Cole Melancon
Cole Melancon – Liberty, Texas ($99,973)
2-time WNFR qualifier
Imagine winning nearly $100,000 riding bulls and being on the bubble for a second qualification for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo – that is exactly where Cole Melancon was the end of the season.
He made his first trip to Las Vegas to compete at rodeo’s championship last year, won $92,288 at the NFR and finished sixth in the world standings. Not bad for a college student who is the only member of his immediate family that competes in rodeos.
And, he did a good part of that with a herniated disc. Back pain had been an issue for eight months, but he put it aside eight seconds at a time to accomplish his goals. One of those was winning a National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association title, which he did last June competing for Hill College in Hillsboro, Texas.
So after the NFR, he decided to have surgery missing some big winter rodeos. But he wanted to be healthy as soon as he could and was tired of the nagging pain. He came back at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo and rode one out of three bulls. Not what he had hoped for, but he was still happy to be back competing.
He got a win at the Guymon Pioneer Days in May and was getting back to his wild-electric riding style. By the first of July he had moved into the top 15 and after winning nearly $10,000 over the Fourth of July, he was in 13th. With one month left in the season, he had climbed all the way to sixth.
When it was all said and done, he finished the regular season in 11th place and will start his second NFR with $99,973 in regular season earnings. Then it was time to go home and get back to work.
When Cole isn’t on the rodeo road, he is busy at home in Liberty, Texas, working on a place that he bought last year. He also takes advantage of any opportunity to help any of the ranchers in the area. Those ranching and cowboying skills came in handy in October when he was part of a team that won a ranch rodeo in his hometown.
He has plenty of motivation to do well in the arena. Aside from the fact that he loves the adrenalin rush, the competition and the camaraderie he and girlfriend, Raelee Self, added to their family right before his surgery with the birth of their daughter.
They will be in the stands at the Thomas and Mack Center in December cheering for their favorite bull rider. There is likely to be some ranch rodeo fans that also are pulling for Cole to win lots of money in Vegas. And of course his family, friends and many fans that are hoping to see his smiling face when he gets to take a victory lap around the arena for winning a round.
