Change in habits put Broussard back among pro rodeo’s elite

It’s a walk Taylor Broussard has taken hundreds of times, if not more. From his truck to the door of the store. From the door to the cooler. From the cooler to the cash register and back to his truck.

Two and a half years ago, Broussard went through the motions of this habit, grabbing a beer from the refrigerated case.

On this day, however, he returned to his vehicle and stared at the can. For the first time in years, he didn’t want to open it.

“No one could have made me stop or get the help until I was ready to get the help. I got to the point where I was ready, and I happened to ask God for help one night,” Broussard said. “I was like, ‘God, help me. I need to stop this.’ The next day, my brother asked me if I was ready to get some help, and I went to a rehab.”

Alcohol was Broussard’s self-medicating vice, helping hide the discomfort that comes with the rigors of bareback riding. When he got hurt in December 2021, he drank a little extra to ease the pain, sometimes even before going to the gym.

Finally, in mid-2022, he made the decision that enough was enough. Following a 45-day stint in rehab, he hasn’t touched a drop since.

It was the first step on his journey back to a place he knows he belongs — the 2024 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

Broussard is no stranger to Las Vegas in December. He made his first Wrangler NFR appearance in 2019 and qualified again in 2021, with that second trip being the start of his spiral. He suffered an injury at the NFR that impacted him over the next year, leading to increased drinking, weight gain and a lack of focus.

On Dec. 17, 2022, Broussard was competing at the Chase Hawks Rough Stock Rodeo in Billings, Montana, against Knot So Foxey, a Powder River Rodeo horse he had ridden and had success on before. This time, Broussard got bucked off, the only non-scoring ride posted against Knot So Foxey that entire season.

“It made me so mad (that) I started working out harder, and I lost about 15 pounds. I haven’t looked back since, and I’ve gotten better since then,” Broussard said with a laugh.

Combined with his renewed focus, the veteran PRCA competitor has steadily worked his way back into the limelight. Last season, he set a career-high in earnings, finishing just shy of $104,000. Broussard ended up 18th in the standings, three spots out of a return to NFR.

The 2024 regular season was his best showing yet, with almost $129,500 in winnings. But the path back to Vegas was extremely stressful.

He had a good winter before a knee injury at RodeoHouston put his season in jeopardy. In June, he picked up less than $10,000, leaving empty-handed at 10 events. Broussard saw his name all over the rankings. One week, he would be in the top 10. The next, he would barely be inside the top 20.

“A lot of highs and lows. You’re the best in the world, then next thing, nobody knows who you are one weekend,” Broussard said. “You just never know how it’s going to end up, and you just keep fighting, knowing you belong there at the Finals at the end of the year, and anything’s possible.”

It all came down to the final weekend. Broussard didn’t make the cut for the CINCH Playoff Series Championship, meaning he would have to navigate smaller rodeos, trying to keep pace.

His last stop was at the Young Living’s Last Chance Rodeo in Mona, Utah. Broussard did the math before climbing in the chute. He needed to place in the top four. That would secure him enough prize money to fend off peers such as Richmond Champion, Tanner Aus, Orin Larsen or Waylon Bourgeois for one of the final two qualifying spots.

The matchup was against a horse aptly named Last Hope. The result: a fourth-place finish on an 86-point ride.

Which brings him back here, to the Thomas &Mack Center. After seven rounds, Broussard is sitting 13th in the world standings.

He tied for fourth in both the first and second go-rounds, for a pair of $9,418 checks. Along with the $10,000 bonus each NFR contestant receives, Broussard has earned $28,836 this week. And he’s hoping to knock down some more in the ninth and 10th go-rounds.

Regardless, there will be no celebratory beers this time around, and that’s OK with Broussard.

Two and a half years ago, he gave up something to gain even more. While he would appreciate a little more certainty heading into the final weeks of the regular season next time, the journey to this point is a reminder that hard work and commitment pay off.

It’s a lesson for which he’s grateful to be an example.

“Making this year’s NFR, I don’t know, the feeling I got was different. I got in there just by a few inches, but I felt like I was going to make it from the beginning of the year,” Broussard said.

“I’m barely 31 years old, and I feel like I’m getting better. I’m working harder at it. I really crave bareback riding and I put everything I’ve got into it now. And the results have shown that it’s worked.”