Continued from page 18 Trevor Knowles’ best time for taking down a steer was three seconds flat. Fred McClanahan Jr. photo.
throw somebody that doesn’t want to be thrown, but if they make a mistake and their weight is wrong or whatever and you know when to hit it, they’re weightless. When you throw a steer correctly and things go smoothly, you’re just the pivot- ing point, and you can make a 600 pound animal feel like a feather. If you get it right and get the steer on its side, your job is done for the day.”
Of course, anything involving unpre-
dictable animals outweighing the cowboy by sometimes triple, the sense of danger is always there.
“If things don’t go as planned, you can feel like the steer weighs 10,000 pounds and you might get the crap stomped out of you,” Knowles said. “I guess it’s similar to getting pinned or getting stuck on your head, but all this happens in a matter of three to five seconds.” Knowles’ best time taking down a steer was three seconds flat, which happened several years ago in Omaha, Neb. The world record is 2.4 seconds, according to the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.
“To throw them that fast, you have to keep practicing,” he said. “You do not have any time to really sit and think about what just happened. It’s all muscle mem- ory and reaction time.” Knowles’s job may have “wrestler” in the title, but taking down a quarter-ton animal is pretty different from doing the same to another human. The difference between competing against someone, where technique or strength or studying your opponent’s style can win you a match, and indirectly competing against others was a tough transition for Knowles.
“If I’m competing against another guy I’m going to want to go rip his head off, but this is just an animal,” Knowles said. “Whoever does their job best that day is the winner, and they might have had an easier steer that day and that guy wins instead of you. In rodeo, you could be at absolute top of your game, have the best horses, practice, everything can be as possibly good as you can make it and you can get your butt handed to you by a steer and there’s nothing you can do about it except shake it off.”
While arguably frustrating, Knowles said that even after bad days or weeks, practice and talent pay off in the end if he remembers not to get discouraged and always be mentally prepared for loss as well as be ready to take advantage of opportunities to win.
Like most athletes, Knowles lives for the thrill of competition and the satisfac- tion of victory. “It’s an adrenaline rush. If the fans could actually have that feeling that we get as competitors, I mean everybody in the world would be digging it,” he said. “For me, when I have a steer that out- weighs me by 400 pounds, and I just grab him by the horns, slide him on the ground and throw him four feet in the air, then it’s just like, ‘have some of that suck- er!’ You can’t help but get pumped up about it. It’s one thing to go to work every day and make a living and it’s another thing when you win it. You can’t put com- petition in a bottle; if you could I’d go home and drink it every day.” Knowles’ goal is to get the gold belt- buckle for winning the Wrangler National Continued on page 38
19 USA Wrestler
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