Casey Martin began his bull dogging career when he was a freshman in high school. “Before steer wrestling, I mostly roped calves and team roped. My brother and I decided to try it one day when Matt Rider, a rodeo friend, had a bunch of fresh steers they were going to break in. We come back with cuts and scrapes and some clothes missing.” Casey comes from a large rodeo family consisting of five brothers and three sisters. Rodeo resources were abundant. Casey’s grandfather, the late Preston Martin, owned a feed store and always made sure that horses were available to Casey and his siblings. He would often bring horses home for the kids to break. His grandfather’s feed store was somewhat symbolic in that a rodeo seed was planted, which flourished on the Martin family land. Rodeo became a way of life for Casey and his family.
Casey competed in the National High School Rodeo Finals in steer wrestling and saddle bronc riding during his senior year. After high school, he attended McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana. While competing on the MSU college rodeo team, Casey also worked for his father in residential construction, which allowed him to buy his PRCA permit. He made the National College Rodeo Finals his junior and senior year (2002, 2003), ending one year as the reserve champion. “I decided to make a run at this (PRCA). I knew I could do it, I wanted it bad enough, I just had to figure out how. I was tall and skinny and grew way too fast.” Casey jokes about having to spend extra time on his footwork due to his rapid growth spurt. “I had legs going everywhere for a long time.” He credits Tom Carney and lots of practice to eventually learning the mechanics of controlling his frame and long legs.
Casey spent much of his time practicing in an arena his father built on the family ranch. He remains close to his brothers and sisters who have all built homes near the house in which they grew up. In August 2004, Casey’s family grew when he married Shawna. They have five children; Reese (7), Sydna (6), Therese (5), Waylon (2), and Woodrow (1). Casey admits that Shawna doesn’t ride, however she remains supportive of her husband and the rodeo lifestyle. “Right beside the arena is a 40×40 outdoor kitchen.” Casey explains that with such a large family, such a large structure is essential. “There are 55-60 at the dinner table,” said Casey. The outdoor kitchen is conveniently located right next to the family arena. “It’s a good practice session going on every day.” Being a typical southern family, dinner and fellowship are also important to the Martins. Whether it is Betty, the matriarch of the Martin family, preparing Sunday dinner or a sister-in-law cooking a simple meal for all, the end result is an atmosphere is of faith, laughter, and of course, rodeo stories. Casey has 38 nieces and nephews, which serves as a comforting distraction for his children while he is on the road. He currently runs down the road with his partners; Dru Melvin, Bray Armes and Sean Mulligan, while hauling five horses in a trailer complete with living quarters. Casey explains that traveling and living with three other guys is easy, “Everybody takes care of their own business”.
The Martin family faithfully follows Casey’s travels. A good indicator of Casey’s success is when his girls come home with ICEEs. His earnings from rodeo and resourcefulness have provided for his family of seven for the last couple of years. “I worked (construction) until the last year or two,” he said. Admitting that rodeo life is expensive, Casey jokes, “everybody eats and has clothes.”
Casey is very grateful to Tom for teaching him the mechanics behind bull dogging. He has attended Tom’s schools since they started and he’s helped since his senior year in high school. Steer wrestling is short on instructors. “You can’t go anywhere and find a practice pen,” he said. “But, there’s dang sure quite a few kids interested in it.” In an effort to give back to the sport, Casey took a few days off during his July run to go to the International Finals Youth Rodeo and help his mentor, Tom Carney, teach Steer Wrestling 101. “I had a couple days off due to not getting up right, so it worked out good,” he said. “Everything I’ve accomplished is from Tom – all the form and everything. He calls me and I call him. I’ve never called anybody else. Everybody has cold spurts – not winning steers – you just have to be able to handle that. To be able to win, in my opinion, you have to be able to lose. I try to not to ever look back. It’s got to get better.” Even his mother, Betty Martin, considers him dedicated. “If I had to use one word to describe my son, it would be faithful. Faithful to his family, faithful to his beliefs, faithful to his friends, faithful to his practice in the rodeo pen. Casey is truly living his dream.”
His goal for this year is to get the gold buckle. He came in second last year behind Luke Branquinho. Beyond that, he has no plans. He knows that rodeo is what he wants to do for now.
“Do what you want to do, set goals and stay at it. Don’t give up, do what you love and what you’re passionate about. 15 years ago when I started, nobody thought I’d stick with it, but I did.”
