Climbing on with a motto of: “Ride for God’s glory,” American Professional Rodeo Association’s (APRA) bareback riding Rookie of the Year – Tim Palmer – has already found success in his three years of bearing down on buckin’ horses. “I don’t want the crowd to see me, I want them to see the grace of God, because without Him, I am nothing,” said Tim.

As a third generation cowboy, Tim was handed the reins early on in life. His granddad (Jack) started a string of ropers competing in the calf roping, which led to Tim’s dad (Tom) and uncle, who both left the box as team ropers. The passion followed with Tim and his older brother (Andrew) and he began competing in the team roping at the age of 12. “We were roping dummies since we were in diapers, because it was just something that we loved to do,” he explained. Both his mom (Patty) and his older sister (Julie) have never competed, but he says that they are super supportive and are his number one fans. It wasn’t until Tim had left the nest and was living in Arkansas, when a friend and retired multiple association bareback rider (Nathan Chuckfield) revealed that Jim was built to be a bareback rider. “I gave it a try and covered my first six out of ten horses. It was then that I realized that it was the event for me,” Tim said.

By the summer of 2012, Tim had purchased a membership with the APRA and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), where he made an impressive start. He was able to fill his permit and finish second at both the First Frontier Circuit Finals and the year-end standings, which earned him a qualification to his first Ram National Circuit Finals, following a fourth place finish in the 2013 APRA year-end rankings. “I love the tight knit group in the APRA. It has the feel of a pro association, but you know everyone and are good buddies with those you are competing with, along with the stock contractors,” he said of the organization. Already hitting the trail, Tim is currently sitting fourth in the standings with approximately $800 won in the 2014 season. “I would love to win both the finals and the year-end,” he said of his goals for the APRA.

The 21-year old cowboy was born in Lewistown, Pa., but says that he never spent more than four months in one particular location up until the age of 17. “My family moved around a lot, because my dad was a traveling preacher,” he explained. But he claims that it is his upbringing that urges him to rodeo. “I was raised on the road and we went to a lot of rodeos. It may be because it is a part of my blood, but it’s the competition that I crave,” he said. “It is a dream that you can chase, and sure, there are bumps and bruises along the way, but it’s not like anything else out there – it’s just you and the world.”

While Tim will head to his second First Frontier Circuit Finals seated fifth with almost $2,000 won in the season, he will get on his first horse in over five months. Having suffered a compound fracture to his left tibia and enduring two surgeries, he says that he is ready to get back on and has future targets set. “You can never be happy where you are and I would like to keep pushing to get better. I feel that I can compete with the best cowboys in the world and want to expand myself by hitting some bigger shows and traveling a lot more in the PRCA,” he said.