Standing in the pasture with his home, horses and a gravel road around him, Ryker Butler wore a golden belt buckle reading, “CHAMPION.”
The 18-year-old bull rider from McLoud earned that title in the 2023 International Finals Youth Rodeo, with a total score of 167.5 between his three goes to become champion.
“It really was amazing,” Butler said. “It’s one of the richest youth rodeos, and I had the intention of just going out there and trying my best. I didn’t really know what was happening. I knew that there’s pretty good bulls there, and my competition was good. I just went out there and tried my best, and it all just kind of worked out.”
Not only did Butler earn his name as champion, but he also transformed his life with his performance last July.
“It really is surreal, I still have people talk about it to this day,” Butler said. “That’s kind of what people know me of, is winning it last year. It really got my name out there when it comes to bull riding. So I’m really excited for this year, and to see if I can two-time.”
Now as the defending champion and likely competition favorite, Butler is set to compete at the 2024 IFYR on July 7-12 in Shawnee at the Heart of Oklahoma Exposition Center. After such a successful performance last year, he shared how he’s approaching this year’s competition.
“There’s always room for improvement, but I’m just going to go in there, and expect to do the same I did last year,” Butler said.
Along with him, every local will watch expectantly as they know what he can do. Butler is looking to defend his title in his last year as a youth competitor, but the recent high school graduate is far from done bull riding.
He plans to travel and begin his permit season competing in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, along with riding in the International Professional Rodeo Association.
Butler hopes to use these semi-professional bull riding leagues to reach the National Finals Rodeo and become a full-time professional.
It’s a career that began with an invite to watch, progressively evolving from riding sheep, to calves, to steers, to junior bulls and now Butler is pushing to become a full-time professional bull rider.
He spoke about what drives his passion to bull ride. “Just the friends you meet, the things you get to see, especially when you start traveling a lot,” Butler said. “The fans, and just the winning part. It feels good, you know, when you’re able to do what you love successfully.”
For Butler, winning is a familiar feeling and he’ll try to keep it that way when he turns professional.
Wherever he goes, undoubtedly the youth bull riding champion will have the support of the local community as he closes his youth career and pursues competition at the highest level.