Inside the life of a World Champion bareback rider
By Roy GraberRoughstock hand Shawn Minor has always considered the bareback riding as his specialty event in the sport of rodeo.
“I used to concentrate on the bareback riding, but when I joined (the International Professional Rodeo Association), I picked up the saddle broncs again as a second event,” said Minor, a native of Gordon.
After competing at the International Finals Rodeo Jan. 17-19 in Oklahoma City, he may be thinking differently.
While there, Minor won the International Professional Rodeo Association’s saddle bronc riding world championship. He also picked up a world title in the all-around race and was the runner-up in the bareback riding.
Winning world titles has been a regular occurrence for Minor, who joined the IPRA five years ago. He was the world champion bareback rider for the previous four seasons, and he also won the all-around title at the end of the 2004 and 2006 seasons. However, the saddle bronc title had eluded him until this year.
“I guess it was a long time coming. I’ve been the runner up several times, but this year it just all worked out,” Minor said at the end of the four-round IFR.
Each year, the top 15 money winners in each rodeo event at the end of the regular season qualify for the IFR. At the end of the 2007 regular season, Minor was the No. 2 bareback rider and the No. 2 saddle bronc rider. He trailed bareback rider Billy Griffin, Lee’s Summit, Mo., by $2,833. The margin between Minor and top-ranked saddle bronc rider Tyler West, Center Ridge, Ark., was only $546. With an IFR purse that pays more than $2,000 to win a round and more than $4,000 to win the aggregate, Minor had a legitimate shot of catching both Griffin and West. However, the remaining riders in the top 15 of both events trailed Minor by enough money it was virtually impossible for them to win a world title.
West opened the door for Minor during the IFR’s opening round of saddle bronc riding by bucking down. Minor stayed aboard to score a 71.5, which placed fifth but did not earn him any money.
West kept his lead in the standings after the second round as both he and Minor scored a 75.5 to tie for fourth-place money.
However, West struggled in third round, failing to post a score. Minor again stayed aboard in his horse, but again was unable to place in the money. This time, he scored a 63.
In the final round, it almost appeared Minor would fall short of the saddle bronc championship once again. He got into trouble and came down just a split second before the whistle. But Minor wasn’t the only rider to falter. West also came down short of the eight-second whistle. With a tough pen of horses, only five bronc riders posted scores in the final round, other riders’ shortcomings ultimately helped Minor.
Minor’s aggregate score of 210 on three head was good enough to earn $1,041 and push his year-end total past West’s.
Fate didn’t treat Minor quite as nicely in the bareback riding. While Minor earned more money at the IFR than Griffin, the difference in the two’s earnings prior to the IFR made the difference.
“Billy went at it hard. He went to more rodeos than I did this year, and I just couldn’t keep up with that,” Minor said.
Griffin extended his lead in the first round with a fourth place finish on an 80-point ride, while Minor posted a 79 score to finish just outside of the money.
In the second round, Minor narrowed the gap by splitting third and fourth with a 79.5 score. Griffin’s 77.5 failed to place.
Things continued to work in Minor’s favor when Griffin failed to score in the third round. Minor’s 75-point ride didn’t earn a paycheck, but it kept him solid in the aggregate. Griffin would respond in the fourth round with an 82-point ride, which tied for first, while Minor’s 78-point ride again failed to make the top four.
Minor did pick up $2,604 for splitting third and fourth in the aggregate, but it was not enough as Griffin maintained about a $1,800 edge over Minor in the overall standings.
While Minor had faced tough challengers in the all-around race in years past, he had this year’s title wrapped up before the IFR even began. He came into the IFR with $64,007 won. The only other man to qualify for the IFR in two events was Justin Thigpen, Waycross, Ga. Thigpen, who competes in the tie-down roping and steer wrestling, had $27,727 in regular season earnings.
Thigpen says Minor should be able to extend his collection of all-around titles as long as he keeps entering both roughstock events.
“Shawn is plenty good enough to win it every year,” said Thigpen.
Minor grew up in the rodeo-rich community of Gordon, which has produced other world champions such as bullfighter Miles Hare and steer wrestler Ote Berry. Minor earned a rodeo scholarship to Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, where he fine-tuned his rodeo skills. He now resides at Camden, Ohio, which is the hometown of his wife, Tara, an IPRA barrel racer.