THE INS AND OUTS OF BULLRIDING with TROY WILKINSON
Troy Wilkinson is your average hard working diesel fitter who lives in a small country town somewhere in between Tamworth and Moree as the crow flies . As a young boy , his father did a lot of cattle work on properties , and encouraged Troy and his brothers to ride on calves , as he went about his work . Foe Troy , this turned into a passion for riding cattle .
At 12 , Wilkinson ( currently ranked # 49 in the world of Professional Bull Riders ) competed in the steer ride for his first full season , where he qualified for the ABCRA Finals . He went on to win the first two open bull rides he ever entered at the age of 17 and received the ABCRA Rookie Bull Rider that same year .
When we caught up with Troy recently , he was currently sitting at 3rd on the Australian Touring Pro Division ladder .
When asked about get into Professional Bull Riding , and how he got into it , his hard work and determination to be the best comes out . He explains how he got his start in bull riding .
“ Any up and coming bull rider can become a professional , but you have to be 18 and break through your novice rankings until you qualify as an open competitor ” he said . “ You can ’ t enter a PBR event until you turn 18 , so when I turned 18 I entered my first PBR event and loved it . I won my 3rd ever PBR event at Penrith NSW ”.
Being a Pro Bull Rider has its share of injuries , and Troy is no exception . He has experienced a number of injuries , but to his luck they all have only been short time injuries like broken ribs , concussion , fractured fingers , torn groin , sprains , and strains .
“ The fact is , it ’ s not when I get hurt it ’ s a matter of how bad !” he told us . “ The best way to overcome an injury is giving it time to completely heal ”.
Troy tells us he likes to stay up to scratch on his skills by riding his practice bulls at the family farm in Upper Horton . On top of riding bulls to keep his skills honed , he also needs to keep a solid fitness regime , and has training sessions 4-5 days a week at the gym . “ On a weekly basis , I focus a lot on flexibility and strength . For this I do plyometric and explosive cardio activities ”. Keeping mental focus is the key in a sport like Professional Bull Riding , and Troy uses visualization techniques to improve his mental game .
Troy spent some time in the United States in 2011 and throughout 2013 and 2014 competing in the Built Ford Tough Series and Touring Pro events in the USA and Canada . “ To be number 1 , you definitely have to be living in the United States competing in the Built ford Tough PBR tour ” said Troy .
“ I competed overseas for almost 2years , our events here in Australia are definitely some of the best events I have ever competed in , but there is a lot more riders over there which makes competition tough . There ’ s a wider range of great bucking stock as well , though Australia is not far behind .”
88