After a week of competing at the Canadian Finals Rodeo, Dylan Bilton grabbed tight to the bareback riggin' handle on the horse in his final performance Saturday.
He couldn't see a spare seat in Edmonton's Rexall Place, and many were standing.
“I hope I don't fall off,” he thought. “There's a lot of people here that I know.”
Bilton quickly realized that for the next eight seconds of thrashing glory he had nothing to worry about. He ended up winning that Saturday performance, coming in second overall for the novice category.
“I was in pretty good control for most of the ride for that last one,” he said. “I ended up placing second in Canada.”
It's been a heck of a year for the Innisfail resident, who scooped up $8,755.93 over the course of his first pro season. Not bad for a guy who didn't give bareback riding a chance until high school, having been inspired by his father and some of his peers.
“I didn't last very long that's for sure,” he said, recalling his first-ever attempt. “You use muscles you don't usually use.”
His father Aron, himself a bareback rider in his day, remembers what it was like for his son at first.
“When he first started he would get bucked off everything,” he said. “He thinks about striving to be better all the time and he is still learning.”
After winning the amateur circuit two years running Bilton decided to go this year.
“I never thought I'd make it to the Canadian finals,” he said. “It's just kinda neat. I didn't think I was gonna do that well.”
The soft-spoken rodeo champ is a bit disappointed he didn't win it all, but he knows there's always next time.
“I'm just gonna keep getting better, play it by ear and see how it goes from there,” he said.
