Fletcher Jowers Beats Star-Studded Field to Win Rodeo Austin Xtreme Bulls
Saturday’s Xtreme Bulls Division 1 event crowned a truly unlikely champion.
In a field that included nine bull riders headed to the 2020 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, PRCA permit holder Fletcher Jowers won the inaugural Rodeo Austin Xtreme Bulls at the Dell Diamond.
Jowers captured the improbable victory with a 92-point ride on Andrews Rodeo’s Desperate Man.
“I had seen the bull before, but I had never been on him,” said Jowers, 19. “I really just had to keep hustling, keep trying and not quit. He had some hop, skip right there to him and some whip, and it felt good to get that one under my belt.”
Jowers made his ride on Nov. 13 and then had to wait until the event in Round Rock, Texas, concluded Nov. 14 to be crowned the champion.
“He bucked harder than I thought he would,” Jowers said. “I didn’t think I was going to be 92, but that’s how it worked out.”
Jowers earned $10,716 for his performance. He edged out Shane Proctor, the 2011 PRCA world champion, who had a 90.5-point ride on Beutler & Son Rodeo’s Smoke Stack.
“I plan on buying my PRCA card as soon as possible,” Jowers said. “That ride was quite memorable. Being around all those great riders makes you want to try even harder and stay on. The place they had it (Dell Diamond) was awesome. It’s not like you get to go ride in the infield of a baseball stadium every weekend.”
Dell Diamond is the home stadium of the Round Rock Express, the Triple-A Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Houston Astros.
Jowers celebrated his stellar ride by getting up the morning of Nov. 14 and driving three hours to compete in a college rodeo that night at Sam Houston State in Huntsville, Texas. Jowers is a freshman on the Southwest Texas Junior College team in Uvalde.
“I’m going to college rodeo this school year, and then I will see if I college rodeo my sophomore year or just rodeo in the PRCA,” Jowers said. “Winning this Xtreme Bulls event gives me a lot of confidence and makes me want to go all year and try and make the NFR.”
Jowers, a native of Waxahachie, Texas, 30 minutes south of Dallas, always wanted to be a PRCA bull rider.
“I love riding bulls because it is the most fun thing to do, and you don’t have to haul a trailer around everywhere and feed yourself and your horses,” said Jowers, who started riding bulls when he turned 10. “I love the rush you get from riding bulls and the feeling you have when you have a 92-point ride. That’s why we all do this.”
Courtesy of PRCA