Ride the Run You're In: Letting Go of Last Week's Mistakes
- afenner
- Jul 29
- 2 min read
If there’s one thing rodeo teaches better than anything else, it’s how to start fresh — fast.
You don’t get to bring last week’s tipped barrel, missed pole, or broken pattern into the next run. At least, not if you want to do your best.
At Rad Rodeo, we talk a lot about riding the run you’re in — not the one you just had, or the one you wish you had. And that’s a skill we practice right alongside our kids.
The Mental Reset Button
You don’t always get a clean slate in life — but in the arena, you do. Every run is its own chance:
A new gate.
A new timer.
A new test of focus and feel.
But you have to be mentally present to use it.
We teach our kids to:
Shake off a rough run.
Breathe deep and reset.
Focus on what’s next, not what just happened.
Letting Go is a Skill, Not a Trait
Some kids (and adults) are naturally more sensitive. They carry mistakes heavy on their backs. But just like we train a horse to move out freely, we train ourselves to move on.
That looks like:
Talking it through, then dropping it.
Finding one small win to focus on.
Redirecting energy into preparation for the next ride.
We’re not ignoring what happened — we’re not letting it define what happens next.
Coaching Without Piling On
The fastest way to stall progress is to beat a dead horse — and we mean that figuratively and literally.
When a run goes wrong:
We give one piece of feedback.
We move on.
We remind them: one run does not define them.
Kids grow when they feel safe to try again, not when they’re shamed into perfection.
This Applies Outside the Arena Too
The power of the reset is huge beyond rodeo. We use it:
After a rough day.
After a fight between siblings.
After a hard parenting moment.
We remind ourselves — and our family — to ride the run we’re in, and let the last one go.
Final Thoughts
Every time you step into the arena, you have a choice: drag yesterday with you… or ride the run you’re in.
At Rad Rodeo, we choose the run in front of us. Because that’s the only one we can win.
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Ann-Marie Fenner
Ranch Manager, Breeder, Rodeo Mom
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