Behind The Buckles Episode 5 w/ Ruger Piva

This week on Behind The Buckles we got to sit down with NFR qualifier and National Champion wrestler Ruger Piva. We all love Ruger and we got real, honest and hilarious conversations about life on the road and just life in general. Loved having him! 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Spears Coffee. Really fucking good.

SPEAKER_01 0:06

Hello and welcome back to episode five of Behind the Buckles. We are very excited today. Our guest is Roger Piva. We are very excited to have him on. But as per usual, we're going to shoot the shit a little bit, probably just 10 to 15 minutes. Don't fast forward. And then we'll get Ruger Peva in the house. So we're looking forward to that. First, uh every week now I'm going to start introducing a listing from the Larrison team and just kind of feature one. If you're watching on YouTube, we will attach some video. So I'm just going to give a quick rundown of it. It's on Lowell Road in Caldwell, uh, four-bed, three-bath. It's on the river. It's absolutely beautiful. Um, like I said, I'm gonna attach the link to the listing notes. It has no neighbors, surrounded by trees, and there will be a video on the YouTube. So if you're interested, contact Jan or Bob Larrison from the Larrison team. Um, and other than that, here we go.

SPEAKER_03 1:00

Every time that because you know, I said fast forward last time, and then you referenced the VHS tape, and then you just said fast forward. Like, is that actually what we're supposed to be saying? Fast forward? No, I just took it from you.

SPEAKER_02 1:10

I think maybe you can actually say like skip ahead. Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:13

Yeah, like it's okay. Let's just keep going fast forward. Okay, fast forward. Don't don't fast forward us. Yeah. Um on a serious note, this is a big weekend for our valley in general, and definitely multiple of my people, my my clients. We have two high school rodeos in Homedale and Idaho Borough Fraturity, so lots of people going different directions. So that is good.

SPEAKER_02 1:36

Yeah, for sure. Wheels in the high school rodeos, yeah. And my family split because for whatever reason I had it in my head that the derby was gonna run first because I thought that that's what they did last year, but they're doing a hundred runners in the open first, then the fraternity, then the derby.

SPEAKER_03 1:52

So I'm gonna be, you know, a really great mom and have to bail out part way through that'll be to go run my horse, but I'm probably just gonna be like suited and booted part at the baseball game on the way home. I'm gonna be that mom. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:10

I think it we have that going. It's just multitasking, that's what it is. Yes, you know, just making all the events for sure.

SPEAKER_01 2:16

I do feel like the IBF idle barrel fraternity is something that everybody in this valley valley looks forward to every year. So I am excited because we're all, I mean, even though we were in Arizona thawing out a little bit, and ever we get to see everybody, and it'll be really fun to see the fraternity horses that were in Arizona and in Washington and see them here because we'll actually. Yeah, it's always so fun to watch the fraternity horses run. I think it's my favorite thing. Yeah, I'm really excited. So um, and then the only other thing that happened to me this week is I took a video of I guess it's not the only thing for our private group. Yeah, I took a video because I had a litter of bulldogs and I have two of them. And one of them, his name is Coley, but I call him Tutorouski. And if you kiss him on one ear, the other ear pops up. I just thought it was cute. And then Marco was like, hey, you should post that on Instagram. Long story short, he is viral, like millions of likes on TikTok. He's a big deal. 500,000 on Instagram. We may have to bring him on to show the YouTube viewers because he's pretty cute. But um, yeah, that's so I'm feeling like kind of an influencer, kind of famous this week. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 3:27

So apparently we should be doing a podcast about puppies.

SPEAKER_01 3:31

I know. I'm just gonna go back in the archives of my last litter two and then just see what if I can make any money off this.

SPEAKER_03 3:36

Yes, absolutely. That's a great idea. No, absolutely. I this was Texas birthday this weekend, so uh we had well, we had four baseball games in three days, and two of them were on Saturday, which they killed it. They did fantastic. My kid was, I'm not gonna lie, was kind of a little salliant, but and then we drove straight from there and we went to have like birthday celebration um in Boise and convinced Marshall that kids weren't allowed at this hotel because we were having an adult night. And everybody's gonna listen to this and say I know, I know. At the renegade, and if you guys haven't been there in Boise, it's legit. The rooftop bar is awesome. The whole thing was so awesome. But I pull in, I'm like, we're trying to hurry. We come back from the baseball game, we're like hurrying. You know, I like shower, have clean clothes on, feel really cute, pull in, roll right up to valet, and like, you know, toss in the keys to my dirty, dusty, maybe a white claw plan in the back, uh, dually. And these like cute little boys, you know, wearing skinny jeans are like, uh, so it's a dually, and I'm like, good luck, yeah. Yeah, I'm like valeting a dirty country dually is a whole different ballgame.

SPEAKER_01 4:52

But it makes me think of all the valet people in Vegas during during the fire.

SPEAKER_02 4:56

I know, and every time I hand my keys home, I'm like, I hope that you can drive that.

SPEAKER_01 5:01

I know I don't know this story exactly, but I it was either I think it was it was Jordan's truck, but it was a brand new truck, and he went to the finals. And I can't remember if the valet guy wrecked it or he did, but I'm pretty sure it was a silver truck. Remember, he never got it fixed. Oh yeah, and yeah, it was the valet in Vegas.

SPEAKER_03 5:17

Yeah, I mean, I I foresee that happening a lot, even with the mirrors and yeah, yeah, not good. Uh the other thing that I was gonna bring up that's not really important, but uh we do a good job of sometimes like releasing secrets in circle talk. And I don't know if you guys know this or not, but our young friend here is alter ego is a 90-year-old farmer with the weather. And that is true. So I never know anything that's happening with the weather unless Rainey texts me and she's like, So at 310, the wind's gonna pick up 20 miles an hour and you're probably gonna need a light jacket, and it's going to rain. And so since then, I uh since all of her weather reports have actually paid attention to the Treasure Valley weather, which is happening right now. And one of my favorite things with him and Rainey's weather reports is says the wind is also going to kick up and get hellaciously blowing. I like that he uses the word blowy as we get into Wednesday. Ankle weights on kids recommended.

SPEAKER_02 6:18

So we're definitely gonna play down Marshall and Field.

SPEAKER_01 6:21

Yeah, I do, I do follow him. He's quite hilarious, but and yes, I do, so that I know that it's gonna be comfortable when I'm riding my horses and what to plan.

SPEAKER_03 6:29

She's a planner, she's a weather planner.

SPEAKER_01 6:31

I am so yeah, yeah. So other than that, my little brother is court signed out of Celtics game right now, which I'm pretty jealous because back when I thought the NBA was cool, that was my teen. So I'm a little bit jealous right now, even though I don't love the NBA anymore. I do think that would be pretty awesome. It would be awesome. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:50

I follow every I started like, you know, like with the 90s Bulls and then it turned into the Celtics with Larry Bird. And so I read every single like old story about Larry Bird. And I mean, he was the king. I didn't realize it when I liked him as a player. How much the king of the shit talking? I know. Like makes you like him even more. Me too. Yes, absolutely. So yeah, it makes me like think that I might like the Celtics, but I don't watch the NBA.

SPEAKER_01 7:15

I know, me neither. So, other than that, we are very excited about our guests this week and next week. This week we have a really awesome bull rider, and next week we have a really awesome barrel racer. So, other than that, sit back and stay tuned for Ruger Peva. And while you're at it, order your Spears coffee. The QR code is on the screen. Okay. Everybody, the most awaited guest. We're here with Ruger Piva, and we are so excited to have him as he is excited to hang out with us.

SPEAKER_00 7:44

Absolutely. Always.

SPEAKER_01 7:46

Be honest, are you more excited that it's it's us three, or would you rather be Jordan?

SPEAKER_00 7:52

No, no, you three. No, keep Jordan out of here. I know he's in focus right now or somewhere in California. Keep him out of here. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_03 8:00

Exactly. We are this we're way more fun.

SPEAKER_01 8:02

Yeah, yeah. So before we get rolling, and how do we sound by the way? Are our mics good?

