No. 10 Steer Wrestler Bridger Anderson on his Rodeo Season and Heading to his First NFR

September 28, 2020 10:43 AM

As the son of two ropers, Bridger Anderson has wanted to rodeo since he was a toddler.

“When I was three, my mom asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, and I said I wanted to be a Paleontologist during the day and professional steer wrestler at night,” Bridger says. “I’ve since given up on the dinosaur diggin’ gig, but we’re sticking with steer wrestling.”

Anderson grew up on a ranch in Carrington, North Dakota, with his parents and two sisters Cedar and Dawsyn, who also rodeoed. He first competed as a calf roper, making it to Nationals twice in junior high and once in high school.

But in 2015, he finally got his start bulldogging, and at age 16, a crash course from none other than 5X world champion Luke Branquinho. His mom, Robin, reached out to the veteran bulldogger on his fan page on Facebook fan page and 20 minutes later, Luke had agreed to let Bridger come to California to spend a week throwing steers with him, and has continued to mentor him ever since.

" [Luke’s] always a phone call away, not just for him but for mom too, which has been a lot of fun,” says Robin. “We really appreciate what he’s done for him.”

Also helping Bridger along the way in the professional ranks has been 7X NFR qualifier Stockton Graves. Graves is Anderson’s hazer at PRCA events and his college coach at Northwestern Oklahoma State.

“I’ve learned a lot from him,” Anderson said, “and being able to get to rodeo with him the last couple years, I continue to learn from him every time we get to run a steer. But, he’s taught me a lot, and I’m glad I have him hazing for me and get to compete with him.”

With a stellar support system at home and on the road, Bridger finished No. 10 in the World Standings and is headed to his first Wrangler NFR this December.

“It’s been a crazy year, and a lot of rodeos have been canceled,” he says. “For a long time we were pretty scared we weren’t going to get to go to an NFR and it sounds like Arlington is trying really hard to make a great NFR for us. We’re really excited.”

“I think I’ll cry through the whole first round,” says Robin. “To see a dream come true is huge, and there’s going to be a lot of emotion that night.”