For as long as he can remember Tucker Mertens has dreamed of becoming a professional bull rider, and now he is working to make that dream come true.
Mertens, the son of Phillip and Mindy Mertens of Veblen, graduated from Britton-Hecla High School 10 days ago, and on Friday he begins a journey at a rodeo in Agar that he hopes will culminate with a spot on the professional rodeo circuit.
His dad was a bull rider, and Mertens says “it’s been my thing ever since I was born.” But he had a rather inauspicious start to what he hopes will be a productive career.
He rode his first bull at age six at a rodeo in Ellendale that Mertens termed, “not that good with plenty of room for improvement.” And then towards the end of that inaugural season he broke his arm. You’d think that could have been enough cause for the 7-year-old to reconsider his dream, but just the opposite happened.
“For some reason that broken arm really made me to want to keep doing it,” said Mertens. “I guess I must be wired a little different, but that second year I really got bit by the rodeo bug.”
Phillip Mertens rode bulls for about 15 years. In fact, he was in a hospital in Sioux Falls after he was stepped on by a bull the same night that Tucker was born in the same hospital.
Tucker never had the opportunity to see his father compete because he retired when his son was just two years old.
But he has passed on those 15 years of experience and knowledge.
“Dad has definitely been my main coach and been the one to tell me what I’m doing right and wrong,” stressed Tucker. “He keeps me from doing wrong things and has been a really good coach.”
Professional bull riders can compete in two different arenas – the Profession Bull Riders (PBR) or the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). Last year the PBR went to a team format, while the PRCA is still an individual competition. Earlier this spring Mertens attended a PBR Combine which is very similar to the NFL Combine that gives coaches a preview of what athletes can do.
“I went to Bowie, TX, for the combine to display my talent in front of all the coaches,” said Mertens. “The first day we did physical fitness stuff that went really good for me, and the next day we rode a bunch of bulls that went pretty well. I was able to meet a bunch of people and make a lot of new connections.”
Mertens said there is a chance he could get a call from one of the nine PBR teams and drafted as a free agent, but first he will most likely need to prove himself. He needs to make at least $500 on the circuit to earn his pro card and then needs to make a habit of staying on bulls for eight seconds.
“For right now I want to get my pro card, stay in this area for a little bit, and then probably move down south within the next year and really hit it hard. There’s a circuit in this area called the Badlands Circuit, and my goal would be to go to a bunch of those rodeos, do well and get to the finals. Getting a win under my belt in the finals would be game-changing and the bestcase scenario.”
Mertens has no plans to just dabble in rodeo – he has big goals.
“My goal would be to become world champion. To do that you have to make it to the World Finals, and only 30 out of thousands of riders are able to do that. It really comes down to how bad you want it, and all I can say is that it will take a lot to stop me.”
So what do you have to do to become a world class bull rider? Tucker stressed that it’s mostly a mental game, and he thinks that is one of his biggest strengths.
“I think my strength is my mentality – learning to keep it simple and have fun with it. Bull riding is definitely a mental deal, and when I’m on a bull I don’t want anything going through my head. You kind of have to learn how to shut your mind off before the ride and let instinct take over.
I’m at my best when I’m just having fun.”
Of course, the bulls are also doing all they can to make sure that the “fun” lasts less than eight seconds.
“You definitely want to draw a better bull that bucks a little harder and does a little more to try and get you off. The key to a great ride is to not give up and to keep moving. Every bull has its own tricks and that’s why you have to keep moving because you never know what is coming next.”
Mertens knows the sport is not for the faint of heart. He has stayed reasonably healthy after that broken arm as a rookie, but an injured wrist kept him out of competition for a time last year and just recently has been “feeling a lot better.”
“If you can get 15 years doing this that would be dang good. It all depends on how well you take care of your body and stay out of accidents. That’s another thing you need to keep out of your head. You don’t want to think about bad stuff because that’s when bad stuff happens.”
But maybe most of all it’s the thrill and adrenalin rush that Mertens feels when sitting on the bull waiting for the gate to open that has kept his dream alive for most of his young life.
“I would have to say that it’s just the thrill that I like most. It gets your heart pumping a little bit and makes you feel alive. And maybe my favorite part is the people you get to meet along the way.”
