Saddle bronc rider Weston Patterson had the best season of his young career with big-time rides at big-time rodeos, like the Calgary Stampede. He will compete at the National Finals Rodeo for the first time as the 11th-ranked man in the world standings.
(PHOTO BY EMILY GETHKE/Calgary Stampede)

 

WAVERLY, Kan. – Growing up near the heart of the East Flint Hills, Weston Patterson envisioned himself a rodeo cowboy.

He’s earned that title through grit, determination and a talent he’s working to perfect. Patterson just wrapped his third ProRodeo season with his first qualification to the National Finals Rodeo. He is the 11th-ranked saddle bronc rider in the world standings, having earned $173,735 through the regular season to grasp his place in the sport’s grand finale.

There’s a caveat, though. Being a cowboy entails many things. So does being involved in rodeo. A natural all-around athlete, Patterson has done a variety of things in the arena. The fact that he’s excelled on 1,200 pounds of equine dynamite just adds to the lore.

“I’ll be honest: I never would’ve seen myself being a bronc rider,” said Patterson, 24, of Waverly, a community of 570 folks about halfway between Ottawa and Emporia, just off Interstate 35. “I grew up with a rope in my hand and wrestling steers. My dad bulldogged.

“My dad used to put on bulldogging jackpots what seemed like every weekend, and we had bulldogging steers all the time. All I knew was steer wrestling. I piddled around and roped, did all the junior rodeo things, and I was always really competitive.”

That led to chasing as many championships as he could. The most-coveted in rodeo is champion all-around cowboy, the person who could gather the most points by competing in multiple events. He roped and wrestled and started getting on ponies with a bareback rigging. Once he got to high school, though, his focus was on roping.

“My dad wouldn’t let me ride any roughstock,” Patterson said, referring to riding bucking animals. “I was too little, but all my buddies were riding roughstock. I hated not being down at the bucking chutes. By the time I was coming into my sophomore year, I convinced Dad into letting me at least ride saddle bronc horses.”

His competitive and athletic nature was seen around the Flint Hills. He played baseball as a youngster and was heavily involved with basketball, even participating in travel leagues. Patterson also exceled at football, where he earned all-state honors. It carried over into rodeo, too.

“I didn’t want to miss out on any of it,” he said. “My dad asked me one time if I had any interest in doing online school just for the sake of rodeo, and I like sports too much, so I said ‘No.’ ”

He’s not done testing his talents across multiple lines, though. He still ropes and bulldogs, which is something that he carried with him with a rodeo scholarship to Clarendon (Texas) College. Patterson was a freshman in 2021 when he finished second in bronc riding at the College National Finals Rodeo; the Bulldogs men won the team title that year, so he has a national title to go with his reserve championship.

Even though he knew little about the Clarendon program, there was something that intrigued him. He knew about some of the former athletes, which sparked the interest. The more he looked into it, he realized there was an opportunity to learn from the coach, Bret Franks, a four-time NFR qualifier. By then, two Clarendon bronc riders, Wyatt Casper and Riggin Smith, had won intercollegiate titles.

“I really didn’t know what I was going to do,” said Patterson, who credits part of his success to his partners, Cinch, Serratelli Hats, Duck Wild Waterfowl, Graham School and Twin Motors Ford. “I asked my dad, ‘If you were in my shoes, what would you do?’

“He said, ‘If I was you, I’d sign that letter-of-intent to Clarendon and go down there, because that looks like a bronc rider’s boot camp.’ So, I grabbed that piece of paper, signed it and put it in the envelope, and I walked outside in the dark to put it in the mailbox. I didn’t think another thing about it. The only thing Bret told me was that he wanted me there but wasn’t going to beg. That made it pretty danged obvious what he was like, and I respected that.”

It’s led to some big things, one of which is his teaming with Casper, the 2016 intercollegiate champion who made the last five NFRs and won the aggregate title a year ago by having the best cumulative score over 10 rounds. Patterson and Casper also travel with Jake Clark and Kade Bruno.

While Clark and Casper missed this year’s NFR – Casper finished 16th, and only the top 15 advance – Patterson will find some solace in having Bruno in the mix at ProRodeo’s championship, set for Dec. 4-13 at Las Vegas. Bruno, the No. 5 bronc rider on the money list, is making his fourth straight appearance.

“It’s been really handy having somebody in my back pocket to lean on for questions on how things work and where I need to be,” Patterson said. “He’s been really great about answering all my questions, because I don’t know how anything works there.”

Every level of life is a learning opportunity. It’s something he realized as a teenager trying his hand on bucking broncs. He gained more knowledge in the Texas Panhandle, then jumped in the rig with Casper, Bruno and Clark. He finished his inaugural season 58th in the standings, then moved up to 40th last year. Patterson made an incredible leap into the NFR field in just three years.

“My rookie year was terrible,” he said. “I tore my quad, and I didn’t ride good. I was fortunate to get picked up by Wyatt, and then Kade and Jake were with us. I knew then that I must have some type of ability that these guys would take their time with me. Wyatt was already a role model, and he’s just a freaking bad dude.

“I wanted to win as much as he’s been winning riding the way he does. It was the little things that were happening that started helping me believe. I thought, ‘Maybe I’ve got more ability than I think.’ ”

He believes in the process now. Is he ready to showcase his talent at the world’s richest rodeo?

“I think I’m still kind of shell-shocked, but I think it’s hitting me more now as I’m getting closer to it,” Patterson said. “I’m amazed at how many people have said something to me. I guess I’m surprised that so many people pay that much attention to it. It means a lot that other people are seeing it.

“Everything I’ve done my whole life, the sacrifices I’ve made, going to college eight hours away from home to be a bronc rider are coming to this.”

The sacrifices haven’t ended. For someone to chase rodeo dreams, it means time away from home and away from loved ones. It’s not just his dad and his older brother, Michael; Patterson’s support system includes his girlfriend, Winter Williams, who is also involved in rodeo.

“She’s been the best for me, the rock,” he said. “When things get tough, she’s always there to pick me up. Rodeo is hard. Having someone in your corner that is that big of a support is incredible. It takes a village to do what we do. She’s there for me when I’m struggling or have to make an all-night drive or have to go by yourself because of how the schedule works. She’s so awesome.”

Like a lot of young cowboys, Patterson learned from George Steinberger, who operated rodeo bible schools and conducted once-a-week practices in Richmond, Kansas. Three Kansas world champions got their starts with Steinberger, bareback riders Jeffrey Collins, Will Lowe and Jess Pope.

Weston Patterson would like to add his name to that roster, and he gets his first chance in December.