8 minute read
Brady Turgeon
Looking Forward to His Team Oklahoma Freedom Experiences
By Barbara Pinnella
Looking for a young, new talent to root for in the upcoming PBR Team Series? Brady Turgeon just might be your man. The very personable Turgeon is pumped for the team season to start up in less than a month, and is also excited to be on Team Oklahoma Freedom. But just how did the Arizona born and raised Brady get into bull riding?
“I rode sheep from the time I was around four or five. My parents split up when I was about five or six, I’d say, and my stepdad used to ride bulls and owned bulls back in the 90’s. A couple of years after they got together, they bought a restaurant/saloon, The Roadrunner.”
On that same property, his family was also able to hold bull ridings, and that is where Brady got introduced to steer riding. Besides the steer riding, they had a novice bull riding, and an open bull riding.
“My first actual experience was getting on a mechanical bull, and I was nervous as all heck. I was crying, but I finally got on it and got comfortable. At some point I got on my first steer, but I really didn’t like it.
“I did go to a bull riding school, and got more of a taste for it. I only rode three bulls during that three-day weekend, but I had a couple of motivators to get me started, and I just kept riding. The more I did it the more I began to like it, and began doing the AJRA (American Junior Rodeo Association) rodeos.”
His first year, Brady came away with the reserve. He competed in the AJRA for another couple of years, and when he was old enough, he joined the junior high rodeo. He continued to ride through high school.
“I believe I was 16 when I entered my first open bull riding,” Brady told me. “It was just a little jackpot, and that was at the Roadrunner. It went pretty well, I actually won my first event in that open bull riding. I just went crazy after that.”
When we spoke, Brady had just gotten home from his job, a family water well business he works five days a week.
“I love it. I do top outs and pump service for water wells. We do pretty much everything besides the drilling. Since it is a family business, I’ve been working it since I was very, very young. College was not in the cards for me. I barely got through high school,” he laughed.
“My mom is the only one in my family who went to college. She took business classes, and is now an accountant. She has things going her way, but I don’t plan on heading that direction.”
Having been around and ridden bulls, it would come as no surprise that Brady’s stepfather would be behind his bull riding career choice, but his mom has also been cheering him on in his endeavors.
“She didn’t want me to do it, of course,” he laughed, “but she was supportive in a mom way. Actually, they have both been MORE than supportive. They hauled me everywhere. With the MBR (Miniature Bullriders Association) we started traveling to Texas every month, and they paid for everything. Sometimes we would drive, sometimes fly, and I was in the MBR for three years.”
Truth be told and by his own admission, Brady did not do well with those mini bulls that first year.
“Not at all! But the second year I kind of caught on at the end of the Finals. By my third year I was sitting seventh going into the World Finals, rode six out of seven of my bulls, and finished up third in the World. It was cool to experience that, and get a taste of another style of bucking stock.”
Brady believes that the mini bulls really prepared him to realize that anything can happen and the bull can do anything; they can run out there and act like a mini pony with how they buck, or they might jump out there and be up and down. So the MBR taught him a lot.
Earlier I mentioned that Brady is a member of team Oklahoma Freedom. Head Coach is Cord McCoy, with the Assistant Coach being Kody Lostroh. And while he is looking forward to meeting up with them in person, another thing that really excites Brady about this team is one of its members; Chase Outlaw.
“It’s kind of crazy,” he said. “Like with Chase, I’ve watched him ever since I’ve been watching the PBR, so to say that I’m on his team, hear everything he has to say, is just awesome! I haven’t really gotten to talk with any of the guys yet, but I’m excited for the future. I just want to take everything in and use it for my performances.”
Brady has been talking with Kody more than Cord, and he feels that Kody has been a great help. He will send videos for Kody to give feedback on. He believes that when they are face to face, going through each event, that it will be a game changer for him. He also mentioned some good advice he got from Cody Custer about riding his practice bulls.
“He got on easy, jump kickers and focused on the fundamentals and basics. That’s what I have to do anyway, rank bulls or not. It really helps a lot. Going to Cody’s schools has been great, as well. He has one or two a year at The Roadrunner, so when I’m in town I definitely get on a couple in front of him. I would have to call him a good family friend.”
We talked about the World Finals compared to the team concept, and also mentioned the Finals not only moving to Texas but being in the earlier part of the year. So many changes have gone on the last couple of years. I asked Brady his thoughts.
“It’s a lot different, I will say! And I must admit that I will probably be pretty upset if they end up just going with teams, because I love the individuality of the sport. I want to win the World. That’s been my dream since I was little.
“That said, as I mentioned earlier, the team deal is pretty cool with us young guys, being able to learn from the veterans. So I do think it will be a good experience. It’s a cool concept for sure, and I’m excited to see how it turns out this season.”
Brady likes living in Arizona, but feels it is getting pretty crowded, so he might be making a move at some point. I asked him about going to Texas, since so many bull riders are located there.
“I like Texas, because of how many good bucking bulls are there,” he said. “You could throw a rock and probably hit 10! But I just do not like the scenery in Texas. I’m a mountain guy through and through, and I need to have mountains around me.”
When he is not working or riding bulls, Brady loves fishing, and tries to do that at every opportunity. He loves being on the lake, whether he catches any fish or not. Lake Pleasant is close by, so he normally goes there.
“We just went this past weekend,” he said. “It’s a great lake, and we got some water from this past snow season, with all the melt run off. It has nice, clear water and it’s still cool. I’ve been on that lake since I was a little squirt.
“I found another new hobby, which is paddleboarding. We did that as well. That is super fun. And finally, I love just hanging out with family.”
Brady is ready to ride this season. He is really looking forward to meeting up with his team, and all of the positive learning experiences he is expecting to have. This young man will be easy to root for, so make sure you keep an eye on him. Humps N Horns Bull Riding Magazine wishes him all the best, this season and beyond.
Photo provided courtesy of BullStock Media.
