‘I can die’: Athletes will risk it all for glory at the American Rodeo in Arlington
If you’ve ever been impressed by the intestinal fortitude required to stare down a 100 mph fastball, just wait until you see what the American Rodeo is bringing to Globe Life Field on April 11 and 12.
While the Texas Rangers are visiting Seattle this weekend, some of the world’s best cowboys and cowgirls are coming to Arlington to compete for big money at the ballpark, testing their mettle against man and beast alike, including some 1,000-pound-plus bulls and broncos who’d like to send the competition sprawling in the dirt, not unlike some pitchers.
A unique aspect of the American Rodeo is its mix of professional and amateur contestants. You’ll have nationally ranked top-five competitors in events like bareback riding, bull riding, steer wrestling, breakaway roping, team roping and barrel racing, but also a mix of up and comers who qualified for the American through regional tournaments. The invitees — basically, the big names — have a chance to earn $100,000. The qualifiers, though, have a chance to take home $1 million and potentially kickstart a professional career. All told, the American Rodeo is the richest single-weekend event in the sport.
Rocker Steiner of Weatherford among top names
One of the best-known names competing this year is Rocker Steiner, from Weatherford. Steiner, 21, turned pro in 2022 as a bareback rider, and he’s been eating up the competition ever since while earning a reputation as “the bad boy of rodeo” for his outspoken personality.
Just last month, Steiner won at Rodeo Houston, taking home $71,000 in prize money. In Arlington, he’s aiming for $100,000. If you’ve never seen what Steiner does for a living, it’s money well earned. He mounts a bronco, no saddle, and hangs on for all he’s worth for 8 seconds out of the chute.
If soccer is the beautiful game and baseball is the thinking-person’s game, bareback riding is the hell-for-leather, damn-the-torpedoes game, and Steiner’s approach, seemingly unconcerned about life or limb, seems to be the secret to his success.
“There are a lot of times when I’m completely relaxed, no nerves, no adrenaline,” he said. “That’s when I’ve got to remind myself that I can die doing this. That flips the switch. That’s when the fighter mentality comes out, when you remind yourself that this could be the last time you do it, so you might as well go at it with everything.”
Watching Steiner, you can picture John Grady Cole from Cormac McCarthy’s “All the Pretty Horses” breaking Mexican mustangs while vaqueros look on in awe, and Steiner plans to show up and show out in Arlington in much the same way. He knows his fellow competitors are looking to take him down, but he doesn’t shy away from the challenge.
“I love having a target on my back,” said Steiner. “I feel like I’ve had one on my back since I’ve come around when I was 18, and I don’t plan on taking it off anytime soon … I don’t see myself being stopped at the American.”
Legend in the making: Kelsie Domer of Dublin
On the other end of the competitor spectrum is Kelsie Domer, a breakaway roper who is reticent to make brash predictions, but whose résumé speaks for itself.
Domer, 34, from Dublin, is a 10-time world champion with nearly $900,000 in career earnings. She won the breakaway roping title at the 2022 Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, and her most recent world title came in December at the National Finals Breakaway Roping in Las Vegas.
Like Steiner’s, Domer’s event is quick, but 8 seconds would be an eternity in breakaway roping. It takes Domer an average of 2 to 3 seconds to rope a calf out of a chute, and she’s broken arena records with sub-2-second times.
Despite her accomplishments, Domer is soft spoken and humble. She attributes her success to her horse, Little Man, who she’s ridden for about five years, and her work ethic.
“I have definitely worked on my mental game,” said Domer. “I’ve worked on breaking it down to exactly what it takes, what my horse needs to do, what I need to do. I try to be honest with myself if I’m doing something wrong. I’m going to figure out exactly what it is instead of going with the flow and hoping it will change.”
When she’s not on the road competing, you’ll find Domer at her Dublin ranch practicing her technique. When she’s not honing her own skills, she’s giving lessons to area youngsters and college students.
With $100,000 on the line and up to 60,000 people in the stands, the American Rodeo is the biggest event Domer will compete in this year, and in the days leading up to it, she’s primed and ready.
“I’m not going to ever tell somebody I don’t get nervous,” said Domer. “But I’ve learned to use those nerves as a positive. Any competitor is going to feel that, and you want to feel that. You don’t want to feel dull or like you’re there for whatever. I feel like you want to have those nerves and turn it into something good and be excited and be pumped up to be there. So, yeah, it’s the biggest rodeo we get to go to, but the good thing is, even if it’s the biggest, the rules stay the same. No matter what, you can still focus on what you can control and go do your best.”
Tickets are still available to the American Rodeo. In addition to the events, there will be performances by country artists Bailey Zimmerman, Riley Green and Ella Langley. Visit americanrodeo.com for more information.