Colten Fritzlan

OK, PBR fans, store the name Colten Fritzlan in your memory, because this is just one of the latest of great young bull riders on the move. He competed in his first ever Unleash The Beast event the end of January, held in Okeechobee, Florida. Fritzlan went three-for-three and grabbed the victory. But being successful is nothing new to this 20-year-old.

At the 2020 National Finals Rodeo, Colten rode seven out of 10 bulls and finished fifth in the World Standings. Because of those seven rides, he also became bull riding’s NFR average winner, and was named the 2020 Resistol Rookie Bull Rider of the Year. Not too shabby!

Obviously, this year holds a world of possibilities for him. He can choose which tour he wants to ride on, or he can do both. He shared with us what he plans on doing.

“I’m going to do both,” he said. “Right now, I’m gonna go to these PBR’s and some of the bigger pro rodeos, but my main focus right now is on the PBR. Come summertime and once the break is on for the PBR, I will go do pro rodeos. I’ll just let the chips fall where they may. But right now, PBR.

“Doing the pro rodeos during the PBR break also keeps you seasoned. I’ve been rodeoing for the last three years, and it’s done good for me. So, I’m looking forward to it.”

To say Colten’s family was involved in rodeo just might be an understatement.

“My dad rode bulls when he was younger, and rode bareback horses in college and high school. He also bulldogged. That is what he ended up doing was bulldogging for a little while. There were also members of my family who rode broncs. They were all around cowboys, really.

“Then on my mom’s side, same thing,” he continued. “They were a ranching family. My uncle rode some bucking horses. So I was really just born into it, and picked it up at a young age. But my dad is pretty much the guy who got me started in it. We started buying bulls when I was about seven, and I started getting on about five or six practice bulls a day. I also got on horses.

“I rode bareback horses when I was really little, ponies and stuff. But then in high school I did ride broncs. I also roped and bulldogged. But riding bulls was my main focus when I got out of high school and that’s what I put all my time into.”

There was a short time when Colten thought about something other than rodeo. He began wrestling at a young age, and did that through high school. But that thought was very short-lived.

PRCA Prorodeo photo by Alaina Stangle.

“No, rodeo and ranching are the only things that I’ve been around since I was born. If I wasn’t rodeoing, I was riding horses at the house or going to pick cows or something. It’s just something that’s always been there.”

But don’t look for him to start back up riding broncs for the possibility of the All-Around title at the NFR. Since riding broncs was never his favorite thing to do anyway, he is much more content to keep his focus on bull riding.

He does have some time right now to indulge in some hobbies. He likes to hunt and fish, and ride horses. He also likes to act as a pick-up man with broncs.

“That’s my main hobby; I love to pick up. Right now, I am also working on getting a few horses put together and maybe get some amateur rodeos going. Wherever I can go and get the horses seasoned, and have some good pick-up horses is great.”

Colten might be new on the tour, but since he has known Mason Taylor for a long time, they traveled to Okeechobee together.

“He texted me when we were going to that event, and we got on the same flight, and got a room. We will go to Del Rio together as well. As far as pro rodeo, I haven’t really looked into it yet. With the winter you don’t go to a lot, so it’s kind of on yourself.”

When it comes to bull riding heroes, the first name that came out of his mouth was one many would mention.

Fritzlan has a three for three effort in Okeechobee, Florida including this 86.75 point ride on Two Socks (Owens / Wyatt).

Photo by Andy Watson / BullStock Media.

“J.B. Mauney would definitely be one,” he said. “His mindset for the sport is definitely second to none. Kody Lostroh is another one. He was a phenomenal rider. So absolutely those two, for sure.”

Colten might watch a video or two of a bull, or chat with someone who had been on a particular bull, but he really doesn’t study them in depth.

Fritzlan rides Brahma Boots Chrome (Outlawbuckers Rodeo) for 87.50 points in round 10 of the 2020 NFR to secure his place as the NFR average winner.

PRCA Prorodeo photo by Alaina Stangle.

“I don’t look too much into that though, because then you think about it. They are athletes as well, so they can do something different. My main concern is just to get my job done,” he told us. “Whatever it takes. These are bucking bulls, so you have to adapt to them. They are not gonna do the same thing every time. I just want to do my job; it doesn’t matter what it looks like.”

As the old saying goes, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!’ There is certainly nothing broken about Colten’s riding success, and from all appearances we should get to watch him for a long time to come. Humps N Horns magazine wish this young man the best of luck this season, and in the seasons to come!

Fritzlan wins round 3 of the 2020 NFR with an 89 point ride on Angel’s Landing (Bar T Rodeo).

PRCA Prorodeo photo by Clay Guardipee.