ProRodeo Sports News - April 20, 2018

Dickens also worked a second job at night at a liquor store for about a year. “It was too much to do that and work full time and rodeo,” Kyle Dickens said. “I was buying Powerball tickets hoping to get the easy route, but it didn’t get it done.” Kyle was more than about trying to strike it lucky. “He doesn’t drink, so whenever we told people that (he worked at a liquor store) they didn’t believe it,” Joey Dickens said. “He had some interesting stories from the liquor store in Fort Collins, but it shows his determination and resiliency in making that happen.” The Dickens brothers reduced their costs by buying their rodeo rig together. Kyle Dickens also saved about $20,000 from his job. “It isn’t enough for the year, but I wanted something to get me started and keep going,” he said. “I mapped out the full year and did a cost analysis. It’s like $40,000 to $50,000, but I didn’t have the patience to save that much, so I figured if I could save 20 (thousand dollars) and win 20 (thousand dollars), then I could go try.” Joey had less patience than his brother. “He’s the younger brother who is more mature and he’s been saving for a long time,” Joey Dickens said, noting that he didn’t start saving until September. “He definitely takes care of everything as far as where we go. I’m just an idiot who jumped in and goes with the flow.” In the last two months, the Dickens brothers have gone from their hometown in Loveland, Colo., to the East Coast and back to the West Coast. Kyle picked up $375 for placing ninth at the 140th Silver Spurs Rodeo in Kissimmee, Fla., Feb. 18. A week later, he won $1,732 at the Georgia National Jr. Livestock Show & Rodeo in Perry, Ga. By March they were in the Midwest, where Kyle won $524 for placing third at the Black River Pro Rodeo in Poplar Bluff, Mo., and then $167 at the Ozark Empire Pro Rodeo in Springfield, Mo. Then on April 15, following a road trip of nearly 5,000 miles, Kyle grabbed his first big win on the West Coast, earning $2,648 at Oakdale. “We’re winning the trailer race,” Kyle Dickens joked. “I had a rough start to the year, so it was nice to get some momentum with Red Bluff and Clovis coming up.” The winter run wasn’t a loss, as it helped the brothers get their horses seasoned for the upcoming summer run. “We had green horses we needed to rodeo with and everything is so spread out, so I needed a horse prepared to give Nitro a break and not lose a step,” Kyle Dickens said about his main horse. CALIFORNIA LOVE Kyle Dickens won the first round at the historic Oakdale Saddle Club Rodeo with an 8.4-second run, then tied for fifth in the second round in 9.5 seconds to win the average with 17.9 seconds on two head. “There are so many guys who rope so well that you have to outdraw them and be flawless,” Kyle Dickens said. “I was fortunate enough to draw good calves and I didn’t screw up.” Joey was full of support for his brother. “We kind of expect to win when we go,” Joey Dickens said. “It was cool he won it. I’m his biggest fan going.” Kyle Dickens was riding Nitro at Oakdale, a 10-year-old Chestnut he bought from Justin Maass a year-and-a-half ago. “One challenge was the horsepower, because I didn’t have the funds to buy the caliber of horse you need,” Kyle Dickens said. “Then Nitro and I didn’t get along for the first year or more, so we had to get on the same page. It wasn’t his doing – I’m not the most orthodox calf roper so he didn’t know what I was doing. I like to reach more than

most guys, so we kind of compromised.” Compromising with Nitro paid off in two ways at Oakdale, first with the prize money, then with a confidence boost. “The biggest thing is the huge momentum for me, I hadn’t won a lot going into this,” Kyle Dickens said. Kyle ranked 137th his rookie year in 2015 with $8,395. In 2016, he was 185th with $4,843. He came back in 2017 to rank 106th with $11,224. “All I’ve done is circuit rodeo prior to this and mostly been in the Mountain States (Circuit),” Kyle Dickens said. Now, he and Joey are traveling all over the U.S. and Canada. “I wanted to do it last year but my good horse, Dudley, died so I needed to regroup,” Kyle Dickens said. “I had been planning for years and saving money. It was to the point where I’m not getting any younger and needed to try it sometime soon, and I felt good about my roping and horses. Everyone grows up wanting to make the Finals and I was no different, I just needed the money and horses to do it.” Kyle’s been on the cusp of qualifying for the All American ProRodeo Finals before and wants to make that happen. He also wants to qualify for the RAMNational Circuit Finals Rodeo. “I would like to at least be in the Top 20 or 30, and then take what I learned from this year and build on it next year and hopefully make it (to the Wrangler NFR) the following year,” he said.

Boudreaux Campbell made his first 90-point ride of his ProRodeo career at Oakdale on Four Star Rodeo’s Yellow Fever. Campbell’s ride set a record for the Oakdale Saddle Club Rodeo. Dan Hubbell photo

Complete results on Page 50

SADDLE BRONC RIDING 1. Hardy Braden ............................ 80 pts. 2. Bradley Harter .............................. 78.5 3. (tie) Colton Carter ............................ 78 Joe Harper ....................................... 78

TIE-DOWN ROPING 1. Kyle Dickens .............. 17.9 sec. on two 2. Chant DeForest ............................. 19.0 3. Bo Pickett ..................................... 20.0 4. Taylor Santos ................................ 21.8

BARREL RACING 1. Lynette Clyde ...................... 17.72 sec. 2. Kelsey Hayden ............................ 17.82 3. (tie) Jana Bean ........................... 17.86 Taylor Rogers ............................. 17.86

BULL RIDING 1. Boudreaux Campbell ................ 90 pts. 2. Clayton Savage ................................ 86 3. (tie) Shane Proctor ....................... 85.5 Parker Breding .............................. 85.5

ProRodeo Sports News 4/20/18

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