story by Lindsay King
Terre Haute, Indiana, bareback rider Cameron Paul wants to leave a legacy, that being his kids. “It is my greatest accomplishment to have my kids trying to rodeo and being dedicated to it the way they are. I am more proud of them than anything I ever did in rodeo.” Cameron and his fiancé Blakeley are parents to three boys – Givens Wise, 7, Case Paul, 5, and Rhue Wise, 3 – with a daughter on the way. “I try to find rodeos that my boys can go to also. They get a big kick out of going with me, that is their favorite thing in the world. It was a lot of fun to travel with a bunch of guys but this is way better.”
Cameron is the first in his family to ever rodeo, starting when he was 15. “I was lucky that a local arena was just down the road and they ran a bulls, broncs and barrels event twice a month.” The first day Cameron went out to ride a bull, his mom told him he could get on one and then no more until he turned 18. “I got on three that day and I just never quit. That was how I got started and it progressed from there.” Because his mom did not want him riding bulls, Cameron had to keep his rodeo trips under wraps. “I was a pretty handy but I was always big for a bull rider. I could not keep up with those little bulls.” At 19 he started riding bareback horses and continued to ride both for quite awhile. “I was going to rodeos and there were 30 bull riders and only about 10 bareback riders. I would pull a check for bareback almost every time so I made a business decision to ride bareback instead of bulls.”
Cameron continued to rodeo while he served in the Navy from 2010 to 2012, leaving as an E3 Airman. Stationed in Virginia, Cameron bought a southern pro rodeo card. “They did not care too much for that. They invested a lot of money in my training so again I was going to rodeos hoping I did not get hurt and have to explain myself.” Cameron now works for T & S Excavating, doing everything from manual labor and operating equipment, but he mostly drives the dump truck. “My best friend, Shawn Spaulding, owns it, he is old but probably the handiest pickup man around here.”
Cameron’s sons, Givens, Case and Rhue – Courtesy of the family
The Paul family usually packs up two or three times a week for a rodeo starting in March and running through November. Cameron’s recent shoulder injury is keeping them at home for the next few weeks. “I like to rodeo in the MSRA because it is big enough to where it is a great association, they put on good rodeos and finals but it is also small enough that you are not just a back number in the crowd.” Blakeley used to run barrels at horses shows but is now looking to learn how to breakaway rope, especially now that it has been added to the MSRA. Cameron is an avid roper himself but wants to learn how to put it into team roping on the heeling side. “That is how I am going to keep myself in rodeo after I get too old for bareback.” His oldest son loves to rope while his other boys are following in Cameron’s footsteps, riding mini broncs, sheep and steers. “All my kids love to rope and ride. They are quite into it; they will probably be three times the hand I ever was. I could not be more proud of my kids.”
