ProRodeo Sports News - August 7, 2020

Kastner wins first career Division 1 Xtreme Bulls title Time-Tested

BY TRACY RENCK F ather Time has been kind to bull rider Trevor Kastner. Since turning 30, the Roff, Okla., cowboy has made back-to-back trips to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, and his momentum has continued into 2020. On July 28, Kastner, who joined the PRCA in 2008, checked another item off his bucket list. Kastner bested a star-studded field to win the two-head average with 174.5 points at the Dodge City (Kan.) Roundup Xtreme Bulls Division 1 event. “This feels really good,” Kastner said. “I’ve never won a Division 1 Xtreme Bulls event before.” Kastner put himself in position for a victory by tying for fifth with an 85-point ride in the long round on Frontier Rodeo’s Black Ice. “He was a good bull, and right out of there he started to well me, but I let him pick me back up, and it turned out good,” Kastner said. In the short round, Kastner drew 4L &Diamond S Rodeo’s Ferdinand, which was the bull Boudreaux Campbell won on at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo Xtreme Bulls Division 1 event with an 89-point ride in February. Ferdinand lived up to his billing in Dodge City, teaming with Kastner for an 89.5-point trip to win the finals and the average. “I had been on Ferdinand twice before,” Kastner said. “He threw me off once and I stayed on him once. This was the best ride I’ve had on him. He was in the gate to the right and was just a good, solid bull especially for the short round.” Before Dodge City, Kastner last rode Ferdinand on July 13, 2019, posting an 87-point ride on the stout bull during the semifinals of the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo in Colorado Springs, Colo. After his ride, Kastner waited through a handful of riders before he was crowned the champion. “It felt good when I made the whistle (on Ferdinand),” Kaster said. “I did my part and waited to see how everybody else did.” After earning $9,458 in Dodge City, Kastner climbed to seventh in the Aug. 4 PRCA | RAMWorld Standings with $48,484. Kastner is a five-time qualifier to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (2011-13, 2018-19). He finished 11th in the world standings last year with $161,216. While this season has been one of the strangest because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it didn’t affect Kastner’s plans. “It hasn’t changed me too much because I wasn’t planning on going super hard,” Kastner said. “During the quarantine I was riding a bunch of colts and hanging out with my family.” Kastner and his wife, Kate, have a daughter, McKenna, 2, and a son, Korbyn, 4 months. “They keep us plenty busy, but they are a lot of fun,”

2020 DIVISION 1 WINNERS • Dustin Boquet, Fort Worth, Texas, Jan. 21-22 • Boudreaux Campbell, San Antonio, Feb. 22 • Ty Wallace, Fort Mohave, Ariz., Feb. 28-29 • Clayton Sellars, Spanish Fork, Utah, July 20 • Trevor Kastner, Dodge City, Kan., July 28

David Seymore photo

Trevor Kastner poses with his winning buckle.

Kastner said. “It was cool to call them and tell them I won.” Kastner has a simple plan for the remainder of the season. “The goal really is to make as much money as I can while I’m still doing it,” Kastner said. “I still enjoy riding bulls a lot. The hardest part for me now is leaving home with my family and everything. I’m going to keep riding bulls as long as I’m still making money at it.” PRCA XTREME BULLS 2020 TOUR STANDINGS (Unofficial as of Aug. 6) 1. Boudreaux Campbell, Crockett, Texas..$44,286 2. Ky Hamilton, Mackay, Australia. ............28,415 3. Clayton Sellars, Fruitland Park, Fla.. ......22,905 4. Trevor Kastner, Roff, Okla......................21,580 5. Ty Wallace, Collbran, Colo.....................20,911 6. Shane Proctor, Grand Coulee, Wash.. ....20,835 7. Dustin Boquet, Bourg, La......................20,166 8. Jeff Askey, Athens, Texas......................18,574 9. Parker McCown, Montgomery, Texas.....17,347 10. Laramie Mosley, Satanta, Kan..............16,208 11. Levi Gray, Dairy, Ore.. .........................16,174 12. Tyler Bingham, Honeyville, Utah..........15,932 13. Jeston Mead, Holcomb, Kan................14,738 14. Dallee Mason, Weiser, Idaho................14,556 15. Matt Palmer, Poplar Grove, Ill..............12,849 COMPLETE RESULTS ON PAGE 59

David Seymore photo

ProRodeo Sports News 8/7/2020

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