Unexpected Duties
More stories from Clariza Mercado

Mrs. Betsy Shivers roping alongside her husband this past summer.
As a little girl Mrs. Betsy Shivers spent most of her time with family. Most of that time was actually spent outdoors with one particular person, her sister.
“As little kids my sister and I always roped,” Mrs. Shivers said. “We would always rope barrels.”
They would use the barrels as target practice to better their throw and aim of the rope. Mrs. Shivers was a little kid when she first started roping, but she instantly fell in love with the sport. Her love for roping continued even when she went on to high school and college.
“I roped in programs for both High School Rodeo and College Rodeo,” Mrs. Shivers said.
Even after many years of roping, Mrs. Shivers still continues to rope. However, instead of roping alongside her sister; she ropes with her loved one.
“My husband and I rope as a team in a roping arena with steers and horses,” Mrs. Shivers said.
When Mrs. Shivers and her husband go compete in a team competition; Mrs. Shivers gets nervous.
“Sometimes I’m nervous, because in a team competition you want to rope good for the other person,” Mrs. Shivers said.
During the actual competitions Mrs. Shivers tries to forget about her nervousness and tries her best. Together they compete as one team in competitions and try to win awards.
“I do compete, but I’m not that good,” Mrs. Shivers said. “I haven’t won any awards recently, but my husband has won awards, money awards.”
Mrs. Shivers decided to keep roping not for the award money, but because she can’t see herself going a day without roping.
“ I have always roped. I can’t imagine not being able to rope,” Mrs. Shivers said. “When I rope I feel comfortable.”
The only time Mrs. Shivers took a break from roping was when she got pregnant with her ten year old son, Cash. However, that break didn’t last very long, because Mrs. Shivers is constantly around people who rope. So, when their son was old enough they decided to teach him how to rope.
“My husband, father-in-law, sister, and friends all rope,” Mrs. Shivers said. “My husband and I are currently teaching Cash how to rope.”
Mrs. Shivers and her husband may be teaching their son how to rope, but she can’t believe that her, herself can still rope.
“One of my favorite things about roping is that at my age I am still able to rope,” Mrs. Shivers said.
Mrs. Shivers loves roping, because she gets to spend time with her family and friends.
“I might not be good at roping, but I get to spend time with my child and husband,” Mrs. Shivers said. “We rope as a family.”