Michael Gaffney

By Abe Morris

Michael Gaffney was born in July 1969 on the K.I. Air Force Base in Marquette, Michigan. This was during the height of the Vietnam War and his father was a jet fighter pilot in the Air Force. His father Robert and his mother Francis were both originally from Iowa. His mother affectionately loved horses and was a fanatic about being around them. Michael’s interest in large farm animals came strictly from his mother. When he was only two years old, his parents bought him a Shetland pony.

Robert Gaffney was not around as much because he was serving his country flying two missions in the F4 Phantom jets over Vietnam. As soon as the war was over Robert retired from military service.

Michael’s older brother, Terry, had become very involved in FFA (Future Farmers of America) and the Gaffneys had a lot of down to earth country buddies. Their neighbors, the Griffin family, lived right next door. Although Terry had some aspirations, he never became a rodeo cowboy and later on went into the construction business.

Their neighbors, the Griffin family, lived right next door. There were four Griffin brothers. Shawn Griffin and Michael Gaffney would become the best of friends. The Griffins were all very

involved in the sport of rodeo and mentored the younger Gaffney boys. Michael started out by riding steers when he was only about five years old. The first time he ever got on a steer it only lasted about two jumps. He also tried his hand at roping when he was about nine years old.

Gaffney developed his tough guy mentality while playing football, baseball and basketball. He was a very talented and gifted athlete but realized very early that he was never going to have the size and speed in order to excel at those sports at the next level. The Gaffneys purchased a motor home to haul the guys up and down the rodeo trail. The kids from New Mexico proved to be a very talented group qualifying for the National High School Rodeo Finals in Rapid City, South Dakota. The team ended up in third place overall at Pueblo, Colorado three years later. They competed against other notable rodeo cowboys such as Ty Murray and Denny McClanahan.

Later, Michael would attend a rough stock riding school in December 1986 taught by Tuff Hedeman, Cody Lambert and Dave Appleton. During the school he twice got on SO who would later be named Bad to the Bone after he was sold to stock contractor Mac Altizer’s Bad Company Rodeo. College rodeo coach Bob Doty was in attendance and got a first hand look at the young talent bull rider from New Mexico.

After his high school graduation Gaffney enrolled at the Western Texas College in Snyder, Texas. He thought it was pretty cool to have earned a rodeo scholarship awarded by the rodeo team coach Bob Doty and actually have his tuition paid so he could attend school.

While still in college he went to all of the local jackpots. They competed at Charlie Thompson’s place in Lubbock, Texas on a regular basis. Michael often traveled with a young and talented bull rider named Adam Brewster. Brewster was destined to go a long way at the professional level but unfortunately was seriously injured and had his bull riding career cut short.

It was an obvious choice at the time to buy his PRCA permit and go to a few rodeos. It didn’t take Gaffney very long at all to win the $1,000 in order to obtain a full fledged membership in the PRCA. He traveled with and became very close friends with Colorado City, Texas bull rider Brent Terry. They also traveled with Mark Terry who had by now become a farrier by trade.

During his rookie season, Michael Gaffney only competed at about 25 rodeos and missed qualifying for the WNFR by about $3,000. Early in his bull riding career he stated that he had the most fun while traveling with world class bull riders Norman Curry, Mark Cain and Dax Lackey. Gaffney was also able to spend very valuable time and really got to know other very talented young bull riders such as Larry Williams, Buddy Reed, Philip Graf, Randall Thornton, Joey Hubbard, Brent Thurman, Bo Davis and Tom Messick just to name a few.

Gaffney ended up qualifying for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo on two different occasions. He won the average in 1991 and ended up third in the final World Standings. He successfully rode nine out of the ten bulls and the only one to get him on the

Michael was on the bubble and just outside of the top 15 when arriving at the final PRCA regular season rodeo at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. Mark Cain, Gaffney and Adriano Moraes all placed in the bull riding and thus qualified at the Cow Palace in order to make the final WNFR roster in 1996.

Gaffney competed in the Bull Riders Only series where he was tagged with the monicker of the “G-Man” by legendary rodeo announcer and icon Bob Tallman. Way back in the day reference to a G-Man was a Government Man, detective or a special agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigations.

Later on Gaffney became one of the original investors of the PBR who each put up a $1,000 seed money investment which proved to be one of the biggest returns in the history of Wall Street. G-Man qualified for the PBR Finals nine times and was crowned the PBR World Champion in 1997. Some of the most memorable moments in Gaffney’s PBR career was successfully riding Little Yellow Jacket on two different occasions. Little Yellow Jacket a three time Bucking Bull of the Year who was owned by Joe and Nevada Berger and was one of the all-time great bucking bulls in the PBR history.

Gaffney retired from the PBR and fulltime competition in 2005. He had previously dabbled as a television commentator at various PBR events alongside Brett Haber. He worked as an analyst from 2005 - 2010.

