“Donene not only helped me excel in the rodeo arena, she helped me excel in my personal life. Confidence was something I never had and never thought I  would have, until I started working with Donene. She taught me how to believe in my self as much as she believed in me and that’s something no one has ever been able to do. Her coaching was life changing and brought endless opportunities to all facets of my life.”

“Goals entice you to become the best version of yourself. The goal is not the goal, but who you become along the way.” -Donene Taylor

“I believe that we are called to help others and Donene is the epitome of a servant heart. She has helped me dive into my passion, boldly pursue my goals, become the best that I can, which in turn has allowed me to pour into others. I am forever grateful!”

“Donene was someone that I had watched alongside as a competitor about a decade ago. When I was about 18 I saw Donene compete at a WPRA Rodeo, and then the WPRA finals. I watched for the next few years, as she grew, and went from a contestant to a competitor. She became fearless, and fierce, winning her first Tie Down Roping World Championship. I always wondered what motivated her, what fueled her, and how she became a champion… in and out of the arena.

Fast forward ten years, our paths crossed again when I saw Donene on the Cowboy Channel talking about her new book. So Obviously I ordered and read it… wow it completely undid me, and I felt like I was right there with her all the way through each page of the book. After finishing the book, I reached out to Donene, we had a great visit, and I told her I wanted what she had, I wanted to sharpen my mental and physical game, and that is just what she did.

Donene met me right where I was, and helped me to create a program that was suitable to me as a person and a competitor. She challenged me each and every day, she never let me have a pity party, she inspirited me to become more than I was allowing myself, and most of all to love myself. That perfection is not attainable, and that I can only control what I can control. We had a lot of laughs, a lot of deep conversations, and most of all I felt like I had a lion in my corner! She taught me a lot about myself, and how to be honest, and move forward. Life lessons that will have helped me get to where I am today in and out of the arena, and precious moments that I will cherish my lifetime.

The one thing that will never leave me is a simple question that she asked me, “Jordan, what do you want to be written on your headstone, said at your funeral?”

Honestly it made me think about life and to choose to live it up to the best of my abilities!”

I would recommend this experience to everyone, not only because it will help your mental game, to take you to a new level as a competitor, but because you owe it to yourself to have someone who truly cares about each person that she coaches, and who will help you find the best you that you can be! Unconditionally.”

“When I joined Donene Taylor’s mental performance coaching, I was looking for strategies to use and to help me inside the arena. It was so much more than that. Teaming up with Donene has been a life changing experience for me.”

“Donene, Thank you for being a part of the first Cowgirl Gathering! It wouldn’t have been what it was without you! You did an outstanding job and I have heard nothing but positive feedback!”

“Your brilliant presentation helped make history at our first Cowgirl Gathering. I learned a lot from your wisdom.”

“Donene conducted a one- hour ‘confidence building training’ session during our virtual national sales meeting. This should be a very difficult thing to do without being in the room to read the body language of the group. This didn’t phase Donene as she used creative ideas to engage with and involve the audience. Her delivery was fantastic, and the message was impactful. We would love to have her back next year!

“Our daughter Ella has been riding horses since she was 5 years old but didn’t start roping until 2017. By 2020 we realized that Ella wanted to take her roping to the next level. After attending a roping clinic in early in 2021 where we met Donene Taylor, we had the opportunity to purchase one of her books and realized that we wanted Ella to work with Donene. Ella had been working with a sports mental coach but not one that truly understood horses and roping. Within a few months we made the switch and our daughter started working with Donene. It wasn’t long after that Ella had her state high school rodeo finals where she was the top 4 in the state going into the state final’s but ended up 6th in the state as she was challenged with her mental game. A year later working with Donene on a regular basis Ella won the state high school championship in breakaway roping. I think we as parents forget that we can buy the most expensive horses but in end the mental game is just as important as the horse. We can’t thank Donene enough.”

“Donene has helped me succeed in more ways than one. If you’re looking for an extra boost in your mental performance she is definitely the one to help. Can’t thank her enough.”

“The things Donene taught me are unlike anything I’ve ever been taught. For example I used to blank out at every important calf, she gave me the tools and processes to help think through my runs and keep myself focused. I can’t thank her enough for leading me to my greatest successes. She helped me win my state title and second at the Vegas Toughest and 3rd at state this year. She has been there for my darkest valleys and highest peaks at just a phone call away!”

