Cowboy Cash to place in top five at nationals

Within the past two years, saddle bronc riding has gained a new competitor, Cash Wilson, a local Wall cowboy.

 

Wilson began riding saddle broncs during his freshman year of high school. Several of his close family members, who have all participated in the sport of rodeo, have played an important role in his desire to ride. It is in his blood to ride broncs, and ride them well. 

 

Since his very first ride, Wilson has continued to dedicate his time and efforts to the sport, and with that he has become quite successful.

 

As a freshman Wilson competed at the National High School Rodeo in 2016. During this summer, Wilson has taken first place at the S.D. high school state rodeo and the Little Britches rodeo. He has also taken winnings at several other rodeos around the area.

 

However, one of his biggest accomplishments of this rodeo season has just recently happened. Wilson spent the days of July 16-22, at his second National High School Rodeo, located in Gillette, Wyo. This time, however, he had quite a bit of a different experience than the previous year.

 

Participating as a high school sophomore in Gillette, Wilson competed against some of the top saddle bronc riders in the nation. He didn’t back down from the challenge, and instead gave it everything he had.

 

There’s no doubt about it, this cowboy has a lot of will and even more want. Going into nationals he didn’t change up his routine and stuck with his regular practice routine that had clearly been working for him most. The large crowds and exceptional competition didnt’ seem to bother him.

 

“I guess I didn’t really think about it, I just rode my horses,” he said.

 

  With a score of 75 points in the first go, Wilson tied for fourth place, alongside Dickinson, N.D. cowboy, Qwint Stroh.  Results from the second go, revealed that Wilson placed in the 14 spot. And in the final round he placed in the 11 spot. 

 

This left the local cowboy tying for fifth with Tegan Smith from Winterset, Iowa in the aver­­age. Wilson’s overall average  was a score of 198.

 

Wilson said, “It was pretty good, and a good experience, but I feel like I can do better. I wanted to place in the top four, that was my goal going into it.”

Though he barely missed his goal, the cowboy sure has a lot to be proud of and is determined to come back stronger and better from experience at nationals. Wilson has set another goal as he finishes out the rest of this rodeo season.

 

“I want to finish out the summer strong, and place in the top five at the amateur level.”

 

As a strong competitor and lover of the sport, Wilson sets himself high goals so he can push himself to get better each day. However, he doesn’t do it alone. Wilson has had a great support system who travel to all of the rodeos and help coach and train him. 

 

“There was like 15 people that came to support me in the short go at nationals. Their support means the world to me,” he said.

Wilson added that his biggest inspiration is a close relative, Mike Heathershaw. 

 

“There are a lot of highs and lows in the sport of rodeo. Mike helps coach me. He keeps me motivated through all of my lows and celebrates with me during the highs.”

 

As Wilson, an incoming junior at Wall High school, looks to the future, he knows he wants to stick with saddle bronc riding, maybe even in college. 

 

“I had a couple of colleges contact me after riding at nationals, but I haven’t made any commitments yet,” he noted.

And with that said, this won’t be the last time we hear Cash Wilson mentioned in the top.