On the Trail with Garrett Tribble

Written by: Lily Landreth

“A lot of kids ride bulls, but some kids are just born to do it.” This is how Phil Fabela, a family friend and mentor, describes Garrett Tribble, who has been sitting first in the IPRA bull riding standings for nearly two months. Garrett isn’t the type to boast, but the bull rider from Slick, Okla. joined the IPRA in January 2014, and 11 states, three Canadian provinces, and nearly 50 rodeos later, he is sitting first in the world standings – ahead of second place by almost $20,000. And he’s only 17.

“Garrett’s bull riding career really started when he was about two or three years old,” says his dad, Rodney Tribble. “He fell in love with bull riding and has wanted to do it since he was very young. From about the time he was three, he’d come home from school and put in Eight Seconds – he watched it every day!” Garrett’s bull riding dream took shape when he was about five. One of his friends was participating in the mutton busting at a local rodeo and invited Garrett to join him. Short as it was, the wooly ride made up Garrett’s mind. He was going be a bull rider. Although none of Garrett’s immediate family had ever competed in rodeo, his parents helped him join youth associations like the Junior Bull and Bronc Riders Association (JBRA), National Junior Bull Riders Association (NJBRA) and the Oklahoma Junior Rodeo Association (OJRA).