We recently had the pleasure of having Donene Taylor come and speak to our Quanta Team on one of our Zoom calls. Her message and advice were invaluable, and everyone who attended the call came away feeling motivated and inspired. Donene’s ability to engage our team members was exceptional, and I received many positive messages from members afterwards expressing how much they enjoyed and benefitted from having her on the call. We are grateful for Donene’s contribution to our team and look forward to having her back again in the future.

 

Sadie Boren

MARKETING SPECIALIST QUANTA SERVICES, INC. (NYSE – PWR)

Quanta Rodeo Team

We were looking for a class that would increase our leadership skills with the teachers that we work with, and Donene was a perfect fit!  We learned awareness, knowledge of skills, and steps to take action that were easy to implement in work, and in our personal lives.  We now look at adversity as opportunity to grow!

Peace Garden Special Education Leadership Team

I have had the privilege to work one on one with Donene, along with taking her “Close the Gap” mental toughness workshop. I love the authenticity she shares from her own personal experiences, her struggles, the highs and lows and everything in between; from her own past and current mental toughness journey.  I was able to really connect and create a relationship with her as I can relate to many of the experiences she shared at the workshop.

 I absolutely love the “Master the Art of Winning” workbook and am currently working on implementing many of the strategies that she shares in the book, especially the post performance routine.  This is a new aspect of mental toughness that I am excited to dive into, create and apply to my own performance in the arena.

Donene’s approach to teaching and explaining the mental toughness material is dynamic in that she uses many different ways for you to process the information, such as visuals, videos, worksheets, experiments and more.  These approaches gave me a whole new insight on different ways to teaching mental toughness to students at my own clinics.

The wisdom and knowledge that Donene shares is not only incredibly valuable to me as an athlete in the arena but also as a wife, mother, friend, instructor and small business owner. Much of what she teaches can be applied to everyday life situations, helping to make my mindset, my attitude and my perspective better each and every day.

Kayla (Nelson) Spickelmier

2x Collegiate National Finals Goat Tying Champion and Ty Tuff Goat Tying Instructor –Kayla Nelson Spickelmier

Donene Taylor came into my life seven months ago. Since then she has changed the way I talk, think, and act. She became a friend who will show up and be there with the best advice as well as a member in my inner circle. Donene is very straight up with me, which is helpful in many situations. She has taught me how to have peace with the outcome and to control the controllable. Working with her has been a blessing and I will never be the same again.

Appreciate you!

The world of rodeo is evolving more so than ever and these competitors are getting way more opportunities at a much younger age!  These kids are extremely talented – but if their mental game isn’t on point they can be as talented as they come – and not be successful.

We are blessed to have a dear friend who has helped Kyanne from a competitive performance standpoint, and that has been amazing – but we were still missing an important piece. We reached out to  Donene Taylor to help with the mental end of things – I will tell you this was a game changer for our 12 year old daughter!  She is a 6 event cowgirl and  her days at the rodeo are FULL from one event to another in a very short time frame.  Since having Donene with us in April for a workshop Kyanne has been more focused and determined than ever before.  Both ladies have given Kyanne the tools she needs to fill her tool box and be successful.  It was Kyannes job to reach in and use those tools that she has been given.  She did just that by successfully finishing the year as the Champion Breakaway Roping, Goat Tying, Team Roping, Ribbon Roping and All Around Cowgirl.  She could not have accomplished this without being on top of her mental game.  Donene Taylor is a GAME CHANGER – if you want to be at the top of your mental performance.  She has “all of the things” as she says for these athletes to be successful. Drills, worksheets, etc – you name it she has what it takes to help create a strong mental state!

From a parent view – my husband and I both attended the workshop  and by doing so, we have been able to help Kyanne stay at the top of her mental game by using the different perspectives and drills that Donene shared.

We recently had the pleasure of having Donene Taylor come and speak to our Quanta Team on one of our Zoom calls. Her message and advice were invaluable, and everyone who attended the call came away feeling motivated and inspired. Donene’s ability to engage our team members was exceptional, and I received many positive messages from members afterwards expressing how much they enjoyed and benefitted from having her on the call. We are grateful for Donene’s contribution to our team and look forward to having her back again in the future.

• Sadie Boren
• MARKETING SPECIALIST
• QUANTA SERVICES, INC. (NYSE – PWR)