In most sports, athletes peak at around 30 years old and many by the time they hit their late-30s. At 53 years young, Walt Woodard has not only retained his competitive drive, he is the defending World Champion heeler.

"I keep saying that I'm going to retire all the time;" said the ever-humble Woodard. "But I love to compete, so I'll be here as long as I can be competitive."

In the sport of professional rodeo, the team roping competition involves a header, or someone who first ropes the steer around the head, and a heeler, the rider who ropes the steer's heels once they kick off the ground.

Being a successful team roper requires hard work, practice and constant mental focus. Any athlete can slip into a negative mental spiral during hard times, but with a lifetime of experience behind him, Woodard may be one of the best in the game at recognizing the importance of focus and positive thoughts to rodeo performance.

"Our sport is like golf," says Woodard. "When you're young, you get over the four-foot putt and you think it's going in."

"When you get older and you have failed a lot on that four-foot put, then those thoughts start to come into your mind," he continued, "'I wonder if this one is going to go in. The last one didn't go in.'"

Woodard says the trick for him is to replace any negative thoughts with positive thoughts. For him, the ability to recognize negative thoughts comes from a lifetime of roping. Woodard grew up competing in rodeo from an early age. He was roping in junior competitions at 8 or 9 long before deciding to make a go of professional roping.

The transition into the professional ranks of the sport of roping is not easy for any young roper.

"I lived like a rat. I slept on a sleeping bag on a cot in my trailer. I'm talking about where the horses live. I showered at the rodeo grounds and ate at the hospitality tent. That's not a very glamorous side to rodeo, but that's what you do as a rookie trying to break in."

As daunting as that might seem to up-and-coming ropers, Woodard has some sound words of advice that have guided him for the entire course of his career. You could even say it's his mantra.

"If your will to succeed is strong enough, you can't be denied, you will be successful."

Success in rodeo is bred through hard work and preparation.

Running to keep his back and legs strong, as well as doing the best he can to watch his diet, have become Woodard's daily regimen.

"I dislike running so much that when I'm running, in order to keep my mind off the fact that I hate it, I think about my approach going down the arena, go over the steps, things that I want to win, run over different scenarios in my mind and before I know it, I've reached the top of the hill [1 mile from his house]. If I can get to the top, then coming back is not so hard."

The most important thing for any roper is drills. Sled work and practicing with a mechanical steer are important when combined with 5-6 hours of horse work.

This may seem excessive, but according to Woodard: "There is never a time when you can really let down in our sport. There are a couple of weeks in the season where nothing goes on, but those are the only times that you can take a break."

It takes constant practice to stay sharp, to maintaining focus rather than letting the mind wander.

"For me, I don't think 10 fundamental things during the run. I pick out one fundamental thing. I think in golf they call it a "swing" thought. My success depends on position; if I'm in the right spot I very rarely miss. You can be in the wrong spot if you are distracted going down the arena or if you are late coming out of the box or if a thought comes into your mind that you are going too far down the arena and won't get a good score.

"Well, you don't have time to think of those thoughts, you just have to put yourself in the best position you can to put yourself in a place where you can rope fast. So when I start having negative thoughts, I replace them with a positive plan."

Even constant practice and vigilance may not be enough. The schedule is demanding. There is practically no off-season.

At the end of 2007, Woodard was declared the World Champion heeler. About two weeks later, the season started again, and the ropers had to jump right back into competition to try to qualify for the next Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

"I started off roping well because I was still coasting on the win, but we worked so hard during the regular season and to prepare for the National Finals, giving your heart and soul for 10 days and then only get a two-week break. I wasn't ready to come back mentally and after three weeks of competition started to go downhill."

With the 70-odd rodeos Woodard and his partner, former World Champion header Clay Tryan, compete in over the year to qualify for the National Finals, scheduling and endurance are key factors. Having a strong support system is important, too.

"His wife helps us drive and so does mine," Woodard said "They help ride the horses and keep them in shape and they manage the team. The schedule is so hectic — it's like in auto racing; you can be the greatest open-wheel racecar driver in the world, but there is a whole team of people that makes those racecars go. Everyone just sees the guy that's in the car."

For Woodard, the regular season ends September 30, but there are invitational tournaments for the top point teams after that as well as preparation for the upcoming Wrangler National Finals rodeo, which takes the top 15 teams based on the yearly standings. Right now, Woodard and Tryan are in the top 20, and they believe that they should be able to move up as the summer progresses.

Qualifying for the National Finals is of the utmost importance for teams because in that one tournament there is the potential to make more money than in the whole course of the season combined.

Woodard plans to go back to teaching the fundamentals of roping once he leaves the professional stage, but if recent history is any indication, there is a good chance that he will be winning rodeos for years to come.

For more information on Walt Woodard, visit his web site at www.waltwoodard.com

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