ProRodeo Sports News - May 29, 2020

COWBOY GRILLE WITH MATT NABER

You won $8,521 in October. What was that month like? Cole: It was the first time I had been to Texas, and I was feeling good and wanted to kick things off with a bang. I was winning money everywhere I went. It was fun to start the year off like that. How does this pandemic impact your approach to the 2020 season? Cole: There’s nothing we could do about it, so there’s no need to worry. I keep looking at the (PRCA) Business Journal , waiting for big rodeos to open, and when they do, we will start winning again. We’re not in a rush since we’re doing good in the world standings. Do you have a nickname? Cole: Nah – Cole is too short. We’ve been doing as much dumb stuff as we can to try to get a nickname. How did you get into rodeo in the first place? Cole: I grew up team roping and calf roping a bit, never did any roughstock, but I got tired of roping and wanted to do something different. I’m friends with Dylan Sandvick (son of Larry Sandvick, a 12-time NFR qualifier), and so I used Larry’s rigging. Everyone in Kaycee and Buffalo, Wyo., have been great, all of Johnson County has supported me. I went to Sheridan (Wyo.) College for a year and then transferred to Casper (Wyo.) College, and the rodeo coach there, Jhett Johnson, helped me a lot mentally since he’s a world champion team roper (2011) and a great guy. Why do you compete in bareback riding? legend turned platinum country musician Chris LeDoux. The 21-year-old cowboy is doing his hometown proud atop the 2020 PRCA | Resistol Rookie Standings for bareback riding and being among the Top 15 of the PRCA | RAM World Standings. Reiner won the 2019 PRCA | RAM Rodeo Permit Standings for bareback riding with $25,406 and kicked off his rookie season with five checks in October followed by big paydays in Fort Worth, Texas, and San Antonio in February. Rookie bareback rider Cole Reiner has some big boots to fill, having grown up in Kaycee, Wyo., the hometown of ProRodeo

COLE REINER

Cole: What keeps you in it is it’s so fast and exciting. I wasn’t going to rodeo professionally and didn’t have any interest in it until my senior year of high school. I was wrestling, but during my last semester of high school the Sheridan College rodeo coach asked if I was interested, and I figured I would stay in Wyoming and rodeo. Bareback riding is relatable to wrestling because you’re in a fight the whole time and it’s fast and before you know it it’s over. But it’s such an adrenaline rush, and nothing else has given me that feeling. What’s your favorite part about rodeoing? Cole: I like the national anthem – you’ve got the rigging on and your adrenaline is pumping. That’s the coolest part of the rodeo, the crowd is ready to go, and it gets your hair standing up and your switch is flipped. What do you miss the most about rodeo? Cole: We’ve been home for two months, and I can’t wait to be on the road driving somewhere. When you’re on the road, you’re ready to be done driving. That’s honestly something I didn’t think I would miss a bunch. What would be the best song to have playing while you’re in the chute and about to compete? Cole: I like “Shout At The Devil” by Mötley Crüe. I like how it starts out; it gets you fired up. What kind of workout routine do you have to keep up with the demands of bareback riding? Cole: We’re doing a lot of CrossFit, but it’s more lightweight with more reps and a lot of core workouts since everything in bareback riding involves your core. What’s your favorite food for making progress in the gym? Cole: McDonald’s, ha, ha! … Actually, I didn’t like avocados until I got to Texas, but we’re doing a lot of that and salads. What’s your favorite food that isn’t geared toward fitness? Cole : Pizza and wings. What’s your favorite movie or TV show? Cole : I like stupid TV shows, like “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and “Trailer Park Boys” and watch a lot of The Cowboy Channel rodeos, that’s a lot of fun. Which celebrity do people say you look like? Cole: Oh, I don’t know, I’m a mix between Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise.

ProRodeo Sports News 5/29/2020

ProRodeo.com

12