Team Roper Provides Hope
Sometimes we can become so fixated on our disabilities that we can’t see the road ahead causing many folks to lose hope . When someone in the pubic eye, a celebrity or athlete works to overcomes a physical or mental challenge it provides not only an inspiration but often a great moral boost. I’m Susan Allen, welcome to Open Range when I return I’ll share the story of one of rodeos over achievers. Millions of folks throughout the US have something in common with thirty two year old professional team roper Kory Koontz, diabetes. While six point two percent of our population are diabetic Koontz suffers from the rarer, Type 1, infecting only five percent of diabetes suffers. His body doesn’t produce any insulin thus aggressive sports like professional roping that include extensive riding and travel take their toll. Koonz was recently quoted in an American Profile piece as saying he feels his bouts of fatigue cost him money on the rodeo trail. For over a year he has been using an insulin pump and he attributes its ability to get insulin into his system faster for better performances. While the world championship still eludes the cowboy two past wins in the Bob Feist Invitational netted him over one hundred thousand dollars, not much for a pro baseball player but for this Christian athlete from little Sudan Texas who focus on his blessing not his disability it places him in the upper echelon of rodeo. I’m Susan Allen