Clayton Sellars

By Barbara Pinnella Photos by Andrea Kaus/ Chaos Graphics

Young gun Clayton Sellars admitted that he really never had a doubt about what he wanted to be, mainly due to his family influence. He followed in the footsteps of some of his family members to walk, or should I say ride, down the rodeo trail. His father, Brady, rode bulls as did other members of his immediate family.

“I feel bad that I can’t really pinpoint what drove me there. It wasn’t just a one-day decision kind of thing. I was born into it, lived in it, decided I enjoyed it, and kept doing it. My dad is a cattleman and my uncle and grandpa are cowboys, so I just grew up as a cowboy kid. “We did everything that went with that. We rode horses, we were working cows, and we were riding colts or getting on bulls for fun. All that turned into something that I was good at and I was having fun. I got a rodeo scholarship to Western Texas College. That’s when I started getting serious and the switch was flipped. I stepped into the pros when I turned 18 and had a lot of success right off the bat. That really lit a fire.” In high school, Clayton did get on some bareback horses and some saddle broncs. Truth be told, he loved it. He told us that bronc riding was probably his favorite event that he didn’t do.

“But at that point I was already in high school and was a pretty

talented bull rider. I really didn’t want to do the whole learning curve thing again with bronc riding. So I thought I would just continue on with the bull riding and try to light the world on fire. My rookie year in the PRCA was 2018. I went to the NFR three times, and from there stepped into the PBR.”

Clayton explained some of the differences that he found between the two organizations.

“In the PRCA everybody’s kind of spread out. There are some extremely, extremely talented bull riders in the PRCA, and some really tough bucking bulls there as well. But on one weekend, those top bull riders and bulls might be spread out between six different places.

“But here in the PBR we are in the same place at the same time every single week. You don’t get a break. In the PRCA there were some times where you got cut some slack, but that’s not how it is here in the PBR.”

There have been many thoughts on the team format that the PBR is implementing for most of the year. Some really like it, while others hate it, feeling it is an individual sport. Many however, are kind of taking a step back, watching and waiting to see what happens. But Clayton was not one of those on the fence.

“I love the team format, it’s major league sports! It has brought us into the same picture as the MLB, the NFL, the NHL. It makes us feel that way as bull riders, like we’re in a major league game; like we’re doing what we do at the highest level.

“We were doing that beforehand, too”, he added. “But with this, as bull riders, all of our talent and energy is all self-manufactured. But when you put five of us together, it’s quite insane. I wish everyone could feel it.”

Clayton did agree that for the diehard PBR fans, it might take a bit of time, but he also believes that all great things do take time.

“I think that this is doing everything good for the sport. I do believe that they are onto something with this team league. I think we are just going up from here.”

There are a lot of things that interest Clayton; he is not onedimensional. He is somewhat captured by the thought of being a fighter pilot. He loves playing football and baseball. “But realistically, if I didn’t go down the bull riding path, I would probably be racing dirt bikes and doing motocross right now. Yeah, that is probably what I would be doing, because when I was 10 or 11, I was racing dirt bikes then, and that was everything I wanted to do. So I feel if I didn’t make that switch to bull riding at that young age, I would be racing those bikes.

“I do have a dirt bike, and kick it around through town quite a bit. But on my days off I ride reining cow horses for a trainer in Visalia, California, so I spend lots of time riding horses at their place. I do have three or four days off a week, so I spend pretty much every day riding 2-year-olds for them.”

When asked what else he would like to say, Clayton got a bit philosophical about his chosen profession.

“I think about what made me have even the slightest bit of success in this sport, and it always comes back to that moment when I made the decision and started dreaming every day. I started thinking what the possibilities would be if I did this or that. And slowly it just became a reality.

“Three years ago, I was just dreaming about this. And here I am today. It just rolls into the reality at some point if you just keep it in your head long enough. So I would tell a kid that might want to be a bull rider, or anything else they really want, just dream big and hold onto it. That’s what I want the young kids to know; just hold onto it and go after it with everything you have!” And congratulations are in order. Clayton is single, but that will not be the case for much longer. He is set to become a married man in November.

Keep your eyes on this very personable young man. He has all of the talent and determination to make it to the top, and it will be fun to watch his star rise. Humps N Horns wishes him continued success!