story by Lily Weinacht
Milo Torres’ dreams don’t soar – they buck across the arena. The 38 year old bareback rider from Tucson, Ariz., grew up in Texas, but unlike many roughstock riders who are in the arena from a young age, Milo was in the audience. Coming from a non-rodeo family, his own days in the chutes didn’t start until he was in his 20s. “I started out wanting to ride bulls, and I rode them for about six years, and then I decided to switch to bareback horses,” says Milo. “Rodeo was a little more challenging for me since most of the other guys started on steers and calves on their ranches or at rodeos, and I came straight from the city!”
The switch from bulls to bareback horses and the difference in riding styles proved challenging, but Milo persisted. He joined the GCPRA in 2004 and has since qualified for the association’s finals seven times, previously qualifying for the PAFRA finals in bull riding in 2000. “I love the camaraderie with my friends, and the sheer enjoyment of being at a rodeo,” Milo explains. “It’s just fun for me, whether I win or lose!” He adds, “I look up to my travelling partner, Adam Tanner. We’re like brothers. We know our limits, and we push each other to a little beyond our limits.”
For several years, Milo balanced rodeo with serving in the United States Air Force in security on the base in Tucson, a job he took just a few years after graduating from high school. He finished ten years with the Air Force in 2007 before starting work for Boot Barn in inventory and shipping and receiving. “I also specialize in shaping hats,” says Milo. He travels to different events for the company, and most recently worked the booth at Cheyenne Frontier Days. A man of numerous talents, he also works as Double K Diamond Photography’s IT guy, while studying for his bachelor’s degree in information and technology, taking all his classes online through Columbia Southern University. He has two other degrees, both associates, in criminal justice, and computer networking and security. “I just don’t know what I want to do when I grow up!” he jokes. “Homework and working out is about all I do. I’m anxious to get school wrapped up – I should be done by the end of the year.”
With another qualification for the GCPRA finals in his sights, Milo is rodeoing at every opportunity. One of his favorite rodeos in the association is the Sonoita day rodeo. “It’s kind of like my hometown rodeo,” he explains. Meticulous by nature, he always has his gear bag in order, while he warms up behind the chutes acting as though he is riding the horse he drew. “I like to be with my friends early on, and then as it gets time for me to ride, I taper off to be by myself and focus,” says Milo. “I don’t really set goals for myself in rodeo – I rodeo just to have fun! Of course, everyone wants to win, and my one goal is to be one of the best, but I just love the camaraderie with my friends, and the attitude of rodeo itself. I want to thank Double K Diamond Photography, Tanner Custom Leather, St. Luke’s Sports Medicine Team, and my mom for all the support.”
Milo concludes, “One of my friends often tells me, as he points to the rodeo crowd, ‘There’s people up there that want to be down here doing what we do – and you’re doing it.’”
