story by Riata Christiansen
Jamison Poulsen is a young man always up for a challenge. He competes in wrestling, rodeo, and football, and enjoys how much they push him. The eight grader attends North Sanpete Middle School and is favorite classes are physical education and science because they are the most fun for him. He lives and thrives in Fairview, Utah. Jamison has three siblings, Cambrie and Mckyah are his sisters, and Ryker is his brother. His parents are Jamie and Clint. As a family they spend a lot of time in the outdoors. They go on four-wheeling rides, horse rides, hunting and fishing together. They have dummy ropings together and they even work out together. Jamison describes his family as being supportive, loving, and caring.
Jamison’s true passion is for bull riding. He loves that it’s hard and pushes people to their limit. He knows that not everyone can be successful at it because it takes so much mental and physical strength. He loves the memories has gained, the people he has met through rodeo. More than anything else he loves the feeling of riding a tough bull past the buzzer. Bull riding occupies his mind every day, and practices as often as he can. He watches videos of his rides so that he can figure out what he can improve and what he can do better next time. He recently finished third in the state for the Utah Miniature Bull Riders Association, and has a plethora of buckles to his name.
His heroes include his always-supportive dad, Clint, and his friend, Colton Humphries. Colton is a past Utah High School Rodeo Bull Riding state champion. Colton introduced him to rodeo and has helped teach him the ways of bull riders. When asked about Jamison, Colton says that he admires how Jamison doesn’t give up on his dreams despite challenges. He admires how self-driven Jamison is, and is grateful for Jamison always pushing him to practice and reminding him to keep improving.
One-day Jamison would like to be a firefighter because of the rush and the adrenaline, but for right now he gets his adrenaline on the back of bulls. This year he wants the win the world title in the National Little Britches Rodeo Association, and wants to keep improving until he can cover bulls he hasn’t covered yet.
He lives by the motto: Be better than you were yesterday. He strives to improve through practice and persistence. He also believes that if something doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you. In the face of a challenge, Jamison is not the kind of person to back down. Jamison’s grit and determination show through all that he does, and it will keep propelling him forward.
