story by Lily Weinacht
Bud became the Executive Director of the National Little Britches Rodeo Association on September 1. “I am excited for the opportunity to really build what I’ve been a part of for 8 years,” he said. “My son (Blake) ventured into the rough stock world through National Little Britches as well as my daughter, Brilynn.” Brilynn is a senior and his son aged out with more than $1,000 in scholarships and is now a sophomore at UNLV, part of the rodeo team riding bulls and team roping.
Bud came from Southern California and started riding bulls right out of high school. He went from riding to fighting bulls in 1995. “I was better on the ground,” he said. “My passion in high school was soccer, I was a four year letterman in that sport and snow skiing – I grew up in one of the few places I could surf in the morning, ski in the afternoon, and rodeo at night.” He is still fighting bulls, he was at Miles City Montana two weeks ago, and carries his PRCA card. “As long as the cowboys keep having me back I’ll be there. I spent the majority of my fighting career with Four Star Rodeo, Jeff and Terry Davis, out of Cottonwood California. I’ve been a part of Silver State Internationals for 17 years.”
Bud has also been part of the NFR production and security team for 8 years. Most contestants know him as the man at the top of the tunnel. “My job is to coordinate the entrance the contestants and people coming into the tunnel. I’m the driver for the animal care unit, getting it under a minute and 30 seconds in and out of the arena. We practice it every year.”
He met his wife, Tammy, right out of high school. They have been married for 22 years. His wife grew up in the rodeo world; California Junior and High School rodeos. “She is excited to be part of this new adventure for us.”
He believes that his involvement in rodeo, from contestant to fighting to production will help him steer the National Little Britches in the right direction. “I know the value of a good performance,” he said. “Communication is key – giving back and making each franchise, contestant, parent, committee, and stock contractor feel special. I’m pushing the family side of it – in the sponsorship world it’s about them supporting our family so we are going to treat them as rodeo family.”
He is stepping away from an 18 year career as a general superintendent where he was managing all phases of construction from civil to structural – from $50,000 to $300 million – and had as many as 300 people working for him. “This is a dream job,” he said. “You fight bulls for the passion of fighting bulls, and this is the same thing, it’s passion for the kids leaving the arena. The whole goal, in both construction and rodeo, is to produce something in a professional and timely manner.”
Bud has served on the board for the past three years, serving on the scholarship, appeals, stock, and most recently as secretary. “There are so many great things that have been started, and I’m looking forward to helping those things get completed. I want people to welcome us as family. Our kids need to learn that when they go to college, they have the support of the NLBRA family that helped guide them into the leaders they can become – Where legends begin.”