SPEAKER_00 8:07

Yeah, I can hear you fine. Can you hear me?

SPEAKER_01 8:09

Yeah, you're perfect. Why aren't you in California yet?

SPEAKER_00 8:13

Uh, because my boss is short on employees right now. Uh so Ruger gets to leave here in about oh, five hours, go to the airport, and fly there at five o'clock in the morning.

SPEAKER_01 8:26

There you go. And who's picking you up?

SPEAKER_00 8:29

I think I'm meeting Tyler because he's flying in two hours after me. And then I think Roscoe's picking me up, unless your husband's gonna be there early.

SPEAKER_01 8:38

He's gonna be there. We'll see. I don't know. They've kind of been on a little bit of a they're having a good time.

SPEAKER_00 8:42

Oh, yeah. They called me last night. I it was like a 45-minute conversation. I was like, wow, yeah, I kind of wish I was there right now.

SPEAKER_03 8:50

I know. You're just being a working man, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:53

Yeah, I don't like being a working man. I gotta start riding bulls better. It's been it's been bad the past like three weeks.

SPEAKER_01 8:59

Oh the working or the riding.

SPEAKER_00 9:01

I was gonna say, I don't it's been equally as bad. I enjoy one more than the other because at least I don't have to go to work.

SPEAKER_01 9:08

So I mean okay, so for the people that don't know you, let's go back. Let's talk about Little Ruger, baby Ruger, and baby Ruger, and you kind of tell us your story about how you got involved in rodeo and what that looked like for you, and then we're gonna just sprinkle more in here.

SPEAKER_00 9:29

Okay, so shoot, I think I was like nine or ten. My little brother's dad, so my stepdad, really wanted us riding steers, calves, sheep, whatever. So we went to the IJRA, did that all through high school. Uh, but I was a better wrestler than I am a bull rider. I hate to admit that. That's I think I was a better wrestler. Wrestling college.

SPEAKER_03 9:55

You were a great wrestler. Yeah, you were an amazing wrestler anyway. We're gonna get into condom, go ahead.

SPEAKER_00 10:01

Thank you. But yeah, I wrestled that one year in college, and I didn't like cutting weight at all anymore. And I was like, you know what? I was pretty good at this bull riding thing. I better call Oli Else and see if she needs a worthless bull rider on a rodeo team over at Western. And she said, sure, why not? What's your name again?

SPEAKER_01 10:23

She's the best, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 10:25

But you started out, you wrestled at Boise, is that correct? No, yeah. Okay, nope.

SPEAKER_00 10:30

I was there for a semester. Okay, uh, I was physically on campus for a semester, and I think I went to a few classes. I mainly just went to the gym and went to wrestling practice. I won't lie.

SPEAKER_03 10:47

I mean, you kind of got you you saw the buildings, they were there.

SPEAKER_00 10:51

Yeah, I went to practice every day.

unknown 10:53

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:53

You probably couldn't find your classes again, but you were there for you know, weirdly enough, there was one class I never went to because I walked in the building and they must have changed the classroom from like okay, said on the sheet or whatever in my emails were in this classroom, and I walked in there, and they were like, Oh no, it's across the hall, wherever. You're like, we had to change it last minute, and then I just kind of went back to my dorm room. So you know what?

SPEAKER_03 11:21

I actually have like this nightmare, and it's still from like high school or college that I never went to this class. Like, like I just kept walking down the hall and I never made it to the class.

SPEAKER_02 11:31

But you actually are living that I had the nightmare that I went or I went like through the whole semester, and they were like, Oh, you were supposed to be going to this class, you're behind, like you're gonna fail. I have this too. You don't ever have this, and you actually live that, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:44

Yeah, I lived it. I don't have that nightmare. I have a nightmare that I didn't like. Okay, I have two. I have one where I'm late for a rodeo and I'm trying to get like my bulls loaded, and I got my rope, and I'm trying to get there, and something keeps blocking me. And right as I get up on my chute, they let my bull out. Yeah, and then I have one I get beat my senior year in the state finals, and I wake up like equally depressed for both of them. But it happens all the time, like once a month. I have one of those two dreams.

SPEAKER_03 12:15

You still have the state finals one in the dream. Oh, see, I have this rodeo one, but I can never find my hat, is what happens.

SPEAKER_02 12:22

I still have dreams about basketball and not showing up and not having my jersey or not having the right shoes and having to play in my street shoes, or like that probably makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 12:32

Yeah, yeah, I don't have those anymore, but yeah, I still do. I do have the rodeo one, like they're calling your name, and you're like, you just can't get to the gate, like you can like you can see it, and like, or like you're like your horse, you're like trying to get the bridle on, and the barrels is the next event, and da da da. But you didn't really tell us much about your rodeo, your little Ruger's rodeo career because you always haven't just been a bull rider. Sorry.

SPEAKER_00 12:58

No, I did every event in high school and then realized I wasn't that good at them.

SPEAKER_01 13:05

I was just that's not true. Like we were good at high school rodeoed with you. Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:12

Don't make us bring you know we're gonna bring it up. We will find some old videos for sure.

SPEAKER_00 13:18

Yeah, go find some bare back riding videos and tell me I was good at that event. Go ahead. Go find them. They don't exist anymore. I got rid of them. I got rid of them.

SPEAKER_03 13:28

Really? I thought the wrestling bareback riding actually, maybe that's not true. Are there any really good wrestler bareback riders? Uh Keenan is. Yeah. Was he a good okay? He was. Okay. Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:40

But and I as much as I love Keenan and our other bareback riding friends that we're gonna have on this podcast, you know, they say that bull riders have a screw loose because you kind of have to to be a bull rider. But I almost think that to be a bareback rider, the screw has to like barely be hanging on.

SPEAKER_00 13:57

Yes, they don't have a screw anymore. Like, I got three brain cells up here all fighting for third place. They don't they don't have those brain cells, one of them already got third, they're done.

SPEAKER_03 14:06

Yeah, yeah, because it's that's a tough event. Yeah, yes. Yeah, I hate it. Well, but the roping, like you did you roped also.

SPEAKER_00 14:15

Yes, not very well.

SPEAKER_01 14:19

Okay, you were a good steer wrestler, though. We can we can agree on that. The jumping off of things.

SPEAKER_00 14:24

That one was probably actually my favorite event. Like, if I would have been six foot and 240, I'd probably be doing that right now. But uh yeah, I ran my last steer at state my senior year 12 years ago. I got I'm old. Um, I was a 3-8 in the short round, and that's the last steer I've ever jumped.

SPEAKER_02 14:42

Oli never convinced you to run a steer in college.

SPEAKER_00 14:46

No, she almost did. She almost did. The year I um I missed like three or four college rodeos to go to the short round in Pendleton and a couple other things, but after I got back from Pendleton, she's like, You missed a lot of points. So I got you in the team roping, the bareback riding, and the steer wrestling. And I said, Only you can pick one. And she goes, Okay, you're jumping a steer. I said, try again. And she goes, Okay, you're getting on a bareback horse. I was like, That sounds good, and I knew what she was gonna do. I knew she was gonna enter me in the team roping anyway because she knew I'd show up. So I went to the night perf and we got slack at like 7 o'clock the next morning. I went and had a little fun that night after I rode my bareback horse and my bull, and my phone is going off at like 6 45, and I was like, that she did it. And I finally answered at like 6 50. And she goes, Hey, you're third out and the team rope in the slack, so you better get over here. I went, shit. Okay, well, so I'm still pretty buzzed. Pull up in my little Volkswagen Jeddah, go right into the middle of the warm-up arena, and I said, Hey, who's got a horse that isn't gonna buck me off? I gotta heal a steer. And Tristan Hansen, he knew what was going on, so he just pulled up with his horse, and I was like, shit, I really gotta do this. So I don't know this kid I'm healing for, but I've heard he ropes really good. I was like, okay, buddy, uh, too hungover for this, A. B, I'm gonna throw it on the corner and I'm gonna miss. But if I catch, we're gonna be really fast.

