story by Ruth Nicolaus
Dustin Tobin loves to ride bulls.
The American Professional Rodeo Association cowboy was born and raised in Pawlet, Vermont but spent some of his middle and high school years in Florida.
In Florida, he was introduced to bull riding by a friend whose dad was a stock contractor and rodeo producer. He began riding, mostly at jackpots and open events.
In his later high school years, he moved back to Vermont, graduating from Salem, New York (just across the state line) in 2009. Because he didn’t have any rodeo contacts in the Northeast, his rodeo activity dwindled.
Then Dustin connected with the O’Rourke family, who runs the Pond Hill Ranch, hosting ten weekly rodeos each summer. He rode bulls for two years in the novice division, then purchased his APRA card and rode in the pro division as well.
His geographical location is ideal; he’s fifteen minutes from Pond Hill, forty minutes from the Painted Pony rodeos in Lake Luzerne, New York, and close to the Lucky E Ranch as well. “I can hit thirty rodeos a summer, without going more than forty minutes from the house,” he said, “and those are all APRA rodeos. Typically you don’t get that many APRA rodeos in one area.”
As is typical for bull riders, Dustin has had his share of bumps and bruises. His worst injury was an exposed armpit and chest cavity, after a bull kicked him in the armpit, where there is no protection from the vest. “I happened to catch a hoof in the right spot at the wrong time,” he said. He spent three days in the hospital. No bones were broken but tendons and ligaments were cut anqd injured. Emergency surgery fixed it up, and within three weeks, he was back on a bull. “It was frowned upon” by his doctor, he said, “but it was my free arm, not my riding arm.”
For a while, Dustin worked for a glass company, and now drives a tow truck and works as a mechanic for a business out of Manchester, Vermont. As an essential worker, he wasn’t furloughed or sent home during the pandemic. But business was slow for a while, as fewer people traveled.
If he had to choose a favorite bull, it would be Shawn Graham’s No. 1122, Chute Rooster. Dustin has been on him five times, and the last two times, he’s won the rodeo on him. “He’s fun,” Dustin said. “He’s honest. It just took a little bit of time to learn him and get around him.”
He and his significant other, Karissa, have been together nine years and have three kids: daughter, Sierra, who is seven, son Dawson who is five, and a new baby boy, born in November, who is named Daylon.
When he’s not working, riding bulls or chasing kids, he loves to hunt whitetail deer and fish. Living in the Green Mountains, he fishes for lake trout, brook trout and bass in the Mettowee River and ice fish in the winter.
He’s just volunteered to be nominated by his fellow riders as the bull riding director for the APRA, and having fifteen years of experience in the sport, he believes he’s qualified. “I know the ins and outs about it,” he said. “I know the APRA stock contractors, I’ve hit almost a rodeo for every stock contractor in the APRA all year long.” He hopes to secure more prizes for the bull riders at the finals.
He loves his chosen sport. “It’s a major adrenaline rush, but it’s a family,” Dustin said. “All the riders, we help each other. As soon as I’m off my bull, I’m back over the chutes helping the next guy get on. We all love to win, but we love just as much to see our friends doing good.”
