International Miniature BullRiders Association

Provides Big Opportunity for Young Bull Riders

By Barbara Pinnella

So, you have a young child who tells you they want to be a bull rider. What do you do? Where do you go? Nobody can deny it’s a dangerous sport, so what is the next step for the justifiably nervous yet supportive parents?

One option might be to check out the IMBA. That stands for the International Miniature BullRiders Association. In their own words they are, “An association dedicated to providing appropriate miniature bulls for youth with a fun family atmosphere.”

At the helm of the organization as President is Tobie Olson. His son began riding mini bulls, so they went down that trail for a year or two, but there just wasn’t anything local to his area of Idaho. That was what ultimately got them into the promotion.

Photo by Katie Clouss

“I have been doing this for five years now,” Tobie told us. “This seems to be a vastly growing industry. We have always been about the quality of the stock for the riders. We want to make sure that the riders are getting on the right animal for their skill level. That’s the first thing of importance.

“The second thing to consider is that our association is rapidly evolving. There are a lot of youth rodeos out there, but our focus is to do it in a professional way. We want the best riders on the best stock. Ultimately our goal is for the PBR or the PRCA actually keeping an eye on us and who we have coming out of our ring.”

Tobie told us that he handles the day-to-day workings of the association, but it is one of the original founding fathers of the PBR and World Champion Bull Rider Cody Custer who is the CEO. His interest in youth bull riding did not happen last week, however. He had been closely tied to a couple of youth bull riding associations along the way since about 2005.

Photo by Katie Clouss

“I have been a youth bull riding advocate for a lot of years,” Cody said. “But I had not really laid my name to any organizations. Last year the board members took over the IMBA. Many of the stock contractors are also board members and several of them reached out to me, and we had a lot of conversations.

“I realized that their main priority was to take care of the kids, and grow these kids into real bull riders. So, after talking with these people and getting their ideas and concepts, I felt I needed to be a part of it. They wanted me to be on the board, but I really didn’t have time for that.

“I told them that I would be an advisor. ‘Let’s just do it that way,’” I told them. “They came back after a couple of meetings and said, ‘How about we just call you the CEO? You can help us with public relations and sponsors and things like that, as well as being an advisor.’ I thought that would be great.”

Photo by Katie Clouss

Cody made it clear that his voice in the association is not the be all, end all. He makes a lot of suggestions, but he doesn’t have a vote on the board. And he is very happy with that role. He believes that his work in the last 16 years trying to reeducate people on how to raise these kids is paying off this year.

“I don’t know everything. I know a lot,” he laughed, “but there are other people who know more about other things than I do, so I welcome people asking me why I think the way I think. It’s been a really good relationship.”

Because a lot of the board members are also stock contractors, there is no shortage of quality stock at all levels for the IMBA events. Last year at the Finals, every single out was written down to come up with the short round bulls that would be used. It is understood that not every bull riding will be exactly as they would like it to be, but there are standards that must be met each time.

Photo by Katie Clouss

Cody explained how the individual events work. “Every stock contractor has a series of no less than five bull riding events. The top two in each division go to the Finals. We might end up with 15 stock contractors, so that would be 30 kids in each division. There will also be about eight or 10 single qualifiers.

“There are four divisions that we do competitions in,” Cody continued. “There is also what they call walk/trot for little bitty kids. We actually call it the FUNdamental stage, with the emphasis on fun. That is not judged, but they can start to understand what to do in the chute, and what it feels like to be on an animal and be in front of an audience.” The entire association is really looking forward to the Finals this year, and all of their focus and efforts are being put in that direction.

“This year the Finals will be held in Reno, Nevada, November 9-13,” Tobie said. “We want to put on the highest quality professional Finals of any miniature association out there.”

Photo by Katie Clouss

Cody added to that. “Once we scored the contract to have the Finals in Reno, we really started getting busy. We want people to be proud that their kid qualified for it, and want the people who attend to be looking forward to buying a ticket the next time we show up.

“Reno is called The Biggest Little City in the World, and we are saying that Reno is the host to the Biggest Little Bull Riders in the World! The kids are going to be able to ride for a lot of money in November. I think it will continue to grow.

“With the exposure we are getting with Humps N Horns and social media, we will have a lot to offer the sponsors. My idea is to get back to the Old School sponsors who have been left out a little bit by some of the youth organizations, not just at our Finals, but at all events.”

After hearing the determination in the voices of Tobie and Cody, there is no doubt that this association will achieve all that they are setting out to accomplish and more. Best of luck to the IMBA!

Photo by Katie Clouss