Creek Young is now a three-time National Finals Rodeo bull rider with sights set on a fourth at the end of the 2024 season.
Like most bull riders, Young got started early riding sheep before moving on to steers and eventually bulls. He knew the professional rodeo road is where he was headed enticing him to graduate a semester early.
“Kind of around my junior year I knew that college wasn’t really going to be for me. That’s not how I saw my future going so I knew that rodeo is what I wanted to do. I wanted to pursue a career in rodeo and try to win a World Title,” Young said.
His journey to that first NFR started before his Resistol Rookie season when he made the choice to take a second year on his PRCA Permit.
“I needed to learn how to rodeo. I knew how to ride bulls but rodeoing at the professional level is completely different,” he said.
The timing lined up for Young as he took that second year in 2020 and when he did finally buy his card in 2021, he got a full year of rodeo that resulted in his first NFR qualification and a fifth-place finish in the World. He wrapped up his Resistol Rookie year with a bow.
Moving into his career, Young has made adjustments each year. His goal has stayed the same but he is still figuring out just how to do it all. After falling just short of where he would like at a few big rodeos in 2023, Young’s mindset in 2024 is all about confidence at all rodeos, big and small, and keeping his sights set on a Gold Buckle.
