After near misses, R.C. Landingham competes at WNFR
Every cowboy and cowgirl competing at the National Finals Rodeo knows how difficult it is to make it to the event.
The long hours, the travel and the physical demands are just parts of it.
R.C. Landingham knows those hardships. He also knows the heartbreak that comes with putting in all the work and just missing out on a chance to compete in what is considered the Super Bowl of professional rodeo.
Landingham, a 26-year-old bareback rider, finished 16th two straight years — the top 15 qualify for the NFR — and 19th last year.
So in July when he knew he finally had a spot in this year’s NFR, the pressure was lifted.
“I didn’t have to win to make the finals, so that made it a lot easier to win and it was just a huge relief to finally know that I was going to get to go,” Landingham said.
Landingham finished fifth overall in the bareback standings, but despite a solid season, he was understandably nervous on Thursday in his first go-round.
He wasn’t himself behind the chutes, hardly talking to anybody and was almost in shock that he was there.
That translated to poor results, with him placing last.
“Things did not go the way I planned and after being 16th twice and 19th once and being so close to making it and then finally making it this year, I think I had a lot of pressure on me and I just wanted really bad to have a good performance and things definitely did not go the way I wanted them to,” he said. “After being there and experiencing it … I kind of have an idea of what it’s like. I’m not going to have all that pressure.”
On the second night, he had a better performance, finishing seventh, though just missing out on earning money in the round.
In his third go-round, which took place Saturday, he posted an 80.0, his best score of the three, but again just missed out on cashing.
He currently sits seventh in the event standings.
The success this year, he said, is a function of making better decisions, thanks in part to lessons he learned from near misses in the past.
He said being so close to qualifying for the NFR but just missing was really difficult, especially when it happened the second time, but it made him work a little harder.
“You go back, you think about things you could have done different and both years there were a handful of things that I could have done different and choices that I made that I shouldn’t have and it might have made the difference in that $5,000 and (gotten) me to the finals. But at the end of the day, you never really know what would have happened if you had done things different anyways,” Landingham said.
This year, Landingham said he was healthy all season, taking better care of his body and being better at deciding which horses to get on.
“I don’t really dwell on the past. I just kind of try to build on it and try not to make the same mistakes twice and I think it made me a better bareback rider and a smarter bareback rider,” Landingham said. “I (make) some smart decisions on what horses I get on now, what rodoes I go to and when I go and when I stay home and all that.”
Contact Betsy Helfand at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @BetsyHelfand
