Shane Hanchey had not made a trip to Clovis in several years, but because of his struggles during the Texas Swing, he figured he needed to go earn as much as he could.
It’s a good thing Hanchey made the trip.
He won Clovis and doubled his season earnings, jumping from No. 43 in the World to No. 13. The win is something Hanchey needed from a mental standpoint.
“It was just as big mentally as it was from the standings wise. I tell people I didn’t have a bad winter, I just never had that big win. I felt like I roped good I made the finals at Fort Worth and I made the Finals at San Antonio... I went to Houston and I just didn’t rope very good.”
Hanchey says he and his new horse Buggsy had to grind through some struggles and trust that they would begin to click.
“You look after Houston and you have 12,000 won and everyone else has 30,000. A little bit of panic goes through your mind and then especially getting with the new horse. It was just one of those deals, I had to keep grinding man. I was in the practice pen and roping more than ever.”
While the win is the biggest thing for Hanchey over the weekend, he knew he had to get more reps in on his new horse.
“The main reason is to get with this horse and these types of setups and get ready for the summer run... I know I’ve got to be ready for that and the horse does too. I knew that these setups, Red Bluff and Clovis are more summertime setups than what we have been to in the Texas Swing.”
The win has given Hanchey a big confidence boost heading into the Summer stretch.
"I wish Reno was next week, I am so ready for the summer."
Don’t be surprised to see Shane and Buggsy atop the leaderboard all Summer long.
“We have been talking about the Summer Run and there is so many rodeos that add so much money. It’ll be hard to get to them all. It rejuvenated me and rejuvenated my season. I’m really excited man.”