The All-Around Champion Cowboy from 2020 is ready to defend his title at this year’s National High School Finals Rodeo (NHSFR).
Mason Stuller, who will be a senior in the fall, is from Veneta, Oregon. At last year’s finals rodeo he won the Bareback Riding and the Boys All-Around title. This year, he will be competing in Bareback and Saddle Bronc Riding.
Despite Stuller’s top-notch performances in the rodeo circuit, he doesn’t come from a rodeo background. The Oregon cowboy became interested in the sport in a different way than most.
“None of my family rodeoed before,” he said. “I saw it on tv and wanted to try it.”
He started riding sheep when he was little and eventually fell in love with the sport of rodeo by going to various local rodeos.
“I’d just go when I was little, thinking how much fun it would be to do that one day.”
Fast forward to his high school years, he now competes with the best of the best. However, he said rodeo isn’t as popular on the West Coast, so he has to practice in unconventional ways.
“I don’t have as many places to get on the practice horses as some, so it’s a lot of machine time on the fur board and staying fit and healthy,” he said.
As Stuller prepares for the NHSFR, he said he’s also preparing for a 24-hour trip from Oregon to Nebraska.
“I’ve never been to Nebraska before, and I’m hoping it’s a pretty fun one, and hopefully I have a pretty good time,” he said.
The NHSFR is taking place in Lincoln this year at the Lancaster Event Center. Performances begin on Sunday and continue into the next weekend.
Learn more: https://www.nhsfrlincoln.org/
Listen to an interview with Mason Stuller below!
