Eight seconds isn’t much of a run on a dirt bike, but it’s victory on the back of a bull. Caisen Sims enjoys both, but it’s riding the steer that really gets the 13-year-old’s adrenaline pumping.
The Kilgore 8th grader is getting in the zone right now, primed for another round in the pen in the Texas vs Oklahoma Chute Out in Decatur, hosted by the Cowboy Youth Bull Riders Association. It’s been barely a year since Caisen’s first ride on a Senior Steer, and he’s going into the competition among the top five 14-and-Under contenders for the Youth Bull Riding World Finals, tied for 1st.
Mom, Britnee, will be in the stands, of course, white-knuckled as always. Caisen’s got the skills and the confidence, no worries since he got the first dozen rides under his belt 10 months back; so, mom does double-duty when it comes to the jitters.
“The practices are not as bad,” she says. “I go to so many practices now, I know a lot of the bulls he’s getting on, so I don’t have as much worry. But when it’s a competition, I’m really anxious, because we don’t know the bulls, we don’t anything about them.
“Usually you can tell with a bull; you know what they’re going to do. They’re going to come out, buck straight ahead or they’re gonna cut back and start spinning. When you go to competition, you don’t know. So, you’re just drawing a bull, you’re getting on and hanging on.”
After months and months of lessons and training runs and hours on his home practice barrel, Caisen jumped into competitions with gusto for the first time this fall. He’s hanging on in the sport, literally, notching the requisite eight seconds on each competition ride. He’s shooting for the same today in Decatur, vying for the first place belt buckle when the Chute Out gets underway at 5 p.m. at the Wise County Fairgrounds.
“If they’re mean in the chute, and they start bucking in the chute, it’ll tell me what they’re going to do out there in the pen,” Caisen says. That’s par for the course – he’d rather the steer act a bit ornery and give him a heads-up. “If they’re gentle in the pen, I really don’t know what’s coming.”
Ten or 12 times Caisen’s size, the bull’s going to do what he wants, no matter what. The young rider’s just there to hang on and enjoy the adrenaline.
“The only thing I don’t like is when I get bucked off.”
It’s not the pain, of course. Caisen’s only frustrated when he doesn’t get his ride’s worth.
After taking up the sport last year, the Kilgore Middle Schooler is getting about 30 rides a month between weekly practice events at Pale Horse Ranch in Big Sandy, biweekly outings at Cross Brand Arena in Tyler and a couple of trips each month to Saginaw for Texas Youth Bull Riders activities.
“It’s all-day,” Britnee says. “We get home about 2 a.m.”
That’s what it takes to get on the board with TYBR events in Abilene come January and, beyond, to reach Caisen’s goal of riding with PBR (Professional Bull Riders) by 18. They’re crowdfunding training costs, entry fees and travel expenses along the way – supporters can reach out to britnee_g_2004@yahoo.com to contribute.
He completed training from Joe Frost Legacy Foundation as well as Cody Nance: “Joe Frost really taught me a lot, more of the fundamentals than I used to be doing,” Caisen says, honing in on Posture, Focus, Draw, Mash and Pivot.
It’s not a sport where there’s an opponent, per se, besides gravity.
“It’s not me against other people. It’s just me and the bull,” according to Caisen.
So far, he considers himself undersized among bull riders, but he’s already retired a couple of helmets because they got too tight, not too dented..
Britnee’s been impressed by the camaraderie among the riders, young and old, even as they’re vying for the same accolades.
“These kids are amazing. They really support each other. Even if they didn’t do well themselves, they’re so excited for their friend. They want to watch their competition do well,” she says. Granted, “The odds are not in your favor to make it.”
Caisen’s been thrown by his fair share of bulls, taken the falls and the knocks. Notably, out of six breaks the past six months, only one came from bull riding, the rest from skating and other hobbies.
“We’ve had more injuries on the dirt bike,” Britnee quips.
So, is she getting past the worry at this point?
“No.”
Caisen’s not taking anything for granted either. He doesn’t dwell on the injuries, doesn’t worry about getting thrown. He just focuses on the next round.
The point’s to stay on. That’s the plan. That’s the challenge. He’s gonna get that full eight seconds of adrenaline.
“Not every time,” Caisen says, modestly, but he’s on the right track, and he’ll be dusting himself off, counting down to the next ride.
