PUEBLO, Colo. – Daylon Swearingen was sitting inside his hotel room at the Wyndham Garden Boise Airport in the middle of August when doubts began to creep into the back of his mind.
Swearingen had not returned home to upstate New York in more than two months, and he was admittedly homesick.
The 20-year-old missed working with his father, Sam, on the family’s ranch and spending time with his mother, Carrie, and brother, Colt.
Swearingen had fallen outside of the Top 15 of the PRCA bull riding standings and his body was feeling the effects of a buckoff streak combined with thousands of miles traveled via airplane, trucks and cars.
The 2019 collegiate national bull riding champion had been told about the ups and downs that come with the rigors of the endless summer rodeo grind.
He was well aware of the physical and mental toll that comes with trying to ride at the collegiate, PRCA and PBR level at the same time. Still, none of that made things any easier for him as he sat in his hotel room contemplating his future.
With a rare day off, Swearingen had some time to himself before he was set to compete at the Caldwell Night Rodeo.
Hungry, bored and trapped in his head, Swearingen decided to walk three miles to a Lucky Fins Restaurant.
Getting lunch at the six-time, reigning No. 1 seafood restaurant in landlocked Boise, Idaho, hadn’t been part of his rodeo dreams.
“It was a really weird restaurant, but it was extremely good,” Swearingen said with a laugh. “They had sushi, but they also had like every kind of food imaginable.”
Instead, the obvious dream was to someday ride inside the prestigious yellow bucking chutes at the Thomas & Mack Center at the NFR, just as he aspires to ride inside the state-of-the-art T-Mobile Arena at the PBR World Finals.
Swearingen, therefore, ignored the temptation to board a flight home to New York from the Boise Airport, which was actually a closer walk than his six-mile roundtrip hike to Lucky Fins.
“I realized if I went home, I would not feel good about myself that I went home and quit,” Swearingen reflected on Tuesday morning. “I was kind of getting homesick. I guess the road to the top is a little lonely, but it is worth it. I was falling off and had bucked off four or five bulls and I was kind of in a learning curve.”
Swearingen overcame his late-summer lull and went on to finish off his goal of qualifying for the 2019 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.
Swearingen concluded the 2019 PRCA regular-season ranked 14th in the association’s money-based bull riding standings with $111,868.02. He finished $6,122.19 ahead of No. 16 Parker Breding for one of the final spots for this year’s NFR.
Five-time PRCA champion Sage Kimzey leads the PRCA bull riding standings with $245,454.70.
The Top 15 money-earners in the PRCA standings qualify for the NFR whereas the Top 35 riders in the PBR world standings qualify for the World Finals via world points earned.
Swearingen is the No. 13-ranked bull rider in the PBR world standings, and he is well on his way to qualifying for the 2019 PBR World Finals.
Swearingen, 20, will be the youngest bull rider to qualify for the PBR World Finals and the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in the same season. Cory Melton (2003) and Corey Navarre (1998) were both 21 years old when they pulled off the feat.
“It is really special,” Swearingen said. “We are gone so much that it is a real blessing when you come out of that whole season without any serious injuries. So many people have helped me get to where I am today. I am thankful God has blessed me with so many great people in life, every aspect of it. He has always put me in the right place and little things, like getting my gear bag there. It is a real blessing.”
The relief in Swearingen’s voice reverberated through his iPhone as he continued a 5-hour drive in his white 2010 Dodge Ram Tuesday from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Carthage, Texas.
Swearingen said his phone was buzzing nonstop on Monday with congratulatory phone calls and text messages as word came out that he had qualified for the NFR.
This drive was a lot more peaceful than the other 30,000-plus miles he put on his truck during his rodeo run.
Swearingen was headed back to Panola College after spending Monday with his brother, Colt, who is a steer wrestler and tie down roper at Southeastern Oklahoma State University.
Having a few extra days off is well deserved for Swearingen, who has attempted close to 200 bulls at all levels of PBR and pro rodeo competition.
Swearingen also spent the beginning of the year also competing as a bareback rider, and he is ranked 10th in the PRCA all-around standings.
PBR co-founder and Director of Livestock Cody Lambert has spoken highly of Swearingen even before he made it into the PBR’s Top 35 and is proud of all Swearingen has accomplished so far in and out of the arena.
