PUEBLO, Colo. – During the 2022 PBR Teams season, the Austin Gamblers had an extra man on their roster.

Well, not technically on their roster. And not technically a man.

But 5-year-old Hayze Louis was a locker room staple, wearing his mini Gamblers jersey as he tagged along with his dad, Dakota Louis.

For most of Hayze’s life, Dakota has been a single father. The two have an undeniably special bond that gets explored in episode five of the PBR Teams series “The Ride” on Amazon Prime.

“After I had my son in 2017, I had to make a choice on if I really wanted to make this my career,” Louis said. “I separated from his mom, and I definitely had to provide. Being a single father at a young age and having a career as a bull rider, it was hard because I had to leave and go to bull riding. I was really having to sit down and see, ‘Is this really what I want to do?’”

Louis ultimately did decide to continue his bull riding career, carrying on his family legacy as a fifth-generation cowboy.

“Rodeo, the sport, is something that our family has loved to do for generations,” Louis said. “Not only my family, but a lot of other Native families as well. Whether we’re riding bulls or we’re riding a horse, you have to respect that animal, and I feel like that’s what’s drawing more Natives to this sport.”

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Louis was born and raised on the Blackfeet Reservation in Browning, Montana, and still lives there to this day. He credits growing up on a ranch with turning him into the man he is today.

“Growing up with animals, horses and cows, we had to get out here and help my dad take care of them in the elements, and you’re doing everything you can to keep this baby calf warm,” Louis said. “To see some that didn’t make it, and then to see when it does live, and then you see it four, five years later, and then see the calves that come out of them, it’s just kind of the cycle of life. It was definitely a blessing to be born and raised on a ranch where you have things that you have to take care of. Makes you who you are.”

His father won the Indian National Finals Rodeo in bull riding, and Louis always dreamed of following in his footsteps. As a kid, he attended the PBR premier series event in Billings with his grandmother and brother, hoping to one day compete there but struggling to even imagine himself on a bull.

Louis went on to win the INFR – three times, in fact, in 2010, 2012 and 2013 – and, in 2022, he received the event winner’s buckle in Billings.

“There was no other rides left. It was just me,” Louis recalled of the championship round. “I had to be 90 points. I remember being a kid in the living room over there and announcing myself – ‘Dakota Louis. All he has to be is 90 points to be the next PBR champion!’

“When it happened, it was like, ‘This is what I’ve been working for.’ And for my dad to be there and give me a hug, it meant a lot. My dad was an INFR champion bull rider, and I could see in his eyes that it meant a lot for me to win that and for him to be there.”

A few weeks after that emotional win, Louis was drafted by the Gamblers and went 2-for-11 (18%) as the squad rode to a first-place finish in the regular season. At the inaugural PBR Teams Championship in Las Vegas, however, the Gamblers were eliminated before the final day of competition.

Louis is now a free agent, but he looks at uncertainties and disappointments as opportunities to show Hayze the way.

“As of right now, my career, it’s been a rollercoaster itself. A lot of ups and downs,” Louis said. “But I feel like that’s what makes us who we are as well, to get through them lows. Showing him that things are possible if you go after them, you put in the work. Whatever he wants to do, I want to support him to the fullest. I mean, who knows? He could be an astronaut or a professional soccer player.”

Ultimately, Louis is riding to be a role model – not just for his son, but for his tribe and his people.

“I want to be the best father and role model I can for my son, and so I’m going to put my entire life into wanting to be the best bull rider that I can be. Because he sees me chasing my dreams and my goals, and that’s what I want him to do,” Louis said. “I had role models. I had people I looked up to. So honestly, that’s what I’m trying to be for not only this rez, but for all nations. I want to be that person that (they say), ‘Well, I can do it because Dakota Louis did it. Look what he did. Look where he comes from.’”