RODEO MOM DIARIES | From My Side of the Arena : We Get Nervous … But What About Them?

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There are moments in rodeo when you realize your kids are stepping into something bigger than what you've watched them do before.

This year, Gavin competed at his first PRCA Xtreme Bulls event in Oklahoma.

I knew he had the experience. He started riding bulls when he was 5 years old. I knew he had good people around him. His brother was there, his best friend Hayden was there, along with many of the guys he's grown up riding with. I knew he was in good hands.

But I was still a nervous wreck.

I spent that day waiting to hear how his ride went. It wasn't that I didn't trust him or the people standing beside him. It was that I knew he was stepping up to the professional level, and I couldn't help but wonder: Was he ready for this?

As parents, we spend years watching our kids work toward these moments. We encourage them, support them, drive them down the road, celebrate the good rides, and help them through the hard ones. We want them to have opportunities, but when those opportunities finally come, sometimes we're the ones who have to take a deep breath and trust that we've done our part.

When I finally heard how he did, I was over the moon. He rode his bull!

I was relieved he was safe, excited for him, and so incredibly proud. Not just because he made the ride, but because he took the leap. He stepped up to a new level and gave himself the opportunity to see what he could do.

After Gavin got home, he told me that the night before he was supposed to ride, he had been sitting in the stands looking out at that same arena. That's when it really hit him how nervous he was about riding there the next night.

And that got me thinking…

We spend so much time watching from the other side of the arena, worrying about the outcome, wondering if they're ready, and hoping everything goes right. But what must it feel like to be the one standing behind the chutes, knowing you're about to take that next step?

Maybe that's one of the things we don't always stop to think about as parents.

We know what it feels like to be nervous. We've faced job interviews, important meetings, presentations, and moments when we've had to step outside our comfort zones. But can we really compare those feelings to what our kids experience when they're standing behind the chutes, waiting for their turn?

We can watch them ride. We can celebrate the wins, help them through the disappointments, and worry ourselves sick while waiting to hear how they did. But unless we've stood in their boots, I don't think we can ever fully understand what is going through their minds in those moments.

Every contestant is carrying years of practice, expectations, nerves, dreams, and the courage to take that leap.

Maybe we need to spend a little less time worrying about the outcome and a little more time understanding the experience they're living.

Because we're watching from our side of the arena.

They're the ones living it from theirs.

Have you ever watched your child step into something bigger than anything they've done before? I'd love to hear what that moment was like for you.