March 2001 Rodeo Story



Man, its March already and I have hardly won a dime this year. Nevertheless, you
keep going because eventually it has to get better. The month starts out with me
going and helping my good friend Gene Pizarro (Gene is a pilot that lives here in
Houston) purchase a computer. He wanted to start sending email and surf the web.
We go to CompUSA and Gene buys a laptop, printer and a scanner. We get it home,
I give him a quick tutorial, and he is on his way to surf the information superhighway.

Vince comes and practices with me on Saturday. Another Vince (Petranella) comes and
brings a horse that he is interested in buying. Never in my life have I had two Vince’s
in the arena at the same time. Therefore, I call them Big Vince (Montabalo) and
LittleVince (Petranella). Big Vince is really starting to rope well. He is roping
all his practice cattle and handling them great. Little Vince on the other hand is
having trouble with the horse he is trying. The horse does not really have the gas
and is terrible in the box. Little Vince quits for the day so I get my 4 year old
gray gelding, Brudder to heel the rest of the steers for Big Vince. Brudder is
starting to work real well and Tommye Flenniken has been trying to buy him for a year.
We finally finish roping put everything up and head home.

The next day I have to pick up Tommye at the airport. He went home to spend some time
with his wife and kids. He has not been in the truck for 5 minutes when he hands me a
check for old Brudder. Tommye says he is not taking no for a answer the horse is his.
We get home, go and practice at the ranch. I had Thomas go by my house and pick up
Tom’s horses so we could start when we get back. The two of us run a couple
of pens and Tom is roping great.

Monday comes and Tom has to leave for Austin. He is up there Tuesday morning and is not
coming back till middle of April. Tom leaves a horse with me so that he could fly
back for Corpus Christi. He takes Brudder with him, I am still having second thoughts
about selling him. The next day Trey Cruz and me practice and cut out the steers for Katy
. Katy is a big open rodeo that usually attracts all the top cowboys. We are up at
Bay City on Wednesday and I look like Ben Gump. I am a mile late, I throw all my rope,
and miss the heck out of him. Man I just wanted to find a hole and hide.

I go and watch the rodeo at Katy the next night and there is no team roping in the show.
I even missed Survivor to go and watch the rodeo and now all the team roping is in
the slack and its last. Boy I am going to be tired at work tomorrow. The roping
was good. I took as many runners as I could and it showed. Trey Pope and Wade Clayton
are winning it with a 6.1 and last hole is like an 7.4.

I am up the next night and I draw a runner and not so runner. Chad Williams and I are
the first team out. We get one roped in 6.2. I am a little late for Greg cause
Streaker kinda slipped coming out of the head box. I get him roped about half way down
the arena and Greg doubles him and misses his dally. No big deal we would have not
won anything anyway. Saturday we are up at Madisonville. Greg legs and I break the
barrier for Chad. We end up splitting ¾ at Katy. Thank you lord I am finally in the
money again.

Vince is on spring break this week, comes, and ropes with me on Tuesday and Thursday.
He was hoping I was going to the Rope America Team Roping in San Antonio. I tell him
that I am to busy this weekend. I have to go to Georgewest on Saturday night and again
I am the first team out again. I get it on for Greg, he doubles him, and I am
thinking we are fast. We were like a good 4.9 or 5.0 but they call out 5.5. Camish
Jenning gets two good flags and is two 5.2. I rope my last one in 5.4 and end up
just splitting 5/6. Wow 5.4 and 5.5, and all I win is last hole. I get home late
and wake early to help my dad get his arena ready at his place in Frydek for our
roping next weekend.

We work all day Monday at the place in Frydek, Mike Harris helps with the welding.
Greg calls and says the books open for Caldwell at 1:00. I get Tammy to enter for us.
She calls me back and says she got us in for Saturday with John Rosanky and Chad Williams.
We put in a full day and boy I am tired. I get home and Greg calls that we got screwed up entering at Caldwell.
John has decided to rope with someone else with out telling us. They take two of our
four holes from us and put Greg and me up and back.
We call the secretary and ask her is she could add 2 teams and she lets us.
We enter with Tracy Estep and Tommy Morrison Jr, I tell Greg lets rope with these guys
all year cause I do not want to be switching all year, and he agrees. Tuesday I take
off again, go, and do the welding my self. We are done around 5:00 and we head to the
ranch to break in some new steers. We rope till about nine and head home, I know I am
not going to want to get up in morning. I go to work the next couple of days but keep
going to Frydek in the evenings to do some little things that still need to be completed.
Friday I take off and work all day at Frydek and stay out until about 10:00pm.
My dad kept complaining that the arena needed more work. So me and Peanut (another one
of my right hand guys) take turn pulverizing the arena. We leave great big ruts
everywhere, but it was worked up good. My dad gets their Saturday morning and can not
believe that the arena is that screwed up. He spends 2 hours on the tractor getting
it level again. The roping gets started and we get a good turnout. The roping is easy
in the 1 ½ only 4 teams caught 3. In the 2 ½ it paid all 4 holes on three head instead
of four. And in the 3 ½ the last hole was 58 on 4. We were just giving money away.
That night I had a rodeo in Caldwell. Peanut rides with me to their and its sort
of wide open. A 6.2 is winning it and 7.4 is winning the last hole with 11 teams left.
I spin one for Tommy Morrison Jr (Little Tommy) and he grabs one fast. We are 5.9.
Greg and me are the last team to rope and I am winning it still. I nod for my
steer, the neck rope did not break off the steer, and it jerked him down and the neck
rope still did not break off. They pulled it off him and we ran him again.
This time I was little late and have to reach a bit and get him turned and Greg legs him.
We were 6.4 and that would have split 2nd and 3rd. I pick up my money and Peanut
and I head home.

I have no where to go next week, but it looks like I am back on the winning trail again!


See you down the Rodeo Road,

JR Gonzales



You are Visitor Number
First Created: 1999 - Last Update: November 22, 2002