ProRodeo Sports News -March 5, 2021

COWBOY GRILLE WITH TRACY RENCK

How did you get your start in rodeo? Eric: It started out with my grandparents who raised bucking bulls and hauled them to the rodeos. Then, my dad (Jeff) started steer wrestling. He went for a couple years, and when my brother (Jacob) graduated (from high school) he wanted to start, so my dad took him. About the time my dad was going to retire, I popped up and said I wanted to try it, so we all went together my first year. How has your rodeo career played out? Eric: I bought my card in 2014 and played around with it for a couple years. I didn’t go at all last year. I cracked back out this year. Why did you decide to rodeo more in 2021? Eric: I have a wife (Anna) and kids (daughter, Everly, 4, and son, Greyson, 2) and knew with all this COVID stuff going on that there wasn’t going to be a ton of rodeos so I could do more rodeos and still stay kind of close to home. I feel like I can have fun with this year and I wouldn’t have to be gone all summer. My kids haven’t really seen me rodeo much. They have just been watching The Cowboy Channel. We’ve been practicing out here at the house and they’ve been practicing, and, shoot, they do just as much as I do. It’s been a lot of fun. How much do you learn and pick up from your brother? Eric: When I started back this year, he helped me practice every day. He’s awesome in that aspect. What are your rodeo plans for 2021? Eric: I would like to go hard this year and see what I could do with it and take advantage of this opportunity. Where’s your favorite place to eat? Eric: Man, we eat a lot of Mexican food. I like to go to Superior Grill in Shreveport. What’s the most crawfish you’ve eaten in one setting? Eric: A lot. I don’t know what the poundage is, but we eat crawfish quite a bit down here. The hotter the crawfish the better for me. What’s your favorite dessert? Eric: Cheesecake. What’s your favorite movie? Eric: Gladiator . That’s the movie I enjoy watching the most. What’s your favorite holiday? the PRCA in November 2014. He’s never hit the trail hard, but that might change this season. He’s already been to Odessa, Texas, Kissimmee, Fla., and Perry, Ga. He’s also headed to Arcadia, Fla., Okeechobee, Fla., and Montgomery, Ala. Steer wrestler Eric Talley, 27, grew up in rodeo while living in Keatchie, La., about 30 minutes south of Shreveport. His older brother, Jacob, 29, a fellow steer wrestler, has qualified for the National Finals Rodeo three times (2016, 2018 and 2020). Eric, who is 6-foot, 235 pounds, joined

ERIC TALLEY

Eric: Christmas. I enjoy it with everybody getting together, especially now with my kids. I like seeing my kids getting their gifts and watching their faces when they get stuff.

What movies do your children watch that you know the lines to? Eric: Frozen . They watch that all the time. They also watch Toy Story . When you’re not doing rodeo, what do you enjoy doing? Eric: I go hunting a lot, and I also go fishing. I like hunting for deer mostly. Do you have a favorite sports team? Eric: Not really. Doug Pederson, who led the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl victory in 2018, was my high school football coach at Calvary Baptist Academy in Shreveport, so I used to pay attention to the Eagles. It was different having him as my high school coach. When he first came, he had played 13 seasons in the NFL (as a quarterback), and the first place he came to coach was Calvary. We were running stuff the Green Bay Packers were running and the other teams he played for. It was really neat. I played defensive end, and my senior year I played quarterback and linebacker. Jacob was a left tackle and defensive end.

ProRodeo Sports News 3/5/2021

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