While in town picking up the shotgun he won as the Steer Wrestling Champion of RFD-TV’s The American, Matt Reeves joined Steve Kenyon in studio to do an interview from a safe social distance on Western Sports Round-Up. The two talk about how the Reeves family is spending their time during this period of isolation, how he and his AQHA Horse of the Year Rattle are staying in rodeo shape, and what’s happening in the rodeo community as events continue to be cancelled or postponed.
As Reeves points out, it’s a situation that not only effects the athletes but also the stock contractors, who depend on rodeos to make money, the animals, who are now just at home eating and not competing, and the rodeo committees, who’ve financially invested in events that are not taking place. “Everybody has a lot of money out and no money coming in,” says Reeves, who was recently re-elected as the steer wrestling event rep on the PRCA contestant executive council. “The minute we can get it started back up, we’ll get it going.”
This weekend, Reeves would typically be in the Florida for the Ram National Circuit Finals, which he says is a disappointment to not only him but also his 4-year-old, who now wants to know when Disney World will open back up. Just like Reeves and his family, everyone in the rodeo community is itching to get back to it, and, as the husband of a nurse, Reeves realizes it’s important to protect public health, but he remains hopeful that by June we will start seeing rodeos again.
“We have a lot of smart people that have the access to, the ability to, cure and prevent things than they used to,” Reeves says. “So, I think the country and the world is working on that, and we as the world of rodeo, we just have to be able to hang on, and we’re going to do all we can. We don’t want to see anybody in a bind, and we’re going to help everybody as much as we can.”
To close out the interview, Matt offers some words of inspiration.
“Hey everybody stay and stay positive out there,” he says, “and we’ll all get through this together. It’s a family affair, and understand the rodeo family will pick everybody up when we get done.”
