Hey horse lovers welcome back to part 2 of a great interview with Tyson Durfey!!!
He has been successful in not just one area of his life but many. He has grown a successful business, has a beautiful family and puts a priority on fitness.
Hope you enjoy part 2 of this interview.
Tyson Durfey Interview Part 2
6. What is your game plan going into the 2019 NFR?
My plan going into the 2019 NFR is to be extremely focused. . . Have no negative energy . . . no negative mindset . . . have no negative anything. That means I have to capture my thoughts and not allow my mind to gravitate to anything that is off task but to be clear focused and dedicated. Precise with my actions.
Calf roping is a technical game. To be super clear and super precise with everything that I do. To just go rope good and trust my horse. Trust that he is going to be way better this year then he was last year and to just live the process. That is what the plan is!
7. Tell me about your current equine partner and the importance they have to your success. Also is there any of your horses that stick out in your mind over the years?
My current horse I ride 90% of the time is Mitch. He is a super amazing horse. I really truly did not think he was as good as he is because I had a horse call Nikko last year. Then almost to this day he passed away.
Mitch was one of those horses who was super green. Hadn’t been out a lot and I just had to trust him and ride him at the finals. It was a pretty cool experience; he went on to perform really well in the end. He has just grown this year, become more solid and technical in all his movements. He has just been an amazing horse.
The best horse I ever have ridden was Nikko. He was the horse I won my world championship on. Truly an amazing horse, he had a personality of a joker but he had the mindset of a champion. Always consistent and worked like a champ!
8. What skills or traits do you look for in a good tie down roping horse?
The trait I look for in a good tie down horse is consistency. They have to be consistent. There is a lot of talented horses out there but if they don’t have the consistency or don’t work the same every single time. Then you don’t really have anything . . . or foundation for what you do as an athlete. So I look for consistency. People get excited or they see a big stop or a horse who can really run and they fall in love with individual traits but I always look for consistency. Things horses can do over and over again so I can pattern myself to be same way every time.
9. How do you keep your horses feeling and performing their best going down the rodeo trail?
The main thing with my horses is a pretty good diet. They have a few supplements I give but I feed Nutrena which is a really high protein feed. Keeps them super healthy, super fat but still super muscled especially with older horses.
I like a high fat high protein diet. A lot of feeds will have a lower fat and a higher protein but I like equal fat to equal protein because with a calf horse the more mass they have to take the hit at the end of the rope the better off they are. So that is what I do. Also every quarter they are at the vet getting checked out and I also feed a feet and bone supplement to keep their feet right and their joints right.
10. How do you balance rodeo, family life and now your online mentorship program?
Well balance is a good thing; I try to stay as balanced as I can! The first thing I do every day is get up about 6:30 and have 15 to 20 minutes of reading the bible. I specifically read Proverbs in the morning and at night I read Psalms. That definitely puts my mindset in a great spot for the day and when I end the day. The beginning of the day I always have my prayer time. I pray in the morning. Then after that it is time to help the girls, get them ready, feed them, stuff like that.
To balance it all is one of those things that its always a juggling match. I am working hard, I am staying focused about what I need to do. I have a schedule. I know what time I am going to practice most days and I know what time I am going to work out most days. I know what time I am going to spend on my computer and on my mentorship program most days. I have it all on a schedule that way it keeps me focused on what I need to do!
The other thing is to have a great team of people around you between my wife and my ranch manager and my secretary it really helps they take a lot of tasks off my shoulders! There are many tasks. So there are two types of tasks. One Type of Task is one I have to be there for that can’t be done without me like my practicing or my exercising, responding to a student or something like that. Then there are tasks I don’t have to do which is maybe doctoring a calf, working the arena or cleaning the stalls so any tasks that don’t specifically need my time go to another person in the team that can get it done. So that how I do it. It’s not rocket science but It is something that will help that a lot of cowboys don’t do.
To add on to that (It should have been the first thing added on) but my wife! My wife is just so amazing. She is kind of like my rock but she does so much. She runs two successful businesses on her own with the team. She handles a lot of the stuff with the girls. I definitely always take time out through the day. Its nice I have a place at home so whenever I can I spend an hour with them throughout the day. I am usually done by 5 or 6 o clock and spend time with them. But my wife she takes a lot of the load of my shoulders.
11. Thank you so much for doing this interview I wish you all the luck this year in the NFR. What is one piece of advice you would give to anyone wanting to chase their dream?
The one piece of advice I would give a young person or anyone coming up is that instant gratification does not work. You have to program your mind to realize that if you want the reward you might have to work a month, 2 months, 3 months, 4 months, 6 months to get that goal that you want.
If you fail don’t beat yourself up about it. Just step back and reflect on what you can do better and then come back and do it again simple as that. Keep a clear mind and a clear head and stay super focused. Don’t waste that time beating yourself up in your head. You’re going to be so much further ahead and you will be able to crush every dream, crush every goal you ever had so be patience, be diligent. Don’t beat yourself up. Keep hustling. That is what I would tell them. Adios. And thank you very much!
Thank you, Tyson Durfey, for taking the time to do this interview!
There are a lot of points I am going to take away from this interview and apply to my own barrel racing!
Let me know what your favorite part of the interview was in the comments below!
You can find Tyson on Facebook or Instagram at Tyson Durfey.
Also . . . Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook and Instagram at Whit’s Therapy!
Who do you want me to interview next??? Contact me and tell me who you would like to see!
Who do you think next week is . . . I guess you will have to wait and find out!
Until next time . . .