Bareback rider Ty Fast Taypotat of Regina, Sask., is in Edmonton all geared up for CFR.
To say his journey has been a difficult one is an understatement. Taypotat was put out of commission with a severe bicep injury which occurred at Spanish Fork Fiesta Days in mid-July. Since then, the young cowboy has had surgery and has worked to bring the torn bicep back, but he knew it wasn’t going to happen in time for the CFR.
So the intrepid cowboy did the seemingly impossible–he switched riding arms. Taypotat, who normally rides with his left hand went out and bought a brand new right hand glove, rosined it up and jammed it in his new right hand bareback rigging. Apparently, that was the easy part. The hard part was the mental game.
“I’ve spent lots of time in my head, thinking about it, holding my new free arm in the air. Yeah, I’ve spent lots of time in my head,” says Taypotat.
Visualization is a powerful tool to have in your arsenal, that-and the deep desire to ride which he has in spades, plus he has found a bit of time to practice. “I’ve been on two horses so far,” he laughs.
Taypotat is the subject of a documentary on underEXPOSED which will air on APTN in the 2017.