EAGLE, Idaho β At just 12 years old, Dylan Doyon has already ridden more than 100 bulls, and now he's preparing for the biggest ride of his life at the International Miniature Bullriders Association World Finals.
The young Eagle resident first discovered his passion for bull riding at the Eagle Rodeo, not long after his family moved to town in 2019. What started as interest in mutton busting quickly evolved into something much bigger.
"It was a lot of fun and I saw the mutton busting and I wanted to do the mutton busting, but the year I wanted to, I was a few years too old and so I got into calf riding and then since then I came up to junior and then seniors and now I'm at," Dylan said.
His initial expectations were far from the reality of competitive bull riding.
WATCH: See this young bull rider in action!
"I didn't realize how much of a sport I was getting myself into, and I thought I was going to just hop on and ride and be done with it, but since then I wanted to come back the next year..." Dylan said.
For the Doyon family, bull riding wasn't something they had planned on pursuing. Dylan's mother, Kayli Doyon, explained how their involvement began.
"I always joke and say we didn't choose the rodeo life. The Rodeo Life chose us. We went to Eagle Rodeo one night for fun, and while we enjoyed the show, that really was our only intention was just to go and have fun and watch," Kayli said.
But Dylan's interest quickly became serious, transforming the entire family's lifestyle.
"It felt like, very quickly he knew that he was serious about this, and now we're all in. We spend all summer, especially rodeoing. We plan our travel around it and we attend as a family, so we're all in the rodeo life now," Kayli said.
Over the past two years, Dylan has taken the sport more seriously, training with Kevin Hansen at Rodeo Fever in Caldwell. The 12-year-old, who is homeschooled for 7th grade, practices every Sunday during the spring season.
"So I practice out of Caldwell, Idaho, with Rodeo Fever, and every Sunday during the spring, everybody with Rodeo Fever will come out and we'll just get on a ton of bulls just like to practice and work up to what we're aiming for," Dylan said.
The professional guidance has helped shape not just his riding technique, but his mindset as well.
"He's shown me to always have a good attitude, no matter what happens," Dylan said of Hansen.
Dylan's father, Ryan, plays a vital role in his success, serving as his spotter in the chute before each ride. Kayli explained the importance of this partnership.
"My husband, Ryan is Dylan's right-hand man with all things rodeo. So when you ride bulls, it's really important that you have what we call a 'spotter,' somebody who you can trust in the chutes," Kayli said.
The role is more dangerous than many realize.
"A lot of people don't realize that the time our riders spend in the chutes, right before that gate opens and they actually ride, is often more dangerous than the ride itself. So Dylan's dad is back there with him, not only prepping all of his gear for the ride, but ultimately spotting him so that if something goes wrong with that bull in the chute, he's the one saving Dylan from really getting hurt back there. So they make a good team. They couldn't do it without one another," Kayli said.
Dylan explained the technical aspects of bull riding that determine success in competition.
"So how it works is if you ride for 8 seconds, then you hop off the bull and you get a qualified ride, whether if you go anywhere from 0 to 7 seconds, then you're disqualified and you don't get a score, but if you ride for the 8 seconds and you get a score," Dylan said.
The scoring system combines two elements: "It's 50 possible points on how hard the bull bucks and 50 possible points on how much control you had during the ride, and together they'll put those points together."
Dylan's consistent rides throughout this year earned him enough points to qualify for the International Miniature Bullriders Association World Finals, a prestigious achievement in the junior bull riding world.
"So I started competing in January and I have accumulated my IMBA points and standings since then and got me higher on the ranks," Dylan said.
"That definitely makes me appreciate how much I've put in the work because that means 36 kids from the whole world got to make it, and I was one of them," Dylan said.
The young rider has become a regular at rodeos across Idaho, competing everywhere from Eagle to Caldwell, Fruitland, and Parma. He also won a buckle at the Eagle Rodeo this year, bringing pride to his local community.
"I'm very appreciative for being able to represent this town," Dylan said.
Dylan also acknowledged his sponsors, giving a shout-out to "DAP Residential and Dwayne Ellis."
Kayli expressed her immense pride in Dylan's achievement and the courage required for bull riding.
"I'm so proud. I'm really, really proud. You know, to do the sport at any level takes a certain amount of courage. It takes a real special spirit that most of us simply don't have. I would never get on a bull," Kayli said.
"In fact, my husband wouldn't get on a bull either. So, the fact that Dylan does this is already is so impressive and something that we're proud of. But for him to have really put in the work, and not only the work, but the humility that it's taken to push through this whole season and now get to go and represent his stock contractor and the City of Eagle at world finals, it's real special. We're real proud of him," Kayli said.
Despite the inherent dangers, Kayli supports Dylan's passion wholeheartedly.
"You know, I get asked a lot why I let Dylan do this or how I let Dylan do this, and there's no question that it's nerve-wracking. I start every competition day, a ball of nerves," Kayli said.
"And that doesn't go away until I see him safely after his ride. That said, the passion and the commitment that Dylan has to this is something that you can't teach, and I feel so honored to have a kid that is willing to pour himself into something so specific that I could not imagine not giving him all of the support in the world. And, here we are. Look, he's going all the way because of it," Kayli said.
Dylan will compete in Ogden, Utah from September 3 through September 6. The competition structure allows riders to advance through multiple rounds.
"He'll compete the first two nights in hopes of earning a spot at the semifinals on night 3 and potentially in the short go on night 4 for a chance at a buckle and some pretty big earnings. So we'll, we'll see how far he makes it. We're rooting for him," Kayli said.
After his trip to Utah, Dylan has one final local event out of Emmett in the middle of September.
"That's a special event because it's strictly juniors. You'll have junior bronc riding and junior bull riding. So if you want to come out and support the kids specifically, look into that information and hop over and Emmett and support him there locally too," Kayli said.
After the world finals, Dylan plans to continue his progression in the sport by moving up to junior high rodeo competition.
