Victoria Jackson – photo by Mary Williams Hyde
Every year since its inception Victoria Jackson has pulled in to The WSRRA Finals in Winnemucca with an eye on the Steer Stopping title. The Nevada native got things started right at the 2014 Finals with a four second run in the first round, and she never looked back. Meet the 2014 WSRRA World Champion Steer Stopper, Victoria Jackson.
How long have you been a WSRRA member? For the five years, since they started it. I thought it was a great idea when they came up with it, and I said, hey, this is an event that I can do!
Tell me about your trip to the Finals. I had come in first year-end I think. I’m usually in the top five coming in with points. I would need to check the records but I think I came in first once, then second, I think two times. I kept saying it was a jinx. I would have to come in 9th one of these times, so then I would have to work my way up.
How many rodeos did it take to get you there? Well, of course I rodeoed most of the season, and I hit all of the ones possible here in Nevada. I went up to Rexburg, and took a girl’s team too. I think I missed Blackfoot, but I went up to Jordan Valley for a Rope & Ride. Normally, in a single season I can hit between, I don’t know, 12 and 15. And that is in between the team ropings that I go to also.
I understand you do some day work for Hot Creek Ranch? Yeah, I went up last year for about ten days or so and helped them on their fall gather. We took the colts down, and that was really good for them. It was good for my bridle horse, the one I rope on, too. It was really good for him because he learned to run downhill in a hurry after those Corrientes!
Well, since we are on the subject, tell me about the horses that you use. For steer stopping I just mainly use my bridle horse. He was actually a catch-colt. We didn’t know when my dad traded for the mare he came out of that she was bred, so he showed up in a big old snow drift in the middle of March one year. Yeah, he was laying on the ground so I think he’s tougher than nails!
I went through the whole process with him, from the snaffle bit to the hackamore, to the two-rein and finally into the bridle. It took me five years. He had a really hard stop to him, and when I came back and started steer stopping on him as soon as I threw my rope he would slam on the brakes and about launch me forward. So, yeah, we raised him, saw him born and everything, and he turned out to be a really good one. I put a lot of effort into him.
What does it take to be successful in this sport? Well, definitely you’ve got to want it. It takes long hours of practice time, and really solid horses.. You’ve got to be hungry for each win. A lot of family support. A lot of watching your own video and seeing your mistakes, whether it is with your horse or your rope. And equipment is a big deal.
Speaking of equipment, I understand you were just awarded a sponsorship? Yeah! I just got a sponsorship from Cowboy Cordage. They are a rope company out of Idaho Falls, Idaho. They are online at www.cowboycordage.com. I was pretty excited to get that!
What else do you want people to know about you? I’m from Elko, and I have a strong ranching and buckaroo background. I own cattle of my own. A bunch of my family on my mom’s side are INFR contestants, and really tough hands. My cousin has won the Big Loop before in Jordan Valley, and he has a world title of his own from Amarillo, back before Western States. So I come from really deep rodeo, ranching, and buckaroo roots on both sides.
Let’s see, what else? I train my own animals that I use in team roping and steer stopping. I take a lot of pride in the animals that I train. We try to keep it all from our breeding program. There aren’t many fancy names and they are grade horses, but they tend to work out pretty well.
Oh, yeah, I forgot to add that I am an enrolled member of the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone tribe of Nevada and Oregon. That might be important!
Congratulations, Victoria, and good luck in 2015!
