Dear Ropers,

Here we are once again with another month flying by. I don't know about you but my days turn into years lately. They say (whoever they are) that time seems to faster as you get older and I must say I do believe so. I will be at the 30 year mark in 2 yrs! That may seem young to some of you but reality is I will no longer always be "the youngest"! I have taken great pride in always being "the youngest". I am the youngest of 3 by several years. You see the youngest gets away with a lot because they are "young." When you get to be "not the youngest" there is a lot of responsibly and you can't take advantage of being the youngest any more. My grandmother once told me she stopped at 39 so I always thought you could pick the age you wanted and just stop! I might ponder that theory and go with grandma. Once again "they" say you are only as young as you feel and I think I will be young a long time! Although as I am writing this my second child has not been born, we will see how young I feel with a 6 year old and a newborn at 3:00 in the morning!


Since I left you last we were talking about our Feb. roping at Ada, Okla. Since then we have been a few miles. March 1st and 2nd was our Heel-O-Matic Classic at Tunica, Ms. Once again Mississippi welcomed us quit well. With over 500 teams on Saturday and 400 teams on Sunday our second AATRC roping of 2003 was a great success! $10,000 was added on top of the guaranteed prizes package of 10 Running P Trophy saddles, 6 Hy-O-Silver buckles, 8 breast collars and $11,000 in cash. Plus the top 47 ropers won shootouts to our finals in Shawnee, Ok were 100%+ will be paid out.


1st in the average went to Shannon Everett and David Burks with a 24.39 on three. A victory of almost 3 seconds above 2nd place. These guys came from the 17th call back and roped the fast steer in the money round (7.47) which was good for $600 and 2 buckles PLUS the 1st place money of $3400 and 2 Running P saddles. If you thinks that was enough for one weekend let me tell you, you are wrong. The header Shannon Everett placed not once more but twice more! They say when it is your weekend you better be there and he was. With mom and dad cheering him on! Congratulations to Shannon on a great team roping weekend! And just for a little money round info 63rd call back placed 13th winning money and the 34th call back placed 4 winning saddles and cash! So next time you are not in the top 20 keep your head and remember anything can happen!


Next month you can read about our results from the ropings in Glen Rose, TX March 22 & 23 and also Ardmore, Ok April 5 & 6. Don't forget Deridder, La is May 3 &4 and Humansville, Mo is May 24 & 25 (memorial day weekend). You won't have to worry about calling in late on Monday from the Missouri roping most of you have that day off! For more info on our ropings go to our website AATRCROPE.COM or email us fearnot@brightok.net and if you don't do the computer thing just pick up the phone and call 580-653-2467. Preferably before 9:00 pm.


Be sure and check out the entry format for all our ropings. The 6 pts will mostly all be enter 1 and draw 1 and then you can draw in multiples of 2 up to 16 runs. And most of the 4 pts will stay the same in regards to enter with 1 and draw 3 and then you can draw in multiples of 2. The reasoning being we have notice how tough the other 4 pt ropings have become when can pick more of your partners. Our ropings so far have been where a 33 on three is sure to place (that is even with dropping a time) and that's the way it should be. But, hopefully the option of drawing in multiples of two after your first 4 runs will help a lot of you guys out.


We took a survey at our last roping of a few things and one was would you like to be able to have the option of roping your last (fourth) steer on Saturday so you can go on home. We had more yes's than no's. But I think the no's didn't fully understand the theory. You would not have to rope your 4th steer on Saturday it is an option! This for those guys that really didn't want the expense of another nights stay etc. Or if there was another roping you would like to go to on Sunday you could do that. Some said that Sunday's ropers would have an advantage. That might be so but have the option of being a Sunday roper. This is just some thing to give some thought to.


In closing here is a email that I received from my mom and I wanted to share it with you:


A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door! He slammed on the brakes and drove the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?"

The young boy was apologetic. "Please, mister... please, I'm sorry...I didn't know what else to do," He pleaded. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop..." With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. "It's my brother," he said. "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up." Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me." Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out his fancy handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay. "Thank you and may God bless you," the grateful child told the stranger. Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message "Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!" God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us. It's our choice.


God bless you,
Buddy & Kelly Norman