ELGIN, Oregon (STPNS) --        ?I started getting on steers out at Jim Deal?s place in Imbler when I was about 12. I?d help run the chutes too,? said Braseth.

    Kyler Braseth has been riding bulls since he was about 14-years-old.

    ?I just tell myself ?ride them and get off when you want to get off?. I don?t worry about the eight seconds. It?s a lot better to get off when you want to get off, instead of staying on too long. I just tell myself ?try, try, try?. I try to react to what the bull is doing.?



    Braseth shows no sign of giving up the sport of rodeo, although he did have to put his bull riding career on hold while he recovered from an injury that happened in 2000.

    He says he is going to ride bulls until he is at least 40. He?s trailing Vic Dubray, he said, so he has to ride bulls for as long as Dubray does.

    According to Braseth, the best part about the sport of rodeo is meeting all the people and friends along

the way.

    ?Bull riding is not about competing against your friends it?s you against the bull. Cowboys always wish everyone a good ride,? he said. ?It?s the challenge of it all. Try, Cowboy, try, and never quit.?

    Braseth said it is always a special event to compete at the Mark Nichols Memorial Bull Ride.

    ?Mark was a good guy,? said Braseth. ?He was definitely a guy with a lot of try and he was a friend of mine. He was definitely a cool guy.?