Story by Lillian Landreth
“I’m not gonna lie, it’s a pretty rough sport, but I love the adrenaline and the rush of it,” says SDHSRA bareback rider Devon Moore. “You’re the first event and you get to crack the chutes open. Running your hand through the rigging is nerve wracking at times, but when you say, ‘Let’s go,’ you know it’s time to clear your mind and go out for eight. We are a dying breed, so we need to bring that back.”
The 17-year-old from Clear Lake, South Dakota, picked up his first bareback rigging just a few years ago in 2019, but he’s had eight seconds on his mind since he was a toddler. His uncle Anthony Moore rode bulls in 4H and had Devon riding the practice barrel by the time he was two, followed by bottle calves with baling twine for a bull rope. With a life jacket strapped on, Devon even tried his hand at several of his family’s Holsteins.
When he was 8, Devon turned his focus to showing Herefords at the state and national level, but in 2019, when a package arrived in the mail from his uncle Tom Ollerich with a bareback rigging inside, the bucking chutes called again. Devon signed up for his first Lazy 3S Rodeo School in Fort Pierre, South Dakota. “It was taught by Kelly Timberman, who really helped me get started in all this, and I got on my first bareback horse there.”
That summer, Devon won his first buckle at a rodeo in Fort Thompson, South Dakota, a confidence boost that carried him to the Lazy 3S High Plains Circuit Finals, a qualifier for the Junior World Finals. Devon finished fourth, but when the rider in third place had to pull out, Devon punched his ticket for the Junior World Finals, less than a year after riding his first bronc. He rode both his broncs and left Las Vegas with a thirst for more. “After that, I was thinking I needed to work harder at it, and I ended up winning all my rodeos in 2020, including the (Lazy 3S) Circuit Finals.” Devon again covered all his broncs at the 2020 Junior World Finals and finished sixth in the world, which also advanced him to The Junior American, where he took eighth place.
With his leg movement and spurring technique increasing, Devon decided to join the SDHSRA in 2021 and won his first high school rodeo during the Three Rivers Challenge series. Finishing third at state finals sent him to his first NHSFR, where he tore his ribs in the second round but finished 18th in the nation. After healing up enough, he also competed in the high school invitational challenge at the Omaha River City Rodeo with 65 other high schoolers for a $1,500 scholarship. “That stadium blew me away, and it was really cool how they incorporated the high schoolers into the PRCA rodeo. They put us on PRCA horses, and I got on a Korkow horse that will go to the NFR.”
Devon never goes to a rodeo without one of his parents, Ryan Ollerich and Jill Moore, helping him get down the road. “I am very, very thankful for them. Sometimes I don’t have all the money for the entries, and they take care of that, and my mom is getting more comfortable videotaping me, even if I get hung up.” Professional saddle bronc rider Cole Elshere is another role model to Devon, who loves attending Cole’s rodeo school, Bulls, Broncs, and Bibles. “Every rodeo I’m riding at, Cole helps me get my rigging real tight, or if his bronc is loaded, I get to help put on his saddle. I’ve also direct messaged over Instagram with Tim O’Connell, and he’ll watch my videos and tell me what I can improve on. Having those people in my life that help out is just tremendous.” Devon’s school, Deuel High School, is also behind his rodeo career. His teachers and principal help him organize his school schedule and have a rodeo photo of the junior hanging up in the school.
In between rodeos, Devon continues to show Herefords with Fawcett’s Elm Creek Ranch in Ree Heights, South Dakota, who is also one of his rodeo sponsors. He’s shown at the American Royal in Kansas City, the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Cattlemen’s Congress in Oklahoma City, and Junior Nationals. He plans on his bareback riding career to take him to the biggest shows in rodeo as well. Devon met ProRodeo Hall of Fame saddle bronc rider Tom Reeves when he attended Tom’s rodeo school in Omaha this summer, and with his help, Devon plans to start on his PRCA permit next year. “When I turn 18, I should hopefully be on the road with the PRCA, and the WNFR hopefully in the years coming.”
