by Terry Lidral
Feature image courtesy of Bull Stock Media
Professional Bull Riding (PBR) fan favorite Wiley Petersen made his career about riding bulls and living with a purpose. His highly successful career spanned from the 2000 season of the PBR Built Ford Tough series through his retirement from bull riding in 2011.
Wiley Petersen won the 2007 PBR World Finals event title and took home more than $280,000. His stellar riding career included 10 trips to the PBR World Finals, 13 wins of televised PBR events and more than $1.4 million of earnings during his career. See his career stats here: https://www.pbr.com/athletes/riders/profile/1114/WileyPetersen
It was not only Wiley’s athletic ability to stay on the back of a powerhouse bull that drew people to him. He was loved by his fans for his ability to communicate and engage with people. And as a bull rider with a large fan base in the PBR, it became his goal to share his faith and live his life as an example to others.
“Throughout my career, and my life, I have had the support of my family, especially my mother, my grandfather and my grandmother. They have given me inspiration, motivation and they have shared their faith,” Wiley told us about the foundation for his success in life. “They’ve always been there for me and I truly appreciate that. Through my popularity as a bull rider in the PBR, I was able to pass that on to others.”
It was Wiley’s mother who allowed him to take that first step towards his career in bull riding.
“I was not confident as a kid,” Wiley told us about why he decided to try riding steers (the junior level of bull riding). “I wasn’t a fighter and I was small. I thought that if I could ride a steer, I’d be a ‘bad boy.’ But when I went to get on that steer in the chute, I changed my mind,” Wiley told us with a laugh.
“I tried to get out of it, but my mom wouldn’t let me,” Wiley continued. “She told me not to let my fear be stronger than my faith. She said that I had made the decision to get on the steer and I needed to do it. Then, after I got on, I could make the decision about if I wanted to do it again.”
Although the ride ended in a buck-off, Wiley got a boost of confidence. He liked the rush of adrenaline and he felt like a tough guy. He’d found a way to channel his energies and feel good about himself.
“I spent my first couple of years in steer riding mostly falling off. I would have a successful ride once in a while which was enough to keep me engaged. Getting on those steers bolstered my confidence in a way nothing else did. I couldn’t wait to get on the next one,” explained Wiley. “I was finding an identity and I stuck with it.”
Wiley worked his way up through junior and high school rodeo. Bull riding had become his main focus in life and by the time he was an adult, he realized that he desperately wanted to become a pro and ride bulls for a living.
“I had a goal and I had a dream. I loved the sport,” explained Wiley. “Junior rodeos were in the summer. So, I was working in the off season to hone my skills and training to get strong. I did pull-ups everywhere I could – on the door, on the swing set or whatever was available. I was dedicated to becoming the best bull rider I could be.”
“My grandpa gave me insight and worked with me on my physical training,” Wiley continued. “He also gave me advice and I learned from it. I had the right mindset to be willing to listen to adults and learn from their sage advice.”
“My grandpa has been there for me from the time I started riding steers. He was my example for my physical training. He’s always been a super fit person and works out every day, even now he’s 87 years old. He has been my mentor, my inspiration and he’s challenged me to be my best. He’s a big reason for my success both in bull riding and in life. And I am so thankful for him.”
In high school, Wiley competed in open rodeos and he found the bulls to be a big challenge. The open rodeos he was attending had tough pens of bulls. After getting on the back of one of those tough bulls, Wiley, being a small kid, felt overwhelmed but it didn’t kill his fire and hunger to be a bull rider.
Byron Pehrson was the bull contractor for the rodeo and he took an interest in Wiley. He saw a motivated young man and he offered Wiley the opportunity to get on some practice bulls and learn how to be a bull rider. Wiley had no idea what he was in for.
“Byron Pehrson was the contractor for the bulls. He told me if I wanted to be a good rider, he’d get me on some bulls for practice. He said he’d help me get to riding ‘good.’ So, I went to his place in Darlington, Idaho to get on some practice bulls.”
“When I got there with my family crew, who usually went everywhere with me, I realized it might be a mistake to get on one of Byron’s bulls,” Wiley admitted, chuckling. “I was a 14-year-old kid about 105 pounds and these were mean bulls and full-grown men riders. And the arena was small, maybe 30 feet in diameter. There was no room for the cowboy to run. And all that stood between the cowboy on the ground and the charging bull was Byron waving an old tattered Carhartt coat at the bull’s head to give the cowboy a chance to get away. I have to admit that I was scared.”
“Byron took me outside and had me sign a release form and told me I might die riding a bull,” continued Wiley. “I left that day without getting on.”
A year later, Wiley did go back to the Pehrson arena and he did get on the bulls. And he gained a mentor in Byron.
“Byron was soft-hearted but he was tough. He told it like it was,” said Wiley of the man who became an important part of his life as a bull rider. “Once I committed to going to ride at his arena, I went there regularly. I got a realistic perspective about the sport. The bulls were mean, they bucked hard and the arena was little.”
