story by Jaicee Williams
Bill Henry is in his third year as a bull rider in the Rocky Mountain Professional Rodeo Association (RMPRA). Bill is the first member of his family to rodeo in the RMPRA. As of March 23rd, the Manila High School senior is leading the standings in the bull riding after a big win at the second rodeo of the Winter Series Rodeo in Ogden, Utah, in February with an 88-point ride. “It felt like I wasn’t even on him, more like hovering over top. It was a fun ride.”
Bill’s family hasn’t always been involved in rodeo. Bill’s father, Matt Henry, always had an interest, but never got a chance to start competing. With this missed opportunity, Matt decided to leave the door open for his children. Bill’s older sister, Annamarie, was the cowgirl that introduced the family to the rodeo world. Bill decided to follow his sister’s lead and began competing in the rodeo industry.
In the beginning, Bill tried every event except bareback riding to figure out which one he liked best. When Bill entered high school, though, he realized that his calling was to ride bulls and he dropped his other events. His favorite part about bull riding is the adrenaline rush.
Bill’s bull riding career started when he was eight years old. “My first bull [in a competition] was a mini bull at Farson, Wyo. I was super excited to get on it but when they opened the gate, I got pretty nervous…but he just trotted out into the middle of the arena,” chuckles Bill. “I stayed on him and I actually won the rodeo.”
To practice, Bill tries to fit bull riding techniques into his daily routine. “I ride my horse to gather cows bareback. That’s the main way I practice is riding my horse bareback.” Bill also adds the bucking machine to his practice routine.
When Bill isn’t on the road to rodeos, he can be found running his family ranch. “My dad owns a construction company so it’s up to me to watch over the ranch.” Bill hopes to find a place of his own someday where he can start a ranch after college.
Bill chose to rodeo in the RMPRA because of its stock contractors. Bill says he “really likes the bulls that the Broken Heart Rodeo Company and Circle J Rodeo Company bring.” Since these were the bulls that were brought to most of Bill’s high school rodeos, it helped him feel more comfortable jumping into the RMPRA.
On the way to the RMPRA rodeos, Bill likes to listen to CDs of Gary Leffew, a bull rider who was known as the “rodeo guru of positive thinking.” This helps when Bill is preparing for his rides. “I just try to think as positively as I can the whole time and not get any bad thoughts in my head.”
One advantage that Bill has found by being involved in the RMPRA for three years is how well he’s gotten to know the bulls. His top pick out of the bull pen would be All In from Broken Heart Rodeo Company out of Taylor, Utah. “He’s the bull that I had my highest score in the RMPRA on and he feels way cool,” Bill says. Bill explains that his first time covering All In happened after the second time he rode him. “It was a pretty big accomplishment.”
All In is a difficult bull to cover. He’s a chute fighting bull that is now rode with a halter to help keep riders safe. During Bill’s first ride on the bull in Kanab, Utah, he explains that the gate man was late on Bill’s nod. When the chute finally opened, All In had “thrashed around” and rocked Bill out of position so he started “like I was sitting in a recliner.”
One of Bill’s biggest goals for this season is to win the RMPRA finals in Kanab, Utah, on November 12 and 13. In order to make the finals, athletes must finish the year as one of the top 12 money winners in the association. There are 24 more rodeos in the association where cowboys and cowgirls can earn their spots in the top 12.
This coming fall, Bill is thinking about attending Frank Phillips College in Borger, Texas. However, Bill hasn’t completely decided since he’s recently received more offers from other schools for rodeo scholarships. For right now, Bill plans to focus on his rides to work towards his RMPRA goal.
