ProRodeo Sports News - October 2, 2020

IN HIS WORDS PARKER M C COWN Bull rider realizes dream by making Wrangler NFR

I did well in 2019, and when I bought my (PRCA) card for 2020, I felt like I had more knowledge and was able to ride the bulls better than I had before. I matured more, had fun and made things happen. This season, I worked out a bunch doing ab workouts and cardio, and I was able to get on a bunch of practice bulls. I think staying tuned up and trying to ride every bull I got on the same, exact way was my plan, and I got things done. I tore my meniscus in my right knee when I was riding practice bulls at my house in the middle of May, and I had knee surgery in the beginning of June. My knee was locked up for a week. The doctor had to go in there and do a little bit more than he thought. I wasn’t worried about my season being ruined because a lot of rodeos were being canceled at that time (because of the COVID-19 pandemic). I returned frommy knee injury the last weekend of June and was ready to ride. With the COVID-19 pandemic canceling rodeos, we just had to work around it, go to different rodeos and make the best of things. I went to a lot of rodeos in places I never thought I would ever go, but it was cool seeing all these different rodeos. I was traveling with Foster McCraw and J.T. Moore, and that was fun. They are some of my best buddies, and I’ve known them forever. I’m also still competing for Hill College (in Hillsboro, Texas) and I’m going to continue to do that to keep my skills sharp, but college rodeoing and competing in the PRCA are

completely different in terms of the level of competition. I’m super excited to get to compete at the NFR. This is a dream come true. I’m just blessed to have all the stuff I do have and the talent that I have. Being able to compete in Arlington is going to be cool because it is only 3½ hours from

Parker McCown, who stands 5-foot-8 and weighs 150 pounds, has shown high-level talent the last couple of years. The Montgomery, Texas, bull rider earned $72,543 to finish first in the 2019 PRCA | RAM Rodeo Permit Standings. McCown broke several PRCA permit records along the way. McCown’s success translated to his rookie year in 2020, as he finished 11th in the regular season PRCA | RAM World Standings with $55,561. McCown, who turns 21 in November, will make his Wrangler National Finals Rodeo debut at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, Dec. 3-12.

Montgomery. I’m going to have a bunch of my family there. At the NFR, I’m just going to go at it the same way I do every other one. I’m going to try and not make too much of things. I know I’m going to be competing in front of the most people that I ever have, but I want to try and keep a level head and go at every bull the same way. A lot of what I do as a bull rider is mental. I know if I buck off a few, I start getting mad at myself and nothing goes right. I just have to have faith and confidence in myself and know that I can do it. I have been on some great bulls in my career in the PRCA, like Frontier Rodeo’s Magic Poison when I had a 91-point ride at the Cody (Wyo.) Xtreme Bulls in July of 2019. And I had a 90-point ride on Andrews Rodeo’s Velocity at the (Old Fort Days Rodeo) in Fort Smith, Ark., in May of 2019. Those are two of my most memorable rides. At this year’s NFR, I would like to get on Powder River Rodeo’s SweetPro’s Bruiser (the 2017 PRCA Bull of the Year and the top bull of the NFR in 2015, 2017 and 2019) if he is there. I have never been on that bull and would love to get that opportunity.

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ProRodeo Sports News 10/2/2020

ProRodeo.com

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