“Everything about him to me is just impressive,” Lambert said. “He is a great kid. He is mature so far beyond his years. He still has some maturing to do as a bull rider, but as a solid young man, he can’t be beat. His physical toughness, there is nobody in there who can match it. He has been on twice as many bulls as almost everybody else. And he has been on 30 to 50 bareback horses, and a full time student.
“He is a serious kid in a positive way. He has Cody Teel’s attitude and Chase Outlaw’s energy.”
Swearingen is the 12th bull rider since 2000 to qualify for the NFR and PBR World Finals.
Brennon Eldred was the last full-time PBR rider to pull off the feat, doing so in 2017. Reigning PRCA champion Sage Kimzey also did it in 2017, but he did so via earning a wild card spot through the Velocity Tour Finals rather than riding full-time in the PBR.
2011 PRCA champion Shane Proctor qualified for both Finals in the same season four times, including during his gold-buckle season.
“I have a lot of respect for those guys,” Swearingen said. “I have always looked up to them. It was always in my mind to try and do it like they did.”
Eldred has been riding alongside Swearingen on the Unleash The Beast, and he has been impressed by Swearingen’s early success.
“It’s pretty badass,” Eldred said. “My hat’s off to him. Guys who just do one or the other don’t understand how much work goes into making them both. You are getting on twice the amount of bulls, and staying healthy is tough. Pretty cool for a kid at that age with that much toughness and determination. I would say the sport is safe with the group of young talents coming up.”
Swearingen heads into the Minneapolis Invitational this weekend sitting third in the PBR Rookie of the Year race behind Ezekiel Mitchell and Alisson de Souza. Swearingen is only 84.16 points behind Mitchell.
Rookie of the Year is certainly on Swearingen’s mind with three Unleash The Beast events left before the 2019 PBR World Finals get underway on Nov. 6 in Las Vegas.
In fact, Swearingen is hoping for a clean sweep of the rookie hardware.
“I have the opportunity to win the rookie in all three associations,” Swearingen said. “I won the rookie (title) at the college finals, and I have the opportunity to do it in the PBR and the PRCA. That is a pretty cool opportunity I look forward to.”
Swearingen will continue his pursuit up the standings this weekend at the Target Center.
He is slated to face Magic Train (47-6, UTB) in Friday night’s 15/15 Bucking Battle, which airs Sunday at 6 p.m. ET on CBS national television.
15/15 Bucking Battle Matchups
Lucas Divino vs. Big Black (18-7, UTB)
Dalton Kasel vs. Stretch (14-6, UTB)
Matt Triplett vs. Smooth Operator (66-7, UTB)*
Daylon Swearingen vs. Magic Train (47-6, UTB)
Alisson de Souza vs. Arctic Assassin (7-4, UTB)
Ezekiel Mitchell vs. Red Dawn (21-5, UTB)
Derek Kolbaba vs. Biker Bob (25-7, UTB)$
Luciano de Castro vs. Safety Meeting
Marco Eguchi vs. Apper’s Mind Freak (18-3, UTB)
Cody Teel vs. Mason’s Missouri Golden (16-1, UTB)
Cooper Davis vs. Big Black Cat (33-11, UTB)$
Joao Ricardo Vieira vs. Soup in a Group (24-2, UTB)*
Chase Outlaw vs. Talking Smack (26-4, UTB)
Jess Lockwood vs. Bad Beagle (27-6, UTB)*
Jose Vitor Leme vs. Space Force (2-0, UTB)
*Rematch
$Rider successfully rode the bull previously
“He is a good bull, and that is what it takes to win,” Swearingen said. “They are all good at that level, but you know that if you ride that one, you are going to win.”
Magic Train spent the summer breeding cows and has not bucked in eight months since he bucked off Koal Livingston in St. Louis in 4.58 seconds.
However, his owner Matt Scharping has been all over the rodeo trail with his bulls, and he too has been impressed with Swearingen’s performance so far.
“Love that kid,” Scharping said. “Tough, gritty, the kind we need.”
Before he heads to Minneapolis, Swearingen has some other business to attend to, though.
Mainly, he needs to get caught up on his school work as he continues to work toward a degree in land and ranch management.
“I’ve got to finish a test tonight by 7 for my wildlife management class,” Swearingen said with a laugh.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
