Pro Rodeo after High School

If you can figure out the logistics, and don't give it a try, you may regret it for the rest of your life.

When my sons dropped out of college many years ago, they wanted to play music and came very close to a contract deal. They finally decided that it wasn't the life they wanted and both went back to school. Both now have masters and both graduated magna cum laude - because that is what they wanted ... not what was expected of them. If they hadn't taken that time off, they may not have done so well and would always wonder "what if".

If you have the support of your family, as a father, I would encourage the dream.

I also encourage you to explore your dream now while it isn't at the expense of your future. Heck, many people take 5 or 6 years to finish undergraduate degrees, so even if you "wasted" (I don't believe it would be a waste) a few years trying and failing to make a go of a professional rodeo career, you could still start and finish a 4 year undergraduate degree at about the same time many of your peers would be finishing theirs.

A little anecdote - when son #1 was heading off to college (the first time) I took him aside and told him that I hoped he would enjoy college life the way I did - that is was the best 4 years of my life. He looked me in the eye and said - Dad, I'm going to make them the best 6 of mine ... and he did.

You'll never know until you try it. There is absolutely no reason you can't go to college later, if that's what you decide to do. I took a year, well several years, after high school off to do s**t jobs and earned a lot of life experiance from it.

Then when I was about 23 I decided I wanted a better pay check and joined the Navy. Now that i'm out of the navy at 28 I have a good career and am going part-time to college to make it a better career. However the Navy is paying for my school, and paying me to go, so it's a win-win either way.

I still don't know what I want to do when I grow up though, but I can tell you I've done a lot of random things that make me smile.

If you feel you can handle it, go for it.

There's also the option of going to an equine college and participating in collegiate rodeos. I'm attending Colorado State University for an equine science degree and I know that we have an awesome rodeo team (as well as many other horse related teams if you were interested).

Also in the scheme of things, people say a degree is a waste of money. It is definitely not! Yes some jobs don't require a college degree...BUT it is absolutely possible to be beaten out by another person for a job because you do not have one. Even if you do have years more experience.

For example...my boyfriends father is an electrician. He applied for a job and didn't get it. You know who they chose? The person with a degree. Even though my boyfriends father had 20+ years more experience than this kid fresh out of college, they still chose the guy with a degree. And by the way, the kid had a psychology degree! Nothing to do with electrician stuff.

Something I've learned through college is that it doesn't matter what you get your degree in, just as long as you have one. I was always worried that if I say...got a degree as a vet, I would have to be a vet the rest of my life unless I went to school again. Not true, I could still be a barn manager or reproduction assistant or even run my own offroad shop or something. Doesn't have to be horse related. Once I learned that though, it took a lot of stress out of my life. I still have no idea what I want to do though. People just like the well roundedness (is that a word? Haha) of college students since we have to wade though a lot of BS classes (like art appreciation and things).

Hopefully that helps a bit, I feel like I was rambling so I apologize. ;)

The cool thing about life is that virtually no decision you make as far as career choices can't be changed. I say, live your dream! It sounds like you have a well-thought-out plan, along with resources and ability. Go for it!
Your trainer has offered you a backup horse as well as a way to split costs and have a buddy.
Reassess in a year or so & decide if it's working. If not, think about going to college & joining the rodeo team there or working in a field that interests you.
The best time to chase after dreams is now! Stay single, stay safe, and ride, ride, ride!

Thanks you guys <3 I really appreciate it. I haven't mentioned this to my Mom or Dad yet. I know my Mom will always support me, but Dad's going to throw a fit.....So I'm going to talk it out with Mom first so she can help me out with it.

So who is going to pay for gas, entry fees, food and lodging? I have several friends who took a year off after HS to travel, but they worked very hard to make enough money to pay for it themselves. What you're proposing isn't cheap, traveling to Europe might just be cheaper, actually. If you want to take a year to rodeo, then sure - I just really hope you're planning on footing that bill yourself.
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Don't worry Bubbles. I've had a job since before I was in high school making my own money; I pay for my own food/gas/entry fees/etc now too.

Ok, just wanted to make sure. I would suggest planning for one year of rodeo, and entry into college after. By forgoing college entirely, you're not only going to miss out on a wonderful experience, you're going to end up missing out on opportunities that are only available to those with higher education.

If nothing else, go for a business degree - possibly one of the more useful programs for teaching life skills. No matter what avenue you choose in life, having a strong background in management, finances, etc will never let you down. It makes your application to any form of employment stronger. Even if you were to successfully pursue rodeo, do you think those girls make their entire paycheck from their winnings? Most of them also have breeding and training operations, all of which are businesses. The rodeo wins allow them to make their name, and perhaps some money - although with rodeo winnings, it's easy come easy go. The money comes after they've established both their talent and skill, and only then if they have the knowledge and ability to form strong, healthy businesses.

So yes, go ahead and take a year, but don't give up on college. Use the success you're planning on achieving to put together a strong application to a school with a rodeo team. If you're as good as you think you'll be, and have good high school grades, maybe you could even get yourself a scholarship.