Today@Sam Article

'Bronc-Riding Bearkat' Finds Success 'Out Of The Gates'

Aug. 26, 2015
SHSU Media Contact: Christopher Young

One of SHSU's Heritage magazine "13 under 30" young alumni to be on the look out for in the professional sphere, Taylor Price has found success in the rodeo arena despite having only competed for around eight years. —Photo by Brian Blalock

Editor's note: Twenty-three-year-old Taylor Price is one of 13 young alumni under the age of 30 who already is making his making his mark in his profession who was recently selected to be featured in Heritage magazine. Be on the lookout for the upcoming Heritage, which will be hitting mailboxes soon, or read about Taylor and his cohort of "Under 30s" in the digital Heritage here.

For many people, a typical day at the office means making the morning commute and sitting behind a desk. But for one recent Sam Houston State University graduate, that “typical” day at the office is anything but.

Taylor Price’s morning commute can some times be hundreds of miles, and by the end of the day, there is a chance that he could end up injured or walk away without even being paid.

But that’s part of life as a cowboy.

Luckily for Price, his biggest win to-date—a $600,000 prize at the American rodeo at AT&T Stadium in Arlington in March—has opened the doors—or the chutes, in his case—for a promising career.

“I still can’t believe it,” Price told the Huntsville Item after the win. “I never thought I’d win that much money at a rodeo in my life and it happened in one day. That is a whole lot of money to me. I have so many options now, instead of being dead broke all the time.”

Unlike most cowboys, Price did not grow up around rodeo; the Huntsville native’s rodeo journey started only eight years ago.

“(SHSU rodeo) Coach Bubba Miller introduced me to rodeo at his cowboy church; he put me on my first steer when I was a freshman in high school,” the 23 year old said.

Price took the proverbial bull by the horns and continued compete throughout high school, mostly in bull riding because his father had ridden bulls for a while. But as Price continued to work with Miller, it became clear that his posture on the bull and his riding style made him much more adept to bareback riding, so Price made the switch to broncos.

His work with Miller ultimately led him to SHSU, so that he could continue the mentorship while majoring in criminal justice and minoring in Middle Eastern studies.

At SHSU, Price found that keeping up with class work and rodeo, as well as squeezing in some fun, was not too easy, since rodeoing required a lot of time.

“With rodeo, we would drive to competitions. This meant we had to leave on a Thursday and would not come back to Huntsville till Sunday night, which made it very difficult to schedule classes,” Price said. “One semester, when I had Monday, Wednesday, Friday classes, I had to fly a lot.”

While Price was competing with the SHSU Rodeo Team, he continued to work with

Miller, who used Price’s talent to mold him into a pro-rodeo athlete. This, too, paid off, for both Miller and Price. His sophomore year, the team won the reserve championship at the College National Finals Rodeo.

“That would have to be my favorite memory; being up there (in Casper, Wyoming) for that was pretty cool,” Price said.

Since graduating with his bachelor’s degree, Price has continued to compete full time and has continued to find success.

In addition to his win in Arlington in March, he has won rodeos in Cheyenne, Wyoming; Pecos, Texas; and Vernal, Utah. Price also competed twice at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, which is one of the largest rodeos in the world.

“You look out and see 40,000 to 60,000 people. It’s pretty neat,” Price said. “There’s a lot of electricity in there; the fans are really cool.”

After an outstanding performance in San Antonio last year, Price was approached and offered a sponsorship by the Cowboy Hooey Brand western wear apparel line. Hooey now provides Price with free merchandise, which he wears when he competes. 

These kinds of endorsements are a big deal for rodeo athletes, who, unlike professional basketball or football athletes, do not sign contracts and instead pay out of pocket for most of the costs associated with competing. These expenses include everything from traveling to equipment, none of which is cheap.

The time requirements of traveling and preparation also mean that many rodeo athletes do not work other jobs, making wins all the more important. And to win, you need to be in peak form.

Price said the importance of physical conditioning is something Miller really stressed during his time on the SHSU rodeo team; because of this, he devotes a lot of time to exercise during his practice regimen.

“Achieving my success has required me to stay healthy and stay focused,” Price said. “These are the two most important things that any rodeo athlete can do to have a long and prosperous career.”

Staying healthy is important because rodeo is a dangerous sport, and Price has experienced his fair share of injuries. Among his worst was one that occurred in high school.

“I landed on my shoulder and my collarbone separated from my sternum; it was sticking out. When I hit, I flipped over and I landed on my ankle and it broke,” he said. “Then I had to drive home. By myself.”

Injuries like his are not uncommon, although, according to Price, they are somewhat preventable. 

“Muscle helps me ride bareback horses better,” he said. “If you can hit the ground and bounce a little better, it always helps.” 

Being in good shape also is important because of the number of rodeos a cowboy attends, which for Price, is around 100 a year. To put that in perspective, there are 16 games in the NFL regular season, 34 in the MLS regular season, and 82 in the NBA regular season. 

Like all of these sports, rodeo is one where the winner is determined by score; unlike these sports, the score is determined by more factors than how many times a team can earn points.

Bareback riding is scored by two judges, who mark the rider and the horse from 1 to 25.

“With the rider, you have style, control and strength. You can watch and know they’re riding good,” Price said. “The horse is judged on how high they jump, how high and how hard they kick, you want them to take high jumps but not really far. As the rider how you sit and the amount you spur can make a big difference.”

But sometimes, half of a cowboy’s points are out of his control.

“If the horse doesn’t feel like bucking, they’re not going to,” Price said. “But if a horse is getting picked up steadily by your spurs, if you’re putting pressure on them, they’ll take shorter jumps and higher, so you really try and do that.”

When Price competes, he has a routine before every set of chutes opens.

“I warm up my body by stretching and then mentally focus by visualizing my ride,” he said. “Once I am in the chute, I’m taking deep breaths and just let muscle memory take over. If you think about it too much, you are going to mess up.

“Well,” he added, pausing and smiling, “that and prayers.”

Once the chute opens, the fun really begins.

“It’s (the eight seconds are) really fast. You have some concept of time, but you don’t rely on it. Instead, you should feel it everyone has an internal clock. Waiting on the buzzer is still the safest bet,” Price said. “I still enjoy watching other bareback riders. It really pumps me up and gets me excited.”

While Price has been successful, there at least one aspect of cowboy life he has yet to master.

“I still don’t ride a saddle horse very well,” Price said, laughing. “So victory laps are pretty awkward.”

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