A good time to peakLostroh enters Finals third in the world |
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He watched. He watched. And he watched.
The tape featured a tribute to Lane Frost, who was killed in a bull riding accident after making a prize-winning final-round ride. It also dramatized other noteworthy action from the renowned Wyoming rodeo, such as Marty Staneart’s memorable 93-point ride on the notorious bull Mr. T.
“I probably watched that tape a million times,” Lostroh said. “It looked really cool. I’d watch it and then go ride the dog or whatever around the house.”
Lostroh developed such a keen interest in the sport that his mother signed him up for a steer riding event when he was seven. From there, Lostroh began honing his riding skills, worked his way through the junior ranks and was entering professional shows when he was just out of high school.
He now is a fourth-year competitor on the Professional Bull Riders circuit, and at 23, Lostroh’s PBR earnings are $1,024,936. He crossed the $1 million threshold after winning the title ($40,375) at the PBR’s Oct. 18-19 tour stop in Uncasville, Conn.
It was his first victory of the season on the Built Ford Tough Series. And it couldn’t have come at a better time, because the Uncasville show was the last regular-season tour stop and Lostroh exudes confidence as he enters the PBR’s 2008 World Finals, scheduled for Oct. 31-Nov. 2 and Nov. 6-9 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
“I always seem to have a really good Finals, and winning the last event before the Finals gets me going early on,” Lostroh said. “It gets some momentum built behind me.”
Lostroh also enters the World Finals ranked third in the world title race with 9,593 points, 3,676 behind world title race leader Guilherme Marchi. Though he has a mathematical chance of surpassing Marchi at the Las Vegas championships (where a rider conceivably can earn up to 6,500 points), Lostroh doesn’t come across as being obsessed with winning a gold buckle this year.
“I’m not even worrying about it,” said Lostroh, who has qualified for the World Finals for the past four years. “I’m just going to try to ride all of my bulls and just see what happens. That’s the way that I’ve been doing it all year and that’s the way that I’ll do it at the Finals. If I worry about (catching Marchi), that takes the fun out of riding.”
However, Lostroh appears to be heavily focused on winning the average at the Finals. Last year, he earned $129,000 after finishing third in the World Finals average. Lostroh also finished third at the 2006 World Finals, where he garnered $156,533.
“Winning the World Finals is probably the next best thing to winning the world, and that would be awesome,” Lostroh said. “It’s something that I’ve come really close to over the last couple of years and maybe I can pull it out this year. It certainly would give me more momentum rolling into next year. I could get out front early in the season and let everyone chase me.”
Lostroh is among several younger bull riders who appear to have the potential to become a World Champion. His counterparts include J.B. Mauney, 21, who has PBR earnings of $984,582, and L.J. Jenkins, 21, the 2005 World Finals average winner, who has pocketed $851,648.
Mauney said Lohstoh wins as the result of a smooth riding style and precision moves.
“He’s fundamentally correct,” Mauney said. “His toes are turned out, his knees are pulled up in them and he stays out over them. If you wanted to imitate a form to ride like, it would be his. If you compare me to him, I get strung out and do things I’m not supposed to and I kind of hang on and get it done. But he does everything correct. He doesn’t waste any movement.”
Lostroh’s riding style has helped him earn $273,963 in the PBR this season. He said the abundance of prize money at stake is a testimony to how the sport has grown.
“The fact that I’ve been able to win $1 million in the past four years says a lot for what the PBR has done for the sport,” Lostroh said. “But I don’t really worry too much about what I’m winning as far as dollars go. It’s cool to cross those milestones, but riding bulls is what I like the best about it. Winning money is fun, but riding bulls is the best part.”
But he said his big earnings are enabling him to make great financial gains early in life.
“It sets me up good for further on down the line,” he said. “Being able to make a good living right now gives me the opportunity to pay off my house. It’s really helped me start a good life for my wife and me.”
Though bull riding is a very dangerous sport, it’s very well accepted at Lostroh’s household in Longmont, Colo. His wife, Candace, is a longtime rodeo competitor who often competes in barrel racing on the same weekends that her husband is away for the PBR shows.
“She’s very positive and encourages me,” Lostroh said. “She prompts me to train and eat right and stay on top of my game when I’m home. That’s important because it’s really easy to slack off.”
Candace Lostroh said she realizes that traveling is a big part of being a successful bull rider, and she strives to keep their home intact when her husband is traveling.
“I wouldn’t be making it easy for him if I threw a fit every time that he left,” she said. “My brother and dad competed in rodeos and I know what it’s like. Bull riding is a gift that Kody was given to do and I want him to go for it all the way all of the time. This year, he’s gotten into a comfort level.”
Though Kody Lostroh has achieved great success in previous years, he said he has reached another level of achievement in 2008.
“I’m riding more bulls than I’m falling off of and that’s how I know,” said Lostroh, who has stayed on 59 percent (52 of 88) of the bulls that he has faced this season on the Ford Series. “What has helped me to step it up this year is I’ve quit trying to win and I no longer worry about the points or the money or anything else. Instead, I’ve focused on giving it my all every time that I get on. I just take it one bull at a time and I don’t look ahead.
“It’s like I’ve gotten to the point to where I don’t care if I’m first or 45th,” he added. “I just like riding bulls.”
And he gets a big adrenaline rush from conquering a rank bull.
Said Lostroh: “You feel like you’re on top of the world and that you can take on King Kong.”
-by Brett Hoffman
