Bareback Rider Brian Brown has had a good start to the 2019 Fall Rodeo Season.  He currently sits fourth in the NIRA Southwest Region Bareback standings.  This past weekend at the Sul Ross Rodeo, Brian won the Short-Go-Round with a score of 83 and finished third overall with a score of 152.  His Short-Go-Round score of 83 was the highest score in the Bareback Riding for the weekend. 

The Labarge, Wyoming Cowboy stopped by the office to talk about his early success and his time at Odessa College.

Q: What were your thoughts on the past Weekend?

A: I got on a couple of weak horses in the Long-Go-Round.  I scored a 69 on my first horse with an option to take a re-ride. I took the re-ride and ended up with the same score which put me in 6^th place in the Long-Go headed to the Short-Go (Finals) Saturday Night.  I drew another re-ride in the finals, which turned into a good horse and I had a good ride that won me the Short-Go with a score of 83.

Q: Tell us about your journey to Odessa College.

A: My parents moved to Midland after I graduated high school in 2016.  I stayed up in Wyoming to go to school but spent a lot of time down here during the winter between semesters up north.  I didn't like the school I was originally at and didn't really plan to continue going to school.  When I found out Coach Kelly was at Odessa I started hanging out around the ranch and the team and Coach Kelly convinced me come back to school and join the OC Rodeo Team.

Q: How long have you been competing in Rodeo?  Did you play any other sports?

A: I wrestled in high school during my freshman and sophomore years but quit doing that to focus all my time into Rodeo.  I won the Wyoming High School State Finals my junior and senior year and the High School National Finals my junior year.

Q: Do you have any pre-ride rituals or routines?

A: I always pack and unpack my riggin' bag the same way.  I try to make sure I do the same thing every time I go to a rodeo. I try to get there pretty early and have plenty of time to get ready to go.

Q: What is going through your mind before and during a ride?

A: I have changed my style lately.  I use to be one of those guys who would get really worked up and try and psych myself out and get aggressive.  You see some guys smack themselves in the face before they ride and I use to be one of them.  This one time I went to give myself a good smack in the face, I missed and hit my noes so hard it started bleeding.  Lately I've been more relaxed and try to concentrate on my ride, take a deep breath and nod my head.

Q: Bareback looks like a pretty violent sport, is any part of the ride comfortable?

A: The better the horse bucks the better the ride feels to me.  If my timing is right then the ride is a lot more enjoyable.  The horses that don't buck very hard or just take off down the arena make for a very uncomfortable ride. 

Q: What do you like about being at Odessa College?

A: Coach Kelly has done a great job with this team about preaching the "Team First" mentality and I really like that.  The facilities at the ranch and on campus are awesome.  I am in the welding program here and the program has some great instructors that help us a lot.

The Wrangler Rodeo team travels to Vernon, TX this weekend to compete at the Vernon College Rodeo.  Results from the Rodeo can be found at: southwestregionrodeo.com or on the NIRA website: collegerodeo.com.  Results from the rodeo are usually posted the following Monday.    The Odessa College Wrangler Rodeo will be held February 20^th-22^nd at the Ector County Coliseum.