East Texas natives now teammates on PBR tour

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - Two East Texans with independent careers in bullriding now find themselves riding for the same professional team.

Cooper Davis, of Jasper, and Boudreaux Campbell, of Crockett, are the sole East Texans drafted to compete on the Professional Bull Riders team Carolina Cowboys. The two talked to Makayla about fostering a love for bull riding from a young age, significant injuries from the sport, what kind of strategy you need to stay on a bull and what it’s like simply making a living riding a bull.

Campbell said as a kid he’d riding anything like a bull he could, whether it was a dog or a couch arm. He’s turned that passion into his life’s work. Transitioning from riding for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association to Professional Bull Riders has allowed him to live life at a different, slower pace.

“You can get on a routine and train during the week. When you’re rodeoing you’re not really able to get on a routine,” Campbell said.

Davis said he knew he always wanted to make this a career and around age 15 or 16 things “just clicked.” But even though it’s dangerous to the point of him having lost friends to the sport, Davis said you simply have to leave those things out of your mind as you ride.

“When you love something so much, it’s easy to block all that out,” he said.

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