story by Lily Weinacht
“It takes a lot of heart and dedication to rodeo, and you have to work for it every day,” says 12-year-old bull rider Ty Turner. “You can’t just jump on a bull and be a weekend warrior – you have to know what you’re doing and always work to be better than you were yesterday.”
The NLBRA contestant from Greenbrier, Tennessee, jumped on his first bull when he was eight, inspired by his dad, Anthony Turner, who rode bulls and bareback horses. Ty has since won the Tennessee Little Britches junior bull riding title three times – 2014, ’15, and ’16 – and most recently, 2016 Alabama Little Britches Junior Bull Riding Champion. “I try to be on top of my game and work hard so I’m ready for every rodeo and I can be confident,” says Ty. “We used to have some cows in the pasture that I’d get on for fun, and I just started riding bareback steers. It’s kind of the same as bull riding, but maybe easier since you can sit on your butt a little more. My dad helps me out a lot, and he set up an arena behind our house so I can get on any time I want. He taught me bareback riding and bought me a rigging.” Ty’s mom, Vanessa Turner, is a veterinarian, and she videos his rides, also taking Ty to rodeos when Anthony is working in the oil fields.
Along with his parents, Ty looks up to many professional bull riders, including J.W. Hart, Chase Outlaw, and Jess Lockwood. He met several of the bull riders when he and his dad went to the 2015 PBR World Finals in Las Vegas, and Ty rode bulls at J.W. Hart’s home in Overbrook, Oklahoma, on his way to the 2016 NLBFR. “My dad had started talking to J.W. on Facebook, and J.W. had some friends bring bulls to his practice pen so I could get on. He was really nice, and went out of his way to help me practice.”
Ty’s second trip to the NLBFR earned him a buckle for placing third in the second round of junior bull riding. “It was really fun up there! We brought our camper and had a golf cart, plus we went fishing in the ponds at the Lazy E.” Ty’s 18-year-old sister, Caitlin, also came to cheer Ty on at the finals. Caitlin competed in rodeo for several years, and she’ll attend Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee, on a softball scholarship this fall.
Ty also enjoys sports like football and wrestling for Greenbrier Middle School, where he’s a seventh grader. “We’re the Greenbrier Bobcats, fierce as they come! I’m the running back and outside linebacker.” He also loves science and experiments, recently building a marshmallow launcher out of Popsicle sticks. “I’m pretty much the only one in my school who rodeos and they call me Bull Rider and Gator Boy, because everybody in my family is from Louisiana. They think I’m crazy because I go to school in my boots and khakis and belt buckle,” he says with a laugh. “I wear my National Finals and my Alabama Little Britches buckles. I gave my other ones to my grandpa and my dad for helping me. I couldn’t do it without them.”
Once he’s home from school, Ty is responsible for feeding animals, including his practice bulls, Blackjack and Blackjack Junior. The Turners raise German Shepherds, and their male, Gunner, traveled with them to the NLBFR last summer. “I like working with our dogs, hanging out with my family and bush hogging on the tractor. I’d like to make it to the National Finals this year in bull riding and bareback steers, and make a good ride in the short-go,” Ty finishes. “I want to break all of Ty Murray’s records someday, and just keep getting better at rodeo.”
