Junior Chickasaw bull rider to compete at World Rodeo Championship

This article appeared in the July 2016 edition of the Chickasaw Times

Tyriese Higdon has a fever that can’t be cured with a doctor’s prescription, bedrest or a mother’s tender touch. In fact, the only treatment available for the 7-year-old Chickasaw citizen is something quite opposite those usual remedies. His cure-all is a six-second ride on 300 pounds of bucking thunder.

Tyriese is a rodeo bull rider and an extraordinarily good one. So good, he’s headed to the world championships to compete at the highest level in that discipline in Abilene, Texas, Aug. 3-6.

The second-grade student at Francis Elementary in Francis, Oklahoma is a member of the Oklahoma Junior Rodeo Association through Ward Rodeo Company in Coalgate, Oklahoma. He claimed first prize in the 2016 OJRA finals where he won a saddle and an OJRA buckle for all-around rider, which opened the door for an invitation to the big show.

Tyriese will be competing against 350 of the best youth bull riders from across the United States, Canada, Mexico and Australia to compete for the title of World Champion. Over $90,000 in cash and other prizes will be awarded.

David Higdon, Tyriese’s father, said it all started the first time Tyriese and his younger brother, Tyrell (who also rides), saw their dad tumble to the ground after a bull ride.

“I came off a bull at Ken Lance Arena and hit the ground,” Mr. Higdon said. As he stood up to dust himself off he saw his sons standing virtually right in front of him staring wide-eyed on the other side of the fence. “I think that’s where they got the fever,” he said.

Since they don’t live on a ranch, Mr. Higdon built a bucking barrel apparatus in their front yard in Francis that simulates what a bull might do when attempting to dislodge an unwelcome rider. “I have to be on the other end working it,” Mr. Higdon said. Practice is usually 2-3 hours a day after school and work.

On weekends, they enter rodeos. Rides are scored based on young riders being able to last the entire 6-seconds on top of a calf. “As long as he makes it to the whistle with his free hand in the air; he’s still on the animal; nothing is touching the ground and his hand is still in the rope, he’s got a chance of winning,” Mr. Higdon said of Tyriese’s chances of bringing home the top prize.

How much the bull kicks also plays into the scoring. “It’s 50 percent on the animal and 50 percent on the rider,” he said.

Tyriese admits to having been a tad anxious when he mounted his first animal in competition. “I was a little afraid,” he said. That ride landed him in the dirt. Today he has a buck-off rate of only 5 percent, which means his rides are successful 95 percent of the time.

Mr. Higdon said Tyriese showed early signs of being a natural at the sport. “I’m not half the cowboy he is,” he said. “I don’t say that because he’s my kid. I say that because the kid is good. He loves rodeo. He loves being a cowboy. He loves riding.”

It turns out the lonely cowboy life is more than just the stuff of western movies and country songs. In a way, young Tyriese has already experienced it. He got home from school one afternoon and said, “Dad, I’m the only cowboy in my school.”

Mr. Higdon asked him if he wanted to change and perhaps get involved with more traditional urban sports. “No,” he said. “I like being me.”

For Tyriese Higdon, it’s the cowboy way.