story by Lindsay King
The 14-year-old bull rider jumped off after the ring of the buzzer, the judges told him he was short but then realized he made the ride. Trey Mills’ hands flew in the air when he heard he made his first eight-second ride. “I tried bareback and saddle broncs but I liked bulls better. I get more of an adrenaline rush from them,” said the Easley, South Carolina, native. The first bull Trey rode at 12 years old burst out of the chutes and threw him right away. “It was pretty scary but it was fun. It made me want to get back on again.”
Daniel, his dad, rode a few bulls in high school and told Trey about it when they moved to Texas two years ago. “We found someone with a ranch and then built a bucking chute. We bucked bulls out of that for the six months we were in Texas and that is how I started riding.” Now back in South Carolina, Trey’s first rodeo was in December 2015 in the neighboring town, Pickens. “It was just a local rodeo that everyone calls Pickens, it took me awhile to ride again after that first rodeo.”
Trey looks up to Rowdy Rice, a local bull rider who has ridden at the IFR. “He has a practice machine that I rode when I first started. He was very helpful in the beginning. Now that I have my own machine to practice on I do not get to talk to Rowdy as much.” At every rodeo Trey rides at, his mom, Mandy, and dad can be found supporting him. “My dad has been really supportive; he has made sure I have everything I need to be successful. My mom is my cheering section, she is the kind who can be heard screaming for me in the stands, especially when I get bucked off or stepped on.” When his brother, DJ, and sisters, Dakota and Tatum, come to his rodeos they join in with Mandy cheering in the stands. “DJ used to ride but does not anymore. He helps me behind the chutes sometimes.”
Last year Trey’s humerus cracked in half right below his shoulder after getting stepped on, keeping him off a bull for six months. “I got stepped on again about six months ago and I broke my elbow. I was out for about a week. I rode with a cast on but I did not tell my doctor about that one.” Trey is most proud of being named SCJHSRA Rookie of the Year in 2016, the same day he broke his humerus in Clemson’s rodeo arena. “Along with the rookie buckle I also placed third in the bulls and second in bareback in the junior high.”
Trey used to ride bareback horses but the different riding style messed up his bull riding game. “In bareback I would lean back but then I would go to ride a bull and I would end up sitting way too far back. I had to quit bareback to focus on bulls more.” Trey’s favorite part of the JSRA is that they always bring big bulls for him to ride. “The people in the JSRA are great and the competition is pretty tough, this push me to work even harder.”
The eighth grader likes to learn about other people and their culture, making history his favorite subject. “Rodeo pushes me to do better in school so I can go to more events.” An avid hunter and fisherman, Trey likes to hunt hogs and deer and spend time at the pond catching catfish. A South Carolina rivalry exists in his family with half of them being Clemson fans and the other half being Gamecock fans. On the road just about every weekend, Trey and his family go to rodeos of all sizes. “I have made a lot of friends in rodeo. I like going out and knowing that I mean something to people. If I am good enough I would like to go on the PBR tour and maybe become a professional bull rider.”
