Promising Texas rodeo star used his dyslexia to spur him on

From The Houston Chronicle:

Cannon (pictured) always knew the ticket to what he wanted would be his athleticism.

In high school he had his sights set on college, but knew his parents couldn't afford it. So the teen who had been diagnosed with dyslexia studied harder to get good grades and worked out longer on the football field in hopes of getting some kind of scholarship. He graduated near the top of his class at Waller High School and earned a full-ride, four-year scholarship to play football at Stephen F. Austin University.

“Every day after school I was at football practice and every night I studied. There was no partying for me,” said Cannon, who is the defending bareback champ at this year's Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. “I knew what my options were.”

Back then, Cannon — who played fullback — carried an extra 50 pounds on his frame. After his junior year he was tired of football, and a high school pal who'd gone to nearby Prairie View A&M urged him to try out for the school's rodeo team. Cannon hadn't competed in a rodeo but never backed away from an athletic challenge.

“I fell in love with it and joined the team,” Cannon said. “And it turned out I was pretty good at it.”

To really compete, though, Cannon had to change his body. The extra weight that made him a tougher fullback simply made him heavier on a horse.

Granted, as a football player Cannon was eating mountains of food to maintain his size, but he cut his eating in half and quickly lost a lot of weight. As a rodeo competitor, the now 31-year-old weighs 175 pounds.

He is fanatical about eating healthy foods, sticking to lean meats and fresh produce. When traveling he looks for the healthiest foods possible and opts for places like Subway where he can get whole wheat buns and leaner meats rather than burger-and-fries joints.

Sweets aren't on the menu — and neither is alcohol. Except for communion wine, he's never had a drop, Cannon said.
Cannon has done a variety of events on the rodeo circuit since he went pro after graduating from Prairie View — he was PRCA Bareback Riding Rookie of the Year in 2003 — but he now focuses on bareback horse events.

Since injuries are more of a “when” than an “if” in his world, Cannon focuses on staying strong to stay on top of his game.
He does many of the same exercises he did in his football days, opting for high-intensity interval training for cardio and strength training, too.

Cannon is aware of the beating a cowboy's body can take with all of the jarring motions, not to mention getting thrown, stomped, kicked and generally beaten up by animals much bigger than he is. So he does a good deal of core work to keep his abs and back strong.

“As soon as I get out of bed in the morning, I do 100 pushups and 200-300 situps,” Cannon said. “There's nothing you can do to prevent injury. You're going to get hurt. I prepare myself by staying in good shape.”

In addition to diet and exercise, Cannon's secret weapon, if he has one, is his mental focus.

“In rough-stock riding, half of it is a mental game. If you get negative, everything goes downhill,” he said. “I feed off of positive energy. I'm always a winner. I'm a winner in life.”