BUTTE – Things have been going fast for Gavin Knutson, a western Montana bull rider and Polson native.
And not just in the last week since he was selected by the Nashville Stampede in the Professional Bull Riders New Rider Draft with the 23rd overall pick. But even the last six years since Knutson started bull riding have been a whirlwind.
So when he found out his selection was official by watching Montana native and PBR legend Flint Rasmussen announce his name, Knutson wasn’t quite sure how to react.
“(Western head coach) JT (Robbins) came up to me and showed me a video, and it was Flint Rasmussen saying my name and I was wide-eyed and shocked. I didn’t really know what to say, I was like ‘oh damn,'” he said.
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“It was very exciting, but at the same time I knew it was time to get to work and start taking bull riding seriously.”
Before his freshman year of high school, rodeo had been “just something fun to do on the weekends” for Knutson. But once he got on a bull for the first time, he became so much more than that.
Knutson, a 2022 graduate of Ignite Christian Academy, was a three-time Montana High School Rodeo Association state qualifier. He was the 2022 state roping champion and twice qualified for the National High School Rodeo Association finals.
In his two seasons competing at the collegiate level, Knutson won the Big Sky Region bull riding title both years. He has been an all-around cowboy at Western (a roper and team roper, too) and placed sixth in the Big Sky men’s overall standings.
The work put in over the past six years has paid off, and before its second season ends, what was once a hobby has become what Knutson hopes can be a full-time job.
“Before, (rodeo) was always something fun to do, as a hobby and all that. In the situation I’m in now, being able to go ahead and try to make a living out of it and have it be my career, it’s definitely changed my perspective on it,” Knutson said.
Since being drafted on May 29, he has spent most of his time with his new teammates and coaches, training in Decatur, Texas.
Admittedly, he was more nervous than usual before his first practice. After all, some of Knutson’s bull riding role models are now on his team.
“I grew up watching these guys on TV, and now that I’m here working with them and hanging out with them all day, it’s great,” he said.
Montana Western bull rider Gavin Knutson enters the 2024 College National Finals Rodeo as the fifth-ranked bull rider in the nation.
WESTERN MONTANA ATHLETICS
The 2024 PBR Camping World Team Series will begin its 12-event schedule in Oklahoma City July 12-14. The season concludes in October with the PBR Team Championship in Las Vegas.
Knutson plans to continue his academic and athletic career at Western while competing with the Stampede and said his college rodeo weekends are already booked.
And before competing on the big stage with the Stampede, Knutson still has unfinished business this season with Western.
He will travel from Decatur to Casper, Wyoming, for the College National Finals Rodeo, where he will join the rest of the Bulldogs’ men’s team. Western qualified eight cowboys and one cowgirl for the CNFR, which will be held June 9-15.
It’s the second straight season the men’s team has qualified, and Knutson believes last year’s experience in Casper could be crucial. He enters the CNFR as the fifth rider in the country.
“After being there the first year and figuring out how everything is handled and located, I feel like it’s a lot more comfortable starting this year. And I feel like it’s like that for all the guys on the men’s team,” Knutson said.
With the CNFR and then the PBR season approaching, the whirlwind is likely to continue for Knutson.
But luckily for the Montana rider, he loves every second of it. While he started rodeo as a way to keep busy, it became a lifestyle.
About six years after getting on the back of a bull for the first time, there’s nothing Knutson would rather do.
“I don’t really consider having bad days at the office. I get to do what I love all day, every day, and everything I do is about that,” she said.
Gavin Derkatch is a sports reporter for the Montana Standard. Follow him on Twitter @GDerkatch or email him gavin.derkatch@406mtsports.com
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