On The Trail with Creek Young
A framed $25 check for winning the first mutton bustin’ he entered at only two-and-a-half years old hung on Creek Young’s wall for years. As […]
Kyle Irwin
Kyle Irwin steer wrestling at the 2014 Cheyenne Frontier Days. Photo by Hubbell.
Written by: Amy Witt
< Back to ArticlesWinning the Ram National Circuit Finals in Guthrie, Okla. earlier this year, the young gun, Kyle Irwin, 24, from Robertsdale, Ala. has big goals for his steer wrestling career. Clocking a record-tying time of 3.3 seconds naming him the 2014 RNCFR Champion, Irwin is confident and motivated with an eye on a gold buckle.
“I’m inspired by the people that succeed when the odds are stacked against them. No one person in particular, just anyone you might read or hear about that started from rock bottom and had nothing, then beat the odds and excelled tremendously. Just to prove that nothing is impossible.”
Growing up around rodeo and cattle, Irwin began junior rodeo at the age of 11 competing in tie-down roping, chute dogging, and team roping. Irwin jumped his first steer at 13 years-of-age at Steve Duhon’s Steer Wrestling School. Graduating from Northwestern Okla. State College, he was fortunate to have a mentor and coach, Stockton Graves. Graves taught Irwin not only about steer wrestling but about life and experiences. Traveling with Kody Woodard and Dru Melvin his senior year in college, he had the opportunity to ride Dru’s horse, Moonshine. By riding Moonshine, Irwin gained a tremendous amount of knowledge and confidence to keep pushing through any doubts about himself. Unbeknownst to Irwin, his adventure into a professional steer wrestler was headed in to a victorious one.
“I remember when I was in high school and signed with Western Okla. State College. The local newspaper wrote an article that read, Robertsdale High Senior Wrestles His Way to Higher Education. I never knew I had a chance to make a career out of the sport of steer wrestling. I had watched guys on TV making a career and I was in awe at how good they were. Now, I am able to pay my bills and enjoy this life that I had dreamed about.”
Full story is available in the September 15, 2014 issue.
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