Mini bull riding class brings in kids from three states

Kids and teenagers fought the strong the winds in Idaho Falls Friday to attend a bull riding school. The school is put on by Flying S Mini Bucking Bulls. It teaches kids ages 6 to 14 the basics of bull riding and how to improve.

There were 21 kids from three states that showed up to improve their bull riding skills.

Kids who came literally got to learn from the best. A couple of special guests at the weekend’s class included two of the top bull riders in the sport: Garrett Smith and Riker Carter.

The kids said learning from their idols was “a dream come true.”

Smith and Carter were able to give the kids some one-on-one advice as they rode and worked on fundamentals.

“It’s just like every other sport in the whole wide world, practice makes perfect,” said Kyle Searle, owner of Flying S Mini Bucking Bulls. “So you want muscle memory and fundamentals. If Garrett and Riker can come out and teach these kids the proper way to practice, and proper way to do it , what better way to do it than to go to school?”

Searle said they had a great response when they posted about having a school with Smith and Carter. He said there were 24 more kids who applied and they had to turn away because they couldn’t accommodate them all.

Searle said he wanted the kids to have an opportunity to learn some of the things most riders learn on the road. And he wanted to make it affordable, costing parents $100 for the two days.

Parents said most lessons or similar to what Searle offered typically cost $350 and up.

Smith said since he was injured in the final last season, he’s using his time off and helping the kids is a great way to spend it before he gets back on the road competing.

Both Smith and Carter said they were excited to see how much interest in the sport there was from the next generation of riders.

“I got hurt last year at the finals and I’ve had some time off so I got this great opportunity to come up and the future of our sport,” Smith said. “I mean, without these kids, it’d be a dying sport so this is awesome just to help them. A lot of what we’re trying to show them here today I learned on the road, and a lot of learn just on the road. So this is a great opportunity for them too to be able to practice.”

“After me and Garrett got out of high school it kinda thinned out and there weren’t a lot of bull riders in Idaho,” Carter said. “It’s pretty cool seeing there’s a lot more wanting to do it and keep it going.”

The kids were enjoying themselves and most said they had already seen improvement in their riding.

“Just learned to have fun and be confident in yourself and have fun with the other riders,” said George Orss, 11 years old.

“They told me to keep my feet down and I haven’t been keeping my feet down all the other times I’ve been riding,” said Ben Tracy, another rider. “I did today after they taught me how to.”

Even first time riders got to try it out, including the youngest attendee at 7 years old.

The school continues all day Saturday.

Smith and Riker are expected to ride the big bulls, Searle said. It would be Smith’s first bull back since his injury.