Firth bareback rider Ryder Wallace heads back to national rodeo. ‘It’s only eight seconds, but it’s a long eight seconds’
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FIRTH – A lot can happen in a year and a half.
That’s the case for Firth High junior-to-be Ryder Wallace, but one thing remains on course.
“I feel like I’m still on the path,” said Wallace, who had a breakout rodeo season as a freshman at Firth High and carried that over to sophomore season. “But there’s a long ways to go.”
Speaking to East Idaho Sports last January, Wallace said he had his sights set on a burgeoning rodeo career, with visions of one day making it up to the best of the best in the professional ranks.
RELATED | Firth siblings, Ryder and Kinsley Wallace, ride to rodeo success
How’s that going?
Well, Wallace is still a high schooler, but he hasn’t slowed down.
Wallace recently won the state title in bareback riding and is headed to the National High School Finals Rodeo (NHSFR) beginning Sunday at the Sandhills Global Event Center in Lincoln, Nebraska.
He finished 10th at the NHSFR last season.
“This year I’m more seasoned so I know what to expect at state and nationals,” the 16-year-old said of his experience.
Coming from a fifth-generation rodeo family, the rodeo lifestyle has been been ingrained in Ryder, who has grown up playing other sports, but it’s rodeo that spurs his passion.
“It takes a lot of time and dedication,” he said. “You got to be fit, you can’t be on the couch eating potato chips all the time. You have to be working … it’s extremely physical, it’s only eight seconds, but it’s a long eight seconds. You have to be ready.”
Ryder and his sister Kinsley travel most weeks to compete in rodeos across the region and the experience has paid off when the competition becomes intense.
Like, let’s say, at the national championships.
“One thing I learned is you can’t be constantly looking back on everything … you move on and you can’t dwell on the past,” Ryder said.
He’ll take that mindset into this week’s competition, where the top bareback riders will meet up.
“Right now, I’m hoping I can win it,” he said. “If I keep riding the way I am and draw good, I have a good shot at being world champ.”
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