story by Siri Stevens
Dean Thompson, the 2021 RMPRA Bareback Riding Champion, didn’t come from rodeo roots. “I had one first cousin removed that rodeoed a little bit. My older brother, Derrik, had a rough year in football and took off to cowboy.” His uncle, Kevin Jessen, rodeoed and his son, Bodell, did as well. “He took me in as a fifth grader, and I rode calves at his house. He made me do push-ups in between.” Dean graduated to bareback steers and eventually up to horses. He made it to the Junior High Nationals his 8th grade year. Dean attributes his success at riding bareback horses to his wrestling coach. “My coach, Stephen Sanderson’s son was an Olympic champion – he showed us what it was to be great at something. It’s dedication and spending the most time and effort you can at it.” Dean was the Utah State Champion wrestler and as a senior he had a few options – either wrestling or rodeoing. “I nearly went the wrestling/rodeo route, but I saw a future in rodeo.” He rode bulls all the way through high school and still rides bulls at the college rodeos as well as steer wrestles. But the bareback riding has taken off, so it’s easy for him to focus on that.
Dean feels that since he’s wrestled, rodeo is a lot easier. “You learn how to handle emotional stress.” He compares making weight before a wrestling match to driving to the rodeo. “I got stuck in traffic on my way to Denver and barely made it – once I got there, I felt like the hard part was over. Just like once I weighed in, the hard part was over.” Dean loved Denver. “The stadium was full and everyone there was hospitable.”
He grew up with three older brothers, Blake (28), Derrik (25), Danny (22), two years older than Dean. Being the youngest, he admits, made him “a little tougher; the hacking on me was good.” His dad, Dad (Chris) owns a machine shop in Duchene, and his mom (Kristie) is a stay-at-home mom. “My dad is a man of few words – his example sets the tone. It’s all action based. People can say what they want, but at the end of the day, it’s the action that counts. My dad has taught me that.” He remembers riding a Holstein cow that they were fattening up to butcher, and his dad would just shake his head. “My parents brought me all the way through this and I’m thankful for them as well as Coach Greg and my wrestling coach.”
Dean is going to school in Snyder, Texas, at West Texas College. “I’m working on my bachelor’s degree and working through a university to get extra credits towards a degree in business management. I’m taking an accounting class right now and it’s so useful. Tracking finances on the road and doing my own taxes is helpful.” He competes in three events at the college rodeos and is the only bull dogger at West Texas College this year. “I mount out at the college rodeos and just practice on the ground at the college.”
He’s hoping to make the CNFR again this year, after finishing 7th there last year. “I think more than anything, making small changes improves my riding. I’m a big believer in slowing things down. If things aren’t going right, I’ll go back to the spur board, get it right in my head and then make it happen when I get in the arena.” After he gets his degree, he’s got a Plan A and Plan C. “Most people have a plan A and B, but the way I see it is plan A, pro rodeo, and be as good as I can be. Plan C – when I’m done, manage a company or have a small business of my own. I know if I stop doing this it will be unfulfilling. I reckon I’ll figure it out on the road – I’ve got a lot of time to think.”
