PBR
Boudreaux Campbell goes high on a ride.
To accept the calling of bull rider, whether that be as an amateur or professional, requires a special kind of dude with a platinum health insurance plan.
There will be claims made.
Consider the doctor’s appointments 24-year-old Boudreaux Campbell has had to make.
“I've broke both ankles. I broke a femur, I broke both collar bones, both wrists,” he says. “I broke a jaw.”
The last came with a concussion, compliments of an annoyed, one-ton beast named Domino, who told Campbell what he thought of his attempt to stay aboard him for 8 seconds at a PBR event in Albuquerque one year.
“He hit me in the face and it, it hurt really bad. I got a bad concussion, broke jaw and some chipped teeth, but that's just part of the job we do.
“That would definitely have had to be the worst because I love to eat food. I love good food and it was hard to eat.”
Not being able to eat — or eat like one is accustomed — now that would be a burr under the saddle.
Campbell has actually been what he calls “blessed” with injuries. His have been relatively minor.
“Thank you to the good Lord upstairs,” he says.
But getting back on the beast is also part of the job, and Campbell has done it time and again.
Campbell, whose hometown is in Crockett, and the gang of PBR bull riders are in Fort Worth this week for the PBR World Finals at Dickies Arena. The finals pick back up at 7:45 p.m. on Thursday with Round 4. Rounds 5-7 continue through Sunday.
Each is seeking a big payday as part of the last judgment, so to speak. The World Finals event winner will earn a minimum of $300,000, depending on what they earn in each round.
The World Champion will earn a $1 million bonus, plus what he earns in Fort Worth this week.
Entering the World Finals, Campbell sat in fifth in the season standings, 308 points behind Kaique Pacheco of Brazil. Jose Vitor Leme, also of Brazil, was second. Dalton Kasel, another Texan, from Muleshoe, was third.
Campbell sits in second in the event standings with successful rides on Buster Brown of CCL Bucking Bulls and I’m Legit Too of Hart Cattle Co., a ride that netted him a 90.25. Both had bucked off Campbell earlier in the season.
Of I’m Legit Too, Campbell says, “That bull has done thrown me off a couple of times. So, that was a big ride for me to get him down.”
Campbell has drawn Pookie Holler, 17th in the bull rankings, who bucked off Eduardo Aparecido, on Thursday. Pookie Holler is co-owned by Dakota Rodeo, Brian and Ashley Pintar, Clay Struve, and Chad Berger
“Really good bull,” says Campbell. “He’s been around awhile.”
Campbell was born in the The Woodlands and moved to Crockett — today with a population of 6,400 — with his family around the age of 12. He’s always been around horses and working cattle.
“I love to go home and work cows and rope steers and just hang out in a little small town. I love it.”
Boudreaux is a nickname his father game him in his youth. His birth certificate was stamped official with the county with the name “Jason Campbell.” No one has ever — or rarely — called him that. He’s Boudreaux, according to even some legal documents, like his drivers license, he says.
His life in rodeo began at age 4 when he began in mutton busting, a rodeo event for young children in which each participant tries to remain on the back of a sheep for as long as possible. At 4, as long as possible is generally a few seconds once the chute opens.
He turned pro on bulls at age 18.
Since then, he has encountered success. A five-time qualifier for the prestigious National Finals Rodeo is a testament to that. On the PRCA — the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association — Campbell has won more than $873,000.
He’s now full time on the PBR and has won $927,000 on the circuit.
The World Finals is the culmination of a 26-week schedule during which he might get on as many as four bulls, depending on the show.
Asked how he manages the brutal schedule, Campbell jokes (I think): “A lot of Coors Light.” Here’s guessing there are at least a few Silver Bullets consumed along the way. Oh, and eating healthy helps, too, he says.
He enters the final weekend of the season confident yet cautious.
“Clear your mind and trust in your training and ability, and don't think about it too much, just slide up there and get the job done. It's gonna be a fight all the way through and you're just gonna make sure you're willing to fight the fight.”
