Roping, and rodeo, has been and will continue to be a big part of Walker's life.
"I'm a huge rodeo fan," Walker says, stating the blatantly obvious. "There are really just two sites that I go to when I'm on the compute-the ESPN ProRodeo site and the PGA golf site. I love them both. And I'm a big tie-down roping fan, too. Cody Ohl, Trevor Brazile, Roy Cooper…I just think the world of all of those guys. And Joe, he's such a good man."
In addition to his time constraints, Walker is also handcuffed by horse limitations.
"I lost my roping horse, Brandy, a couple of years ago, and I've been on the road quite a bit," Walker said. "I'm so competitive that I want to make sure I get a horse that will work for me, so I've had some time off from roping. Plus, I got my arm hung in a coil, so that was kind of scary. I'm just not going to rope with any horse, and a good roping horse is hard to find.
"The lifestyle just makes roping so hard," says Walker, who also likes to play pick-up basketball. "But there will come a time when I'll be able to settle down and do more of the things I want to do. I want to spend time with roping, really lay a foundation and build good skills. You can get into so many bad habits, and that's the last thing you want to do. The last few times I've roped, it just hasn't gone well, and I don't want to get into any bad habits."
So now Walker will slowly "re-introduce" himself to the sport, at a pace that will ensure success. There will come a time, after all, when he'll want to park the tour bus a little more often. He'll want to get off the stage for awhile, off the road and out from in front of the crowd. He'll want to come home.
When that time comes, he'll be here, in Central Texas. He'll be the small, yet strong, man on the back of a good roping horse, running steers. And instead of a guitar or a microphone-or a Sharpie-he'll have a rope in his hand.
And a smile on his face.
"I need to start all over, break down my mechanics, get a good horse and practice," Walker says. "Now, instead of getting frustrated, I'm going into it with my mind fresh, and that'll give me more happiness than just trying to fit roping into my schedule, then end up getting frustrated because I'm not giving it the time it deserves.
"The first time I roped was probably 12 years ago, and I was foolish enough to think that it would be easier than it turned out to be. I'm looking forward to getting back to roping a lot more often. And I'm so competitive…I want to do it the right way."
