Ty Murray, King of the Cowboys

Ty Murray is one of the greatest all around cowboys ever to participate in the sport of rodeo. His seven all around world titles have set the bar high for future rodeo stars. Ty has a quote he lives by, “you have to have a fire in you for this sport, because it’s way too dangerous to do it as an afterthought.” (Eubanks and Murray, 3) With steely determination and Ty’s natural ability to put his mind to something and achieve it, his long standing career will influence others for years to come. Ty Murray grew up in the world of rodeo and his drive to win drove him to be nicknamed the “King of the Cowboys” and he has been successful beyond even his own dreams.

At an early age in Phoenix, Arizona, Ty Murray mastered all three rough stock events - bareback, saddle bronc and bull riding. Growing up with rodeo deeply rooted in his life, Ty decided to be a rodeo champion at the age of two. At that age his father taught him the fundamentals by letting him ride his pet dog's back (Eubanks and Murray, 34). The early training did pay off when he won his first buckle at the age of five. Ty prepared himself in many ways to be the best at his sport. He trained by doing gymnastics to perfect his balance and he also rode a unicycle to help strengthen his core muscles as well as juggling to improve his coordination (tymurray.com). Ty started breaking colts to improve his riding skills, earning enough money to buy a mechanical bucking machine (tymurray.com). He was only twelve years old when he got on his first steer at a Little Britches Rodeo; graduating to the larger animals as his skill increased. Because of his early success, Larry Mahan was so impressed he took Murray on as his protégé. Mahan, a world rodeo champion, taught Ty more about competitive riding by providing mentorship to him (tymurray.com). As he got older, he moved up the ranks in the amateur associations. Before graduating from High School, he was crowned the All-Around and Bareback champion for the National...