The Strong Kind: Raising Kids Who Don’t Quit
- afenner
- Aug 6
- 2 min read
We talk a lot about strength in rodeo — muscle, grit, horsepower. But the kind of strength we’re after runs deeper. It’s about mental toughness, emotional resilience, and the kind of character that doesn’t fold when things get hard.
At Rad Rodeo, we’re raising kids who know how to keep showing up — win or lose, rain or shine.
Quitting Is Easy — That’s Why We Don’t Do It
We’ve all seen the tears in the trailer, the gate jitters, the tough runs that don’t go right. But we remind our kids:
You don’t get stronger by walking away.
One bad day doesn’t mean it’s over.
The best lessons live inside the hard moments.
Our job as parents and coaches isn’t to shield them from failure — it’s to walk them through it.
We Model What We Want to See
Our kids watch how we handle stress. They learn by how we talk to the horse that messed up or the understanding about the timer that didn’t start. They notice whether we throw a fit or take a breath.
So we try to live this kind of strength too:
Keep calm under pressure.
Show up prepared, even when we’re tired.
Respect the process, even when the results are slow.
Strength isn’t loud. It’s steady.
It’s Not About Winning — It’s About Not Quitting
Winning feels great, but we don’t build our identity on it. What we care about is:
Who they become through the work.
Whether they can get up after a fall.
How they treat their horse, their family, and themselves on a bad day.
The strong kind keep going — not because it’s easy, but because they’ve learned how to keep their head up when it’s hard.
Final Thoughts
We’re not raising rodeo robots. We’re raising real humans — thoughtful, tough, honest, and kind. The kind who don’t quit when the runs gets sticky or the stakes get high.
That’s the strength we’re after.And we’re building it one ride, one run, one hard day at a time.
––
Ann-Marie Fenner
Ranch Manager, Breeder, Rodeo Mom
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