SPEAKER_01 16:23

Yeah, we're winning it.

SPEAKER_00 16:25

So sure enough, we get this steer that just trots out, and I was like, shit, he's gonna catch him. He catches him, and I come around the corner and I threw it, glasses on, catch two feet, dally up, glasses come off, and I'm just looking at it, and I was like, this is gonna be the only event I make the short round in this week.

SPEAKER_01 16:44

And is that what happened?

SPEAKER_00 16:46

No, no, I made it in the bareback riding too.

SPEAKER_03 16:48

Oh, good. You made the bare back riding and the team roping. Yep, yeah, solid. So she was happy with you then.

SPEAKER_00 16:55

Yeah, yeah, but then she made me team rope the rest of that year. I think it was my lap year. I rodeoed for, I think that was one of two I caught for that kid, and he was really pissed. Really pissed at the end of the year. I was like, dude, I came out too strong. Yeah, I told you I'm not good. I came and practiced. I was like, I can track steers all day in the practice pen and catch them if that's what you want me to do, but I like money and I like to win, so you know, I missed a lot and we lost a lot.

SPEAKER_03 17:24

Maybe you should have been like reliving the partaking and just the non-thinking just redid that whole thing.

SPEAKER_02 17:32

Just got there 10 minutes before, jump on.

SPEAKER_01 17:38

I have learned with team roping. I can't, you know, I don't do a very good job catching unless I've at least had a beer before. Because you can't just like golf. Yeah, you can't take team roping too seriously.

SPEAKER_02 17:51

Yeah, you gotta have that right mixture.

SPEAKER_03 17:53

Yeah, because if you do, it makes you want to kill yourself. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:58

Just just real talk. Yeah. Because I I did some team roping this winter, and Abby was like, if you I was like catching two feet a lot.

SPEAKER_03 18:06

She was. She was doing a great.

SPEAKER_01 18:07

And then, but she's like, if you start taking this too seriously, you're gonna miss. And what happens? I miss it. The art of the cowgirl. I'm like, shit. But well, yeah, see, I knew that you were like a real rodeo cowboy for a while. I mean, you always had the bull rider cowboy hat. You never let that go when you were doing the other events in the tight jeans, but you did every event.

SPEAKER_00 18:29

Okay, Tack Ruger here. Sorry, I thought I was cool back then. I thought I had fashion.

SPEAKER_02 18:36

Yeah, I don't want to actually pull up my college rodeo pictures because they would be very embarrassing.

SPEAKER_00 18:41

Oh, I always had the worst cowboy hat in the world, so I can't even I got pictures from like three days ago that I hope no one ever sees, like of me.

SPEAKER_03 18:49

Yeah, I have that going on too. I'm lacking a you know, new cowgirl hat and it's ugliness. I'm yeah, yeah, I feel it.

SPEAKER_02 18:57

My favorite is always like you're so excited about a picture and you come like you don't get this rigor, but you're running home and your strong hat like does the howdy duty.

SPEAKER_01 19:09

Yeah, that's how it works. That's not very fun.

SPEAKER_03 19:12

No. So in college, did you so what like with college finals? You were still rodeoing. That's when you really were rodeoing, is when you actually break like it started.

SPEAKER_04 19:22

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:24

Before that, tell us about your wrestling career in college, and then we'll crack into the rodeo side because you wrestled for Western too, right? Like, tell us that story.

SPEAKER_00 19:33

Okay, so I had terrible grades, and Boise State was cutting their wrestling program, so I left there and went to Western. I had like I think Dylan's maybe three hours from Chalice, not even that far. And I had never been to that town before, but that was like my only option because yeah, no one else, Oli was the only one that was gonna allow me to be on her team. Okay, but uh they had a wrestling team over there, and that wrestling coach got a hold of me as soon as I got there, and he was like, Well, why don't you just finish the season? We got enough time for you to uh go to regionals and maybe qualify for nationals. And I was like, Yeah, I'm kind of over wrestling anyway, but sure, why not? I'm not doing anything else right now. I barely go to class.

SPEAKER_01 20:18

So sure.

SPEAKER_00 20:22

I got down to uh or I didn't even have to cut, I weighed about 165. I have forever now, but I got wrestled 165, went to regionals, qualified for nationals, and um got to nationals, and the wrestling coach, I think he knew how to push my buttons because I think he was just a prick still to this day. I think he knew how to push my buttons though. And I'm warming up for my first match. I'm not even seated in the tournament. Like, I gotta win a pigtail just to get into the tournament. I think it was in Austin, Texas, or whatever. And he goes, Well, we're not gonna worry about you getting on the podium this year. It's just pretty impressive that you got here on three weeks' notice. And I just looked at him and I was like, Oh, do you know who you're talking to right now? I didn't know who he was talking to right now. Like, that was way before anything I did was cool. But um, so I won my first match, won my second match, third match, fourth match, and I'm just just keep winning, and finally they're like, Yeah, semifinals bound. And this is on day two, and I was like, Cool, awesome. I think this is where the I think this is where the train gets off the tracks. Nope. This is where won that one. Had to wrestle a kid from I think the college was Penn State Monte Alto, and I don't know what any of that means, but he had a Penn State singlet on. And I was like, okay, daddy's getting his ass kicked now.

SPEAKER_01 21:48

I love you. So you did. So you did, so then, so then tell how'd that match go?

SPEAKER_00 21:54

It was pretty boring. Like, I've gone back and watched it, and I hate watching it because I'm like, I should've I had him taken down. Three or four times in the first period. I just could he was a little taller than me, a little longer, and he would like I'd get a hold of his legs, and he was flexible or something. I don't know. Couldn't get him taken down. And then end of the third, it was basically that the whole match. I got away, he got away, so it's one to one. Third period, and uh there's about 45 seconds left, and we're on the edge of the mat. And I'm like, I think now's the time. He's not really expecting anything. So I got behind him, got two points. As we're going out of bounds, he gets a reversal, gets two. So I can't remember. I was looking at the clock, and we're tied at this point, you know, with 10-15 seconds left. I gotta get away or take him down in overtime. Yeah, so I think with three seconds left, I got away, and I was up by one.

SPEAKER_03 22:50

Hey, you know, and I won't fight and you're a national champion.

SPEAKER_00 22:54

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 22:55

Yeah, pretty amazing. And then now you've kind of retired those wrestling skills because every bull rider in the world, when they get to they get to drinking, they like to wrestle and they want to wrestle you, and I've never seen you partake. It's because you you just hung it up.

SPEAKER_00 23:09

Yeah. Uh yeah. I'm done. I can't do it.

SPEAKER_02 23:14

Even in the 11th round, no, I didn't know. You guys all go back to the dude. You wrestle then.

SPEAKER_00 23:21

I wrestled Cole Reiner, the bearback rider, and I kept saying no all night, and finally like, okay, you two are the only wrestlers here. And I and he was kind of like, okay, let's do it. And I was like, dude, I don't really want to hurt you, but and it's all concrete in there. Yeah. I was like, I will die before I get beat in a wrestling match at a rodeo event.

SPEAKER_02 23:40

Speaking of screws loose a little bit. Yeah. Well, sorry.

SPEAKER_03 23:46

We no, right. We have to preference so that the 11th round is the aftermath of the 10th round.

SPEAKER_01 23:55

Yeah, so the for that is everybody in Ruger could explain this more, but it's everybody goes downstairs, all the Rough Star guys, and there begins the biggest you you couldn't. So there you go.

SPEAKER_00 24:12

Drunken shit show wrestling match.

SPEAKER_01 24:15

How bad did you beat Cole?

SPEAKER_00 24:17

I I won. I think only reason I won is because he started bleeding. I could not take that little bastard down. And I was starting to get mad. Like we had only gone for like maybe 20 seconds, but I was pretty buzzed, so it felt like a lot longer. But I shot in and he tried to block me with his head, and I came up and I kind of had a hold of him, and he's like, Hey, can we stop? And I looked down and there's blood dripping, and I popped my head up and I cut him right here above his eye. So he stopped it. That was the last match of the night.

