Peek's mind-over-matter quest is paying off

By Paul Willis, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 11, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.

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Photo by Photos By Linda McConnell / Special to the Rocky

Josh Peek, who was second in the all-around at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, practices calf roping in preparation for the National Western Stock Show.

Peek corners a mind-of-its-own calf in preparation for moving it toward a chute.

Peek practices his roping. He is known for his attention to detail and his unwavering ability to focus.

Peek, 28, rides his horse, Cody, while leading extra horses to the corral for training.

For the typical athlete, preparing for competition requires some combination of a gym, field and weight room. For Josh Peek, a recliner or a comfy couch will do.

That is not to say the up-and- coming professional rodeo cowboy from Pueblo doesn't put in his share of physical training. It's just that Peek, 28, gleans his most important tools for success from the pages of books dedicated to mind control and the power of positive thinking.

The concept doesn't seem unbelievably far-fetched, considering that in Peek's business ? he's a calf roper and steer wrestler ? the window separating success and failure generally is less than 10 seconds.

"I've always wanted to have the edge," said Peek, who enters the National Western Stock Show fresh off an impressive second- place all-around finish last month at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. "And when you have the mental edge when you're in the box, you're ahead of 99 percent of the guys."

Peek, who broke into the Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association in 2002, hones the physical form of his craft on the family ranch. But just as other athletes pour on the work, running football pass patterns, shooting hoops or taking countless reps of groundballs, Peek builds his activity as competitions near. He generally ropes 20 or 30 calves two or three times a week on off weeks and gradually increases the workload.

He aims to further elevate his abilities through pages of prose by Norman Vincent Peale and other authors rooted in motivational thinking.

It's not that Peek has a library stacked to the gills with hundreds of volumes dedicated to psycho- cybernetics. He reads "the same five or six" books all year, often highlighting certain passages and rereading them in the days leading up to competition.

"I'll mark little pages in the book if it's something I'm struggling with," Peek said. "I may not struggle with it the next month or two months down the road, but it might come back in December or January of the next year, and I'll start struggling with it again. I'll just go back to that chapter, read that chapter, and it just helps put my mind at ease."

Peek doesn't use the reading as a crutch against an actual workout. He remains in tremendous physical shape with a healthy diet and a workout regimen that includes sit-ups, push-ups, swimming, running stairs and, most importantly, he said, core work. He steers clear of straight-up weight lifting because he doesn't want to lose flexibility by adding an abundance of muscle mass ? "and you can get hurt too easy."

Anyone skeptical of Peek's work ethic can receive an endorsement from Dr. Justin Youngren, the Peeks' family chiropractor and a PRCA veteran. Youngren taught Peek the art of steer wrestling when the cowboy was 16 and needed a second event to add to his repertoire.

"At a young age, you could tell he was extremely focused," Youngren said. "If all students could be like that, it'd be easy. But they're not. He just had a natural ability and he's got that amazing attention to detail."

That unwavering scrutiny allowed Peek to bolt to the second- place finish in Las Vegas, which is the marquee event on the PRCA tour. Peek finished second to Trevor Bralize, perhaps the most recognized cowboy on the circuit.

And this was from a guy whose biggest thrill was merely qualifying for the Vegas event, a dream he had harbored since his childhood.

"Just driving there was one of the biggest highlights of my life," Peek said. "Then I competed at a level that I always thought I could, but when you actually do it, it's much neater than you actually think it'd be."

Peek comes from a through- and-through rodeo family, with two younger brothers, also PRCA members, and a father, Ray, who is an accomplished calf roper.

Jeremiah Peek, 27, and Jon Peek, 23, also will compete at the National Western Stock Show.

The younger Peeks generally have a string of questions for Josh, which is fine, because an inquiring mind is another one of the eldest brother's preparation tools.

"I'm not afraid to ask questions," Peek said. "If I'm curious about something, I'll ask Trevor or Cody (DeMoss) what they think. And the cool thing about rodeo is, people like that aren't afraid to help."

While the Las Vegas event symbolized the season's grand finale, the National Western Stock Show is the recognized first major event of each new season.

That means Peek will be reading ? or perhaps better put, rereading ? this week in preparation for continuing his prominent rise.

"Anyone who's known him this long isn't surprised," Youngren said. "We're all just grateful we've been able to see it happen. Success is when preparedness meets opportunity, and that's what happened in Vegas. I think it will continue to happen."

Trim business

* Josh Peek is using his college degree. In 2003, the Colorado State-Pueblo graduate purchased Three Peeks’ Trimming, which helps four dairies in Canon City keep their cattle healthy. The business is responsible for trimming the hooves of cattle, a practice that keeps them healthier and more prone to producing top-notch milk. Peek, who majored in business with an emphasis in entrepreneurship, said the average cow gets trimmed twice a year, though some more frequently.

A sporting kind of guy

* Don’t label Josh Peek all cowboy. He also digs the “big four” professional sports and supports the Colorado teams. Not only that, but he is friends with one of the players: John-Michael Liles of the Colorado Avalanche. “We met at a benefit and hung out,” said Peek, who also met Avs players Paul Stastny and Wojtek Wolski. “We’ve been friends ever since.”

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