By Lori Bizzell | Photos Courtesy of Gateway Grizzlies

Tyler Kijac on rodeo, risk, family, and doing what hasn’t been done before

Some interviews leave you knowing more about someone.

Then there are the ones where, somewhere between a few good stories, some hard-earned lessons, and plenty of laughter, you start to wonder if you somehow just made a new best friend.

Tyler Kijac is easy to talk to that way. He is straightforward, quick to laugh, and comfortable talking about everything from cattle and rodeo production to fatherhood, television, and Twisters.

Tyler is always thinking about what could be next. That includes Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek, Michigan.

There are probably easier business decisions than taking over a rodeo people have already told you is dead. Tyler did it anyway.

Kellogg Arena was where his mother took him to see his first rodeo as a boy. At the time, the building was packed, and the event was a highlight of his year.

But over time, things changed.

Promoters came and went. Attendance dropped. The event eventually reached a point where, according to Tyler, only about 400 tickets were sold across two performances.

Then the arena called him. Tyler took the opportunity.

The first year, TK Pro Rodeo sold out both performances.

One person in the VIP section was Jim Zenzer, the rodeo producer Tyler had looked up to as a kid, and one of the people who had told him the event probably couldn’t be brought back.

By the end of the weekend, Tyler said Jim told him, “You did it.” For Tyler, that moment meant more than selling tickets. “Anything can be done.”

That mindset has followed him for most of his life.

Tyler grew up in Michigan around rodeo, but not in the ranching life he would eventually build for himself. He earned a full-ride scholarship to Northwest College and competed at the collegiate level before leaving school to pursue professional bull riding.

Eventually, Oklahoma called.

There, Tyler landed a job working for a large cattle operation. He spent his days on horseback, roping and doctoring sick cattle. “I got to sharpen up my roping skills and learn a lot about starting cattle,” he said, “and what it’s like to be a real cowboy, not a rodeo cowboy.”

It also gave him something he still considers one of his greatest assets: relationships.

Tyler does not pretend to know everything. “I don’t know the answers to everything,” he said, “but I’ve got two or three people in my phone that do.” That network – and the willingness to learn from it – became part of the foundation of TK Pro Rodeo.

So did a willingness to do things differently.

When Tyler began building the company more than a decade ago, social media wasn’t always welcomed in the rodeo business the way it is today. He remembers some people viewing promotion as bragging.

His response was simple. “How do you grow a business like that?”

Tyler deeply respects rodeo tradition. But he also believes protecting the sport should not mean shutting people out.

He has heard from people outside the Western industry who want to be part of it but don’t know where to begin. “If you’re not from it, how do you just get in the clique?”

That question has shaped the way he produces rodeos. “We have a special opportunity for two hours to give people a glimpse into Western heritage and what it means to be a cowboy,” Tyler said. But getting people through the door is only part of it. He wants them to understand what they are seeing.

A first-time spectator can watch barrel racing and immediately understand the objective: fastest time wins. Other events are not always that simple.

A team roper can make what looks like a great run and receive no time. A roughstock rider can make an impressive ride, but a new fan may not know why one score is better than another.

Tyler believes good rodeo production helps bridge that gap. Preserve the sport. Explain it well. Give people a reason to come back.

Tyler seems to have a lot of room for activities when it comes to rodeo -and apparently, he plans to use every bit of it.

That same willingness to step outside the traditional rodeo lane has taken him into television and film.

He competed in Ultimate Cowboy Showdown, later winning the All-Star season, and worked on the rodeo scenes for the 2024 film Twisters.

Television also taught him to know who he is. Tyler learned quickly that what happens during hours of filming and what eventually reaches the screen can be very different. By the time he returned to Ultimate Cowboy Showdown, he had decided. “I wasn’t going to let them change how I am or who I am,” he said. “If it works for you guys, great. If it doesn’t, eliminate me from the show.”

That confidence carries into the way he leads TK Pro Rodeo.

Tyler readily admits he used to be a control freak. He wanted to sort the livestock. Drive the truck. Handle the details. The problem was simple: you cannot grow a company that way.

Today, TK Pro Rodeo can have crews working in multiple rodeos in multiple states during the same weekend. He’s learned to delegate, build systems, and trust the people around him.

And if you ain’t first…

Well, Tyler has never seemed especially interested in second place when it comes to ideas.

Tyler has never been particularly interested in standing still. In business, in rodeo, or in what comes next, he tends to lean one way: forward.

That leadership was tested when a tragic accident affected his family.  He flew home to be with his wife during what happened to be one of the busiest stretches of the company’s season -12 rodeos in 14 days.

His crew took over. The rodeos went on. When Tyler returned, committees, contestants, and others told him they would never have known he was gone.

For a man who once believed he had to handle everything himself, it was one of the greatest compliments he could receive. “I’m just so proud of the people that believe in the brand.”

Faith has also given Tyler perspective on seasons that don’t make sense while you are living them. Shortly after high school, his father lost the family farm to foreclosure.

Tyler found himself with nowhere to go and very little idea of what would come next. “At the time, I thought my life was just crumbling down.” Today, he calls it one of the best things that ever happened to him. Losing the farm pushed him to Oklahoma. Oklahoma brought cattle, rodeo, relationships, and opportunities he may never have found otherwise. “We might not understand all of it in the moment,” Tyler said, “but there’s a reason for all of it.”

Fatherhood has changed his definition of success too. Tyler and his wife, Jenny, are raising their young son, Truce. Before becoming a father, Tyler admits many of his goals were focused on what he wanted to accomplish.

Now the questions are different. How can he spend more time at home? How can he take Truce with him? What does he want his son to learn from the life they are building?

Work ethic matters. So does drive. But Tyler talked just as much about relationships, generosity, and empathy. “I hope he appreciates people and relationships as I do,” Tyler said. “The people that believed in me and gave me a chance ~I hope he sees that.”

He also hopes Truce becomes his own man. “My dad didn’t tell me what qualities to keep of his and what to drop,” Tyler said. “I made that decision myself. I imagine Truce will be the same.”

Jenny is an important part of the life Tyler is building. Behind the rodeos, the travel and the long days is a partnership that matters to him. He values having a wife who understands the work, believes in the vision, and is willing to build alongside him.

In a business that moves fast, that kind of partnership matters.

The next rodeo is not the only thing on Tyler’s mind. He has one more idea he keeps mostly to himself. It reaches beyond the United States, but that is about all he is willing to give away for now. “I want to do things nobody else has done,” he said.

Perhaps the most telling thing he said during our conversation, though, had nothing to do with expansion.

As rodeo season winds down, he is ready to get back to the ranch. Cattle to work. Calves to wean. Fences to build. Projects waiting. Family nearby. “Of all the places I’ve ever been,” Tyler said, “my favorite place is home.”

When it comes to TK Pro Rodeo, Tyler says there is plenty more ahead.

“Big things to come. We’re just beginning.”

For someone always looking toward what comes next, “we’re just beginning” feels about right.