SPEAKER_01 24:49

Yeah, I you shut that down. Yeah. So after you won the national championship, that was when you retired, or did you wrestle again at Western?

SPEAKER_00 24:57

No, I snapped my ankle that some I was gonna go back. I was actually gonna wrestle 157 that next year because I wanted four of them. I broke my ankle that year, and I was gonna miss a lot of the season. And my coach is like, Well, I want you to wrestle 174. I was like, I weigh 160 pounds right now, dude. I'm not wrestling. He didn't like me, and I really did not like him. He was just one of the just a lot, nothing. I'm very respectful to coaches. I appreciate everybody that does it, but I did not agree. I disagreed with him on about everything in the sport of wrestling, and that's one hill I will die on. If we're wrestling and I'm the coach, it's my way or the highway. End of story, and that's how he was too. But he was wrong, and I was right.

SPEAKER_03 25:46

But uh, so he was okay. But back up, go ahead.

SPEAKER_00 25:52

Sorry, he was trying to get me to come back, but he wanted me to wrestle 174. And he's like, I already got a guy at 157. I was like, Okay, we'll wrestle up, I'll kick his ass. End of story, and then I'll be your 57-pounder and I'll hopefully win another natty. And like I said, my ankle, I had broke my ankle, it wasn't feeling really good. And Oli was just trying to get me to that. I made the college finals, I was making the college finals that year, and she was like, I would rather you just rodeo for me. And I was kind of burnt out. I mean, wrestling, I did not enjoy the cutting of the weight all the time, and I would have had to cut not that much, but just enough to get to 157. And he was just a royal dickhead sometimes. So he came to my house one night or one afternoon. I was on my way to the gym, and he's like, So, what are we thinking on weight? I was like, I'll wrestle 57 for you. I told you that. And he gives me this whole runaround about how this kid on the team that didn't even make it to nationals the year before, he's got the spot at 57, and I got this new kid I just recruited at 65. I was like, Okay, well, let's see it practice tonight. Went in, beat both of them pretty handily, and I just walked out and was just pissed. I was like, give me my spot. I am the only national champion you've had in however many years at this college. I mean, I was kind of being a little bit of a diva, peeva the diva, but like I said, I was over it, and he kind of knew that, so he left the next year, and I think they kind of got rid of their wrestling program at Western. I don't know, they might still have it now.

SPEAKER_02 27:26

I think they brought it back. Uh, don't quote me on that. But I think I you think they have it back, yeah. They it's been back and forth a few times, yeah. But it's hard to go from a coach that you don't really love to Oli, who is the very best coach in the whole entire world and the best human in the whole world. And it's hard to want to continue along that path.

SPEAKER_01 27:57

And was Rodeo paying for your school, or was wrestling paying for the school.

SPEAKER_00 28:01

Rodeo was.

SPEAKER_01 28:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:02

So you're like, I have to do what she Yeah, that wrestling coach, that was the other thing. He was like, Oh, well, Oli's giving you money, so I'm not gonna worry about it. And I was like, hey, you remember that? That's where my loyalty lies, the highest bidder.

SPEAKER_03 28:15

Yeah, actually after a national championship. I mean, he sounds kind of like that.

SPEAKER_02 28:20

Didn't really have a great uh head on his shoulders for a long-term program. No, and I came from so circling back to like what because you were such a successful wrestler, and I did make a joke about how wrestlers also maybe have a little bit of a screw loose, and I can say that because I live in a family of wrestlers.

SPEAKER_00 28:42

Yeah, but I don't even take any offense.

SPEAKER_02 28:45

Yeah. Um, what do you think that like that background has brought to your bull riding and your rodeo experience and your mental toughness for that season?

SPEAKER_00 28:57

Uh, just kind of a never say die. I mean, I've had some rough like the last year was the first year I've been able to put in almost a full season riding bulls, and it's just you don't if you get knocked down, you never stay down. Uh and just the desire to win, where you know, wrestling I won all but 11 matches in high school. Like, if you're riding half your bulls, you're one of the best in the world. Like, that's kind of that was always has always been kind of hard for me. You know, I could ride three or four in a row, but the big one that I was really looking forward to that I got bucked off of stings. Um, so it kind of works, I don't know, sometimes against me, but yeah, my wrestling coach in high school, my he was my uncle Johnny, same one that coached Cade. That's what he he just really instilled that into our brains. Like, if you get knocked down, you don't stay down. Get back up, and no one's gonna be tougher than you. Or, you know, you can't beat a guy that refuses to die, I guess.

SPEAKER_02 30:00

So for sure. Well, and Chalice has had a historically a very great wrestling program.

SPEAKER_00 30:05

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 30:06

And so I feel like that's a has Kate ever beat you in a wrestling match?

SPEAKER_00 30:10

Oh boy, and we're talking about Bruno. Oh never wrestled him.

SPEAKER_03 30:15

I know, and even like when you guys were in, I mean I know you were older, but like when you were in high school.

SPEAKER_00 30:22

He was never in high school at the same time as me.

SPEAKER_03 30:24

And he wrestled like I know, but I mean your cousins is what I mean. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:30

So you never like beat the crap out of him.

SPEAKER_02 30:33

I mean there are family gatherings that have a lot of cousin wrestling. That happens a lot at the cop family gatherings. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 30:40

So back to the wrestling thing. I used to watch a lot of WWE.

SPEAKER_03 30:44

So anytime I love SmackDown.

SPEAKER_00 30:46

Yeah, yeah, right? I still watch it. That's one of my guilty pleasures. That and Temptation Island, uh Lives and Mormon Wise. Yeah, I did too. But no, when Cade was little, his uh his dad and my dad were really good friends. So they were, I mean, we were at Cade's house, or Cade was at our house like pretty much every day, and I would just lay the smack down on him and my little brother Rowdy.

SPEAKER_03 31:13

I mean, so like falling chairs across backs or people.

SPEAKER_00 31:18

No, I never did that. I jump off my deck onto the trampoline on him sometimes.

SPEAKER_01 31:23

Yeah, and Cade still weighs 60 pounds, but he wasn't much heavier then.

SPEAKER_00 31:30

Yeah, and here's the other thing about Cade that was a freaking technical, slick little bastard. He was so good at it, though.

SPEAKER_01 31:40

Yes, I will say.

SPEAKER_00 31:41

He was like, I remember watching him in high school and I was like, God damn it. I wish I was that cool looking when I wrestled, because it just looked like a gorilla, you know, attacking a piece of meat when I did it. Like, if I couldn't kill you with brute strength, like I was pretty technical, technical as a wrestler, but once I got a hold of you, I'm not letting go.

SPEAKER_01 32:02

You look like a gorilla in a tinglet.

SPEAKER_00 32:05

Yeah, yeah. Baby gorilla.

SPEAKER_01 32:07

I'm okay. I almost just made a joke that probably can't make the podcast, and it was about Cade, but we're just gonna let that one go on. For anyone asking, send me a DM. I'll tell you what I can't say it.

unknown 32:21

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 32:22

So when so you were college rodeoing, but you were also pro-rodeoing at the time. So when did you meet Jordan or when did you guys start traveling together? Was that when you really started going a lot, or are you going a lot before you started traveling with Jordan?

SPEAKER_00 32:35

No, I was uh the way I met Jordan was an accident. Just like I said at your wedding, same way I was conceived, accidentally. Um I was at the Glendive College Rodeo, and I was just gonna go to a bunch of PBRs that summer, you know. I pro rodeoed, I went to some circuit rodeos, Montana Circuit Rodeos, but um And had you made the college finals at this point? Okay, okay, twice.

SPEAKER_03 33:04

Okay, so now we're okay, we're progressing.

