The 37-year-old cowboy sustained a concussion while competing at last weekend’s Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series tour stop in Edmonton, Alberta. The accident occurred in the second round, but Herman could not remember exactly what happened when asked to cite specifics.

After taking a licking, it first looked like he would be on the sidelines during this weekend’s tour stop in Glendale, Ariz. But Herman, a Victoria, Texas cowboy, said he will be on the card.

Herman has been a PBR competitor since the inaugural season in 1994. This season, he has $50,655 in PBR earnings.

Herman answered questions about his lengthy bull riding career and discussed the changes that he’s witnessed over the past 15 seasons.      

Question: Today, it’s a lot more challenging to have a 15-year bull riding career because you face rank bulls on a more consistent basis in the PBR. What’s the key to your longevity?

Answer: My dad is 65 and he’s in great shape and doesn’t look 65. I’m 37 and people say I don’t look 37 and I sure don’t feel 37. I just really take great care of myself and I still want to be here. Some guys, after they ride awhile, they feel like they don’t want it so much.  But I still feel like I have something that I want to achieve and prove. I’ve suffered injuries in the past such as breaking my neck, but I’ve been fortunate enough to bounce back from all of them.

Q: Do you have a training regimen that you follow to stay in shape?

A: I train pretty heavy and I take care of myself. I work on my speed, my strength and my balance all of the time. I tell guys that it’s like speaking Spanish, if you don’t do it, you’ll lose it. So, I work on it daily. The older that I get, the more I have to work on it.          

Q: It’s always great to see you and 38-year-old Adriano Moraes around the younger bull riders. How is it being one of the older cowboys?

A: Even though I could be their father, I room with the younger guys, hang out with them and travel with them. It kind of keeps me young. But sometimes it gets to a point to where I don’t try to keep up with them. When the bull riding performance is over, it’s time for me to go to bed.  I’m up in the morning reading the paper and drinking coffee while they’re sleeping until noon.  But the mentality that I have to have to be around them keeps me light on my feet.

Q: What’s the difference between the early PBR seasons and the present season?

A: The 1994 season and the 2008 season are totally different. We still go to big buildings and there’s still a lot of people at an event. Now, there’s just more stops and we have a fan base. Today, you’ll see the same people who actually travel to multiple events and you’ll see them at different events.

Q: You were part of a really innovative group that started the PBR. That group included colorful, talented riders such as Clint Branger, Cody Lambert and Ty Murray. What’s the difference between the early group and today’s touring pros?

A: Kids on the tour now days have a different frame of mind. They didn’t come up rodeoing. We also had to rodeo, where we would pile up in a car and share a hotel room and pay entry fees. But today’s PBR riders are coming right out of high school and they’re almost like pampered babies. They come to the big sold-out buildings and ride for all of this money with no entry fees and they stay in nice hotels in major cities. But it wasn’t like that 15 years ago. We had to go beat the road for peanuts.

Q: What are some other significant changes?

A: One noticeable difference in the PBR and rodeo is that we had to make a commitment to go to the PBR events even in the early years. By comparison, you could turn out your bull at a rodeo (with no heavy consequences).  But if you were on tour with the PBR, you had to make a commitment to go to every event and it’s still that way.  Back then, we had $500 entry fees. Now, they pay us to come. In the early days of the PBR, there were only a few guys who had endorsements that were really worth anything. There were a few people who were wearing patches here and there, but they weren’t really getting paid anything to speak of. Today, everybody on tour has some type of sponsorship and everybody should have some type of uniform and be involved in some type of patch program.                 

Q: Was the PBR viewed as a way supplementing your rodeo career in the early days?

A: It took a back seat to rodeo and going to the National Finals in 1994 and 1995 was the main priority. I grew up in a time when you aspired to go to the NFR and to become a world champion in the PRCA. Then, the PBR popped up and it was just something new.  But then the PBR started getting noticeably bigger in 1996 and 1997 and kept on growing.

Q: What do you think about the prize money at stake on the Built Ford Tough Series where you can earn $30,000, $50,000 at one tour stop, which was what you would earn during a regular season at rodeos?

A:  If you hit a lick, it’s going to be $30,000 and if you come in second or third it’s over $10,000 and $15,000 and that’s good money. My wife has pointed out that it would be challenging to find a job where I have the opportunity to make that much money. I have the opportunity to make as much money this weekend as some people earn all year.

Q:  Does the abundance of prize money give older cowboys incentive to stay around as long as possible?

A: I still feel like I can do it. Plus, this sport is growing bigger and better every year and so I still want to be a part of this deal. I have stock in this deal and I enjoy watching it get more coverage and becoming more mainstream. I was a part of it when it was nothing and I want to be a part of it when it blows up.

Q: What do you feel like that you bring to the table for the younger guys?

A: I bring experience, knowing how to travel, how to have the right mindset and proper etiquette. Those are really the only things that I can offer these younger guys. When it comes to talent, these younger guys are really out there. It’s now like any other sport. Today, you have people who are coming right out of high school in the NBA. In the PBR, you have kids coming out of high school and they are beating the world champions and they are riding the rank bulls. But when I was coming out of high school, that was almost unheard of.

Q: What’s your advice to the younger guys?

A: Treat this sport like you see athletes treat other professional sports. We live in a day when where a pro bull rider has to take care of himself and train for events. The old time rodeo cowboy way of drinking and fighting is going down.

Q: Is your retirement date from bull riding indefinite?

A:  When I get up one day and don’t want to ride any more, then I’ll retire. As long as I want to ride, I know that I can beat the best, so I’m not worried about not being competitive. But my kids are getting older. They are five and eight years old and there’s things that I miss. I guess when they get older and get involved in more activities, I’ll want to be around more. But, right now, I feel ready to go ride bulls every weekend.

-by Brett Hoffman