COLONY — Cowboy up.
Dylan Sedlak, Crest High sophomore, has definitely done that. He recently qualified for the 2011 Youth Bull Riders World Finals.
The YBR World Finals are Aug. 3-6 in Abilene, Texas. It is his first time at the YBR event.
But it is not his first “rodeo.”
Sedlak began his ride when he was 8 as a mutton buster. He moved from sheep to steers then to the junior bulls.
“My goal is to be in the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) competitions,” Sedlak said.
For now, he is riding the junior bulls in Kansas Junior Bullriders Association events. As a seventh-grader, Sedlak won the 2008 Kansas Wrangler Junior High Junior Bull Riding crown, qualifying for the national junior high finals that year.
The KJBA concludes its season May 28-29 with the finals rodeo in Burlington. Sedlak is second in the junior bulls competition with 66 points.
“You get points for riding a bull and for competing. How many points depends on if you cover (ride) the bull or not,” Sedlak said.
At the YBR World Finals, Sedlak will compete on the Pee Wee bulls, which run from 1,800 to 2,000 pounds each.
“I love the sport,” he said. “I have the ability to ride bulls and I keep trying to get better and better.
“You practice then compete. Once you’re on the bull you just ride it from jump to jump and try to stay with it for the eight seconds.”
The 16-year-old said he was coming off a neck injury he suffered in February.
“I’m fine and have been doing all right in competitions.”
Sedlak is the son of Kristi and Scott Stephens of Kincaid.
Sedlak qualifies for national youth bull riding competition
