ProRodeo Sports News - February 3, 2023

BY ALEX RILEY, Special to ProRodeo Sports News J ust three years into his professional bull riding career, Jim Sharp made National Finals Rodeo history in 1988, becoming the first Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association competitor to ride all 10 bulls he faced in Las Vegas. Prior to that, Leo Brown was the lone cowboy to Perfect 10 .... and the one that got away

cover all the bulls during rodeo’s season-culminating event, but that was back in 1963 when the finals only consisted of eight rides. Since Sharp’s historic effort, only two other cowboys have stayed on all 10 – Norman Curry (1990) and Adriano Moraes (1994). That success led to the first of Sharp’s two world championships, with the other coming in 1990. You would think a moment like that would sear into an athlete’s memory as one of their biggest milestones. Sharp has a slightly different take. “It’s funny, I don’t ever really look back at the year I rode 10 – I always

Greg Westfall photo Leo Brown, left, and Jim Sharp take in the action at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. When the NFR consisted of eight bull rides, Brown was the first to cover all eight in 1963. Sharp was the first to cover all 10 bulls at the NFR in 1988.

He finally turned pro at 20 years old in 1986 and immediately caught the attention of the bull riding world. Before earning Rookie of the Year honors that season, Sharp was approached by Tuff Hedeman with a proposition – ride along. Hedeman, Lane Frost, Ty Murray and Cody Lambert were looking for another traveling partner and the young man’s impressive start made him the right candidate to join the group. Over an eight-year span, the group collectively captured seven world bull riding titles. “That was like Michael Jordan asking you to play basketball with him,” Sharp said of Hedeman’s request. “The other bull riders, they hated to see our car pull up.” Despite some nagging injuries over the later years of his career, Sharp managed to ride professionally for two decades, helping establish Professional Bull Riding with Hedeman, Murray, Lambert and 17 other professional bull riders in 1992. After years of hanging on for dear life, Sharp’s days are a bit slower now – but his passion is unchanged. Now living in Stephenville, Texas, Sharp spends his days riding horses and routinely helps friends in the area with ranch work. “Day work, it’s hard but I like it just about as much as I did bull riding,” he said. When he’s not on the back of a horse, Sharp hits the road, driving about two and a half hours northwest to Holliday, Texas, to spend time with his 13-year-old son, Will. A competitor in football, basketball and cross-country, Will found his passion for sports. Sharp remembers his parents hauling him all over the country to compete in junior rodeo events. He wants to offer that same support system and makes sure to be in the stands anytime his son is competing. A 2006 ProRodeo Hall of Fame Inductee in Colorado Springs, Colo. A two-time PRCAWorld Champion and three-time NFR average winner. A man who managed to stay on a lot of bulls and break a host of records. Sharp had the career he dreamed about as a kid – even if some of it feels like an actual dream. “To me, (riding 10 straight) that wasn’t very many because I felt I could ride 50 in a row. That’s what I expected of myself,” Sharp said. “By the time I got to the pros, I was ready and had a lot of confidence. I had no doubt in my mind that I could be a world champion.”

look back at the year I fell off my 10th one,” Sharp said with a laugh, noting that a year later he was bucked off in the 10th round of the NFR. He went on to win the event, but not the world championship. “I forget about riding 10 straight, but I’ll never forget falling off the 10th.” Sharp notes that buck off in 1989

Jim Sharp recalls his NFR journey and life after bull riding

snapped a streak that undoubtedly remains unbroken. In 1987, he closed out the NFR with four straight rides in Rounds 7-10, meaning between 1987-89, he covered 23 straight bulls at the Super Bowl of rodeo. “That’s all I dreamed about when I was a kid, ever since I could remember, ever since I was little, that’s all I wanted to do was ride bulls,” Sharp said. To be fair, Sharp admits he doesn’t exactly recall where that love of riding bulls stems from. Growing up in Kermit, Texas, Sharp was exposed to the cowboy lifestyle early as his father did calf roping as a hobby, yet his rodeo experience was limited to the final round of the NFR on television once a year and day trips to Odessa and Pecos for their annual rodeos. As a young boy, Sharp’s father would rope calves, tie them, and, before cutting them loose, attach a pick string around them that his son would use as a bull rope. His goal was simple – stay on until the end of the arena. “My dad, he didn’t really know anything about bull riding. We kind of grew up learning it together, just me and him. All we knew is we were supposed to hang on,” Sharp said. From calves to steers to bulls, Sharp worked his way through the junior ranks, honing his craft with each ride. While other cowboys went for their PRCA card as soon as they hit 18, Sharp decided to keep working at the junior level in preparation for life as a professional.

ProRodeo Sports News 2/3/2023

ProRodeo.com

41