Bailey Hines - CFR 2023

On The Record

Oct 20

Bailey Hines is back for her second Canadian Finals Rodeo, after 44 rodeos and winning $12,653.90. Though she did not win any rodeos this year, she picked away throughout the season, placing second at her hometown rodeo, Lea Park, and placing second at Merritt, BC for a big cheque, which she says nearly solidified her qualification to the finals.

What is your background with horses? How did you get started roping?
I grew up on a ranch so I’ve been riding horses since I started walking. I started barrel racing at local jackpots on my ranch horses when I was eight, but didn’t start roping until I was 15 at the high school rodeos.

What is your main mounts reg name, bloodlines and does he/she have any quirks?
My main horse this year was Daring to Deal. Dillon is a 10 year old APHA gelding by DealNWithACoolCat (High Brow Cat x Peppy Taquita x Peppy San Badger) out of a daughter of Color Me Smarts. Dillons biggest quirk is he’s an over-achiever to a fault, so he’s taken much longer to get solid throughout the training and seasoning process.

What is your horses story?
In 2016 at my first year of college in Altus, OK I lost my good mare to blister beetle poisoning. My dad flew down shortly after that and we went to a cutting barn in TX to look at cutting rejects. We immediately fell in love with this 3 year old but he was out of our budget. Three days later I got a call from the seller saying extraordinary circumstances required they move some horses and offered him to me within our budget. He has since been a pain in my ass lol. I knew he was extremely talented from day one but he was also an internal basket case. It took a lot of years of ranching and work to get to where he wouldn’t bolt in a pressured situation. I trained him on the barrels and heading first because that’s what I competed in, and he excelled as a head horse. But then I wanted to breakaway rope at the rodeos so I started him in the breakaway, and it’s taken a lot of work but he’s finally getting solid this year. Mostly thanks to my fiancé Clayton for his help and coaching, as I’d never trained a calf horse before Dillon. Clayton now does most of his fine tuning as he’s stole him as his next calf horse.

What is your go to saddle, pad and bit on your main mount? What do you like about them?
This fall we bought ourselves an Ocean Front calf roping saddle made by Kenton Hubschmid. I’ve really loved it and it fits both our rodeo horses very well. I use a Myler bit with a low hinge port and it’s one of my favourites for a lot of different horses.

What do you do to keep a sharp mental edge in the game of rodeo? How do you stay motivated throughout the season?
I took a mental toughness group course with Wendy Flewelling this spring where we talked about the ins and outs of the mental game, and it was fascinating. She taught me to use key words to get your mind and body at the optimal level of focus and ability. However, my mental game is definitely something I still need to work on on a daily basis. I still struggle with having a short memory and overthinking. But it’s easy to stay motivated when you love what you do, and I build my confidence with hard work and preparation.

Did you face any challenges this season? Tell us about them.
I was very fortunate to not have any major challenges throughout the season. I had to work through a long dry spell in the middle of the summer, but overall I didn’t face too many major obstacles.

Tell the readers something good that happened to you this season, other than placing at, or winning a rodeo.
Just before the season started I got engaged to my best friend Clayton Smith, which definitely gave this year a leg up on my past seasons.

What is the best advice you’d give to readers, about horses, competing or life?
Never stop seeking knowledge on horsemanship, your horse is your biggest tool and this is where you can excel no matter the discipline. Also, roping is what we do, it’s not who we are. Your success and failures do not define who you are as a person. So work on being the best version of yourself and enjoy every step of the things you do.

What has been your most memorable run over the years, and what made it memorable for you?
Winning the CFB finals in 2020 was my most memorable run because I had just started back into breakaway roping since college, and it was the first year I was actually getting it figured out (I was a die hard team roper). Winning the biggest jackpot in Canada to date solidified to me that my hard work was finally paying off.

Who is your travelling partner, and what do you enjoy most about travelling with them?
This year I got to travel with Clayton and my brother Austin to the rodeos. Although I missed the fun I had travelling with my sister in laws, I loved getting to spend time with the boys. Usually during rodeo season we only got to see each other for a few hours on the weekends. I’m also proud because our whole rig qualified to the CFR this year making it Austin’s first qualification in the calf roping.

Which of the other CFR Qualifiers horses would you swing a leg over if given the chance and why?
I think it would have to be Shelby Meged’s, Onna. Im always in awe of that mare. She’s beautiful and a tank and I can only imagine how strong she feels.

What products can you or your horse not live without on the road?
Our rodeo horses stayed looking and feeling great all year on Hoffman’s Elite ration, Equinety XL, and Canpressco oil. For me, I can’t live without coffee on the road. My horses didn’t go anywhere without their XLR8 velocity sheets when we were on the road!

I can’t thank my parents enough for everything they’ve done to help us over the years. I wouldn’t be where I am today without their support. Thank you to Clayton for being my rock and my coach all season. Thank you to the rodeo committees and the CPRA for continuing to support the professional breakaway ropers and giving us more money to rope for.

Big thank you to my sponsors for helping me get down the road and make this possible. Top Hand Ropes Canada, XLR8 Canada, Novlan Bros, and Crude Master Transport Inc.