Best Ever Blog – Kollin VonAhn
By Sonja Eschenburg
Event: Team roping ( heeler)
From: Sac City, Iowa
Family: Angie Meadors (wife)
Kollin VonAhn now a major rodeo competitor, is originally from Sac Town, Iowa. The heeler first joined the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) back in 2006. Growing up in a small town did not stop VonAhn from making a name for himself. When Spin to Win Rodeo asked VonAhn, ‘What is it like being a [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][small town guy] going big?’ he replied with “Shoot, it’s great. It proves anyone can do anything they want to do if they keep their mind on it and work hard. No matter where you’re from or what you do, you can achieve your goal if you work hard enough.”
VonAhn really took those words to heart his first year as a professional rodeo athlete. In just three years time he made his way to the Thomas and Mack arena for the 2009 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (WNFR) with his then header, Nick Partain. The team went on to earn the world championship team roping title that year. Although that win in itself was a major accomplishment, VonAhn’s road there took an extremely unexpected turn right before he got there.
For a majority of rodeo athletes the horses they haul to the WNFR are well seasoned, with miles and miles of runs and experience beneath their belts. That being said, it takes a special kind of competitor to be able to successfully ride a rodeo-green horse at the finals. VonAhn spent his entire 2009 season competing on his main horse, 21-year-old Frank. Having assumed Frank would also be his mount at the finals, it came as quite a surprise when after an unfortunate turn of events, VonAhn had to resort to riding a practice horse, Hali, that he had just recently bought. VonAhn bought Hali expecting to spend at least two or three years seasoning her before entering anything major. It was when Frank got injured that VonAhn told Spin to Win Rodeo, “I’m going to ride her, and I know she’ll mess up somewhere, but the one thing I won’t do is get mad at her. That’s too hard on young horses.” With not much time to work with VonAhn had no other option. That being said, it came as a surprise to all when Hali fell nothing short of most seasoned horses. VonAhn did something right she did exactly what was asked of her and successful carried VonAhn the rest of the way through the year. For starters, she put him fifth on five steers over the long score at Salinas and then, not even a few days later, earned him the short-score win up in Spanish Fork with a smoking 8.8 on two head, as well. VonAhn said, “She always [did] exactly what I asked her to do. She turned into a life-saver for me.”
VonAhn basically did the impossible when he tried, and eventually succeeded, at making the NFR on Hali. He told his header, Luke Brown,
“I really think if she understands that I’m the only friend in the world she’s got, we’re going to do this. It’s stupid and quirky, but I decided she’s a damn nice horse and the best horse I’ve got [right now] and I’ll love on her every day that I wake up. I’m telling you – I believe that’s what allowed her to take me to the NFR with all the pressure I put on her.”
The 2009 World Champion made it his mission to help Hali understand her job and reassure her that although he was going to be asking a lot of her, he would never purposely push her over her limit. VonAhn said, “I don’t know if she’s the best horse I’ve ever had, but she’s dang sure my favorite because we went through this whole deal together.”
The key to making a good run in the rodeo arena is to always be prepared to expect the unexpected and being able to adjust quickly enough to whatever curveballs life throws your way – whether that be how the steers run, or simply even the weather the day of the event. Horses know repetition, and they know how to react to something they’ve seen before, VonAhn said. Therefore, a rodeo athlete’s best bet when seasoning his or her horse is to make every different kind of run in the practice pen that’s possible in competition. That being said, VonAhn is a strong believer in the saying ‘Practice makes perfect,’ but he to expect the unexpected is just as important, too.
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