POTTER -- Barry Shepard is a man who defines cowboy. From the persona he displays to the values he lives by, and his passions, life includes the arena and the work leading up to it.

That work has earned him more than a few breaks and bruises, but also recognition of his peers. The most recent award occurred in Las Vegas this year; bull riding at the age some my be looking to slow down. 

"I got in the Senior Pro Tour and everything, several different organizations in it, and went to Las Vegas this year at the age of 62, and I became the 2024 World Champion Bull Rider in the 60 and above," Shepard said. 

He has been following the rodeo fever for more than 30 years. 

"My cousins rode bulls when we were younger in high school and everything. And, I thought they was all crazy and finally got talked into it at about the age of 23 is when i started. After that, it just continued from then," he said.

He said in high school he had friends who rode bulls and competed in rodeo events while he was more interested in fishing. He started riding bareback horses; not yet ready for bull riding. He ran into a good friend out of high school who rode bulls. 

"There was four of us who traveled together. I rode bareback horses , well, tried to anyway. My buddy Randy Morder finally talked me into going to a good friend of ours which is Mr. Charles Sampson, which is a world champion bull rider back in the day, and got me on a few bulls and, sold all my bareback riding equipment and just stayed riding bulls. It just gets hold of you," he said.

That has been a few decades ago. Along the way, he has earned his presence in the rodeo world with several awards in the PRCA, and the price of bull riding being his passion. It is a rough and often dangerous passion as his medical history shows. He has had numerous injuries in his bull riding career, a career he is not ready to close.

Entering the rodeo world, specifically bull riding, has evolved from the days when it might have been a dare between cowboys. Success now requires the right equipment, training and the passion to get back up even when the bull won the contest, and, according to Shepard, the always do; sometimes more so than others. He describes experience of riding bulls as an adrenaline rush that's almost indescribable. He started with an excitement for rodeo, and his focus tightened over time.

"The deal is, you can't ... you can't ever beat the bull. You're never going to beat him. They're always going to win, regardless. All I do is go in and try to dance with them and have fun and get off safe," he said.

Shepard said the it is also about staying on for the eight seconds and doing well enough to collect at the pay window. He said he competes with guys from 30 to 60 on the senior tours.

"When I got back into the senior tour in 2014, I didn't look at it as money. I looked at it as because of my age and everything that God has blessed me I'm still able to do it. I didn't look at the money. I looked at the buckles. I looked at the hardware to win. When you're in your 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s, people don't believe you're still riding," he said.

He credits the support of his family, friends and God for his bull riding career and the recognition he has earned. He said for all of the physical challenges associated with bull riding, it is ultimately 80 percent mental and 20 percent skill.