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My older brother Kody and I have a great relationship. When someone asks about our relationship, I always respond the same way: “We are best friends ninety-eight percent of the time, but the other two percent is pretty ugly.” I convinced Kody to partake in my weekly Sunday (11/6) Snooze visit and then further conned him into an interview.

I started the interview once our food arrived. I started by asking him about his first memories involving horses. He responded with my single stint as a chariot racer where I hooked up my Radio Flyer wagon to my unbroke pony. He also mentioned falling off a horse that resulted in a lacerated kidney and visit to Children’s.

Then I completely changed directions of the interview and asked Kody, “What motivates you?”. Kody said failure drives him. Then, I asked him about his lowest/highest moments in the past six months. Coming off of his sport’s finals a week ago in Amarillo, Kody responded with his mental error in the “Play with the Pros.” In the Play with the Pros, the general membership “buys” professional riders like Kody. Tanner Keith “bought” Kody in the sorting, which goes against the status quo. Professionals typically do not buy other professionals. Kody “made the moment bigger than it needed to be,” making a careless mental error by not sending in the lower-rated rider first. Kody started the run, which disqualified him. One of his highest moments followed at the same show, however, when he rebounded in the team penning with a second place finish.

I asked Kody where he sees himself in five years. He wants to have a degree. He hopes to be successful at whatever he decides to do, still riding horses, and less stressed. I ended with asking him for advice to his younger self/sister. Kody tells his past self: “Be careful who you trust.” He told me that I need to “remember to have fun.” I told him this is “good stuff but hard to do.” I then asked Kody for closing remarks. He said “It’s not that deep.” Whatever your going through, it is probably less serious than you think.

As always, I am thankful to have Kody as a brother, friend, and mentor.