SDHRA member, Dylan Riggins – Rodeo News
story by Lily Weinacht
Dylan Riggins couldn’t be caught in the bareback riding in the SDHSRA this year. The 18 year old from Kadoka, S.D., began his year with winning the bareback riding in the 20X Extreme Showcase just a short time after recovering from ACL surgery, followed by clinching the state championship in the same event at state finals. “It felt pretty good!” says Dylan, who just finished his senior year with the association. He rode two of Joe Waln’s bucking horses in the first two rounds, and even though he bucked off in the short-go, his other two scores held him in first place and sent him to the NHSFR for the second time. “Nationals was amazing!” Dylan describes. “I went into the short-go sitting 14th and drew one of Mo Betta’s horses named Lucy. She was real snappy and even though I scored a 56, I finished in 10th place with 185 points on three head, so I was pretty happy, and I made a lot of friends out there.”
Dylan doesn’t stop at bareback riding, however. He also rides saddle broncs and bulls. “I don’t think I could choose one favorite event – that’s why I do all three!” he says. “I grew up in rodeo. My grandfather, Kelly Riggins, was a bareback and saddle bronc rider. My dad (Chris Riggins) rode bareback horses in high school, but then he didn’t have the money to keep competing, so he decided that when he had kids, he’d make it work for them to rodeo. Eight Seconds was my favorite movie growing up, and I also had a big stuffed bear with a collar around its neck that I would pretend was a bull, so I guess that set rodeo off for me.”
Numerous people have helped Dylan thrive in rodeo. “I went to the Cowboy Outfitters USA Rodeo Camp last year and that school really helped me get my feet going,” Dylan explains. “Kaycee Feild and Tilden Hooper really helped me get better, and Ken Lensegrav and Dave Stegall let me borrow their rigging and helped me work on good markouts at every rodeo. Plus, my dad is always there to help me with entry fees and gas money, and he’s always with me behind the chutes, helping me pull my rigging or bull rope, or put on my saddle.”
Dylan and his family make their home in Kadoka, and while none of his siblings compete in rodeo, they all eagerly support him. “My mom (Anita) videos all my rides, and she says that watching it through the camera is better for her, but she still gets nervous when I get hung up,” says Dylan. While he lives in town, Dylan’s grandfather owns a ranch about 13 miles outside of Kadoka, which Dylan occasionally helps with, though most of his time is devoted to training performance horses with Levi Grimes. “I started in May, and I’ve learned quite a bit. I practice on my balance all week and rodeo on weekends, which helps make me that much better for the next rodeo.”
A freshman at Oklahoma Panhandle State University this fall, Dylan is going on a rodeo scholarship, competing on the school’s team in all three roughstock events. “Since South Dakota is my home state, I’d like to come home in the summers and rodeo in the SDRA,” says Dylan. “I rodeo for the memories, and being able to hang out with friends. It’s not about competing against the guy next to you, but competing against the animals, and having good times doing it!”
