After a Disappointing 2021, Louis Heads to Reno Fired up to Start Fresh in 2022
By: Darci Miller
PUEBLO, Colo. – If you’re wondering where Dakota Louis has been for most of the offseason, he’s been out on his ranch chopping wood.
Louis lives in Browning, Montana, just 45 minutes south of the Canadian border, and he’s used to the frigid weather to his advantage.
“Where my ranch is, we live about a mile and a half off the road, and in about the worst winter area you can imagine,” Louis said. “The snow and the cold and the wind, we get it all. You’ve got to have firewood to put in the fireplace, so I’ve been kind of going extra on getting wood and making that my exercise.”
It’s been a productive way for Louis not only to work out but work off the frustrations of a disappointing 2021 season. He finished the season ranked No. 50 in the world standings, missing out on a berth at the 2021 PBR World Finals after a summer bicep injury and fall groin injury derailed his riding.
“I rode good when I was healthy, but once I got a few injuries right there, it was really tough to keep that flow rolling,” Louis said. “I finally got healthy at the end of the year before the Finals, and I just had not enough time to get myself back in the Top 35. But it dang sure made a guy that much more hungry this season.”
Louis was, however, in attendance in Las Vegas, ready to step in as an alternate should riders withdraw due to injury. He was kept busy with PR duties and otherwise spent most of his time with Keyshawn Whitehorse, Boudreaux Campbell and Eli Vastbinder.
“We were just looking forward to the performance, and in my mind, at any time, I could’ve got the call,” Louis said. “So initially I was still there entered, in a way, but once I wasn’t actually riding and had to sit back and pull bull ropes and be there to support my buddies, it was definitely different. But like I said, it just dang sure lit a fire in me to not want to be in that position ever again.”
Louis was like every other fan in attendance on Championship Sunday, in awe of Jose Vitor Leme’s 98.75-point ride on Woopaa that set the record for the highest-scoring ride in PBR history.
“A lot of people, it would get them down in a way, but that last night, the last ride I got to see was Jose’s 98.75 on Woopaa, and I mean, it all just had me fired up,” Louis said. “My offseason has dang sure been a lot more pedal to the metal on wanting to better myself. I feel like everything happens for a reason, and that was the reasoning for me not making it into the World Finals, to kind of make me bear down and dig deeper, ‘cause I know I’m one of the best in the world. I just need to start showing it.”
Louis kicked off the 2022 season with a 2-for-2, seventh-place showing at the Navajo Nations Queen Creek PBR Touring Pro Division event in late November.
He’ll next be in action at the Reno Rumble, the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour’s season-opener on Jan. 7-8. Fans can catch all the action on RidePass on Pluto TV (channel 720) on Jan. 7 at 11 p.m. ET and Jan. 8 at 10 p.m. ET. Louis will face off against Zacchaeus in Round 1.
“I’m super excited,” Louis said. “I always get more excited about this winter run, just because we haven’t seen our buddies, and we haven’t been going to the bull ridings for a little while, so I feel like everybody’s pretty excited to get the season rolling, and on a good note at that.”
During the offseason, Louis has spent quite a bit of time chopping wood, but he has also stepped up with more traditional ways of getting in shape. He’s doubled up on his actual workouts, has been riding the performance horses he raises on his ranch, and he has also begun eating better. Louis has cut out chips, junk food and soda, and he has been eating “a lot more chicken than I normally do.”
“We raise beef here on the ranch, so it’s a little different. It’s pretty tough to give up a good steak still,” Louis said with a laugh. “I ain’t going to lie, it’s a little bit tougher than I expected, just because I always had the attitude of, ‘Oh, it’s not that bad because I don’t do it that much.’ But then, when you consciously not do it, then you realize how much you did do it. So it’s been quite the learning curve, I guess, in that area. But I’ve got a 4-year-old little boy that is here every morning, making sure that dad’s doing his workouts and getting after it.”
That 4-year-old boy is his son, Hayze. Louis says their father-son morning routine is drinking coffee and watching recorded bull riding before working out.
“It’s been four years that we’ve been doing this routine now with him, and he’s definitely my biggest supporter, biggest fan,” Louis said. “And any time I do good, he’s there, or he sees it on TV and calls me or tells me. I definitely know how proud he is, and that’s dang sure been a huge motivation for myself to want to better myself, too.”
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Louis grew up in a rodeo family, watching his dad ride bulls from the backs of bucking chutes before he was even tall enough to be allowed there, and says it’s a huge blessing to now be in the opposite role with a son of his own.
He’s also been dreaming of being a World Champion since he was Hayze’s age and will head to Reno looking to take a few steps towards that goal.
“My specific goal is to continue to progress and continue to better myself, whether it’s in the arena or it’s out of the arena,” Louis said. “And if I can continue to work on bettering myself every day, I know I’m going to be better than I was yesterday. So that’s really the only goal I have in particular.
“But as far as standings-wise, the guy always wants to be No. 1 at the end of the season. It shows you you’re the best. It’s something that I’ve dreamed about since I was a kid. Growing up in a rodeo family, I never did just start out at a certain age. I was on a horse before I could walk and had a rope in my hand before I could talk, so this has just been part of my lifestyle. And to do it for a living now, on the best level of bull riding, in my opinion, is truly a dream come true.”
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
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