SPEAKER_00 33:06

We're just about to the good college finals, but uh okay. So Chase goes, Chase Doherty goes, Hey Ruger, I got a sweet deal for you. I was like, okay. And he goes, We'll talk about it after the bull ride. And I was like, okay. So I get done with the bull ride, and he comes up and he's like, Alright, you ready? I was like, okay. What do we got, Chase? And he goes, I want you to travel with me, and I'm gonna get in with Jordan Spears and go this summer. Are you in? And I was like, Okay, sure. Yeah, I'm in. Like, I wanted to go, I just didn't really have anybody. Most of the guys I went with were just going to touring pro PBRs or whatever they called them back then. So we go, we go to the college finals. That was that year, I got second at the college finals, Chase got third, and we drive all night to Jordan's house and get there. And he says two words to Chase and goes, All right, good night. See you boys in the morning. And I was like, nice to meet you too, you fucking prick. Sorry, can we edit that out? That can get edited really quick.

SPEAKER_01 34:13

I actually really like that. I think I'm leaving it in if you'll allow.

SPEAKER_00 34:19

But anyway, so we go to we go to Reno, and Chase is the only one that makes the short round, so he stays, and me and Jordan go to like Meridian, Primeville, and a couple other ones, and said two words to each other. Hey, do you need to stop? Nope. Okay. Hey, do you need to stop? Nope. Okay. And that was it. And I was like, hmm, he ain't all that bad, I guess, because I'm not.

SPEAKER_03 34:44

Except for that's not true because we know Jordan needed snacks. He did need snacks. How did he not stop? Yeah, but we stopped.

SPEAKER_00 34:51

We stopped. There was a yes in there sometimes, too.

SPEAKER_03 34:54

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 34:54

But yeah, that's how I met him, and then him and Chase quit traveling in 19 or whatever. And I was like, Yeah, I stay with you, man. I kind of gotten spoiled. I enjoyed the Chewy dog in him.

SPEAKER_01 35:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:09

But uh Chewy's a celebrity. Yeah, Chewy is a freaking celebrity. That dog, though, that's another funny story. I gotta tell that one. That night in Malala. Jordan was on the phone with Rainey, and we let Chewy out, and I got a hold of him and I put him down, and there's like traffic leaving, and Chewy sees two kids and a mom, and I mean, beelines it for him through the traffic. And I was like, Chewy, Chewy, get the so I get over there, like he made it a ways. And these kids just love Chewy. He's having the best time of his life. And I walk up there, and I mean, as soon as I get 10 feet from the dog, he goes, and this mom kind of looks at me, and I was like, Hey, this isn't even my I've never touched this dog. I and he like comes up to me like I abuse him, and I was like, You little bastard, you are just smart, aren't you?

SPEAKER_01 35:59

Yeah, he was trading it for the kids. Yeah, but he does love, I mean, I'm sorry, but he does love humping Ruger. I mean, he sees Ruger and he'll run from a hundred yards away and latch onto a leg. So he clearly has some love for you. Yeah, obviously it was uh uh you know, took a minute. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_04 36:15

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:17

So tell us about your rodeo career though. Like minus Jordan, you are a badass and you've made the finals, and you so what is the what does that look like for you? Because you did PBR too to almost make the PBR finals, and so give us that rundown.

SPEAKER_00 36:31

Uh yeah, that was 19 was when I did them both. Uh, and I was 24 years old, and I really wish I could go back. I really do. But anyway, I got on. I usually just went after I started traveling with Jordan, I was like, I like this rodeo one way better. So I would go to Reno's PBR, one in Spokane, one in Portland, and then there was one in North Dakota that I would go to in the winter when no nothing else was going on. Well, I ended up winning two of them, so now I was in the big ones, and I went to I think my first four and did not make it like maybe all those rides combined. I might have it made eight seconds, and I was like, God, I can't wait till they stopped freaking inviting me to these.

SPEAKER_01 37:17

Yeah, because if you say no, they kick you off tour, right? If you don't go, yeah, yeah, but they kept calling me.

SPEAKER_00 37:23

Like, I went from like fifth in the PBR world standings at that time down to like 25th, 35th, 45th, and they're still calling me. And I was like, would you guys just let me die, please?

SPEAKER_03 37:34

I don't want to because you really were over it, though. You wanted to focus on the PRCA PRC.

SPEAKER_00 37:42

I wanted to make I wanted to make the NFR more than the PDR finals at that time, but uh, and I was sitting really high in the PRCA world standings too. But then somebody said to me, Why don't you just pick somebody that had been watching like the PRCA standings and the PBR at that time? And they're like, Why don't you just pick one? You can't make both the same year. And I was like, Oh, oh, you can't? You don't think you don't think someone can? So I was like, I'm gonna make them both. Then I started riding bulls like at the big PBRs, and I gained my way all the way back up, and then I would just kind of quit going to. I mean, I'd get to like right about 36th, where I could say, No, I don't want to come, or yeah, I want to come, and then I just keep rodeoing, trying to get myself up high enough in the PRCA, and then I think it was yeah, it was after Caldwell. I was up high enough, I was like, Oh yeah, I'm good. I'll go to these PBR events now. I was not good, that was stupid. So I did kind of shoot myself in the foot because I just kept switching, getting, you know, which one I'm gonna pick this weekend when it was important, and would go to a PBR, go to a PRCA, and just well, I think I ended up 42nd in the PBR, and then I was 17th.

SPEAKER_01 38:58

And they take 35 to the PBR or 40, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:02

35. Or no, they do take 40. Sorry, I think they take 40 to the PBR finals, but like 35th is when you're going every weekend, like that they take 35 to a regular event, and they probably have changed their uh you know, yeah, however, they do that, but I have no idea.

SPEAKER_03 39:20

So you were just on the outside of both, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:24

So what did 2020 look like for you then at following that? Because I know then it was COVID and it was crazy and all that. So what because after that, did after that you kind of said, or I I'm not putting words in your mouth, I'm asking, like, you said no more PBR, like I'm just doing the rodeo thing at that point, or pretty much.

SPEAKER_00 39:41

Well, I still went to like Portland and Reno. I went to those two because there was literally nothing else going on and didn't do worth a damn at them. But yeah, 2020, I was like, Daddy's going to the NFR, I hope. And uh, but that's the same year. I actually COVID worked out in my favor because I'd won a bunch out of Fort Worth and San Antonio. I was like fifth or sixth in the world after I left there, and then well, when they canceled Houston on us when we were had all just gotten there.

SPEAKER_04 40:08

Oh, yeah. That was terrible.

SPEAKER_00 40:10

Yeah, yeah, it was bullshit. But anyway, I had surgery planned for like the day after Houston short round for my hit because I hate to admit it, like I'm just kind of a pussy. Like, if something hurts, I'm gonna let you know. I'm probably gonna get through it, but I'm kind of a baby about it.

SPEAKER_03 40:32

You're a gelding, it's it's like it's about it like an eight-year-old gelding. Yeah, yeah, it works.

SPEAKER_00 40:37

Yeah, it did hurt though, and I got into that. I went to Pennsylvania and got a surgery, and the doctor kind of looked at me and he goes, All right, yeah, I can fix this, but I gotta call in a new surgeon. I was like, Man, I think my labrum's just tore. And he goes, No, I gotta call in. I had a sports hernia, they had to cut me once, like right on my stomach, to fix some of those muscles. And then pretty much every other muscle down there was tore and the labrum. They had to go fix that. It was a long damn surgery right in the middle of COVID in Philadelphia. I was scared out of my mind.

SPEAKER_01 41:12

I bet.

SPEAKER_00 41:13

Yeah, like I said, I'm kind of a baby when it comes to that stuff, but then so then I had to wait four or five months to even get on a bull right when Rodeo was kicked up again. So I didn't really lose my spot at all. I just rode really poorly and ended up 17th again.

SPEAKER_01 41:30

Okay, so then you end up 17th, and then it's about to get exciting because what happened in 2021?

SPEAKER_00 41:37

Then I retired and I never got on another damn bull again.

SPEAKER_01 41:43

Because 2021, yeah, was your first NFR qualification.

SPEAKER_00 41:47

Yeah, yep, that was that was the one I really hated it because it I was really happy, but I remember who was 17th by about$2,000 also.

