ProRodeo Sports News May 3, 2019

Pasadena and more that I’m home five days a week.” Antonick graduated from SamHouston State University with his master’s degree in ag science in December 2017 and decided to focus on rodeo rather than dive into the workforce. Thus, Heart XWestern Furniture started, named after his great-grandfather’s ranch, Heart X. “Almost all his customers are returning customers, once they get something they keep getting more and more,” Kempfer said. “His woodworking is all Western furniture, and it’s just cool. Whenever I build my house and go to putting furniture in it, I’ll have him build every piece of furniture in it.” Antonick makes a variety of items, from beds and coffee tables to boot jacks and kitchen items such as cutting boards, using mesquite, cedar or black walnut wood. “I really like my display coffee tables with a 4-inch drop and cowhide bottom for buckles and memorabilia inside,” Antonick said. “They seem to go fast, and I have orders backed up for them.” Antonick made a bed for four-time Wrangler NFR bareback rider Jake Brown more than a year ago. Now, a project like that can take about a month depending on what time of the year it is. “He did an outstanding job,” Brown said. “It has a bucking horse in it, and the footboard has the date of our wedding. It’s just amazing what this guy did. It’s well-made. The post is six inches across, and he did an unbelievably good job. I was shocked. He’s a smart kid, not a typical rodeo cowboy, you can tell by talking to him, but I didn’t know he does good handiwork.” He also made a cutting board for two-time Wrangler NFR bareback rider Bill Tutor as a wedding gift last fall. “A lot of what I do is log stuff,” Antonick said. “I do some finished stuff, but everything is custom. So, they might have a random idea in their head, and we can come up with something unique. Like, I had a girl call wanting rustic cornhole boards for her boyfriend, and that’s exciting for me because it’s something you can’t just go get at the store. You have to come up with it and plan it out.” Although woodworking is his job outside of rodeo, Antonick views it as a hobby. “I’ve got a file in my head of cool projects for myself, and someday I’ll work on those in the evenings,” he said. He’s not sure what line of work he will do when he decides he’s done with rodeo, but with his education and work ethic he’ll have plenty of options. “He works hard at everything he does, and it pays off for him,” Kempfer said. “You will see that more this year in rodeo too.” IN THE CHUTE Antonick ended his permit with a bang, as the top permit holder for saddle bronc riding in 2015 with $18,106. “I like when you’re in time and everything goes right, it’s a dream and not a fight,” Antonick said. “When everything goes right it feels fluid. Eight seconds happens so quickly when you’re in time and doing it right. I love that moment when it clicks and comes together.” Last year was the first one Antonick competed without stopping for school, so he worked on getting his qualifications up. He ended the 2018 season ranked eighth in the Texas Circuit with $5,502. “I’m working harder than I ever worked and am going to more rodeos than ever, and I think it’s showing in my bronc riding,” he said. As of April 29, Antonick was ranked fourth in the Texas Circuit saddle bronc riding with $6,414 and 39th in the PRCA | RAMWorld Standings with $11,016. “He’s been my mentor, I couldn’t ride a stick horse when I met him,” Kempfer said. “He is riding better now than he ever has, and it shows.”

The competition in the Texas Circuit can be daunting considering how many big names spur from there, he said. “I think that like anything else, competition breeds excellence,” Antonick said. “It pushes you to be better.” With his 26th birthday on May 3, the Texas cowboy has a plan for making it from the circuit to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. “I’ve never ended a season within the top 50 before, so saying I’m shooting for the NFR seems silly, but everyone aims for it,” Antonick said. “I don’t think I was riding good enough before to be at the top, but my riding is coming along, so I’ve set some stepped goals with the ultimate goal of making the NFR.” Kempfer disagreed with his buddy’s self-assessment. “Oh, he’s low-balling himself,” Kempfer said. “I say his goal is to make the NFR. He just needs to keep doing what he’s doing, and it’ll work out just right for him.” Treyson Antonick jokingly awarded himself as

employee of the month before hitting the rodeo road. Between competing, he builds custom wood furniture such as the poker table below.

Photos courtesy Treyson Antonick

ProRodeo Sports News 5/3/2019

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