Grabbing the bull by the horns: Area bull rider looks forward to 2020 season
Josh Frost, a 24-year-old bull rider, ropes a calf at a rodeo in Denver, Colorado, in 2019.
Josh Frost, a 24-year-old bull rider from Randlett, Utah, rides a bull at a rodeo in Denver, Colorado, in 2019, the same year he received the prestigious Linderman Award.
Josh Frost doesn’t spend a lot of time at home during rodeo season.
The 24-year-old champion bull rider from Randlett said he went to about 120 rodeos last year. He was only home three times that summer.
“I’ve been to a lot of places and Utah is probably still my favorite,” he said.
Frost grew up wanting to rope and ride bulls. It’s ingrained in his family, actually, with his brother, father and grandfather all participating in the sport.
“I guess you could say it’s a family legacy,” Frost said.
Bull riding is one of the fastest-growing sports in America, according to the Professional Bull Riders. The PBR has more than 600 registered members from five countries who compete in more than 300 events each year.
Matt West has worked as a PBR rodeo announcer since 2007 and said he enjoys getting to know the competitors and seeing their hard work.
West said most people who watch the sport don’t realize how much preparation and travel is required.
“I see a lot of guys with so much natural ability but it’s just like any other sport, any other business, or any other thing in life, period; the ones who are successful are the ones who work the hardest,” West said.
Working hard means staying active and eating well, West said.
“A lot of guys are getting up in the morning and doing yoga, hitting the gym,” he said. “I know that sounds crazy for a rodeo cowboy to do yoga — it’s not what you’d expect — but a lot of athletes are doing yoga because when you think about it, they’ve got to be stretched.”
Simply watching a cowboy do his job is enough to prove bull riding can be dangerous. Just recently, Stetson Lawrence experienced a concussion Jan. 4 when he was thrown from his second round bull, according to the PBR injury report. Brennon Eldred sustained a concussion and oral laceration Jan. 25 after colliding with a bull’s head in Sacramento. There were also three reported injuries from the recent riding competition in Oklahoma City on Feb. 1.
West said riders prepare and try to avoid injury by practicing repeatedly and focusing on consistent movements, whether it’s their entire body or just an arm. Some also practice on drop barrels, which are built to mimic the bucking of a bronco or bull.
“The best way for them to practice is repetition,” West said. “I have so much respect for these athletes because it is literally the only sport in the world where you put your life on the line in practice.”
Frost’s hard work paid off, earning him the 2019 Linderman Award, named after ProRodeo Hall of Fame cowboy Bill Linderman. To qualify, competitors have to win at least $1,000 in three events, including a roughstock and a timed event.
Frost said it was his third year attempting to win the award and his first year qualifying for it.
“This award is prestigious because you have to be able to compete on both ends of the arena,” he said.
Frost also qualified in bull riding for the NFR in 2019, one of rodeo’s biggest competitions. He placed 14th in the world and he’s ready to go back and try again in 2020.
“It starts again this year with a clean slate,” he said.
As of early February, Frost was ranked 82nd in the world for professional bull riding by the PBR.
Even though he’s a successful cowboy, Frost has a plan if he ever decides to stop riding. He earned a degree in agriculture education on a rodeo scholarship at Oklahoma Panhandle State University.
“I’m going to ride bulls as long as I can, win a bunch of money and invest that, and then I’ve got that degree where I can go get a job afterward,” he said.
West said in his experience, most cowboys go on to have careers related to rodeo even after they’ve stopped riding because they have such a love for the sport. Many, he said, go into the stock contractor business and provide animals for rodeos.
“Contrary to what a lot of people believe, there is a deep rooted passion and appreciation for the livelihood these animals give these athletes,” West said. “They try to give back not only to the livestock, but they try to give to the next generation as well.”