Rookie bull rider Kimzey poised to win gold buckle

There’s a saying in cowboy circles for those who have experienced the highs and lows: This isn’t his first rodeo.

But for Sage Kimzey, this is his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. And it’s his first full season on the PRCA circuit. So it’s pretty impressive that the rookie bull rider is in, of all places, first in the world standings.

Kimzey, a 20-year-old from Strong City, Okla., rode into the Thomas &Mack Center with regular-season earnings of $143,165, almost $18,000 ahead of second-place Trey Benton III. That’s because Kimzey won all over the place this season, in rodeos big and small, from San Antonio to Ellensburg, Wash., to Oklahoma City and a bunch of points in between.

It’s all a bit overwhelming for the youngster.

“It’s a lot to take in, for sure,” said Kimzey, who won the NFR’s third and fourth rounds and is in excellent shape to claim his first gold buckle, with his season earnings now at more than $220,000. “It’s something I worked for my whole life, to make it to the NFR. To see it come through so early in my career, it’s something special.”

Initially, the biggest of his 2014 goals was just to crack the top 15 in bull riding, in order to qualify for the NFR. It became clear early in the season he was going to have to adjust his plan, though.

“I sat down and made all my goals, and honestly, just to make the Finals is such an accomplishment,” Kimzey said. “But the way everything was turning out, I knew I had the potential to do more than that.

“Right after San Antonio, I ended up making about $40,000. As of Feb. 22, I almost had the NFR made. So I sat down and re-evaluated. At that point, the only goal left was to be world champion. That was the time everything changed.”

Kimzey climbed the ladder in a big hurry, against riders he idolized: four-time world champion J.W. Harris, who entered the NFR sixth in the world; 2012 world champ Cody Teel, in third entering the NFR; and Benton, now a three-time NFR qualifier.

And he gets to share the experience with good friend and fellow first-time qualifier Brennon Eldred, who entered the NFR fifth in this year’s world title race.

“We were riding sheep, mutton-busting together as kids,” Kimzey said of his past with Eldred.

“It’s weird, them turning from my idols to my peers. Just a couple years ago, I was a high school kid looking up to them. It’s pretty crazy how quick that transition was.”

Although this is his first trip as a competitor, he has been coming to the NFR for years. And his father, Ted Kimzey, had a sterling career as a barrel man, protecting bull riders after they had dismounted or been thrown off. Ted got the honor of working as the barrel man in the 1980 and 1987 NFR and was the alternate in 1986.

“I’ve been here every year since I was a little kid,” he said. “I’ve been behind the scenes. It won’t come as too big of a shock to me. Growing up around the sport, it’s cool going to all the prestigious rodeos. It’ll just be pretty special at the NFR. It’ll be a great deal and a great life goal achieved.”

But because he hasn’t reached the 21-year-old milestone yet, he probably has had a relatively tame experience outside the arena this week. It wouldn’t be the first time, though. His victory at the All American ProRodeo Finals in Waco, Texas, earlier this year earned him, among other things, a bottle of Pendleton Whisky — which he couldn’t drink (at least legally).

Indeed, his age made it a trying rookie season.

“Me and my dad were joking the other day. I can’t even rent a car, and I go places where I need to rent a car,” Kimzey said with a laugh.

“My time will come soon, when I can rent cars and have a beer, I suppose. I’ll just wait for it.”

In the meantime, he’ll try to finish what he started and come out with the prestigious world championship gold buckle — while making sure he soaks it all in at his first rodeo in Vegas, particularly with each night’s grand entry.

“What I’m really looking forward to is the prestige behind the tip of the Resistol at the NFR. It’s the biggest thing every contestant gets to do to 18,000 people,” he said.

“It’ll be real surreal, to be able to say I accomplished something special, and that I made it.”