ProRodeo Sports News - May 29, 2020

Do you feel refreshed now? Isaac: I’m craving it again, and I’m ready to get back at it. I just needed to step away from it for a while. This (break) couldn’t have happened at a better time. What was it like the first time you went through the Grand Entry at theWrangler NFR? Isaac: I rode for Florida every year I’ve gone to the NFR. I grew up in Davie (Fla.). It was nerve-wracking going through the Grand Entry the first time. For me, that’s when it sunk in that I was there. It feels like you’re in a tunnel coming down that alleyway – it’s dark and all you can see is the smoke and lights in the arena. Your heart is beating 100 mph, and you’re hoping you don’t fall off. My horse actually bucked with me all the way around the arena that very first round. I wrecked the Grand Entry and backed into everybody. What’s your mindset when you compete at theWrangler NFR? Isaac: I have gone at it with a little different approach the last couple of times. The first few times I was there, I put it on a pedestal, and it deserves to be on a pedestal, but mentally for my game to be consistent I can’t put it on a pedestal. I have to act like we’re just at another rodeo. I took that approach the last two times I was at the NFR, and I rode better than I ever have. Is there one memory that stands out to you in your rodeo career? Isaac: My favorite all-time moment in rodeo was being 93 on Frontier Rodeo’s Medicine Woman in Dodge City (Kan.) in 2015. I had been on her a couple of other times, and it was the best trip she ever had with me. It was awesome. What sports did you do in high school besides rodeo? Isaac: I played baseball from Little League all the way up to high school. I was a first baseman and center fielder, but I didn’t play at all in high school. I wanted to ride broncs, and it was kind of one or the other. I did team rope, but I didn’t take that too seriously. Mike Fletcher was a huge part of my upbringing. He rode broncs in the PRCA for more than 20 years. I grew up looking up to him and wanted to follow in his footsteps, and he got me started. What does 8 seconds feel like to you? Isaac: Sometimes it needs to be shorter. It just depends what kind of animal you’re on. Some of them it feels like forever because they are beating the snot out of you, and other ones you could go on for a minute and it’s fun the whole time. There’s nothing like that rush, and you don’t want it to die down or you’re going to set yourself up for getting hurt. What advice would you give young saddle bronc riders? Isaac: To travel with guys who have like-minded goals and who are better than you are. If you’re the best one in the rig why would you ever want to get better? If you travel with guys who ride better than you do, they are going to motivate you. What was it like traveling with two-time world champion Taos Muncy? Isaac: I traveled with Taos for 10 years. This will be my third year traveling with Brody Cress and Shorty Garrett, but Taos and I are just as good of friends as ever. It was interesting at times traveling with Taos. We did good together. We motivated each other and always had fun no matter where we were going. I had a really great time traveling with Taos. Are you a mentor to Cress and Garrett? Isaac: They make me feel that way because they try and purposely make me feel old. It works well because Shorty and I joke throughout the day, drink coffee and hang out, and Brody likes to sleep during the day and drive all night. Brody is also goal driven and physically driven. He works out like a machine, and motivates me to work out. How long do you see yourself continuing to compete? Isaac: I guess as long as the good Lord allows me to keep winning. I figure God will let me know when I need to be done. I don’t plan on slowing up for a while. I just try and make sure I’m in God’s plans. So, whatever he has in mind for me, he will make it obvious, I think. What’s it like being a dad? Isaac: It’s great. It was hard last summer because I was with (Whitlee) every day through my rehab, then I had to hit the road harder than I ever had and I hardly got to see her. It’s fun (being her dad). She’s a blast.

William Kierce photos ABOVE: Isaac Diaz pushes his daughter, Whitlee Grace, 1, in a swing at their home in Desdemona. BELOW: Diaz and wife, Britany, share a light moment with Whitlee Grace.

ProRodeo Sports News 5/29/2020

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