Professional bareback rider Connor Hamilton has a gift for understatement..“When I just turned 19, I just wanted to try it out, give it a shot, and then ended up ended up being pretty decent at it,” the Calgarian said in an interview with Western Standard..Pretty decent indeed. When he won the Novice Bareback event at the Calgary Stampede in 2015, it was only his seventh rodeo. His success earned him a scholarship to Southwestern Oklahoma State University to hone his skills, helping him earn another Stampede title in 2017..Hamilton turned pro in 2017, but was shut out of prize money in 17 rides. He earned USD $27,334 in 2018 and $45,700 in 2019 when he ranked 30th in the world. Fewer events meant fewer.“They’re getting back to busy down in the States,” he said..“I’ve been to Texas and Montana and Wyoming, Utah, Oklahoma, shoot over to Florida, Mississippi, kind of all over the place. Our rodeo schedule hasn’t quite gotten back to normal since before COVID this year, but it’s getting more and more as we make progress.”.July 4 wrapped up a week of competition that saw the 25-year old at five rodeos in four states..“We’ve just been trying to get to every rodeo that we can and make as much money and do as good of a job as we can possibly to support the rodeo community.”.Hamilton has risen to the occasion in Calgary, earning third-place finishes for three straight days. The $8,375 in prize winnings surpassed what he had made in his 36 previous rides since the rodeo year started last October..“There are bangs and bruises and little things like that,” Hamilton said. “You can get by unless you have a wreck or get stepped on and have something happen. We all try to take care of our bodies and workout and drink and get lots of sleep and do all the right things.”.Like football fans at the Superbowl, rodeo spectators can enjoy the party far more than participants..“We take it pretty seriously anyways. If you’re not fully fit and not fully ready to perform, a guy gets hurt,” Hamilton said..“You’ve got to understand it’s more and more rodeo athletes rather than straight up cowboys. So we try to take care of ourselves day in and day out. If not, we won’t be strong enough to go out and ride.”.Hamilton said he stays “in the best form to perform” but “If you don’t celebrate the wins, then what’s the point in winning? So if this guy wins the big rodeo or makes a good ride or has a good showing, we always try to do a little bit of stuff and have a nice dinner, have a couple of beers or do something.”.Some trips to the next rodeo require a 20-hour drive, leaving time for little else but sleeping and eating..“In the busy months of the year, we don’t really practice. We get on so many horses that it’s one of those things at any time you get to rest you take advantage of that and try to recuperate. But in the offseason, we have a bucking machine….We don’t tend to get on too many bucking horses [then] because it’s so hard on your body. As it is, when we go to 100 rodeos a year, it takes its toll on you.”.Despite the grind, Hamilton loves rodeo life and hopes to compete another ten years..“I’m getting pretty lucky that I get to travel around and get to see as many things as I get to see and meet as many good people as I get to meet at every rodeo. It’s a pretty cool community and just the life that we get to live is pretty fun and I’m thankful for that.”.Lee Harding is a correspondent for the Western Standard based in Saskatchewan.
Professional bareback rider Connor Hamilton has a gift for understatement..“When I just turned 19, I just wanted to try it out, give it a shot, and then ended up ended up being pretty decent at it,” the Calgarian said in an interview with Western Standard..Pretty decent indeed. When he won the Novice Bareback event at the Calgary Stampede in 2015, it was only his seventh rodeo. His success earned him a scholarship to Southwestern Oklahoma State University to hone his skills, helping him earn another Stampede title in 2017..Hamilton turned pro in 2017, but was shut out of prize money in 17 rides. He earned USD $27,334 in 2018 and $45,700 in 2019 when he ranked 30th in the world. Fewer events meant fewer.“They’re getting back to busy down in the States,” he said..“I’ve been to Texas and Montana and Wyoming, Utah, Oklahoma, shoot over to Florida, Mississippi, kind of all over the place. Our rodeo schedule hasn’t quite gotten back to normal since before COVID this year, but it’s getting more and more as we make progress.”.July 4 wrapped up a week of competition that saw the 25-year old at five rodeos in four states..“We’ve just been trying to get to every rodeo that we can and make as much money and do as good of a job as we can possibly to support the rodeo community.”.Hamilton has risen to the occasion in Calgary, earning third-place finishes for three straight days. The $8,375 in prize winnings surpassed what he had made in his 36 previous rides since the rodeo year started last October..“There are bangs and bruises and little things like that,” Hamilton said. “You can get by unless you have a wreck or get stepped on and have something happen. We all try to take care of our bodies and workout and drink and get lots of sleep and do all the right things.”.Like football fans at the Superbowl, rodeo spectators can enjoy the party far more than participants..“We take it pretty seriously anyways. If you’re not fully fit and not fully ready to perform, a guy gets hurt,” Hamilton said..“You’ve got to understand it’s more and more rodeo athletes rather than straight up cowboys. So we try to take care of ourselves day in and day out. If not, we won’t be strong enough to go out and ride.”.Hamilton said he stays “in the best form to perform” but “If you don’t celebrate the wins, then what’s the point in winning? So if this guy wins the big rodeo or makes a good ride or has a good showing, we always try to do a little bit of stuff and have a nice dinner, have a couple of beers or do something.”.Some trips to the next rodeo require a 20-hour drive, leaving time for little else but sleeping and eating..“In the busy months of the year, we don’t really practice. We get on so many horses that it’s one of those things at any time you get to rest you take advantage of that and try to recuperate. But in the offseason, we have a bucking machine….We don’t tend to get on too many bucking horses [then] because it’s so hard on your body. As it is, when we go to 100 rodeos a year, it takes its toll on you.”.Despite the grind, Hamilton loves rodeo life and hopes to compete another ten years..“I’m getting pretty lucky that I get to travel around and get to see as many things as I get to see and meet as many good people as I get to meet at every rodeo. It’s a pretty cool community and just the life that we get to live is pretty fun and I’m thankful for that.”.Lee Harding is a correspondent for the Western Standard based in Saskatchewan.
