{"id":1182,"date":"2011-12-15T21:01:12","date_gmt":"2011-12-16T03:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rodeoclassifieds.com\/blog\/?p=1182"},"modified":"2011-12-23T14:30:46","modified_gmt":"2011-12-23T20:30:46","slug":"more-than-just-the-best-in-the-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.rodeoclassifieds.com\/blog\/more-than-just-the-best-in-the-game\/","title":{"rendered":"More Than Just The Best In The Game"},"content":{"rendered":"

When talking hockey, a game Canadians know well, it has been said: “For a generation of fans, Sidney Crosby is more than just the best in the game right now, he\u2019s the best they\u2019ve ever seen and maybe the best they\u2019ll ever see”.<\/p>\n

When talking barrel racing a similar line could be written about the Canadian barrel racing team of Lindsay Sears and her horse Martha. Both Lindsay and Martha have had their share of injuries but have come out on top of the world after the 2011 National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

Canadian barrel racing fans are proud of this duo and their success since their first NFR qualification in 2006. This years WPRA World Championship is the second for \"\"<\/a>the pair. Lindsay was the first Canadian to win a barrel racing world championship and she now holds two of them!\u00a0 This was the first year they won the average title as well. Facebook lit up with congrats and excitement as news spread of the big win.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Not just Canadians, and not just the younger generation either.<\/p>\n

I had the pleasure of visiting with Lindsay over the phone and had the opportunity to ask her some questions. She has been interviewed a lot lately so with the help of some members on our round pen forum and facebook page we came up with some unique questions for Lindsay.<\/p>\n

This year Sears started the year off on her back up horse Moe. Moe ran at about 80% of the rodeos while Martha recovered from a serious stifle injury sustained during round 9 of the 2010 NFR. The injury was so severe it was unknown whether Martha would ever run at the same level again.<\/p>\n

I asked Lindsay what Martha’s recovery was like and what they had done to get her back and running so tough again.
\nLS: It took a long time and a lot of patience. I had complete faith in my vet who did soft tissue treatments on her. The type of therapy is not something that has been done a lot but the results were amazing. 90% of her recovery regime was walking. She did a lot of walking.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jessica on our Facebook page<\/a> asked what Lindsays daily exercise\/training program was.\u00a0 We assumed she meant Martha \ud83d\ude09
\nLS: Martha gets ridden out in the pasture about 2-3 miles every day.\u00a0 I will do a certain amount of time of walking, trotting and loping over the 2 or 3 miles.\u00a0 Some days I will add some circles and rollbacks, just general riding.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jody, Cheryl and cisco wanted to know what her f<\/span>eed and maintenance program was.\u00a0 (We zeroed in on the NFR since its an intense 10 rounds)
\nLS: Martha gets Trimax feed and a supplement called Morinda Care along with alfalfa grass hay.<\/span>
\nAt the NFR Martha gets a massage and chiropractic adjustment before and after each run.\u00a0 Her legs get iced before and after each run and she also gets an infrared treatment before and after.\u00a0 Martha likes to be warm so we have the blanket on her while she’s in her ice boots.\u00a0\u00a0 Basically we’re using hot\/cold therapy on her to keep her sound.<\/span><\/p>\n

Carol wanted to know:\u00a0How does she deal with the stress\/pressure? How does she unwind? And one more…besides winning…what is her favorite part of Vegas?
\nLS:\u00a0 Under pressure I really just keep trying to stay calm, I visualize a lot and work on positive thinking. How do I deal with stress? This may seem weird, but I sleep.\u00a0 I am a quiet person and I keep to myself but when I’m really stressed I sleep.\u00a0 Others may pace the floor, but I sleep.\u00a0\u00a0 I also love to shop so sometimes that works too.\u00a0\u00a0 Shopping can be a luck changer for me too.\u00a0 I like to go shopping with a friend. <\/span>
\nMy favorite part about Vegas is at night.\u00a0 There is no better place to be than Vegas at midnight.\u00a0 All the lights are just really cool.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Both Shayna and I wanted to know if Lindsay felt any extra pressure being the only Canadian competing at the NFR this year.\"\"<\/a>
\nLS: It was different this year, usually there is a fight to see who carries the Canadian flag!\u00a0 There is usually a group of us down there so it spreads the responsibility out a bit.\u00a0 Yeah, I did feel more pressure, I just really wanted to represent Canada well.\u00a0 I always want to represent well whether there is 1 or 20 of us but this year it was definitely different being the only one.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I had to ask about Lindsay’s shirts.\u00a0 They have to be custom….who makes them?
\nLS:\u00a0 I am sponsored by Rock and Roll Cowgirl and they design and make them all for me<\/span><\/p>\n

