Story by Hope Raley
During his ride on a cold day in February 2016, Taylor Merrill’s bronc fell and ended up stepping on his head, crushing his skull. Taylor’s brother Kolton sprinted into the arena and prayed a blessing over Taylor before he was life-flighted to Salt Lake City, where surgery was performed immediately to alleviate the pressure on his brain that was being caused by the crushed skull.
Truly a modern-day miracle, Taylor was only in the hospital for three days, he is 100% confident that it was the blessing that he received within moments of the wreck that saved his life. “I know that had my brother, Kolton, not reacted so quickly, there’s a good chance that I wouldn’t be here today.” After such a traumatic experience, it has taken Taylor several years to gain his confidence back to climb on a bronc. However, with the help of his family, friends and his Faith in God, Taylor is back to riding better than ever! With the constant love and support from his wife, Cassidy, and year and a half old son, Riggs, Taylor is anxious to see what the rest of the 2022 rodeo season has in store for him with the Western States Ranch Rodeo Association.
Pingree, Idaho cowboy Taylor Merrill has been competing in the ranch bronc riding since 2004. Although he grew up in a family that knew horses and ranched, he didn’t necessarily grow up in a ‘rodeo family’. His dad, Scott, was a working cowboy throughout Taylor’s childhood, and the family bounced around working for numerous different ranches throughout the western region of the country. Born in Blackfoot, Idaho, Taylor lived in Wells, NV and Prairie City, OR before moving back to his roots in Blackfoot, where he graduated high school. Over the years after high school, Taylor has done several odd jobs and started a lot of colts. In 2019, Taylor and his dad, Scott, bought a carpet cleaning company, Green Machine Carpet Cleaning, where they stay consistently busy. Taylor still makes time to start colts on the side, which has been a life-long passion of his since he was a kid. Taylor explains that when he and his father purchased the carpet cleaning company, his goal was to learn the management side of owning a business to further achieve his dream of someday owning his own ranch.
“I have done and know all about the physical labor that’s involved in owning a ranch, but I didn’t have a clue about the business side of it. Since buying the carpet cleaning business, I have learned more about what goes into a business than just the physical labor,” explained Merrill.
Currently Taylor is sitting third in the ranch bronc riding in the Western States Ranch Rodeo Association with hopes of finishing the year off strong and making the finals in Winnemucca, NV alongside his younger brothers- Kolton, 28, and Stetson, 25. As the 2022 Western States Ranch Rodeo Association season starts to wind down, Taylor is just starting to get the dust knocked off in his first year back out on the rodeo trail after suffering an almost fatal injury in February 2016.
