Make Them Chase You - Shannon Blakely
The last time Shannon Blakely saw the Lakeland Rodeo Association (LRA) Finals was back in 1991 as a Junior Barrel Racer. This year she will be heading back as the Number 1 Barrel Racer, and her Dad will be watching proudly from up above.
In February, Shannon’s father Ray Blakely was diagnosed with Cancer, and given a few short weeks to live. Thankfully, he outlived the doctors assumption,
“When I set out for my first weekend of rodeos June 4th with Rowdy, Dad just kind of said in some general conversation that I could wear his Lakeland buckle if I wanted. I put it on before that weekend, and as much as I cherish and love all the buckles I’ve won so far this year, that buckle is never coming off of me! I’m going to wear it proudly from now on. I knew Dad didn’t have lots of time left when I started out this year so I knew I had to make things count when I went. I was happy to be able to tell him after my first two weekends that I had basically made the Lakeland finals and he was so happy.” said Shannon.
Ray hung on until June 16th.
“Near the end he couldn’t talk very well cause he was on so much pain medicine and he was in and out of consciousness but I did understand these words he said to me and they were “You make them chase you all year” and I hope we’re making him proud this year with what Rowdy and I are accomplishing.”
That is exactly what Shannon is doing with her main mount Major Dry Bar aka. Rowdy, who is out of a Gasohol stud, and a cow bred mare that goes back to Dry Doc 17. She purchased him from Janet Patriquin when he was 3, and he is now 12 and down to just one eye. “He lost it 3 winters ago. It got punctured somehow out in the field. He gets turned out in about 100 acres every winter and somehow it got punctured. It had to be removed cause the eye was dead and starting to shrink up.”
She is currently well over $13,000 ahead of the pack in the LRA, with $20,224.92 in combined earnings from the Wild Rose Rodeo Association (WRA) and the LRA (not including money won at Whitecourt) and there is no stopping her now. She recently won Whitecourt and Hardisty, and was third at Boyle this past weekend, and has won Stony Plain, Cadogan, Castor, Onion Lake, Hairy Hill, Stoney Lake, Goodfish, 2nd at Wetaskiwin, 2nd at Cold Lake and placed at most others.
Shannon’s season earnings are in comparison with what the top two ladies of the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association have made thus far. With less than ten rodeos remaining in the amateur season, do I dare say she could make it to $30,000? At this point, anything is possible! By the way, Shannon didn’t start her season until June 4th! This is almost unheard of in our amateur associations!
Who has been your barrel racing idol?
That would be Dee Butterfield. She’s become more than a teacher to me. She’s now one of my closest friends and she has taught me that age is truly just a number. And she still gets a horse working like no one else.
How would you describe your style
I would say my style is very minimalist. I like to keep things simple and easy. I train my horses to be very independent and just to have to put your hand forward, guide them around the turn and hustle in between. The money is won and lost in the turns and I believe letting a horse be in its most natural state (which for me is a more straighter style not over bent but still soft) is the quickest and the most conducive to stand up on rodeo ground.
Staying on top, you have to have a strong mental game. What things do you do to stay on top of your mental game?
I don’t do a lot of reading so I’m not a go to a book person to keep me mentally tough. I keep myself surrounded by good friends and family and I don’t get involved in the outside racket that can happen around rodeo. My Dad once said something to me when I was going through a rough spot and not winning when I was trying to go and things weren’t going my way and he asked me why I wasn’t winning. He said, ” Just go win. Winning is easy.” And I now believe if you tell yourself that and think it’s easy it will be.
How do you keep Rowdy in tip top shape? What does a weekly routine look like for him?
Rowdy is a pretty easy guy. He gets turned out on grass Sunday night when we get home from a rodeo He’s a smart little buggar cause Sunday when we get home he heads for that gate! He then gets to stay out till Wednesday morning then he gets locked back up and I just take him out in the field and he gets long trotted for excersize and then on Friday I’ll breeze him to make sure his air is up for the weekend.
Do you use any special remedies or products on Rowdy to keep him feeling good?
I’m a pretty basic person when it comes to things with my horses. They get grass, hay and whole oats. I do have Rowdy on Recovery for a supplement and he gets Legend to help keep him feeling good.
What are your favourite cowboy boots and lipstick?
Well for cowboy boots that would be whatever Patti says is on sale at Welshs. I do have a pair of Luchesse’s that Lyle gave to me a few years ago that I really like but I would never spend that much money on a pair of boots for myself. And I’m not really a lipstick girl but more of a lipgloss girl and I love MAC lip glosses.
Everyone is thinking it, so I’m here to ask it. What are your plans for 2017? Ammy or Pro?I’ve been asked this question a lot in the past couple weeks haha and I’m staying amateur. I’m a dollars and cents kind of girl and going pro doesn’t make enough cents for me. I started out June 4th and as of right now I’ve got close to $20,000 made and the farthest I’ve gone from home is 3 hours and the highest entry fee I’ve paid is $113 and I’ve been home almost every night. Plus I would miss my little amateur family too much!
Best of Luck to Shannon & Rowdy the rest of the season, and into LRA Finals!
-Cassie
