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factor is Ty being in the truck,” Stevi says. “In the good times and in the down times, he’s very encouraging and keeps me focused.”
Ty stays motivated by reading and listening to audiobooks and podcasts, reading the Bible, and holding morning devotions to stay on point for the day. “We renew our minds every day, even multiple times a day,” he says, “ — What’s our purpose? What are we trying to accomplish? What’s going right? And, not being led around by our emotions all the time.”
Stevi and Ty feed off of their shared dedication to helping others. “I like to see people happy and excited, enjoying their life and feeling good about themselves,” Ty says. “I like to help people bridge the gap between where they are now and where they want to be.”
He credits the first performance psychology book he read, The Inner Game of Tennis:
A Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance by W. Timothy Gallwey, with piquing his interest in how mental skills affect performance.
“Pretty soon, I was helping other people with the education I have that I started out to help myself with,” he says. “Then I was learning
to try to help others. That progressed to more formal training in more specific areas. God opened the door for me.”
Stevi also makes time to help young people enhance their abilities. “She has no secrets,” Dave says. “She’s more than willing to share the tools she has with others. To me, she’s a great example of a fine young woman. For Ty and Stevi to be as busy as they are and still make time to share their time and their knowledge is a rare thing.”
DAY TO DAY FOCUS
Stevi says her biggest challenge is keeping her horses healthy, sound and feeling good. “Without them, we wouldn’t be out here,”
she says. “They’re my first priority. It’s truly a 24/7 job to do it right, especially their legs and mentally, if that’s taking two hours to walk them around the arena to chill them out. If we’re truly taking care of the horse, their mind is right and they’re getting everything they need.”
Ty agrees. “You can talk about how mentally tough Stevi is, but you can have all the focus and mental toughness and ability in the world, but if you don’t have the horse that’s competitive, you’re not going to win anything. This is a sport where
hundredths of a second determine the difference between a check and not; tiny, tiny differences separate the elite from the really good.”
For Ty, the biggest challenge is having the business together — “Being together all the time and having our finances determined by the outcome,” he says.
While on the road, they jog and find places to do hot yoga. They also like finding unique and fun restaurants wherever they are. “When we’re home,” Ty says, “roping is fun and we enjoy it. We try to change it up as much as possible, but we really love what we do. Changing it up for us is still doing something involving horses.”
Ty is considering pursuing some competition goals of his own in the future, and they’re starting construction on a home in the next couple of months.
What their philosophy boils down to is that as with each other, their relationships with their horses are partnerships. “They’re not tools,” Ty says. “Each one is a partner with the rider.”
Ty and Stevi feel that way about the people they come into contact with as well, including the friends, family and sponsors they consider to be vital to their success.
Stevi with her mother Sheila Salzbrenner and step-father Dave Salzbrenner.
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