An Interview with Scott Guenthner

Rodeo Life: This might be your third consecutive appearance at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (WNFR), what have you learned from your previous experiences that will make you more prepared for this year’s?

Scott Guenthner: Just to go night by night and treat every round as its own round – I mean there’s an average at the end that does count – but the rounds pay well so even if you don’t have the greatest average or be at the top of the average you can still win a lot of other rounds.

RL: What would it mean to you and your career to go to the Thomas & Mack Center and ride off with a World Champion title?

SG: It would be a dream come true. I didn’t think I would ever go, or even make it to the WNFR, so to make it three times has already been a dream come true. To walk out of there with a title, I would be speechless – I would have no words that’s for sure.

RL: Are runs different when you are running for a World Champion title? How do you stay focused and mentally sound when the gold buckle is on the line?

SG: I don’t really think of it like that. I just think of it as another rodeo. Every night is getting back in the box and trying to do your best. I try to do everything right: not hurrying, not rushing going to the nose, and trying to make good solid runs. Every round is another rodeo to me and that’s how I stay focused. I try not to let the big lights, everyone talking, and the news and statistics distract me. I stay to my own little area and stay zoned in to what I need to do.

RL: Who was your biggest influence when you started rodeo?

SG: My biggest influence would have been my dad. He was a Canadian Champion and won the Calgary Stampede. My relatives are all into rodeo, but it was my dad and my cousin that were the big influences. I started bulldogging by helping my cousin out since he’s just a little bit older than me and my dad helping me out right here in our own yard and the alleyway. He bought me some steers and I started grabbing them down the alleyway, flying them out and such.

RL: What was it like following in your father’s footsteps and winning the Canadian National Finals Rodeo last year?

SG: It was a dream come true. That was my goal when I was little – I wanted to win the Canadian Finals and the Calgary Stampede and follow my dad’s footsteps. Winning it last year meant the world to me. I also lost my mom so it was a big deal to win it for my dad and for my sake to make her proud.

RL: You joined the PRCA in 2013, was there anything you thought you knew about the rodeo lifestyle that turned out to be different when you really immersed yourself into it? Has anything significantly changed since you started?

SG: There’s definitely a difference between Canada and United States rodeoing. I thought I would go out to rodeo then be home during the week sometimes, but it ended up being that I leave and I’m pretty much gone for nine months out of the year, especially when rodeoing both sides of the border. Nowadays I’m married and have a kid on the way, so it's a little bit different. I’m not seeing my wife as much, or my family, or helping on the ranch like I used to. My family has to take over my side of the workforce so that I can be gone and live out this dream.

RL: With being on the road a lot, how do you find a healthy balance between professional and family commitments?

SG: It gets a little tense sometimes, but I try to be there for major important events like weddings and things like that – I try to make it work and enter around them. I come home for a little bit in the spring, but after that my wife typically comes to where I am because I’m not home or anywhere near home. Quite a bit of it is her coming to where I am to watch and spend a couple of hours together, and that’s just how it goes.

RL: What has been your greatest win so far this season? What about in your entire career?

SG: It would probably have to be winning Austin, Texas this winter. It was the big boost I needed in the beginning right at the end of the winter run. It’s one of those rodeos that has been a long time and it’s a very cool and good rodeo to win. As of now in my entire career that would have to be winning the Canadian Championship last year. I went in season leader ª so I wanted to win it. I went in season leader one other time but didn’t have the greatest final, so winning it last year was the greatest accomplishment in my rodeo career thus far, other than making the WNFR – that’s also a huge accomplishment.

RL: What does a typical practice look like for you? What do you focus the most on?

SG: I try to make the same consistent runs. I focus on technique stuff more than trying to beat 3.6 (seconds) or be real quick. I want to make sure I do things correctly. Yes, I want to beat 3.6, but I want to make sure I’m doing stuff right because coming to a rodeo you have to put it all on the line and if you are not technically correct then it doesn’t always work out.

RL: Is 3.6 (seconds) the magic number to beat for Steer Wrestling?

SG: No, not really. I just threw that out there, but you definitely want to be in the three-second range. It depends on the rodeo. At some rodeos 3.9 (seconds) doesn’t place but at the next rodeo it wins it. Everywhere is different, but if you are three-second bulldogging you are doing stuff right.

RL: How do you hope to use your degree in Animal Science Technology in the future? Does your education help you in anyway as an athlete or in any aspect for your rodeo career?

SG: For my career in rodeo, my degree in animal science technology definitely helps because I am constantly working with animals such as steers and horses, and sometimes they get hurt. It helps me take care and look after them. I learned how to provide proper nutrition and upkeep to have healthy horses and livestock, which in my career is crucial because if you don’t have a healthy horse, or if they are lacking energy from an inadequate diet, then you don’t have much. For my lifestyle, we own a ranch so my degree definitely goes into effect. I have to feed them accordingly throughout the winter. My degree plays a big part between feeding, health and vaccines. That’s why I took that course because I know I will be ranching for the rest of my life.

RL: What advice would you give an aspiring Steer Wrestler about making a professional career out of rodeo?

SG: I’d say to not get discouraged when you don’t do well right off the bat. Everybody has to lose to learn to win. Try your hardest every time and if you win then great. There are going to be ups and there are going to be downs. Ride the highs and the lows the same; don’t ride the highs too high and don’t ride the lows too low.