Breaking it Down by Speed Williams – April 2026
The other day a client and I were talking about how much team roping has evolved in the last 25 years. In the early 2000’s there were just a few headers “coming over the chute” or throwing while leaving the box. Now, there’s professionals and younger guys who really bring the heat when the barrier drops and can reach the length of their rope.
One of the biggest changes is kids now have access to watch ropings in real time on their phones. The majority of ropings are live streamed and people can study runs in slow motion.
Back when I was rodeoing my wife filmed almost everywhere we went. We would have film so when we ran into a set of steers at a later rodeo, we would know what they did. Now days almost every run at the rodeo is filmed by someone. Guys can get video of a steer when they’re 1,000 miles away. Everyone has a video camera on their phone and ropers have almost instant access to the runs. This is especially helpful for headers because there’s many ways to approach a run and anticipating what the steer will do affects that.
Now days there are a lot more teachers in the roping industry. There are a lot of guys teaching who have not really won at a high level. I firmly believe you can understand the sport without having competed at a high level. It happens all the time in other sports. However, there will often be some roping or competition questions asked that are best answered by someone with personal experience.
In January Nelson Wyatt and Jonathan Torres set a new arena record at the Ft. Worth rodeo with a 3.3-second run. I sent Nelson a congratulatory text and he responded with “I still want to come to your house and break it down again.”
At our place I intentionally keep a variety of steers to rope. We have a set of fresh mulies, some steers with bigger horns, and some steers with small horns. We work on three different ways to rope the horns and then watch the video. Nelson and I broke down a few things I felt could be better. The number one thing was on the small horn runners, he waved off three out of six steers, and he said he had been having trouble with that.
We have a 40’ x 60’ building with a living room and kitchen where we watch video on an 85” TV. While watching the video, I pointed out that he never adjusted the length of his spoke when changing from one cattle type to the next and was throwing the same loop on each. The spoke length needs to shorten when reaching on little horned steers. Too much spoke was causing it to come off the right side of the head. After the video, we went back out and I think he went six for six and didn’t wave off any.
There are many different styles and lots of guys have perfected being able to reach different ways. I’m just a math guy who tries to eliminate wasted moves. When watching the video in slow motion, frame by frame, I watch your feet, hands, your rope and what your body does. And whether you can move your body in a way to get more out of your horse and speed up the run.
I truly enjoyed having Nelson over for three days. He made huge improvements using his legs and body during his runs. He has outstanding ability with his rope, we just need to get more control over our horse during the runs.
During the Kimes Million Dollar Breakaway I got to know Matt and Amanda Kimes and they had me fly out to help their kids, Jack and Katherine. The kids were entered in the Junior World’s Greatest Horseman in Ft. Worth, so I went up to watch them rope in the Open and Youth Steer Stopping. Jack made the finals, so I went back, and while there Matt and Amanda introduced me to Sarah Dawson, NRCHA Champion Trainer. She said she needed help with her roping, and I invited her to the house.
She came the following week and brought her good Steer Stopping horses. We roped a little and watched the video. We roped on the Speed Trainer, and it was very interesting working with a professional horseman. If I asked her to leave her left hand down and move her leg, she could do it correctly on the first try. Whatever I asked her to do, she was able to do it. Now swinging her rope and catching the dummy… we had some things to work on. I use an iPad to film people on the Speed Trainer and then play it frame by frame so people can see exactly what I see. It makes the process so much faster when they see it with their own eyes, rather than me telling them to do it a certain way.
I truly enjoy teaching something I’ve spent my life studying. Whether it’s heading, heeling or breakaway. The improvement happens so much faster when teaching someone to rope that can ride well. I believe tSteer Stopping will not be Sarah’s weakness next year. She made a drastic improvement in one session and is coming back this week.
Hali is on her way to Houston and feels better now than she has in a couple of years. We found out she’s Gluten intolerant and has a reaction to the pesticides that are put on the food. Now she knows what she can and can’t eat. Our practices have been good, but she didn’t do any good at Ft. Worth or San Antonio. Hopefully a couple will run in her loop at Houston.
Hali and I will be teaching a Breakaway clinic at our house in Comanche on April 25th & April 26th. We’ll be taking 12 students. For more information email me at: justaroper@gmail.com.