“Byron Pehrson was a bucking bull contractor from Darlington, Idaho. He had an arena on his ranch where he bucked his young bulls every Saturday in the winter. It was maybe 30 feet in diameter and the bulls were right on top of the cowboy when he fell off. Byron’s bulls were tough and they liked to play. Sometimes there were bullfighters and sometimes it was only Byron waving a tattered Carhartt coat between the bull’s head and the cowboy to give the cowboy a chance to get away. I got a realistic look at what riding bulls was all about. After working in that arena, riding in an open rodeo didn’t seem so scary.”
In 1997, Wiley made the move to becoming a professional bull rider. He started out by getting a Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) permit and earned enough money to qualify for his PRCA membership card. The next year he concentrated on earning his PBR card. After weighing his options, Wiley made the decision to devote his efforts to riding in the PBR.
“I started on the PBR tour in 1999 and for my first event the PBR put me on the roster in Missouri. I lived in Idaho and it was a long drive,” Wiley explained about his introduction into pro bull riding. “I got my brother to go with me and I drove the round trip. I rode in the first round for 80 points but I drew a fast spinner in the short round and only stayed on for 6 or 7 seconds. I left Missouri out of the money.”
“It cost me a lot of money to go to that Missouri event,” said Wiley. “It was $150 or $200 to enter and then there was the money for gas. I realized that it wasn’t going to be easy to make my living as a bull rider. But I knew that riding bulls in the PBR was what I wanted to do.”
That first year was tough on Wiley’s finances. He was riding bulls full time. Sometimes he drove. Sometimes he flew and sometimes he jumped in the car with other riders who were going to the same event. Every event had an entry fee that had to be paid. Expenses were adding up and there were a lot of week-ends where he left the event out of the money.
“I could make thousands of dollars in 2 or 3 bull ridings and then the next week-end I wouldn’t make anything. I wanted to be a bull rider but there was a price to pay. I knew if I didn’t follow my dream I would regret it later. But I found myself running up credit cards and running out of funds. It looked like I was going to have to go home and get a job to make some money.”
Then Wiley hit some good luck when he entered an event in California.
“I went to an event in California and I stayed on by the skin of my teeth to win some money,” Wiley told us about his turnaround. “I started winning some more money after that and that kept me going.”
As Wiley gained success in the PBR, he gained a fan base who greeted him at every event. He had a fire and passion for bull riding. But there was another driving force that kept Wiley invested in his professional bull riding career.
“There were multiple things that kept me going on the PBR tour. Bull riding was a dream come true for me. I was believing in myself. I was successful and I became popular because of my uplifting attitude. There were a lot of people who knew me and spent time interacting with them,” Wiley explained about one of the major forces behind his successful career.
“I really liked the interaction with the fans and I knew I had an opportunity to bring some good into the world through my faith. I was influenced by my positive relationship with the Lord and I was able to share that because of my popularity. These people knew me and I was able to be a positive role model for them.”
As Wiley’s career went on, as it happens in bull riding, the injuries became more frequent. And rehab got tougher as he got older.
“In 2008, I broke my collarbone and from there the hunger to get on bulls started to weaken. Most bull riders don’t make it past the age of 35 and as I got into my 30’s, the injuries started to mount up. My passion to ride the rank bulls was fading. The 2010 season was my last competitive year,” Wiley told us.
“I injured my shoulder and in 2011 I had surgery,” he continued about the injuries that were keeping him off the tour. “I got that healed up and was starting my comeback with a televised event and I injured my groin. I was looking towards the 2012 season and I figured I had a year or two left on the tour and that I’d go for broke.”
But the comeback was not to be. A devastating wreck in the practice pen put an end to Wiley’s career.
“In November of 2011, I was getting on some practice bulls getting ready for the 2012 season. My spur caught and I ended up with a sprained right knee and a broken kneecap. My ACL was gone and my meniscus was done,” Wiley said of the wreck that put an end to his bull riding career.
Wiley realized it was too hard a road to come back from those injuries and he called it quits. But he knew he still wanted to interact with people and to continue to share his faith. So, he went to school and became a physician’s assistant.
“Through my experience as a bull rider and moving into this new type of work as a physician’s assistant, I found my sense of purpose,” Wiley said of his new venture. “Everyone has their own journey to find their sense of purpose and we can push ourselves to become who we want to be.”
“To succeed we need people to support us. I have had people who support me and believe in me all the way through my career. They helped me have the confidence that leads to success and satisfaction. Now that I’m retired from bull riding, I want to pass that kind of experience on to boys and girls who are interested in trying the sport. I know the self-confidence that it can build.”
“I am not the same person I was as a bull rider. Now I am able to put people first. For me, it’s now about taking care of people.”
Wiley is not riding bulls any more but he is involved in the sport through his work as a bull riding coach. It’s an important part of his goal to take care of people.
“I work with bull riders at all levels. It’s a way for me to stay involved in the sport. I enjoy helping people succeed, especially the boys and girls I work with,” said Wiley. “I hope to pass on the satisfaction and confidence I experienced in bull riding as a kid. To me, it’s more about life’s lessons than success in the sport.”
