Brazile a peerless preparer

It was 8 o'clock on a Thursday night, with the opening performance of the National Finals Rodeo looming on the calendar, two weeks away.

The temperature at Trevor Brazile's ranch in Decatur, Texas, had dipped below 50 degrees.

But the time and temperature didn't keep him from returning to his arena to set railings that will conform exactly to the dimensions of the Thomas & Mack Center.

It's just one reason why Brazile is going for an unprecedented eighth all-around world championship in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.

And it's why the 34-year-old roper is going for his third calf roping crown.

He couldn't remember how many calves and steers he roped that day, but it must have been a hundred.

Practice is important for Brazile's timing, as is working with team roping partner Patrick Smith, a heeler, at Brazile's 100-acre quarter-horse ranch that has an indoor arena.

But this year, it is especially critical for him to get his horses prepared for 10 nights of raucous rodeo -- beginning tonight -- in what is a small arena compared with most on the PRCA circuit.

Brazile holds a nearly insurmountable lead of $158,950 over Canadian Curtis Cassidy in his quest for a fifth straight all-around title. Further hampering Cassidy's chances is that Brazile is the only contestant who has qualified for two events at the NFR: he ranks first in calf roping, with a $35,000 lead over Tuf Cooper; and he stands eighth as a team roping header.

Brazile comes into his 13th Finals healthy, but the same can't be said for his best horses.

Calf roping horse Jaguar has been out of competition since July with an injury. Another of his favorites, Texaco, has been hurt most of the year. Brazile won calf roping go-rounds on each at a rodeo earlier this year.

"We depend on our horses day in and day out," he said. "I'm lucky to have some great ones. I take a lot of pride in that.

"I didn't win much in July and August. I had to borrow horses for a while," he said, adding he bought a proven horse, Rio, from fellow calf roper and six-time world champ Cody Ohl. Ohl is qualified 13th in calf roping.

"We've all been in the business long enough to know that everybody needs help at one time or another," Brazile said, adding he recently sold Ohl one of his proven steer roping horses.

"What goes around, comes around. Cody now has one of the best steer roping horses in the game, and it helped him get back in the business."

Brazile brought two calf-roping horses to Las Vegas and plans to use Rio "unless something drastic happens."

For team roping, he plans to start with 6-year-old Sport but has another available.

"I don't know if the NFR setup will suit him," he said. "The other one hasn't been to a lot of places, but nothing bothers him."

Most rodeo spectators, including those at the Finals, know little about roping horses. That doesn't seem right to Brazile.

"The horses are huge, especially in (calf) roping. They're huge."

In calf roping, the horse is trained to come to a stop as soon as the cowboy throws his loop and catches the calf. The cowboy then dismounts, sprints to the calf and throws it by hand before tying three legs.

While the roper does his ground work, his horse must pull back hard enough to eliminate any slack in the rope, but not so hard as to drag the calf.

"A (team roping) head horse and a calf horse have to have the same stuff, but a calf horse does a lot of it on his own. There are times when (for) half a run or better, a calf horse is on his own.

"But the way you ride the horse can make up a lot. Two guys can ride the same horse, and one will get 100 percent out of the horse and the other one might get 60 percent."

For Brazile, who has earned a PRCA record $3.6 million in his career, his riding efficiency has been pretty high.

Contact reporter Jeff Wolf at jwolf@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0247. Go to lvrj.com/rodeo for more on the National Finals Rodeo.