Moe and Martha look to be 2 completely different styles.\u00a0 How do you adjust from one to the other?
\nLS: I do a lot of mental preparation and visualize my runs so I adjust how I visualize for each horse.\u00a0 Moe is more of a push the gas pedal to the floor horse and Martha is more of a 3\/4 throttle horse.\u00a0 I spent a lot more time on Moe this year, he went to probably 80% of the rodeos so that made it easier (by not switching back and forth) but I still just spend a lot of time visualizing and doing mental prep.<\/span><\/p>\n

Who did you have behind the scenes helping you out at the NFR? Was Moe there too?
\nLS: Moe was there.\u00a0 My mom did a lot of the work with the horses and we had some girls there exercising the horses and cleaning stalls.\u00a0 I had my vet there and chiropractor there.\u00a0 Its really a team effort.\u00a0 Its just not physically possible to do all that myself with the other obligations we have at the NFR<\/span><\/p>\n

In one of the interviews I heard you say you switched things up with Martha before your 7th round win.\u00a0 What did you do?
\nLS: I did a few things.\u00a0 One thing I did was I switched back to my old Gary Wad pad.\u00a0 Gary had given me a new one before the NFR and maybe I was just being superstitious but sometimes you have to do whatever your head needs so I went back to our regular old Wade pad.\u00a0 I also tuned on Martha in the morning.\u00a0\u00a0 I rarely do that.\u00a0 The ground was so much better than previous years and I think maybe she was trying to run a certain way from previous years.\u00a0Martha had made 40+ runs in the same arena on the same pattern (over the past years there) and it was just time we got back on the same page. <\/span>
\n I do all my tuning at a walk, but we just went back to basics so we got together.\u00a0\u00a0 I asked if she visualizes going fast while she is walking<\/em><\/span> LS: Yes and I show her exactly where I want her to go at a walk and I practice perfect.\u00a0 I will walk an identical pattern that I want in a run.\u00a0 We worked on our timing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Edited Dec 20th to add this question.\u00a0 I must have deleted it somehow before I posted it originally.\u00a0 I thought it was really great info and worth adding late!<\/em><\/p>\n

This was from whisperer in the forum:\u00a0 I would love to know how she keeps Martha positive in the alley way some horses start treating it as a negative experience, how does she keep her consistent and ready to race in?
\nLS:\u00a0 We will never compete on Martha unless she is 100%.\u00a0 I think this is the main reason she enjoys her job. She always feels good when she’s doing it.\u00a0 Martha gets a lameness exam every day during the NFR and we won’t run her if she isn’t right.\u00a0\u00a0 I think its also important to stay calm as a rider.\u00a0 Our horses will think everything we are thinking so its important we keep really positive thoughts.\u00a0 Whatever we think transmits to our horses.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

This is what the alley way looks like outside the Thomas & Mack<\/p><\/div>\n

And the question many of you are wondering….. What were you saying to Martha as you were coming down the alley?
\nLS: (laughing)\u00a0 I try to get that done before the camera comes on but I was late and they caught me on the last round!\u00a0 Its nothing big, its just something I’ve said since the first run I made on Martha.\u00a0 Its just part of our routine and if I told you, you guys would just laugh.\u00a0 Really, its nothing special, just a sweet nothing (laughing).<\/span><\/p>\n

Team mates have to keep some things to themselves I guess, and it sure seems like those sweet nothings are working.\u00a0 Congratulations Lindsay on this huge achievement, thank you for the visit and we look forward to seeing you in the winners circle again. Enjoy your Christmas at home with your family at Nanton, AB.<\/p>\n

Canadians of this generation will surely remember Lindsay Sears and Sugar Moon Express as a team hard to beat and fun to watch. Martha and Lindsay finish the year healthy and strong, looking forward to a fantastic future.\u00a0\u00a0 We look forward to watching them too.<\/p>\n

Check out the videos below.<\/p>\n

For all the rounds click back to previous posts and you can see all the NFR runs<\/p>\n

Here is a video of Lindsay’s 7th round win that I took on my camera from my seat at the Thomas & Mack
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