SPEAKER_01 41:59

Yeah, he was happy for you too, though.

SPEAKER_00 42:03

Oh, I felt so I mean I was happy I did it, but that motel room I was like, you know, he was flying out the next morning out of Salt Lake, and I really wanted to be happy, but I was like, God, I just I know how 17th feels, and I knew he knew how 17th felt too from yeah, I think 2018 or whatever. Yeah, so yeah, that was I mean it was good, and then I did not perform very well at the finals, and then hips started hurting again, and I'm kind of a I'm a gilding. I'm a gilding as you guys would say.

SPEAKER_01 42:35

I knew he was gonna not let you live that one though.

SPEAKER_00 42:39

But uh yeah, Jordan, that was the year he snapped his collarbone, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_04 42:43

Yeah, I think 22.

SPEAKER_00 42:45

So I was going with Garrett Smith, and I was still I was looking to probably make the finals again. I think I was top 20 at Cody's rodeo, and I went to stand up to get in the van with Garrett Smith, and we were gonna go to St. Paul, and I couldn't, I mean, I couldn't walk on my hip.

SPEAKER_03 43:04

So this was the other hip.

SPEAKER_00 43:06

No, this is the same hip. Oh, I just had problems.

SPEAKER_03 43:10

Oh, okay, okay.

SPEAKER_00 43:11

I mean, I couldn't walk on it, and he goes, Maybe you just stay and take a 10-day. I was like, No, I'm I'm coming, man. Tried to stand up again and went, you know, pimp down. And I was like, Shh, okay. We're an hour from my house. I guess I let the wife take me home now.

SPEAKER_03 43:27

Yeah, the wife. Let's call it the wife.

SPEAKER_01 43:30

Pimp down. So you go, did you get another hip surgery? Also, because it's ruger, I gotta refill the claw. So you're you went home and then you got another surgery.

SPEAKER_00 43:40

Yeah, I had a bone. Well, there was a bull at the finals that fell on me, and I think that was the cause of it. Like, I had some microfre Callie. Callie. I got I don't remember what was wrong with my head.

SPEAKER_03 43:57

Callie! Oh my goodness. We could What was wrong with my hip? This is the best part.

SPEAKER_00 44:11

She's not listening. She doesn't want to be seen on camera. She's embarrassed right now. But I had some fractures in my hip that uh and then I had a bone hanging off the side of it that was going right into my labrum that they went and cleaned up, and it's felt pretty good. I actually I think I waited, I waited a whole nother year because the one doctor just said, Yeah, just let it heal. Wait six months. So I waited six months, and then 2023 it wasn't feeling any better. Like I got second at the American, that was the highlight of my whole year.

SPEAKER_03 44:42

So I um Oh, I remember saying and didn't they tell you, oh, just wait it out or you're just gonna be done. They weren't gonna give you pain. Yeah, like they were gonna retire, right? Yes.

SPEAKER_00 44:53

They I went to four different doctors, yeah. Yeah, I went to four different doctors, and finally, my boss's wife, Brooke, she uh she sent me down to a guy, I want to say in Bozeman, and he's like, I think I can help you, but I can't help you. I gotta send you to somebody else. And this was 2023. So I went down to a guy in Colorado, and he was like, I can fix you, but I can buy you like four years, then you're probably gonna have to get a hip replacement. He he was no bullshit with me. He's like, but it's gonna feel good. And so 2024, it felt really good until Cheyenne and my arm decided it didn't want to work, and I snapped the tendon off my bicep.

SPEAKER_01 45:40

And you rode your bull that day, easy as pie, and right, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 45:45

No, yeah, easy as pie. That's because he pretty much stopped bucking it about five seconds when it happened, and he wasn't bucking hard enough. I was trying to get off, yeah. I was trying to get off, but he wasn't bucking hard enough to get me off, so I got my score, and then I grabbed my grabbed my bicep and it just went right up into my shoulder, almost threw up. Oh, it was disgusting. And I was like, Okay, well, I've made the short round now. I think that was in the semifinals or something. So I was like, I made the short round. I know guys stay or keep riding when they tore their bicep, and I think Rick Foster looks at me and goes, You didn't tear your bicep, you tore the tendon. And he goes, Grab a water bottle and try and curl it for me. And I was kind of trying to fight him because I was like, Cheyenne's one of my honey holes. So I grabbed a water bottle and it just shook. And I was like, All right, I'll go home. I'll go home.

SPEAKER_03 46:36

Curl the wise, call the wise, call the wise.

SPEAKER_00 46:39

Oh, I did. That was the funniest phone call. I called my boss's wife because she's a PA and she had me set up for surgery in like two days. But uh yeah, little Callie. I called her and she's like, Oh, good job. I think we're gonna come watch you in the short round. I was like, Yeah, I wouldn't worry about it, honey. She's like, Oh, you got a better one somewhere else? I was like, probably, but I ain't going to get on him either. And I was like, Oh, she had just bought a brand new living quarters horse trailer, right, honey?

SPEAKER_04 47:08

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 47:08

Yeah, so she had just bought a new horse trailer. And she goes, like, there was silence on the line, and she goes, Are you epit serious? I was like, Yeah, serious is a heart attack. What the f I was like, I don't I don't really know what to tell you, honey. I'll be home tomorrow.

SPEAKER_03 47:26

Oh my gosh. But now you're back.

SPEAKER_02 47:29

Now you're bad, and you you had a good winner. Yeah, you had a pretty winner.

SPEAKER_00 47:32

I did have a pretty good winner.

SPEAKER_02 47:34

Yeah. Feeling good, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 47:36

Feeling very good.

SPEAKER_02 47:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 47:37

So what does this really look like for you?

SPEAKER_00 47:42

Um I don't look that far ahead. I got three brain cells, Rainy. They're fighting for third.

SPEAKER_01 47:49

Okay, so this week you are Clovis.

SPEAKER_00 47:52

Yeah, Clovis doing the I'm gonna go hard. I just hope hope the hip hip's getting a little sore, but I think it's gonna make it another. I think I'm down to this one, and maybe one more after this, and then I mean I'm 31 years old. I'm too old. I'm probably too old to be this much younger. Coming from the 29-year-old.

SPEAKER_01 48:16

28. Um tell us about your favorite rodeo win you've ever had. Because you've got two pretty big ones that I know of. What's your favorite? Or three pretty big ones, I guess. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 48:31

I s I think Caldwell will always be my favorite. Uh well, no. Pendleton's probably my favorite.

SPEAKER_03 48:38

I have a hard time not saying them, but I haven't got the difference.

SPEAKER_01 48:42

Tell us about Pendleton, Cheyenne, and Caldwell. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 48:45

Okay. Pendleton, I just went, I entered it on a for a Tuesday because I was called Rodeoing, and I was like, I'll skip some class to go to Pendleton. Hell yeah. That that was my rookie year, and I think I was fifth in the rookie standings. I haven't made a short round in the PRCA, like 34th in the world. I was like, I'm going for the experience, and boy, did I experience it. I really did. It was a miracle, it was a miracle. I made it behind the chutes that day to get on percolator in the short round. But um, yeah, I stayed on my long round bowl, and I was sitting back there having a white claw or something, and someone goes, Hey, you got percolator tomorrow. And when I started riding like Pro Bowls, I guess you could say, I was like, I want to ride bruiser and I want to ride percolator. Those are my only two. That's all I care about. Yeah, and that was percolator. I mean, percolator was old, that was his last year going. But uh, yeah, I rode him in the short round, and they couldn't really, I don't think they could really take it from me. Like that was that was the nicest and best bull you could anybody could ever ask for to get on. So I got to win Pendleton, and then the next year I was I had never even been to Cheyenne. They didn't let me in Cheyenne my rookie year, so I got Cheyenne. I showed up because I didn't know they did two sections of bull riding before I got there, and they do one right after the bareback ride and then one right at the end of the rodeo. So I showed up photo finishing.

unknown 50:18

Oh god.

