Buffalo Man Ranked #1 Bareback Bronc Rider in World

Cole Reiner, Buffalo native and graduate of Buffalo High School, is currently ranked #1 Bareback Bronc Rider in the World.  Reiner will compete in the 2022 National Finals Rodeo December 1-10 in Las Vegas.

Reiner, 23, started riding broncs in 2016, when he was 17.  He attended Buffalo High School and was on the BHS wrestling team. He said he grew up calf roping as well.

In his junior year he started riding broncs in the Kaycee and Buffalo night rodeos but didn’t really begin riding rough stock seriously until he was in college.  He attended Sheridan College for a year and then Casper College for a year, now he’s riding in rodeos full-time. 

“It’s been pretty fast from start till now.” Reiner said.  “I’ve had three trips to NFR in the four years after I started riding.”

When asked about some of the most memorable rides he’s had, Cole said that one ride prior to the National Finals horse called Virgil in 2020 at the American in Arlington, Texas. He also remembers rides at the National Finals.  He added that one of the highlights was last year:

He enjoys the life.  “Just being able to go out and ride bucking horses and call that your job is very special,” he said.

He talked about the cowboys choose the broncs they will ride in each competition.

He said he has ridden the majority of the horses in the draw, and is looking forward to riding at the National Finals. 

Just like the cowboys are the best riders in the country, the broncs are the best horses in United States and Canada. And, just like the cowboys,  each year there are the “Bucking Stock of the Year Awards,” when the top bulls, bucking bareback and saddle broncs are voted on and awarded the top spot.

He explained the difference between bareback, saddle bronc and bull riding. He said he had ridden saddle bronc three times, but he prefers riding bareback broncs.

Reiner talked about the rodeo circuit that he travels each year to compete. “I live in Wyoming in the spring and fall, and spend most of the winter in Texas, I spend the majority of the summer in Utah. We start in Texas during January, February and March. From there we go to California in April, and on to Utah and Nevada in June, and all over the country in July.”

He added that In August it is mostly rodeos in the northwest. He said that last year they finished off in Seattle and this year they will finish up in Sioux Falls.  There are over 600 professional rodeos all over the country and into Canada. Next year he plans to ride in the Calgary stampede and he’s looking forward to that.

He said the rough stock riders travel light, “We have our own equipment, and we carry our own stuff.  We don’t take horses; we just show up and the horses are provided by the stock contractors.” Those participating in timed events, calf roping and bull dogging, have their own horses.  They travel with a truck and trailer, and the rough stock riders travel with trucks and campers. Since all they have is the bareback rigging or a saddle, they can even fly if necessary to the rodeos.  He said they usually they travel with two or three other riders and have their own group. 

He said what he enjoyed most about the rodeo life was the feeling of getting on the bronc, having a good ride, and hearing the crowd. He also liked doing something that not a lot of people can say they do or have done. Traveling is another thing he enjoys being on the circuit, traveling everywhere and making money doing what he likes. “It’s a pretty unique experience,” Reiner added.

He said that rodeo is a small sport, only a couple hundred rough stock riders, and a few thousand timed event guys. He said they all get to know each other pretty well, and they all help each other out.

He added about the support he has recieved

Reiner will have a large cheering section in Vegas. His parents, Joe and Michelle Reiner, along with his aunt Teri and uncle Tommy; his grandmother, Ann; his brother, Clay, and several friends from Buffalo are going to cheer him on.  “We are very proud of him, happy for him, and looking forward to an exciting NFR,” Michelle said.