Size Matters

HALL-OF-FAMER JIMMY RODRIGUEZ, 78, headed at 19 NFRs and won four NFR average titles and four gold buckles.

Little horses can break quicker and get out of the box quicker, as long as they can handle the weight of the steer. The year I won the world with Ken Luman, I was riding a horse that stood about 14.3 hands and didn’t even weigh 1,200 pounds—he was about 1,175 pounds. But he was stout by the saddle horn. If small horses score as excellent as he did, you can get up and rope a little quicker on them.

My preference is a short-coupled horse about 14.3 hands that will weigh 1,250 and can handle the weight on the saddle horn. Today, bigger horses are