SPEAKER_00 50:20

Yeah, Jordan calls me and he goes, Hey buddy, where are you at? And I was like, Oh, I'm in Casper. He's like, Oh, well, you do know there's two sections of bulls in Cheyenne, right? Typical Jordan stuff because he's giving me shit because I was late, is what he was doing. I thought, yeah, yeah, I thought he was messing with me. I was like, shut up, there is not. And he goes, Okay, but for real, this time, there's two sections of bulls, and you're in the first section.

SPEAKER_02 50:47

Oh god.

SPEAKER_00 50:48

So I made it there. I made it. Well, I guess they do bareback riding and calf roping or something, and then bull riding. Yeah, so I got there right as I bucked the last horse, had a really good bull, stayed on him, and then the next day stayed on my other one, and I think I was third coming back to the short round. Got on a big yellow bull called Golden in the short round, and everyone else got bucked off, and they let me have a Cheyenne, too.

SPEAKER_01 51:14

Pretty amazing. One year you won Pendleton, the next year you went. Yeah, that's pretty outstanding.

SPEAKER_03 51:20

That's what dreams are made of. Literally, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 51:23

I was it was like two months, you know. I was on the side of the building in Cheyenne and Pendleton because they, you know, Pendleton hadn't gone on yet, so I was on both of them.

SPEAKER_03 51:32

Oh we're like straight up famous, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 51:36

Yeah, I Connor McGregor walked everywhere, you know.

SPEAKER_01 51:38

Yeah, and then 2019, Caldwell, right?

SPEAKER_00 51:44

Yep, I got to me and Jordan got split up that week. I remember the dumbest stuff, I remember the conversations we had before it happens and stuff. Anyway, so we got split up. I think I went to a PBR that weekend and I flew into Salt Lake, hadn't looked at the draw for Caldwell or nothing. And he goes, I should hit you for what you have in Caldwell, and I was like, Don't mess with me right now, Jordan. He goes, No, Ruger, it's the one, it's the exact one you think it is. I was like, Don't do not mess with me right now. And I looked at my callback, sure enough, I had bruiser. You know, everybody wants to get on him. So I stayed on. I think I was riding the high of just getting to get on that bowl that week so well. I didn't get I rode like all six of my bowls before I got to to bruiser. And then we were in Gooding the night before, and one of my relatives named Denny, he was like, Man, you got a good one in Caldwell? Like he didn't know what I had. I was like, Yeah, I got a really good one. And he's like, I want to see you get on Bruiser, like that backwards kick as I'm drinking a beer. He's like, That backwards kick he does, it's so athletic. And then I just had that beer in my hand, and like I know what I'm getting on tomorrow, and I just kind of put that beer down, and then I got really nervous.

SPEAKER_01 53:00

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 53:01

And then we drove to your house that morning, and I kept getting nervous, and I closet drank about five white claws before we went to the arena that night.

SPEAKER_01 53:15

Did you drink them in the closet or did I drink them with you?

SPEAKER_00 53:18

No, you drank them with me, but I I drank a lot more than you guys knew I drank.

SPEAKER_01 53:23

Oh, okay, okay.

SPEAKER_00 53:24

I was really nervous.

SPEAKER_01 53:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 53:27

But it worked. You know what? It it freaking worked. So that's definitely I think that's probably my favorite ride, especially being in Caldwell. Like, I didn't hear the whistle, I just remember everybody cheering so loud, and I looked up at the at the you know, replay whatever, and I saw eight seconds, and I was like, Holy shit, I did it. Yeah, I did it.

SPEAKER_01 53:49

And you're leaving out the most like important part. You were 92 freaking points. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 53:54

That was my first 90.

SPEAKER_01 53:56

That was your first 90.

SPEAKER_00 53:58

Yep. That was another time I was having like, I am high fiving back there behind the shoe. It's like, but there's still like three re-rides left to go. You want to know who those three re-rides were? Jordan. Yeah, he got on four bulls that night.

SPEAKER_01 54:14

I do remember those.

SPEAKER_00 54:15

First one fell down, so they give him another one. Next one cuts a trail. This is all before I've like, I don't remember those two rides anything. I just remember staying on bruiser and I'm back there high five and talking to people. Like, they got my horse ready for me to take the victory lap. And I look up, and Jordan looks like he just took a shower. He's wearing a red shirt that turned purple. And I was like, Are you getting on another one? And he doesn't even say anything, he just nods at me. I was like, Okay, well, I'm coming. Pulled his rope, bull falls down. And I was like, Hey man, maybe quit taking the re-ride. I don't think you're gonna beat me tonight. I nope, took another re-ride.

SPEAKER_01 54:54

I was like, he took it. That was actually because we're gonna go into a little back history now. But that was before that. I've known you way longer than I've known Jordan. And we won't bring up the voicemail.

SPEAKER_00 55:09

No, but I will tell everyone what you said to me the first time I ever talked to you. You don't remember, I remember.

SPEAKER_02 55:17

Oh, that's right.

SPEAKER_00 55:19

Junior High Nationals, junior high nationals in Gallup, New Mexico. There's Rainy. Is it the year I fell off? Uh, I think so, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 55:28

Okay, go ahead.

SPEAKER_00 55:29

But Rainey looks at me in typical Rainy fashion. She goes, Ruger, right? Yeah. I thought you were really ugly the first time I saw you. And then just walks away.

SPEAKER_01 55:39

And I was like, little age and no, I was okay, Ruger. Go ahead. That was a compliment. I was telling him he wasn't ugly, okay?

SPEAKER_00 55:51

I didn't I don't know. Is that a compliment?

SPEAKER_03 55:53

Yeah, I feel like when you're in junior high boy, like okay.

SPEAKER_01 55:57

I was also like 13, so let's give me a little and a mean girl. No, I was not, I was not rodeo or rodeo, Ruger and I ended up traveling together to how many amateur rodeos for the next how many years?

SPEAKER_00 56:12

Like four years. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 56:14

We hit the NPRA trail in like a bumper pool with Ringo, and we were rodeo in like so much fun. Yeah, so the first time I meet Jordan was at Spanish Fork and Roscoe was with him, but you weren't there.

SPEAKER_00 56:29

Nope, I was at the PBR in China.

SPEAKER_01 56:32

And so I'm like, Yeah, he's pretty cool, you know. I'm gonna keep talking to him, and then he showed up at my house and you were with him.

SPEAKER_00 56:38

How did he get you to keep talking to him? What happened?

SPEAKER_01 56:42

A back row.

SPEAKER_00 56:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 56:44

He offered one, I didn't accept.

SPEAKER_00 56:46

I was gonna say, maybe you should clarify that he offered the back row.

SPEAKER_01 56:50

Yeah, and he got my number. It was just, you know, he made a he he's gonna love this part of the podcast just so we're gonna be aware. Yeah, he's actually gonna, you know, be mad at you and me. But anyway, and then Ruger showed up, and I remember he gets out of the truck and camper, he comes running up to the house. Like Ruger's best friends with my parents, Bob and Jan. So he like runs up to him. Jordan's like meandering up to the house, like all nervous. And Ruger's like, I basically live here, like this is my family. Bob making a drink. Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 57:21

Started drinking right there.

SPEAKER_01 57:22

Yeah, exactly. So I'm like, and then you were the best man in our wedding, but you probably should have been standing on our side with us. Yeah, I wasn't sure which side. We did we were gonna trade. We did try to wrestle for that, but um yeah, so I was just saying a little background. I've known you for a long time, and we love all the times we get to hang out with you. So we were like, we have to have Ruger on this podcast. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 57:47

Yeah. Yeah, because I'm definitely the like least accomplished rodeo athlete you've had on here so far.

SPEAKER_02 57:54

But I've least accomplished national champion. Yeah, we all made the NFR. How many more accolades should we list, Ruger? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 58:04

I don't have any more.

SPEAKER_02 58:05

I know I'm missing a lot, but no, we've got them.

SPEAKER_00 58:08

I don't have any more.

