November 12, 2018
by Terry Lidral
ProRodeo Hall of Famer Cody Custer has a lifelong history with the sport of bull riding. His career as a professional bull rider spanned from 1983, the year he joined the PRCA, through his retirement from the PBR in 2003. By the age of 5, Custer was already starting to learn the skills that would carry him to a PRCA World Championship and a host of other circuit championships and titles.
“I grew up in it,” Custer said, talking about the sport of rodeo. “My Dad rodeoed before I was born and I spent a lot of time on my grandfather’s ranch just south of the Grand Canyon. I got on my first calf when I was 5. I rode calves and then moved up to steers,” continued Custer. “We had roping steers on the ranch so I got on them to learn how to ride.”
Custer sees the step up from calves and steers to bulls to be a big one.
“The first time I got on the back of a bull was two weeks before my 14th birthday. It was a lot of pressure, but I was prepared for it. I wanted to get on more.”
For Custer, it’s about the passion of bull riding. It was there from his very first ride.
“You get on the first bull because it’s an adventure. You get on the second bull because you can’t not do it!”
That passion has led to an illustrious career for Custer capped off by an induction into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and selection as a PBR Ring of Honor recipient.
Looking back to when he first rode in the PRCA, Custer describes the caliber of bulls as much different.
“The bucking bulls in the 1980’s and 90’s as a whole, were not as strong or consistent as the bulls of today. The herds were uneven back then and there were certain bulls you waited to get on. Stock contractors had a handful of bulls in their herd that won all the places. If you drew one of those bulls, you knew you’d place in the money. We were all just wanting to get on those money bulls.”
There were some standout bulls that Custer likens to the standout bulls of today.
“My all time favorite bull to get on was Skoal Pacific Bell. I was a fan of his for his whole career. He was so compact that if you got out of shape at all he’d have you on the ground,” Custer told us. “I got on him five times and I only made one qualified ride. But that ride was the first time I got a 90 point score. He wasn’t as consistent overall and he had some bad trips,” Custer went on to say. “But he was my ultimate bull to ride.”
“Another bull favorite of mine was Western Wishes,” Custer continued. “And then there’s Mighty Whitey. I won first every time I got on those bulls. I was really liking seeing my name next to theirs.”
One of Custer’s more memorable rides was when he won first on Mighty Whitey in the second round of the 1992 National Finals Rodeo.
There were bulls that Custer wanted to get on but never had the chance. Strawberry Wine was one of those bulls.
“That bull sticks out in my mind,” said Custer of Strawberry Wine. “He got in the air and had hang time. He looked to me like he’d fit me. But I never got the chance to get on him.”
Custer did get on Bodacious and it was not one of his favorite rides.
“Bodacious didn’t play fair,” laughed Custer. “He was dangerous and I should have known better. I’d dislocated the shoulder of my free arm a couple weeks before and I wasn’t at a hundred percent. I don’t know what I was thinking. Looking back, I wasn’t using my good judgment. He could have killed me!”
When asked about how the sport of bull riding has grown since he joined the PRCA in the early 1980’s, Custer says the major difference is the level of bulls.
“On the whole, there is no comparison. There are so many great bulls now. They are more powerful and more athletic. Athleticism has become a bigger deal throughout the industry.”
Custer has several reasons for what he sees as a new, higher level of animal athletes in the sport.
“It’s about the genetics,” he said. “With the general availability of the great genetics, the bulls are better. And the popularity of the sport has grown. There are more people involved and big money folks are investing in the bucking bull industry.”
Cody Custer’s enthusiasm for bull riding still burns brightly. He has moved from riding bulls to instructing others in the necessary skills to stay on the back of a bull for the eight seconds it takes to make a qualified ride.
“For those of us who were riding bulls as they progressed to what they are today, we had an advantage in the fact that we matured with the sport,” Custer explained. “As the bulls got better, so did we. We had the opportunity to adjust to the rising level of bull power and athleticism.”
“I want to help the young riders coming up through the ranks today,” Custer went on to say. “They have to gain the skills it takes to stay on these bulls they’re asked to ride at the professional level before they get there. My feelings are that there’s a process for preparing to ride the bulls at the top levels. These bulls can be ridden but you have to have a strategy. It takes patience, time and a lot of practice bulls to get set up for success at the higher levels of competition.”
Cody Custer sees the power and athleticism of the bulls in today’s competitions to be an asset. But he also sees it as a big challenge for the young riders looking to enter the professional world of bull riding to be prepared for the moment when they sit down on the back of those bulls.
Author: Terry Lidral
Terry Lidral is a western writer/journalist who lives in Idaho. She is the publisher and editor of the online magazine Bucking Stock Talk and the online magazine Western Living Journal. Her publishing credits include Storyteller for Real American Cowboy Magazine, writing feature articles for Humps N Horns Magazine as well as a wide variety of national and international web sites, historical magazines and news publications. She is known for her "up close and personal" profiles of celebrities and industry moguls such as NPR's Tom Bodett; PBR's Wiley Petersen and D.H. Page, PRCA's Sammy Andrews, Cindy Rosser and Julio Moreno to name a few. She has been applauded for her way of making a personal connection between her readers and her subjects. She indulges in her love of rodeo by serving as an associate board member for the Caldwell Night Rodeo. She is also an accomplished trainer and handler in dog agility. Her shelties Amelie and Milo are titled in NADAC, USDAA and AKC.
Cowboy Up, Cody!