RMPRA member Casey Kirkham – John Golom
story by Terry Rhodes
It wasn’t his biggest win or most sensational, but it was the one that both he and his dad will always recall as being the best. “My dad had a bull named X 5 Cowboy that was extremely hard to get by. He was definitely one of the rankest bulls he had. I threw my rope on him six or seven times and could never get him rode. Well, dad took a bunch of bulls to the Lane Frost Challenge and I won the first night and on the second night I ended up drawing X 5 Cowboy. Dad was in shock because he knew this could be the time that I could get him rode. I did ride him and won the bull riding that night. That was the first time that bull got rode. I’ve made a lot of good rides but that one was the most memorable for me and my dad. It meant more with the ‘ol man back there flankin’ and on his favorite bull. It was pretty neat.”
He’s been on a break from riding as he recovers from, in his words, “…a pretty decent injury.” Casey has been in the Rocky Mountain association for about five years. He also has competed in the PBR and PRCA. He says that the best thing about the RMPRA is that he can count on drawing good stock at every rodeo. “The people are real good, they always bring good stock, and the payouts are good. I made the Finals two years and was going to about everyone that I could.”As he developed his bull riding skills and confidence, Casey began to branch out to the PBR and PRCA shows.
Getting plenty of practice is no problem for the 25-year-old bull rider. “Since dad owns a bunch of bulls and hauls them to rodeos, futurities and competitions. So any time I need to get on some practice bulls, we load some bulls in the chutes and I can get on as many as I need to ride until I get feeling good.” Casey says that he tries not to over-think his rides and just reacts to every jump that the bull makes. “I go into it with positive thoughts and know that I can ride that bull. I just love the feeling of riding rank bulls. I live to do that. That’s the best feeling when you strap down and ride a good one.”
He credits his friend, Jesse Farnsworth as the one that got him started riding bulls. The progression went from sheep to steers to mini-bulls, and finally at 16 years old, with Jesse’s help, Casey got on his first bull. Jesse took him through a slow and complete training regimen before his first bull ride. “I was in high school then and Jesse and I were talking about it. I had always wanted to get started in the sport and didn’t really know how to go about it. He took me to his house and started me on his drop barrel. I rode that for six months and he showed me how to do everything. Then I got on practice bulls and stayed riding practice bulls for quite some time. I started in open bull ridings and it took a couple of years before things started clicking for me.”
He lives in Roosevelt, Utah with his family. His father is Jimmy Kirkham. During the week Casey works in the oil fields welding. Leisure time is spent outside doing just about anything, especially hunting. “If I’m not working or riding bulls, I’m looking for deer or elk. I do a lot of lot shed hunting; I’m a shed freak. When they start to drop, I’ll take some time off to hunt antler sheds.” Goals for the future are to build his own place and have his own string of bulls to haul. “I want to stay involved the sport after I quit riding.”
