The Four-Time Feat of
Making the An Interview with Will Lummus Rodeo Life: You have three consecutive WNFR qualifications under your belt and coming up on your fourth, how have these past performances shaped you as a competitor and prepared you more for a run at a World Champion Title? Will Lummus: I think that knowledge is everything at the WNFR. Being there as many times as I have, has been awesome because now I know what to look for and what to expect. There's so much adrenaline that goes into effect and the energy in that building is ridiculous, so being able to have already been there is pretty cool. RL: What was your favorite rodeo this season? WL: One of my favorite rodeos every season is Estes Park because of the beauty of it and being able to drive up through the mountains to get there. It's just a really cool place to hang out. While it’s 90 degrees everywhere else, it's a good 65 degrees there. You’re likely to see ten elk while you're going through there. It's just a cool place to be and it's always been one of my favorites. Probably my overall favorite rodeo is Salinas. I chose not to go to the tour finals that just finished. The only reason I decided not to go is because I am already high up in the standings and there's just so many variables at that rodeo that could go wrong, and at this time of year, I wouldn’t have time to heal up before the Finals.
RL: 2022 will mark a decade since you’ve became a PRCA member. How has rodeo evolved over the past decade? If you could go back, what advice would you give yourself? WL: I bought my card and I became a member in in 2012, but I didn't start really rodeoing until 2017. I was focusing on finishing school. As far as myself in 2017 when I started rodeoing for a living, I have always been a confident person. I always knew I could do well. But when you get out there, it's different. Coming from the southeast where I come from, all of the rodeos you go to you need to win first or second if you want to make money at rodeo. They obviously don't pay as much as some of the bigger rodeos when you're really in it for a living. My mentality when I started rodeoing in 2017 was that every time I nodded, I needed to try to win first. But it’s not always that way. There are so many rodeos throughout the year that you can place 5th or 6th and still win a couple thousand. If I could go back, I would tell myself to relax and make the runs. You're not competing against everybody else; you're competing against that animal. As long as you make the best run on the steer that you have, that is all you can do. If you win, you win, and if you lose, don't beat yourself up. RL: Many speculate rodeo as a model of the American Dream. What does the American Dream mean to you and how has rodeo helped you achieve it? WL: I feel like so much is taken for granted. If you have a roof over your head and food on the table, you can wake up and be happy about doing something. I think if you can be happy doing something and make a living doing it, and it provides for you and your family, that's the ultimate American Dream. RL: Has your bachelor’s degree in exercise science and wellness and your Physical Therapy Assistant certification helped your rodeo career at all? What do you hope to do with these degrees one day? WL: At one point, all I wanted to do was practice physical therapy. That was what I honestly thought I was going to do. When I did start rodeoing, it definitely helped my career plenty as far as keeping myself and the other guys in the rig healthy. We try to keep everybody in the rig healthy. It does come in very handy for us on the road.
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Rodeo LIFE
I started a business last year when COVID hit and there weren’t a lot of rodeos to go to. I built a lot of pipe fence and it's done very well lately. I don't know if that's something I want to do forever, or if I want to practice physical therapy, I'm not really sure about that yet. But I have been keeping up with my license renewals and continuing education. It is still an option for me. I am happy that I have options. g
