In Episode 4, Justin Maass zeroes in on one of the most frustrating problems in breakaway roping: a horse that wants to drift at the moment of delivery. Maass works through the issue in real time with both Jimmie Smith and Kayla Graham, trying to identify whether it's the left hand, the right foot, or something in the upper body that's triggering the move. His conclusion points to a backwards motion in the delivery swing, and his fix is simple: nothing goes backwards until you pull your slack. He also covers staying straight behind the calf before roping, driving to the pen with both reins, and why roping the neck sharp from the right position changes everything. The troubleshooting is honest, the runs are real, and by the end of the episode they're starting to figure it out.
Up Next in Breakaway Practice
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Ep. 7: Dummy Roping, Releasing Your C...
In Episode 7, Justin Maass takes Jimmie Smith and Kayla Graham off their horses and to the hay bale for some ground work, and it exposes one of the most common mistakes he sees from ropers at every level. Most people rope the dummy without ever releasing the first strand of their coil into their ...
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Ep. 6: Sit Still, Stay Forward & Gett...
In the final episode of the Pre-Summer Breakaway Tune Up Session, Justin Maass wraps up the day with some of the most honest coaching of the series. Jimmie Smith hits a wall mid-session and Maass pulls her out of it the only way he knows how: three good runs and a short memory. He breaks down why...
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Ep. 5: The Mental Game, Mentorship & ...
In Episode 5, Justin Maass steps away from the arena and gets into the part of roping most coaches won't talk about: the mental game. Maass breaks down his coaching philosophy, explaining why he doesn't try to completely rebuild a roper's swing and why embracing your own style is often more produ...