Afterwards, Michael slowly drifted away from the limelight until he was inducted into the PBR Ring of Honor in November 2005 along side of 1973 PRCA World Champion bull rider Bobby Steiner. He was inducted into the Bull Riding Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas in May 2021. The Gaffneys purchased a place in Corrales, New Mexico and he settled down and became a family man. Gaffney had been very involved in the construction business buying and renovating houses and then flipping them back on the market to prospective home buyers. Michael has been married to Robyn for 32 years who is a professional pathologist. His son Marek who is now age 14 and daughter Destin 19 keep him pretty busy with all of their individual sports activities.

Gaffney was selected as a head coach for the inaugural season of the PBR team championships which had their debut and kicked off the 2022 season on July 25th and July 26th to a packed house and very boisterous and raucous crowd at the World Famous Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo. The action packed rides and excitement were very thrilling at “the Daddy of ‘em All.” Without a doubt, the enthusiastic fans got their money’s worth and were treated to a first class production and performance.

There are currently eight franchises located in different cities. Gaffney’s team is the Austin Gamblers. They were fortunate enough to be awarded the very first pick in the draft in May and selected two time PBR World Champion bull rider Jose Vitor Leme who without a doubt is one of the most heralded and talented bull riders of all time.

Michael “G-Man” Gaffney has been fortunate enough to have had a very successful and standout career as a top notch professional bull rider. Now he has been blessed to be put into a position where he can coach, encourage and give back to the current professional bull riders who are on tour and will continue to have a lasting legacy to the next generation of young bull riders.

Reflecting back on his life and career G - Man said, “My 14 year old son Marek is a soccer player and I’m blessed as a father because he chose “not” to ride bulls. For myself, it’s all I ever wanted to do. I’m a fortunate person who married my best friend and soul mate 35 years ago. Robyn has helped me raise two beautiful kids, win a world championship, and has been by my side throughout every injury and surgery. Somewhere in there, she had her own career practicing medicine. I now find myself with the rewarding task of coaching young professionals, a storybook ending to a sport that has given me so much.”

Gaffney’s 96.5-point ride on Little Yellow Jacket in Nampa, Idaho, in 2004 was tied for the highest-scored bull ride in PBR history. It was a record that stood for 17 years until it was broken by Jose Vitor Leme twice within four months late in the 2021 season when Leme went for 97.75 points and then 98.75 points on Woopaa. Photo by Andy Watson / BullStock Media.

Inspiration Point

by Keno Shrum

Do Not Be Anxious About Anything

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. — Philippians 4:6

Life gives us opportunities to enjoy calm and peacefulness. Life also gives us opportunities to be anxious.

We can grow anxious when sickness comes—especially when sickness might lead to death. We can also feel anxious when we run out of money for food or for our monthly bills. Relationships can create times of anxiety when tempers flare and anger burns. I remember a dark, cold, windy night when I had to walk along a lightless street to get home. I was frightened by all kinds of shifting shadows. I raced down the middle of that street as fast as I could till I was safely home.

What do you become anxious about? I heard a good sermon recently about a correlation between anxiety and prayer. When we are anxious, we can turn to the One who is aware of all our circumstances and who will meet us in our times of anxiety. To him we pray, thanking him for who he is and telling him our anxieties. He says, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

Being still gives us time to discern God and his love. I repeat the word “Father” over and over until I am at peace with God my Father. Then anxiety has its rightful place; it is in his hands, not mine. The peace of God awaits those whose hearts are set on God.

Father, Father, Father, you are God, and I am your child. Draw me to yourself today and always, helping me trust that I can leave my anxiety with you. Amen.

Guest article submitted by HNH reader.

Chicken Alfredo Roll-Ups

INGREDIENTS

• 8 lasagne noodles • 2 cups chicken, (cooked and shredded) • 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

For Garlic Alfredo Sauce: • ¼ cup butter • 2 cups heavy whipping cream • 4 oz cream cheese • ½ tsp garlic, minced • 1 tsp garlic powder • 1 tsp Italian seasoning • ¼ tsp salt • ¼ tsp pepper • 1 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Submitted by Jacob L. - Fairfield, OH

Send us your favorite recipe to bullnews@humps-horns.com

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 9×13 inch pan with cooking spray and set aside. Cook the lasagna noodles according to package directions until al dente. Drain and rinse the noodles with cold water and lay them on a paper towel to remove excess water. In a medium saucepan add butter, heavy whipping cream, and cream cheese. Cook over medium heat and whisk until melted.

Add the minced garlic, garlic powder, italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Continue to whisk until smooth. Add the grated parmesan cheese. Bring to a simmer and continue to cook for about 3 to 5 minutes or until it starts to thicken. Line the bottom of the 9×13-inch pan with 1 cup of the alfredo sauce. Spread 2 tablespoons of the alfredo sauce over each noodle. Take the shredded chicken and spread evenly over each noodle and top with about 3 tablespoons shredded cheese. Carefully roll up each lasagne noodle and place seam side down in the prepared pan. Repeat. Once they are all in the pan, pour the remaining alfredo sauce over the top and top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes until heated through and cheese is bubbly.