Five Flat With Zane Bruce

Five Flat With Zane Bruce

- Chelsea Toy

RIDING FOR CONSISTENCY

Texas heeler Zane Bruce has garnered acclaim for his smooth working, big sliding horses in both the show pen and the rodeo arena. Last year, he and Valahalla Foxy Shiner won Heel Horse of the BFI, and this year he’s got nine horses qualified for the AQHA World Show in the heading, heeling and calf roping.

Growing up, I used to rope with guys who reached, and I’d ride defensively as a heeler. I used to cut in at the shoulder and rope them going away from me, and I’d pull my horse into the stop right there. As I got older, I kept roping that way, and it was the worst thing for me. I’ve learned that riding around the steer, being more patient and roping them without ever losing sight of the feet is a much more consistent shot. The ability to do that comes from riding better, more broke horses, and it’s something that’s set guys like Rich Skelton apart for years. Nowadays, Jade Corkill, Paul Eaves, Brady Minor and Justin Davis are great at it. They build consistency with their horses that comes from letting them make a mistake and then showing them what they’re supposed to do instead of pulling on them the whole way and pulling off shots.

1 A lot of guys leave the box already pulling on their horses. I like a horse that you can put your hand all the way down leaving the box, pick the horse up at the spot then put your hand back down. The horses I ride maintain the speed I set them at. If I pick up on them to get them to slow down, I want them to stay at the speed I pull them down to. It’s like setting the cruise on a truck. Some horses, you can slow them down with your hand, and then as soon as you put your hand down, they speed back up.