Eight Seconds

To most, eight seconds is not enough time to accomplish much. We spend more than eight seconds getting dressed, talking on the phone, and even brush our teeth longer. However, to Professional Bull Rider, Conner Halverson, eight seconds could be the difference of winning thousands of dollars, it could be the difference between walking out of the arena or leaving on a stretcher.

Though not from a rodeo family, Conner Halverson knew at a young age that he wanted to become a bull rider; and at 22-years old, he is making his dreams a reality, currently ranking 19th in the Professional Bull Riding world standings.

You don’t ever want to stop a kid from their dreams and goals.

Growing up in Gordon, Nebraska, Halverson was exposed to farming and ranching communities; however, he and his family lived in town and had no real connection to the sport of rodeo. Since the age of three, Halverson was infatuated with watching the PBR on TV and idolized the world champion bull riders he would see. His fascination with the adrenaline filled sport continued to grow until age eight, when Halverson told his parents he wanted to ride a steer at county fair.

“You don’t ever want to stop a kid from their dreams and goals.”Halverson’s mother, Marika, said. “So, we just let him keep going; he kept riding and riding and his dream kept getting bigger and bigger. He continues to achieve his goals every day, so we just let him roll with it.”

Determined to pursue bull riding, Halverson built himself a drop barrel, a training tool designed to simulate a bull bucking. With his homemade drop barrel, he began to teach himself the basics, and by 14, he was riding bulls at the Nebraska Junior High School Rodeos. Though Halverson played other sports in high school, his primary focus always remained on bull riding, helping him to secure the title of the Nebraska High School Rodeo Association Champion Bull Rider twice. After turning 18, he quickly purchased a PBR membership, marking the beginning of his professional bull riding career.

Halverson attributes a tremendous amount of his success to his family and friends that helped him learn. Even though they were not familiar with the sport of rodeo, his parents did not hesitate to drive him to all the practices and rodeos. Though he had a lot of support, Halverson does recount several people who told him bull riding could never be a career or that he was wasting his time; but he never let their negative words discourage him.

“After graduation, none of those other sports were going to matter anyways, and this [bull riding] is what I wanted to do for a living.” Halverson said.

Since joining the PBR, Halverson has competed on several tours including the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour and the Unleash the Beast Tour, allowing him to qualify for two PBR World Finals. Halverson spent most of the 2023 season competing in Challenger Series events before being drafted to PBR team, the Florida Freedom. Since 2022, bull riders now have the potential to join teams by being added to a draft, from there riders are picked by the teams. Although he is a part of a team and competes in series specific to teams, Halverson can simultaneously compete as an individual in other series.

“When he was in high school and wanted to be in the PBR I thought, if he could just make one [PBR World] Finals in a lifetime; and then he made his first finals his first year.” Marika Halverson said. “And then to make another Final, and to be drafted in the first ever draft; His dreams and goals just keep exceeding every expectation.”

Bull riding is a physically taxing and dangerous sport; not only do you have your own body to think about, but you also have to worry about what the 1,500-pound animal below you is doing. Every bull rider, whether an amateur or professional, has or will be injured bull riding at least once in their career. For Halverson, his worst injury to date was lacerating his liver. Yet, the possibility of a career ending injury has not slowed Halverson down.

His dreams and goals just keep exceeding every expectation.

“I don’t really worry about getting hurt, it’s just something you put in the back of your mind.” Halverson said. “You know it’s something that could happen, but you just try to control the situation as much as you can, and you know whatever happens is what’s going to happen.”

Halverson hopes to have a long career in the PBR and to one day compete at the National Finals Rodeo. He and his family understand the risks surrounding the sport, but they all agree it is worth it for Halverson to reach his goals.

“We can walk across the street and get hit by a car or step off the curb and break our ankle.” Marika Halverson said. “So, I look at it as, if or when Conner got hurt from bull riding, he can’t be mad because he got hurt, because he’ll have gotten hurt doing what he loves.”

Before each ride, bull riders must focus on the bull they are about to get on rather than what might go wrong or previous buck offs. Halverson says, in order to gain the level of focus he needs, he has to find a way to tune everything else out. He often accomplishes this by finding something in the arena or crowd to focus on, such as a banner or sign. He will stare at that one banner until it is time for him to get on, helping him to not get distracted and let other thoughts fill his mind.

Sometimes it’s so quiet, I can hear myself breathing.

“There’s a zone I get in behind the chutes, and then everything completely turns off when I sit down on the bull,” Halverson said. “Then it’s pure work after that, I just let my body take over.”

Bull riding is as much about mental strength as it is physical. Although Halverson is currently one of the youngest riders in the PBR, he seems to have mastered controlling his nerves. No matter the size of the crowd or what bull he has drawn for the night, he says that if he can keep his mind focused before a ride, the nerves never hit him. Halverson’s ability to suppress any nerves he may be feeling has been fundamental in his PBR success; helping him to qualify for two World Finals and, most memorably for the 2024 season, winning round one at the PBR Monster Energy Buck Off at Madison Square Garden in January.

No matter how long a bull rider has been competing, no matter if it is their hundredth ride, every ride is different; no two rides will feel or look the exact same. However, the one thing Halverson says stays the same, is the way all the noise from the crowds and announcers drowns out as soon as the chute opens.

“Each ride still takes a lot out of you.” Halverson said. “You could get off completely ready for another [ride] or you could be hurting head to toe… I can always hear the whistle, but during the ride I usually don’t hear any noise. Sometimes it’s so quiet, I can hear myself breathing.”

If Halverson could give any advice to young people interested in bull riding, even if they have no prior rodeo knowledge, it is to do it; there will always be people who are more than willing to help you learn. Halverson has experienced this firsthand, having several people help him learn as a kid. Even now as a professional, other PBR riders will step in to give each other advice and tips.

“The number of guys that have helped me along the way is pretty deep,” Halverson said. “Just find the right people that have the resume and that have had their own success; they’ll be able to help you and make you better.”

At only 22, it is hard to predict what the rest of Halverson’s career will look like, but he can say with certainty that he will be satisfied no matter how it ends. He has gone from a three-yearold dreaming of being a bull rider like the ones he watched on TV, to riding professionally alongside his idols.

I just let my body take over.