Interview with Kasey Hayes Professional Bull Rider and Pro Cowboy

To learn more about PBR (Professional Bull Rider) Kasey Hayes, check out my brief interview below (some para-phased):

Life, Family & Fun: How are you preparing for this weekend’s event?

Kasey:  I am trying to stay positive and looking forward to winning. You have to be in the right mental state to perform well.

(Occasionally he will practice on practice bulls before events)

Life, Family & Fun: Do you have any health or  fitness tips you can provide?

Kasey: Staying limber, having strong core, and being flexible is key.  I have done Yoga in the past. Going to the gym is important and can help.

Life, Family & Fun: Do you feel balance or strength is more important?

Kasey: Balance, definitely balance.  If you were talking to a Brazilian Bull Rider they work with strength but for me it is all balance. I cannot overpower those bulls. If I can put my body in the right position for what they are doing, then I will stay on. It is being able to control your own weight and balance.

Life, Family & Fun: Have you ever been injured?

Kasey: I have broken my neck, fractured my skill, fractured four vertebrae in my lower back, broke my leg, I have a plate and nine screws, have nine screws in my leg, broke my jaw twice. There is so much risk involved in it, but I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t love it.

Life, Family & Fun: What do you do in the off season when you are not bull riding?

Kasey: In the offseason, you will find me hunting, fishing, riding horses, snow skiing, snowboarding, weight boarding.   I also run a couple of various businesses. I’m fairly active in the offseason.

Life, Family & Fun: What took you on this path and how long have you been bull riding?

Kasey: My dad had rode bulls but I had never seen him ride them.  I would go to the rodeo and would always say I wanted to ride a bull one day. One of my best friends entered a Junior rodeo event, and that inspired me.  So at nine years old, I entered my first Junior rodeo. My dad said to me, “You are not going to be just a one-event cowboy, if we are going you are going to do it all”  I came in third place. I never looked back. It was one of those deals, I just knew that bull riding was my calling. My parents never pushed me into this sport.  It was all me. If it wasn’t for my parents, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

[bctt tweet=”You are the one that will have to look back on your decisions made in life.  #quote #quotetoliveby”]

Life, Family & Fun: What is the most important advice you would give someone who is training to become a bull rider?

Kasey: The most important advice I can give is “know what you are doing it for”. Always show up for that reason.

Kasey Hayes attempts to Weber Bucking Bulls’s Hang Time during the third round of the World Finals Built Ford Tough Series PBR. Photo by Andy Watson