Page 1 of The Chances We Take

rodeo 101

Barrier:In a timed event, the line stretched across the front of the box that the contestant and their horse cannot cross until the steer or calf has a head start.

Box:In a timed event, the box is the area where the horse and rider back into before they make a roping or steer wrestling run.

Breaking the Barrier:Failure to give the animal enough of a head start before a roping or steer wrestling event, resulting in a ten-second penalty.

Chute:A specialized, narrow corridor designed to hold a calf or steer and release it for a roping run.

Circuit:Geographical regions in which PRCA contestants compete. Each athlete designates a home circuit based on their home address or preference. There are twelve circuits in total.

Cinch:The leather or fabric band that secures the saddle to the horse.

Header:In team roping, the cowboy who ropes first and aims for the horns.

Heeler:In team roping, the cowboy who follows the header and aims for the hind legs.

Honda:The knot through which a rope passes on its way to becoming a loop. Also referred to as the hondo.

Legal Catch:Three ways to acceptably catch a steer in competition: around both horns, half-head, or around the neck.

NFR:National Finals Rodeo. The premier rodeo event by the PRCA, which showcases the talents of the PRCA’s top-fifteen money winners in each event as they compete for the world title.

Nodding:A signal that a cowboy gives when he is ready for the gate or chute to be opened.

No Time:The failure to make a qualified run in timed events due to a rule infraction, which includes an illegal catch, or no catch.

PRCA:Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. The oldest and largest professional rodeo-sanctioning body in the world.

Roughstock:Bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, and bull riding. Other events are called timed events.

Spoke:The distance between the honda and your hand.

Standings:In professional rodeo, a cowboy’s success is measured in earnings. There are several sets of standings where cowboys can keep track of where they rank.

CHAPTER ONE

isabelle

Wedding planning was kicking my best friend’s ass. With only two months until her big day, Ellison Wilson was stressed. Binders and folders filled with information about catering, flowers, and a full day-of itinerary littered her mom’s dining room table, because, let’s face it, Ellison hated feeling like she didn’t have control over every last detail.

I’d watched all of my friends fall into happy relationships or get engaged and married while I was stuck in an endless cycle of hookups with boys who didn’t want anything more than a few weeks of fun with the cute, bubbly blonde. They always wanted to keep their options open, so it was easy to feel like I was just a pit stop on the way to something—someone—better.

Despite it all, I firmly believed in true love, that everyone deserves their own happy ending, even with the fear that maybe I was unlovable. But I could be patient, because I knew one day I would find someone to share life with, through all the ups and downs and bumps in the road.

Seeing Ellison go from having an aversion to love to finding her person gave me hope that my own soulmate was out there. If I was being honest, for a while I was starting to think she would never get married. But even she found love—ironically with the guy she wanted absolutely nothing to do with.

And despite the challenges of planning a wedding, I knew she was looking forward to it.

“What can I do? How can I help?” I asked her.

She groaned, placing her head in her hands in frustration. “I don’t know! Colter is off at a rodeo—shocker—and I’ve been the only one out of the two of us doing any sort of planning and we’re two months out.” She shot me a somewhat guilty look.

I had a feeling Colter wasn’t helping because he wasn’t allowed to help, but I wasn’t going to bring that up. Ellison could be intense sometimes, especially when she was overwhelmed.

“I’m your maid of honor for a reason, Ells. Let me help you. What are you trying to do right now?” I asked as I attempted to peek over her shoulder at her to-do list.

“I’m trying not to lose my damn mind.” She forced out a laugh as she threw her hands in the air.

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