ProRodeo Sports News - May 18, 2018

IN HIS OWNWORDS: DUSTIN BOQUET BULL RIDER MAKING HEADWAY IN STANDINGS

1/4 page color ad $457 (12mth b/w rate) W hen I was about 11 or 12, one of my buddies – he doesn’t ride anymore, he just amateur rodeoed – toldme one day, “You’d probably be all right at riding bulls, since you ride horses all the time.” I was like, shoot, I guess I’ll give it a try. I started off in the steer riding. I think I rode my first three out of four at this little, buckle-series deal. I won a buckle. After that I was hooked. I was pretty-dang nervous. Every once in a while, I still get nervous, but I block it out. You just learn how to go along with it. Sometimes you draw the one that everybody rides, so you get nervous about it because you have to stay on that son of a buck, because the one that throws everyone off has a trick to him. It ain’t a bad nervous, you’re just a little nervous that you don’t want to fall off. I grew up around horses because my grandpa owned a few cows and always had horses. Heck, I’ve been riding horses since I could walk. But I’ve never competed in bareback riding or saddle bronc riding. Oh, no, I ain’t getting on those things. I never did like a regular horse that bucked, why am I going to get on one that I knowwould buck? I like watching it, but I don’t want to do it. I didn’t ride as good as I do now. Everything started clicking for me about two years ago. I started out pretty good three years ago, but then I went and broke my leg.That put me out nine months.The bull came out backwards and I caught my leg on the gate, twisted it backwards. I broke my tibia. Dustin Boquet is having the best season of his career. After finishing 50th in last season’s bull riding world standings (his best finish), Boquet was sitting in fifth place in the 2018 RAM PRCA World Standings with $57,813 (nearly double what he won last season). The 24-year-old from Bourg, La., now lives in Athens, Texas.

So, then I had to come back and do it all over again.This year has been outstanding, it’s been really good tome. I don’t knowwhat I’mdoing different, I’m just kind of not thinking about it toomuch. I’m just going with the flow, trying to stay on as many as I can. Everybody always tells me to stay on as many as you can and they are going to pay you.That’s what I’ve been trying to do, and it hasn’t been treating me too bad. With an injury like I suffered, I knew I was going to see if I still wanted to ride bulls or not. But every day I thought about it. I hated sitting up in that room.This life is awesome that we live.There’s no other job really where you can go out and travel andmeet people that turn into family for you because you see them all the time. We live with thempretty much for three months when we’re out there for the summer. It surely is a blessing.

PSN- Pro Rodeo Sports New June 2018 I’ve got $57,000 won so far this year. I try not to think about it toomuch. I set some goals at the beginning of the year, and I’ve reached a few of them. I set more, so I’m going to keep going with it. Hopefully, it stays good. Hopefully, nothing will change. I set some small goals at first, and I’ve got some bigger ones set. You’ve got to hit the small ones to get to the big ones. SanAntonio has beenmy biggest payout this year. It got me up there where I’m at. All together, I won about $21,000. It was fun. Everybody toldme that’s the place you want to ride good. It’s good to be sitting in the Top 5 right now going into the summer run. You’re not worried about it. Like everybody else, you’re still shooting for that No. 1 spot at the end of the year.

You think about it for sure.We all think about it, though you try not to. But they do have somemoney up for grabs once you get to theWrangler National Finals Rodeo. A guy could go in there $100,000 ahead and you could still catch him. It just depends how good you ride and how good he rides when you get there.

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ProRodeo Sports News 5/18/2018

ProRodeo.com

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