ProRodeo Sports News - May 4, 2018

GRILLE COWBOY

Bareback rider LOGAN PATTERSON has had an encouraging start to his professional rodeo career. Ranked second in the Resistol Rookie Standings in bareback riding as of April 30, Patterson, who attended Garden City (Kan.) C.C., picked up second-place checks at the Brawley (Calif.) Cattle Call Rodeo and Cave Creek (Ariz.) Rodeo Days. Patterson, 23, is hoping his rookie season is a launching pad to something bigger.

WITH NICK CICERE PSN

With a little more than $7,600 earned in 2018, how does it feel to get off to such a solid start to your rookie season? Logan: It’s really good. I’ve been to quite a few rodeos, honestly, so maybe I’m not lighting up the world like I had hoped, but I’m dang sure not mad about it either. I feel like it’s a good start and there are a lot of rodeos left. If the stars aligned, how cool would it be to add a Rookie of the Year title to your résumé?

Logan: That’s definitely been on the goal list. I don’t necessarily set it as my highest goal because, everyone says this, but I want to win the world. I definitely see Rookie of the Year as a stepping stone on the way. But if I did get it, I’d be ecstatic. Having the opportunity to travel the country the last couple of years and picking up checks along the way, how much have you enjoyed the start to your ProRodeo career? Logan: The way they’ve got the permit deal set up is really good. I really appreciate how we can stay on our permits throughout college, and it really helped me because I had an ACL injury. I had surgery on that and had it completely replaced. So, I stayed in school for a little bit longer and had an extra semester to go an extra year on my permit. Going to Las Vegas was a really cool experience. While we were out there for the Permit Challenge, I got to go to the NFR, which was the first time I’ve ever been to the Thomas & Mack Center. It just kind of relit the fire. Now that you’ve gotten your feet wet somewhat in the professional ranks, is there any aspect of your craft where you’ve noticed improvement?

Logan: I think with anything like this, everybody evolves. I think my mental capacity to be able to do this has improved. Getting out there and getting on these horses, sometimes you do get your hat handed to you, but you realize it’s not the end of the world. You just keep going, and next time you try your butt off and do it again and hopefully you keep getting better. Another thing you notice being out here is we don’t have hundreds of guys doing this sport. You get to know the top guys and you realize they’re really good at what they do, but they’re still just people. So, it’s like there’s no reason I can’t be doing the same thing. What made you want to be a rodeo cowboy in the first place?

Logan: I grew up on a ranch in Kim, Colo., and my dad rode bareback horses for 20 years in the PRCA. Actually, I didn’t get on a bareback horse until I was a senior in high school. I had roped and done all that stuff in junior rodeos, but riding bareback horses provided me the opportunity to win an all-around saddle. I never won a saddle before and there was a junior rodeo that I was entered at. I told my dad about two weeks before that I was entered in the bareback riding and he figured he’d teach me how to do it. I covered those first two horses and I liked the taste of winning the saddle, and it’s kind of taken off from there. Speaking of the taste of winning, how does winning rodeos make you feel? Logan: The Cedar City (Utah) PRCA Championship Rodeo was probably my first bigger rodeo win, and that was pretty cool. It makes you feel like you’ve got a chance whenever you go somewhere big. It was the same thing later in the year in Nephi, Utah (Ute Stampede) that was a big one. It’s really fun to be able to go out there and not feel like you’re riding for second. Now that you’ve been on the road for a while, is there a rodeo that you would say is your favorite?

Logan: There are so many good ones out there that it’s hard to pick, but I would probably pick the ones that I’ve drawn the best horses. There are some smaller ones out there that are really good rodeos that people don’t really think about, like the Homestead (Fla.) Championship Rodeo. It was good to get off the beaten path and get on some really good horses and see new country. What’s life like in Kim, Colo.? Logan: I always like to say it is the middle of nowhere, but it’s kind of in the middle

of everywhere, too. It’s pretty centrally located for a lot of rodeos, but it’s a good jaunt to go to Wal-Mart. We have to drive an hour to go to

Wal-Mart, but it’s cool to grow up in a small town. Ranching is the town’s lifeblood and it’s really the only industry that we’ve got. When Braxten Nielsen broke his back last year, we were starting to rodeo together and travel together. I asked my church to help out with that deal and they were all on board. It’s cool that they showed him support, and they were telling me the reason they wanted to help him was to show me support. This town has been really supportive. Is there a horse out there that you haven’t had a chance to ride yet, but really want to? Logan: There’s a bunch of them for sure, but one I’ve always kind of thought about was that Good Time Charlie of Pete Carr Pro Rodeo. That horse has just been really good for a long time, and he’s actually gotten a little more out of line and looks to be a little ranker than he used to be. He’s definitely on the top of the list. As a cowboy, what does the NFR, and hopefully someday competing at the NFR, mean to you? Logan: That would be huge. Yeah, I want to make it to the NFR, but it’s not just the thing of getting there, it’s a

thing of getting there and performing, and then doing it over and over. I want to dang sure make my living doing this, so getting to the NFR is not really the question, it’s being successful there numerous times.

LOGAN PATTERSON

ProRodeo Sports News 5/4/18

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