ProRodeo Sports News - May 28, 2021

IN THEIR WORDS JACOB EDLER Steer wrestling champ gets tuned in for this season W hen I was a kid, I would re- watch “8 Seconds” over and over and over. I guess that sparked some inspiration. But my family raised club lambs. Jacob Edler is enjoying his time as the defending steer wrestling world champ.

(S.D.). It felt pretty good to be announced as a world champion. Honestly, it kind of made me relax a little bit. It took a few rodeos to get my head on straight and realize that just because I was last year’s world champ, I still had to stay after it and keep working hard. Just because you’re a world champ, they’re not going to give you anything this year. I think I just let up. I wasn’t as aggressive as I was all last year all the way through the Finals. I accomplished a huge goal, and I wasn’t as determined and focused as I was back then. I was just a little more relaxed instead of being pumped up and ready to go back and do it all over again. But since I didn’t have luck at those first couple of rodeos, I got that hunger and desire back and put the hours and work back in and found that since then, I’ve been pretty consistent though the winter. Stockton Graves, my rodeo coach at Northwestern (Oklahoma State University), he’s the one in charge of our rig. It’s Stockton, Bridger and I. What’s been the most fun is all of us during the winter got on a big roll. We went to San Antonio and Jackson (Miss.), and that week, between all three of us, we had a $25,000 week. He (Graves) won at San Antonio and got some momentum rolling. Nothing is more fun than getting along with your traveling partners and everyone is winning. It’s like a train that won’t stop once you get everyone winning.

My dad built the program up and competitively showed lambs all over the country.

But it took him a few rodeos to remember what it took to earn that gold buckle. Edler has won $22,512 this season, good for eighth in the PRCA | RAM World Standings as of May 25. The 27-year- old, new daddy of a baby girl got a late start in the world of rodeo, but he’s come along quickly and isn’t planning on slowing down. Edler, who grew up in State Center, Iowa, lives in Alva, Okla., with his daughter, Taylee Mae, and fiancée, Moriah Glaus.

At places like the RAMGreat Lakes Circuit Finals Rodeo in Louisville, Ky., or the American Royal in Kansas City, Mo., or the River City Roundup in Omaha, Neb., when we got done showing lambs we’d always get tickets to the rodeo and I just really got interested. Being a rodeo fan and watching these big rodeos, I decided that’s what I wanted to do. I had to break poor Dad’s heart that I didn’t want to show lambs. But he was 100 percent supportive and got me into rodeo. I got a pretty late start in life as far as rodeo goes. I didn’t ride a horse until I was 13. I’m riding Bridger Anderson’s horse Whiskers. That horse is really consistent, really good in the box and easy to ride. He’s actually trained by one of my very good friends, Tyler Schau, who got me into rodeo and taught me how to steer wrestle and be a horseman. Not a whole lot has changed since I’ve been a world champ. Life goes on. A few more opportunities have come up. It’s been good. I just keep moving forward, just keep getting better. The first perf I came back to was in Rapid City

ProRodeo Sports News 5/28/2021

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