A few months ago Cowgirl Confidential got a chance to interview with one of WPRA’s leading competitors, Jackie Hobbs. If you know the sport of Rodeo or grew up competing…there really shouldn’t be a reason why you don’t know this young woman.
With many achievements at such a young age, it’s no surprise that she has accomplished so much so early. Still competing, Jackie has teamed up with another great competitor, Lari Dee Guy. Together they put on what has to be one of the world’s greatest roping clinics for women. Currently the two are in Australia putting on a roping clinic.
CC: Tell me a little about yourself. I know you were born in Illinois, moved to OK, Graduated HS, and attended college at Vernon, before transferring to Tarleton. Is there anything you’d like to add to that?
JH: I now live on a ranch in Abilene, TX where I train roping horses, rodeo, and put on clinics all over the world.
CC: How old were you when you started riding? Rodeoing? What events did you compete in?
JH: I have riden all of my life. When I was a baby my mom cut out a hole in a pillow and put it over the saddle horn so that I could ride on it in front of her. In Illinois the speed events were much bigger, so I competed in a lot of barrel races, pole bending, and flag races. When I moved to Oklahoma, there were a lot more opportunities for junior rodeos where kids were roping and tying goats. I continued with the speed events through high school, but once I started roping when I was a freshman, everything else just kind of took back seat!
CC: Did you play sports in High School? Why or why not?
JH: I loved sports! I was really passionate about basketball, and played a little softball until it got where it was interfering too much with the rodeos. I had actually put a lot more time into basketball until I tore my knee up while playing when I was a junior. Then I realized that the chances for a college basketball scholarship had seriously decreased for me.
CC: I think it is so awesome that you have chosen and succeeded in an event that is a predominately male event. The PRCA gets so much attention throughout the year and during the NFR. As a woman myself, I wish that the WPRA had a little bit more attention and had the big hoopla that the NFR brings to Vegas. How do you feel about this?
JH: Obviously, I would love for the women in the sport to get more “hoopla”. I think if there were a lot more attention and spotlight put on the women excelling in rodeo events, younger girls might have a lot more to work for. However, I do understand that watching a man at most sports is a lot more intriguing than watching a woman. They are faster, stronger, and just make roping look a lot better. But good competition is good competition, no matter male or female. And like I said, I think that the more influence we can get on the sport, the more young talent we will see climbing to the top and creating great competition.
CC: Luckily enough the WPRA is it’s own organization and designed for women only. I think that is great. What I do get confused about is Barrel Racing. That is the main event I competed in growing up and the usual…poles, goat-tying, breakaway, etc, but you don’t see Calf Roping for women at the NFR only Barrel Racing. I know I would love to see more womens’ events compiled into the NFR? What are your thoughts/feelings?
JH: Well, I think that there will be breakaway roping for women at the NFR one day. It might not be in my time, but I think it will get there. Like I said before, it would be hard to follow Cody Ohl tying a calf in 6.7 and try to make it as exciting. But the breakaway would be a fun, fast, edge of you seat event that is now added to almost every amateur rodeo association and big ropings all over the United States. Plus, I think it would be a great event that shows animal rights activists a little more humane event.
CC: You are a World Champion Calf Roper – how does that feel?
JH: It feels good. Calf roping takes a lot of work on your horse and with your rope, but your athletic ability and ground work factor in. It’s cool to think that I was the best at all of this for the past two years.
CC: I believe that you can do anything you want, if you try, practice, put your heart into, and believe in yourself. Is there anything else you want to accomplish life?
JH: I really want to become a great horsewoman. Right now I train roping horses because of my niche in the marketplace with them, but I love to work with horses in all stages and different disciplines. I would love to get better at breaking colts and teaching them to work cattle. I would love to be able to train some of my colts to do the working cow horse as well as roping.
CC: You are very gorgeous and a pretty small girl, you don’t look like someone who would be a calf roper. How do you throw them calves down?
JH: Ha! What cropped picture were you looking at?! Just kidding! Once you put your time into your ground work, you learn that it really is a lot to do with technique. The force of your horse backing, the way you use your legs, the way you pull the center of gravity of the calf, and the angles in which you pull all play a big factor in the way you flank a calf. So, although it does help to be fit and strong, its not all brute strength.
CC: You and your friend Lari Dee Guy have a lot of roping clinics, what is the biggest problem you see that girls today have in roping?
JH: Horsemanship, Horsemanship, Horsemanship! So many girls can ride really good and can rope really good, but not many can ride and rope very good.
CC: You are already on top for 2010, so far my records show that you are setting 3rd in Breakaway, 1st in Tie-Down, 8th in Heading, and 2nd in Heeling (Results as of October 20, 2010). What goals do you want to accomplish this year? I know Tie-Down is your event, but sometimes we have goals that don’t involve what we succeed in – does this at all apply to you?
JH: I definitely want to win the All-Around and Tie-Down again, but I would really like to win the Breakaway. I was really close to winning it last year, so if I can find a good horse to rodeo on in the Breakaway this year, I think it is a realistic goal. I would love to be able to win a championship in every event, but that would be a little unrealistic with the way that the WPRA points are counted these days.
CC: I would like to personally Congratulate you. You are someone that I look up to and you are actually younger than I am. You have achieved at your age, similar goals that I had hoped to achieve. Anyone who sets goals and achieves them is an awesome person that can teach others and help them accomplish what they might want in their own life. Is there anything at all that you would like to add to this?
JH: Thank you for your interest in me! And my favorite saying: Live your life as an exclamation, not an explanation. (My horse brand is an exclamation mark!)
I would like to Thank Jackie for allowing Cowgirl Confidential an interview. We wish her all the best this year in each and every event.
