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M E R I D I A N M A G A Z I N E

Ride 'em Cowboy!
by Kelly L. Martinez

When I was a child, I used to play "cowboys and injuns." In spite of my Lamanite heritage, I always wanted to be the cowboy. The images of the cowboy lifestyle my childish imagination painted were images of ruggedness and of winning the affections of the pretty lady.

Maturity and the passing of years brought the realization that there was no such lifestyle on the horizon for a city slicker like me — though I DID win the affections of the pretty lady.

Imagine my surprise when I received an e-mail from someone in the rodeo business that informed me that cowboys did, indeed, still exist. Not only do they still exist, but their popularity is on the rise. Intrigued, I opened a line of communication with this good brother. Periodic e-mail kept me apprised of the sport and, in particular, a certain cowboy that is taking the sport of rodeo by storm.

Catching a Dream
In late 2000, a rookie bull rider named Cody Hancock, of Taylor, Ariz., was crowned national bull riding champion of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association after entering the National Finals Rodeo in the 15^th and final qualifying slot. Rising from fifteenth to champion had never been accomplished before. It was a dream fulfilled.

Hancock's rise to the top of his event really isn't that surprising. In high school, he won the Arizona state bareback title his junior and senior seasons, adding the bull riding title his senior season. From high school, he moved on to the rodeo program at the College of Southern Idaho on scholarship. While at CSI, he made three trips to the College National Finals Rodeo, capturing the Wilderness Circuit bull riding title in 1998, placing third at the Dodge National Circuit in 1999, and reaching the semi-finals in 2000. He also landed the all-around and bull-riding crowns in the Rocky Mountain Region of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association while at CSI.

By virtue of his PRCA title, Hancock was propelled to instant hero status back home in Taylor, Ariz., where he received a five-police car and four-fire truck escort upon his return from winning the NFR bull riding title. The city of Taylor declared Dec. 11, 2000 as Cody Hancock Day.

With a national title in hand, the taste of victory had settled into Hancock's psyche and he wanted to capture another in the 2001 NFR. Things didn't work out the same for Hancock, but he did finish second and had accumulated over $165,000 in earnings for the 2001 season. The money was nice, but most notably, Hancock broke a scoring record in bull riding that had stood for 24 years. In the tenth round of the NFR, Hancock rode the bull called Mr. USA to near perfection, tallying a score of 96, besting the record set by Don Gay in 1976 by one point.

Presently, Hancock is ranked first in the world bull riding rankings, having earned $29,901 in prize money through April 12.

On the Rise
Rodeo is a sport that is rising in popularity. ESPN2 and TNN regularly televise PRCA events, including the NFR, which is held every December in Las Vegas. In states like Texas, Oklahoma, Utah and California, to name a few, professional rodeo has a growing fan base.

Philadelphia Freedom
Hancock served a mission in Philadelphia from 1994-96, putting his promising rodeo career on hold. A mission was something he had figured he would do since he was a child. "When it came time to go on a mission," he said, "there was never any question about it for me."

Cody and his wife Rinda were married in the Mesa Arizona Temple in December of 1996. The two have known each other since junior high school and have a daughter, Tyree, 2, who is named after Hancock's close friend, Ty Reeder, a former college rodeo teammate.

The Family Circuit
Hancock's dad, Ray, is also a name in the rodeo biz. When Cody was 13, he gave his father a unique Father's Day gift — he paid the entry fee and entered his father in a bull riding contest, which Ray went on to win. Ray now rides bulls in the National Senior Pro Rodeo Association and is in pursuit of that division's title. If he is successful, it will be the first time that a father-son combination has ever won world titles in professional rodeo.

Cody's older brother, Tommy, rode bare back broncos competitively in high school before serving a mission to North Carolina. Younger brother, Wyatt, is also a returned missionary and is now riding bare backs and competing at CSI. The youngest Hancock brother, Shawn, is competing on the high school rodeo circuit.

To say that the Hancock family has rodeo in its blood would be an accurate statement.

I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go
The Hancock lineage is steep in the Church and the Arizona community. Ray's great grandfather was one of the original settlers sent by Brigham Young to the arid Arizona region. The family has been there ever since.

Both Ray and Cody feel that their lifestyle of no smoking, drinking or chewing contributes greatly to their success in rodeo. "I feel really healthy and a lot of it is because of my lifestyle," said Ray.

Cody credits the discipline he learned as a missionary as the main factor in providing him with the strength and focus to excel in his sport. In addition to his busy rodeo schedule, Cody finds time to serve on his ward's scout committee and is a member of the advisory committee for the Cowboys Against Tobacco and Cowboy Ted's Kids Club programs. (For those of you outside of Utah, Cowboy Ted is a radio personality and rodeo announcer in Salt Lake City that regularly contributes articles nationwide on the sport of rodeo.)

Don't Touch that Dial!
So if you find yourself flipping through the channels one night, don't be so quick to tune out the rodeo on ESPN 2. If you do, you just might miss out on seeing history in the making.

NOTE: Cowboy Ted contributed to this story.

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