I feel like updating this thread. I was really torn on what to do, and got some good sound advice, that helped me make my mind up. I did cut our rodeo season down. The wife never came around to my way of thinking. There's no rif between us over it, but she wasn't in support of the decision. As of now, I have 9 rodeos picked out. We have already competed in 2 of those. More than likely, we will stop at 10. The absolute ceiling is 12, but I doubt we will go to that many. Nobody is particularly happy with me, and I feel like a slime ball. It had to be though. We were just gone too much, and spending too much money. I'm picking open rodeos, one day deals, and added money. The kids seem intimidated by competing against adults, and performing to a larger crowd, but trying harder. My daughter landed on a check, and it was easily 10 times more, than a youth rodeo would have ever paid. We all slept in our own bed, and only ate one meal out. I also don't want to sound lazy, but the rodeos were pure relaxation for me. I didn't have to do anything. At a youth rodeo, I'd end up working from daylight till 6:00 at night, then on Sunday I'd help tear down and load. These were over and done in 2 1/2 to 3 hours, and somebody else did it all. I also didn't have to listen to anybody's parent or grandparent tell me how it should be done. I'll also add, one of the best ways to improve is to compete against people that are better than you. The kids (my son especially) seemed pretty humbled by getting beat. I think it's going to change the way they practice, and compete. There's no reason to make a safe run when there's a 10 in calf ropin, and a 14 in barrels on the board. Safe runs and consistency could win almost any youth series you go to. At an open rodeo, you have to give 110% every time. I personally think there is more to be learned from the effort, than waiting and letting someone else's mistake beat them.