SPEAKER_03 58:10

I do have two serious questions though, because you know, we're full on sports moms now. I know we've had these conversations with you before, but like even last weekend, I was like, oh my gosh, I cannot handle some of this the things that go along with kids' sports, the politicking, the politicking and the pressure, and I feel like it's getting worse. I mean, we like Marshall's in the third grade and we're now having tryout for more summer ball, all these things. But so when you start saying you started getting burnt out, do you feel like it was from the longevity or from the coaches, or you were just ready to go over a different stage in your life? Great question.

SPEAKER_00 58:48

I was just ready to go. No one, I will say this worked really well to my advantage. I no one ever pushed me harder or harder than I wanted to go. Like all the wrestling stuff, that was that was pretty much on me. Like, if I wanted to, you know, stay late at practice, that was that was my choice. No one ever made me do that. Uh, I do think you need to let kids at a young age, as far as wrestling goes, I'm not a I can coach wrestling. Um, I think you gotta let them have fun and just learn and experience. And then when they get to like junior high, sixth, seventh grade, okay, now we're gonna start pushing you a little bit. If they take, you know, if they can take it, but there are a lot of I know a lot of good wrestlers that were probably better than me that they couldn't handle that. They're like, yep, showing up from you know, practice is 4 30 to 6. They're not putting any reps in, like, they're done. Kind of, you know, not lazy, but just not really go-getter. I just really think as far as kids go, you just gotta let them kind of pick. I don't, I never got pushed to go to more tournaments than I wanted to. And when I was a little kid, I didn't go to very many, like five or six a year. I went to practice all the time. I really enjoyed practicing, but I didn't want to, you know, I was a little bit uh I hated losing. So I thought, you know what? If I go practice more and don't go to the tournaments, then I won't lose. Probably a bad way of looking at it.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:20

But I don't I think that's a great way of looking at it.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:23

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, well, and and it's a hard sport, it's a very hard individual sport. And so, yeah, we've talked about this with you.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:32

Yeah, you've you played other sports as well, right? Like you played football and other things as well growing up.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:38

Yep, football, football all through high school, wrestling and rodeo. That was yeah, get all what was your second serious question?

SPEAKER_03 1:00:47

Uh the second serious question I had was this I think some people have an astrew idea of how this really works. Like we were just talking to you, we we had to schedule our podcast with you working, and you have to get five hours of sleep to get on a plane to go to these big rodeos, but and not because you're not making enough money, but we are at the stage of life where you're you have a wife, we you have a family. Like, I think people see this rock star version of rodeo, which is great, but that's not actually how it works. Like, you're working a job, you're getting on flights. I mean, talk about that exactly.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:22

Yeah, I mean, I didn't I put off getting a job till I was like 28. Like, I just rodeoed. If I ran out of money, I was like, well, I better ride better. But uh the those years being hurt, I started I didn't know how to I had zero skills outside of rodeo and wrestling till about four years ago, three years ago.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:42

You had work ethic because yeah, I gave yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:46

But uh yeah, I started this guy that just lives down the road from me, his name's Dan Yates. I started spraying some weeds for him in the summer, like just riding a four-wheeler around, and then he asked me because I was still hurt, he's like, Do you want to learn how to weld? And I was like, Yeah, sure, might as well. So then I started welding the pipe fence for him, and that's a lot harder than spraying weeds.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:09

And now I don't get to spray weeds anymore because I'm just a full-time welder, which is a great yeah, yes, but it do you think you appreciate maybe you're gonna appreciate the wins even more now because of everything that you're juggling to do it?

SPEAKER_00 1:02:26

Okay, yes, absolutely, yeah, yeah, I would say so. I mean, just looking back, like I said, all the being hurt and not getting to go. I look back and I took a lot of that stuff for granted. I was like, oh yeah, won a couple of rodeos last year, that sucked, and then you know, the next year I don't win any, and then another year I don't win any. Like winning Cody's extreme bulls last summer, like that, that meant a lot to me just because that was the first big thing, like bigger rodeo that I'd won in sh probably since 2022. So, you know, I don't take any of it for granted anymore, especially with this with this hip and how old I am. Like every one of them might really be my last one if it goes bad enough.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:08

So they see you guys as like rock stars, especially bull riders, because in other events you can go a little bit longer, but they see what you guys win, and it's in the hundreds of thousands, and this and that. But people don't really understand. A, your careers are shorter, b, you pay up to thirty thousand dollars in fees a year. That doesn't mention travel. Um so you really kind of got to do it because you love it. And so is that what is keeping you going? And and the big wins they mean a lot, but it's because the end goal is the NFR. Is that kind of the yeah?

SPEAKER_00 1:03:42

Absolutely. I would, I mean, I'd still I would do it for free, or uh not as much money, you know, but I I still think I got one more left in me, maybe two. Uh yeah, we believe that so I hope I hope so. I'm planning on it. But last year I felt like I worked pretty hard, you know, getting in shape. I didn't quit drinking, I'll never do that. But uh, you know, really exercising, and I was just drawing really good bowls, and it was kind of the proof to me at the beginning, like my whole last spring was probably the best spring I'd ever had up until about the 4th of July. And that just kind of proved me that I still I still got I still got it. We're in the street.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:22

You still absolutely yes, for sure. Yes, and we're definitely gonna be looking forward to uh seeing a lot more of you this summer out here, obviously, because you're yeah, yes, we can't wait here in just a minute.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:36

You're gonna be up here, and then one more question, and then we will let you go. But tell us about meeting your wife and your wife Callie.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:45

Yeah, my wife Callie. I mean, she chased me around the Montana Western campus for like I would say a year, and I finally let her catch me. Right, Callie?

SPEAKER_03 1:04:55

She's literally going to catch.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:58

This is why she won't come out of the room.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:00

Yeah, no, now she is. Usually no, I did. I saw her at a party one night, and I was, I mean, very, very intoxicated. And um I went up and talked to her, and I was having a great time talking to this kit little girl I just met. And my buddy comes up and goes, got a boyfriend. So I walked away, and she was like, Oh, we're done talking then. I was like, I guess so. I don't know. It took me away, but then yeah, I got her, had her Snapchat, her and her boyfriend broke up, and then um And then it was time.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:39

This is a modern day love story, Julius.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:41

The modern day love story, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:44

Yep, I uh I actually did. I chased her a little bit. I had not done that like super, super like not aggressively, because that makes me sound super weird, but like I, you know, hey, you going to the movies tonight?

unknown 1:05:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:00

I'll be there, I'll see you there. Yada yada. Like, never did pull the trigger for a while. But um, yep, then we were together for three years. It was the same year I made the finals. I was finally like, well, I can afford a ring. I'm not getting any younger, like, or prettier, so better put a ring on it, proposed to her, and by God she said yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:24

Yep. And how long have you guys been married now?

SPEAKER_00 1:06:27

It'll be three years in June.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:29

Yes. Super fun wedding. Well, do you guys have any more questions for our best friend? You have to come back on the I was actually just sad you're not here. I know.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:39

I want to be in there. Yeah. I don't want to be hanging out asking questions.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:44

When are you coming to coach wrestling in Homedale?

SPEAKER_00 1:06:48

Good question. Um oh, we got Cloverdale coming right up.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:54

All right. Yes, Cloverdale.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:57

This year it'll be. Don't don't Abby can't look at us right now, but this year it's gonna be me and Megan, you and Jordan headed to Cloverdale.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:04

And we're gonna watch Twilight, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:07:06

Yeah, we are, just like last year. Except I didn't win that much last year. Maybe we'll pick a different series.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:11

Yeah, I will say again.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:13

We all wore red for you to be on the show tonight, and you have a red shirt on. So we knew it. We did this for you.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:20

I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:22

Good luck this next week. Kick their ass. And when you get here, this is gonna be an in person podcast. We'll tap, and we're gonna be doing a recap of what else has been going on, and we literally cannot wait to see you. We love you.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:36

I can't wait for it either. Love you guys too.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:38

Have a safe flight. We love you guys.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:40

Alright, see you guys. Spears Coffee. Really fucking good.