Not one but two broken armscould not keep Ty Parnell fromqualifying for the NJBRA lastsummer. "I got off a bull wrongand he threw me hard enough that when I hit the ground I broke my right elbow in January. Then in May I broke my left one," said the 13-year-old Edmond, Oklahoma, cowboy. Ty jokes that he simply got lucky in qualifying for the NJBRA in Amarillo, Texas, even after being out for three whole months. "I've been a bull rider for as long as I can remember, and I have competed at my favorite rodeo, the Edmond Junior Rodeo, as longas I've been riding. Last year was the fi rst year I didn't get to ride in it because of my broken arm. I tried convincing my parents for months to let me ride." But Cody and Tanya Weiss would not budge.Ty has three siblings: Niki, 21, Maci, 20, and Jessy, 3. Maci and Ty are the only ones who got the rodeo bug.

"My dad was a bull rider way back when and is a roper now. He put me on sheep and calves when I was four. I am also a team roper on the heel side. I am thinking I would like to start competing in it next year in the OKJHSRA." Two of Ty's biggest rodeo infl uences are J.B. Mauney and Jess Lockwood, as both have an aggressive riding style and strong mental game. "Getting hurt in rodeo makes it real tough to come back from. But both of them have done it multiple times. And that was helpful when I broke my arms." Thanks to my dad Cody, Luke Schalla, Chad Rammer and Chad Williams, Ty gets to practice on live bulls at least twice a week. "We have a bucking barrel at our house that I can ride on off days and then I like to ride my horse bareback a lot to keep myself in shape and build up my strength."

Ty aspires to attend college on a rodeo scholarship and then become a professional bull rider. "Education is really important to my family. My dad went to Connors State College and that is where my sister is now so that is where I want to go too." Connors is close to Lake Eufaula, which is convenient for Ty who tends to be a water bug in the summer time."We have a lake house there, so we have spent quite a bit of time close to Connors.We swim, ride the tube, fi sh and do all those lake things as much as we can." With aspirations geared towards the PBR and NFR, Ty is working hard this year to ride every bull that runs under him and has been successful so far.

He is thankful for all the advice and help he gets from his parents. "My mom is supportive, but she gets nervous when I ride." The four-time Edmond Junior Rodeo bull riding champion has finished in the top ten multiple times in the WBR World Finals and NJBRA Nationals.He was also the 2016 Miniature Bull Riding Champion in the Dox Extreme Rodeo. But what he is most proud of happened this spring. "I was at practice with Wacey Schalla and I got on a little white bull, but I got hung up for over a minute. It was a bad wreck. A week later we went back, and I got on him again.He turned back into my hand and I rode him. He spun like a top, but I made every move I needed to make to stay on." The seventh-grade homeschooler, values his friendships made in rodeo about all else. "I like the OKJHSRA mostly because I get to see all my friends and have a good time with the opportunity to win a state title each year. I get to hang out with a lot of great people and meet a lot of new ones."