Alva is a community of about 5,000 people and a small college, Northwestern Oklahoma State University.
It’s also been a home to Bridger Anderson and Trisyn Kalawaia, who shared the steer wrestling title at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo this past Saturday night. In the tournament-style format, both stopped the clock in 3.8 seconds. Each man cleared more than $20k for their Texas adventure, with Kalawaia clocking out with $20,625 and Anderson snagging $23,400.
“Bridger’s one of my really good friends,” said Kalawaia, 23, of Hilo, Hawaii. “We hang out together a bunch, and just being from the same school and coming out to split the win in Fort Worth is really cool. I wish I could have just won it by myself, but to do it with a good friend was fun.”
Kalawaia moved to the mainland for rodeo, with his first stop being at Central Arizona College. While there, he made the 2021 College National Finals Rodeo as a freshman. That was Anderson’s senior year at Northwestern, two years after Anderson won the intercollegiate bulldogging title on Whiskers, the horse he still rides.
“Trisyn rode Whiskers at the college finals one year when he was going to school in Arizona,” said Anderson, 27, of Carrington, North Dakota. “I told Trisyn about Alva and said, ‘We don’t do anything but bulldog, play cards, and go to school, but if you want to get better, this is the place to go.’ ”
Kalawaia followed that lead. Anderson stuck around Alva a few more years before heading off to Millsap, Texas. The duo practiced together and shared a bond. Both studied under the tutelage of then-coach Stockton Graves, who not only trained them but traveled with them while they were learning the lessons of professional rodeo. It’s worked for others, including two world titlists –Jacob Edler in 2020 and J.D. Struxness in 2024– and a handful of others who have made the NFR.
“Stockton taught us a lot of things, especially how to rodeo and how to be confident,” Anderson said. “He did it leading by example, and he’s a stud. He’s an awesome mentor.”
That’s how Northwestern became the “Bulldogging Capital of College Rodeo” and why some of steer wrestling’s best have found a home in Alva. Alas, that’s another nice tie between the two Fort Worth champs.
“I actually bought the house Bridger and (Riley) Westhaver were living in, and I still live in that house,” Kalawaia said with a laugh.
Fort Worth marked the biggest victory in the young Hawaiian’s career, but it’s also a stepping stone he can use to build a fortress. He and Anderson are hoping to climb every stairway they can.
“I think Trisyn would say the same thing,” Anderson said. “We wouldn’t be where we are in our careers if it weren’t for Alva.”
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