This post is a little late, but I have thought a lot about Fibark and competing this season and wanted to revisit it because the event was an interesting experience for me.
Every year, competing at Fibark has been disappointing. I usually have about a month of practice in and feel confident, but always seem to come up short. This year, was different. After finishing up my final year of college, I only got in a week of practice, and wasn’t expecting much at the competition.
In prelims I felt I had decent rides and made it to semi finals in the 7th place spot. Once advancing to semi finals, I tried to go big on my first ride which resulted in flushing as opposed to racking up points. My second ride was much more successful and moved me into the fourth position which put me into finals. I have never made finals at Fibark in the past and I was excited to have a chance at winning.
When finals came around, Dustin Urban had a really great first ride which put pressure on me to go big for the win. My low fitness level caused me to tire quickly which resulted in flushes in all of my rides. I took fifth overall but I at least had high scoring rides in finals.
All in all, I am pleased with how well I did at Fibark considering that I did not have the strength and practice that I had in the past. This competition has pushed me to work harder and see that with practice and being in peak condition, I could win. Fibark was my one and only competition of the season, and I am looking forward to coming back next year to compete.
