It is a long way from Redlands to the Professional Bull Riders of America arenas, but as the saying goes you have to start somewhere.
This month a young man with big goals to ride one day in the PBL took a small step towards achieving his goal.
Young Sheldon-based cowboy Lleyton Browne, 20, had the crowd of 3500 at Rosewood Showgrounds in Ipswich cheering as he beat the eight second buzzer aboard Pied Piper to take the title.
While the 20-year-old rookie rider scored a winning score of 76 points, it wasn’t all celebrations on the night.
As he released himself after the eight second clock sounded the bull stumbled backwards, crushing him underneath.
The adrenalin pumping through his veins saw him jump to his feet to the cheers of crowd, but later it was a sick and sorry cowboy sharing a beer with his mates.
“I didn’t break anything, just bumps and bruises on the night,” Lleyton said the next day.
You need to be tough to strap yourself onto a bull, but as far as Lleyton goes it’s no big deal, in fact he loves it.
He has even built a practice arena at his father’s small acreage at Mount Cotton to get ready for the big events.
“The $3500 prizemoney from Rosewood was great as it will go towards paying my fare and fees to attend the Odessa College in West Texas where I can study and train for rodeo events,”
“I was offered a place at the college earlier this year, but didn’t have to funds to commit, now I am part way there.”
It’s a big ask for Lleyton to make it to the PBL bull-riding series, which is watched by millions on Netflix, and he knows it will be a long hard road.
If he does, those in the crowd at Ipswich will be able to say “I saw that guy ride a bull on a cold winter’s night in 2023”.
