Clint Johnson and Johnny Chavez know that half of winning rodeos happens before they even step foot in the arena.
"I had a good draw, and I knew I just needed to rise up and get her done," said Chavez, who won the bull riding event at the Days of '47 Rodeo Wednesday night with a score of 85.
In the second night of competition at the Delta Center, only three cowboys were able to even stay on the 2,000-pound animals for eight seconds. Chavez said his high score came from drawing a feisty bull.
"I knew he was a good draw because I looked him up on the internet," Chavez said of Whats Dat H. "They said he would change up on me and he did. He was a good bull."
Johnson won the night's saddle bronc riding competition with a score of 82, and credited the horse with most of the credit.
"He was a real nice horse," said the native of Gillette, Wyo. "I could have rode him quite a bit better."
Johnson said he nearly fell off at the beginning of his ride.
"He almost bucked me off after the first couple jumps, but I settled back down and held on," the 24-year-old said. It was a good time to win for both cowboys, who are having very successful seasons.
"I was in the top 15 at the end of June, but now I'm in the low 20s," said Chavez, who is one of the oldest bullriders at 40. "It's not too late; I can still pull it off."
Chavez has been to the NFR twice in his 20-year career and knows he can do it a third time with help from some bulls like Whats Dat H.
Both men grew up in rodeo families, and they developed a love for the sport very young.
"My dad did it when he was younger, and I'm from Gillette, Wyoming, where the sport is big," Johnson said. "Some places are big into football; we're big into rodeo."
Not only do his parents own a ranch, but his sister, who doesn't rodeo, is the marketing director of a livestock publication.
"We're all about animals," he grinned.
Johnson said one of the reasons he chose saddle bronc riding is that it's exciting but doesn't take the toll on a cowboy's body like bullriding does.
"I got up on a few bulls purely out of boredom," Johnson said. "It seems like bronc riders have longer careers, and it's a little more cowboy oriented."
Johnson found out last year, however, that bronc riders can suffer just as painful and debilitating injuries.
"I broke my heel bone about this time last year, and it kept me out for about six months," he said. "That hurt real bad."
Chavez has suffered his share of injuries and took a few months off a while back to recover from separated ribs. Despite the injuries that come with bullriding, he doesn't think the length of his career is odd at all.
"I'll do it until I can't win," he said, laughing. "When you can still compete with the young guys, you've got to stick with it."
He said it's easier to ride on a night like Wednesday's when riders are having trouble staying on the bull for eight seconds.
"All you've got to do is ride to get some money," he said with another huge grin.
E-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com