in, or your favorite arena to run at. All it comes down to is being confident. Running like you've never lost but practicing like you've never won. This is all coming from someone who has never won the NFR, but has the confidence level of someone who has. "
