story by Terry Rhodes
Using drugs interrupted a promising rodeo career. He went to the National High School Finals twice and the Silver State International Rodeo. Chad Cole recalls, “After high school I went through a phase where I started on drugs. I got into some trouble. I decided that I had better start rodeoing again, so rodeo pretty much saved my life, really.” Thankfully the rodeo atmosphere, the good people, and the life helped Chad to get both feet planted squarely on the ground. Today, Chad speaks openly about those times and accepts that as part of his life’s story. “If my story will help somebody else, then I’d be glad to talk with them.”
He’s now beginning his first year in the Rocky Mountain Pro Rodeo Association and likes the fact that they have plenty of rodeos and they are local so not a lot of travel is required. Chad sustained a broken jaw in an earlier PRCA rodeo and the injury dictated some time off for recovery. “After I broke my jaw and had some other injuries, I took a few years off. I’m just getting back to competing and the Rocky Mountain Pro Rodeo works really well for what I’m doing now.” While he was competing in the PRCA, he made the Circuit Finals four times.
The 36-year-old bull rider has plenty of experience to draw upon. “I got on my first bull in 1994. It was on my 14th birthday and it was at a practice. They had a ‘Monday Night Buckout’ that we went to. My brother and I were the only ones in our family to do it. I did go to a couple of the Gary Leffew clinics and they helped me a lot.” Chad says that it’s important to him to be sure he has the right shirt when he rodeos. “I’m really touchy about that and I just gave one away the other day. I wore it four or five times and never did any good with it so I got rid of it.”
Chad and his older brother, Jeff have started raising their own practice bulls and plan on expanding into some of the futurity events. “We just got into this the last five or six years. My brother and I both started buying bulls.” He says that Jeff has been his biggest influence. “When he and I were rodeoing, we always seemed to feed off the energy of each other. We always just sort of clicked together.”
That special ride that Chad recalls as being one of his best was connected to his grandfather. “Just after my grandpa died I made a really good ride and it was like he was helping me ride. It was like I couldn’t have fallen off if I tried.”
He and his wife, Kieara live in Spring Lake, Utah and during the week Chad works as a pipe fitter. Leisure time is spent outdoors and working on their bulls with his brother. Goals for the future are to continue to build his string of bulls and raise a family.
