story by Lindsay Humphrey
All it took was one ride on a live bull and Blake Huffman was hooked on rodeo. Previously he was a star pitcher for the Derby High School baseball team, but the 17-year-old has decided he’s going to focus on rodeo for his senior year. “I’ve played baseball since I was probably 4 years old,” said the roughstock rider from Wichita, Kansas. “I started riding bulls last September just to see how I would like it and now I’m not playing baseball because I like riding bulls so much more.” With a few buddies already riding bulls, it didn’t take much convincing to pique Blake’s interest in the event. Blake’s friend, Nolan Crane, took him to a practice pen for a test ride and the rest is still playing out.
“I went to a bunch of open rodeos this summer to get some experience and now I’m in my rookie year with the KHSRA. “I was looking for an association to get into that I could do in the fall, and someone told me about high school rodeo. My buddy and my cousin told me that it’s full of good people and they always have a good time.” As Blake embarks on his first and last year of rodeo with the KHSRA, he’s looking forward to meeting a whole slew of rodeo people. While learning the ropes of the rodeo trail this past summer, Blake pulled some checks. “I’ve never won a buckle before, so I’d like to win a few this season. That’s a big goal of mine. I like the money, but a buckle will mean a lot more to me.”
When thinking about the future, Blake knows he wants to ride bulls in college. He’s been interested in the programs at Fort Scott and Pratt Community College. While Blake isn’t exactly sure what he wants to study, welding has always caught his attention as a potential career path. With an entire year to make up his mind, Blake isn’t too worried about making a final decision just yet. Until then, he’s solely focused on riding bulls. “My favorite part is that I feel like I’m at home, everyone is nice and helping each other out. When I get to a rodeo, I can’t wait to do my job. There’s nothing else like it really.” Now more than a year after his first ride, all Blake tries to think about is making a qualified ride. “When I first started, a successful ride was just trying to hold on for as long as I could. Now all that matters to me is hearing that buzzer before getting off good.”
Even though baseball and riding bulls couldn’t be more different, they’re both still a physical sport. And the mental side of each one plays a huge role in the success of its players. “Riding bulls is about 10% physical and 90% mental. You have to go in there with confidence and trust the mechanics that you’ve been working on.” Blake has found that if he’s thinking about too much while he’s on a bull, he’s probably going to get bucked off. The same was true when he was on the pitcher’s mound. “When I was pitching, I would go on the mound and clear my head and make sure everything bothering me was dropped and I didn’t think about it. That’s kind of what I do before I ride. It can be hard, but once you do it enough it becomes part of the routine.”
Before bull riding, Blake didn’t know he was such an adrenaline junky. Now, he can’t get enough of it. “When they crack the latch and swing the gate, it’s a big adrenaline rush. There’s something about it that is like nothing else I’ve ever done before.”
