LAS VEGAS ― If Wyatt Crowder had any doubts that he was born to own bucking bulls when he arrived at the 2013 Built Ford Tough World Finals, he’s no longer wondering about his purpose in life.
That’s because the 18-year-old Crowder, who lives in Fort Lupton, Colo., earned the coveted $200,000 prize when his 4-year-old bull, The Rocker, clinched the American Bucking Bull Inc. Classic title last week at the World Finals.
The Rocker finished No. 1 after turning in a two-ride aggregate score of 176, a half point ahead of second-place finisher King Buck. The Rocker clinched the title after bucking off 2009 World Champion Kody Lostroh in Round 4 at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Crowder, who came up through the junior ranks of showing bucking bulls, said winning the Classic title was a confirmation that he’s destined to be a stock contractor.
“This is a sign from heaven to keep going,” said Crowder, who is a professing Christian. “Doing this has been a dream of mine since I was a little boy. Winning this is like opening up the gates of heaven for me.
“You have to believe in stuff for it to happen. When they announced that I had won, it brought tears to my eyes.”
Crowder also is a farrier by trade, but shoeing horses is one trade that gives him more flexibility and plenty of time to raise bulls. Five years ago, his father and mother phased out their angus cattle operation and the family converted to rearing young bucking bulls.
Crowder bought The Rocker at a sale as a yearling and has raised the bull. He purchased The Rocker after his mother, Missy, had a strong, inward hunch that the young bovine, which is a grandson of 2006 PBR World Champion Bull Mossy Oak Mudslinger, was destined for greatness.
But since then, The Rocker has faced some very serious challenges. Two years ago, the bull was knocked unconscious when he hit his head against a metal post and was out for about 30 minutes. It took at least 30 days before the young bovine could normally walk again.
“We didn’t think he was going to make it,” Crowder said. “He’s got a heart bigger than the world to be able to pull through something like that.”
Crowder has hauled The Rocker to the PBR World Finals over the past three years. However, the bull did not fare well in his first two trips to the Las Vegas championships.
Two years ago, when he was entered in the Futurity division for 2-year-olds, The Rocker sustained a leg injury by simply stepping the wrong way during a warm-up session the night before the competition.
Crowder sadly pulled the bull from the competition.
And last year, The Rocker couldn’t handle the big stage.
“With the big lights, the music and the stage fright, he just had a bad trip,” Crowder said.
But Crowder never lost hope. During the 2013 regular season, The Rocker placed at five of seven ABBI Classic events, which helped him earn a spot in the World Finals.
Photo by Andy Watson / BullStockMedia.com.
This time, he thrived on the big stage. During Round 1 on Oct. 23, The Rocker bucked off Luke Snyder, a former PBR World Finals event champion.
“He’s a little, muscular bull,” Snyder said. “He doesn’t have a lot of power, but what he lacks in power, he makes up for it by being a fast spinner. He goes really fast with a lot of kick and that whips a guy down. He whipped me around and made me look like I was a rookie.”
After bucking off Snyder, The Rocker received a long-round score of 86.75 points. But during the short round on Oct. 26, The Rocker clinched the title after turning in an 89.25-point effort after bucking off Lostroh.
Cody Lambert, the PBR’s longtime livestock director, said The Rocker bucks and spins with lots of intensity.
“He has a lot of kick and great speed when he turns back,” Lambert said. “He has a lot of whip and slings riders out of there. There are a lot of bulls who leave the chute strongly and they turn a hard corner, but The Rocker just keeps getting faster and faster.”
The Rocker was sired by a bovine named Raindancer and his mother is a cow that’s owned by veteran breeder Dwight Frick. Crowder’s father, Rob, said strong genetics obviously has played a role in the bull’s success.
“It’s like H.D. Page once advised us that you can’t feed greatness into a bull, and so it has to be genetics and they have to have the heart to do it,” Rob Crowder said. “But at the same time, you have to feed a bull well and keep them in tip-top shape.”
For the Crowders, their hard work with conditioning The Rocker has paid off.
“I always knew that he was a great bull,” Rob Crowder continued. “He’s the most consistent bull that I’ve seen. Through all of the ups and downs, this makes it worth it.”
Wyatt Crowder said he’s glad that he never gave up.
“I never lost faith in him (The Rocker) since Day One,” Wyatt Crowder said. “I knew he had the heart to do it.”