Rowdy Cook - Western Edge Photography

Meet the Member Rowdy Cook

story by Lily Weinacht

“No matter how it goes, bull riding makes you keep wanting to come back for more. It’s the adrenaline rush you get, and it’s fun!” Rowdy Cook, 19, from Tremonton, Utah, dipped the toes of his boots in the rodeo world as a calf rider and was all in by the time he started riding mini bulls. He junior high and high school rodeoed for Utah and joined the RMPRA as a freshman, qualifying for their finals in 2015. “I broke my collar bone right before the finals and I was able to get on one bull before I competed. I ended up breaking my wrist, so it was kind of a rough go, but it happened in November, so if it was going to happen, it was a good time!”
Rowdy has been strictly a bull rider since day one, and it only took one ride on a saddle bronc to confirm his love of bull riding. He continues to compete in the RMPRA, and started competing in the PRCA last year. He’s currently sitting fourteenth in the PRCA Wilderness Circuit. “I like the experience and the good times I have doing it (rodeo). I met some of my best friends through rodeo, and the money is always a good thing too!” Rowdy travels with fellow bull riders Austin Allred and Damen and McCoy Moody. “Mostly we jam out to music and have a little bit of karaoke when we’re driving,” Rowdy says with a laugh. “We have old-school country and some rap – pretty much anything you can think of, one of us will have on our playlist.” They recently competed in Springville, California and Reno, Nevada, and Rowdy placed in Tucson, Arizona, along with riding in Belton, Texas. “I love the atmosphere of pro rodeos – they’re super big and the crowd gets into it, and it’s electrifying! I still get butterflies walking in. I entered in Fort Worth and the atmosphere of walking into that arena and Rodeo Fort Worth itself was breathtaking.”
When he’s not crisscrossing the United States, Rowdy uses the time to compete in RMPRA rodeos, work, and get on practice bulls. “Tim and Tyler Bingham from Honeyville, Utah, own bulls and they’re really good about bucking once a week. I’ve been friends with them since I was nine, and when I’m struggling, I can call them to help figure it out. Tim has made the NFR twice, and I rode mini bulls with Tyler. I like that the RMPRA rodeos are pretty laid back, and it’s usually the same stock every weekend, so you get to know the animals you’re getting on,” he adds. “I plan to hit some RMPRAs this summer, and hopefully make the finals.” Rowdy also stays busy with his roofing job when he’s home. He’s worked for the company for a year, and discovered that spring and fall are the ideal times for roofing. He also enjoys spending time with his family. “I have two younger sisters, and they’re both dancers, but if my rodeos are close, they all try their hardest to make it. My dad and I really like hunting and fishing – deer and elk are mainly what we hunt. We drive forty-five minutes to an hour and we have a pretty good hunting spot up there.
“I’d like to make the circuit finals and hopefully win the circuit, then go on to the Ram Circuit Finals. If everything works out perfect, I want to make it to the NFR. I want to thank my friends and family for supporting me and sticking by my side no matter what. I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today without all of them.”

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