North Battleford bull rider climbs in national standing after strong Manitoba weekend

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For a rider accustomed to competing near the top of the leaderboard, the turnaround has been as much about rediscovering confidence as collecting points.

“The start of the season, I couldn’t seem to do anything right,” Fennig said. “And last weekend was the first weekend that I actually rode like how I ride usually.”

“So it was a good confidence boost, reminding myself that I can still do it, and it’s early enough in the season that there’s a lot of time to catch up to everyone else.”

The results spoke for themselves.

In Grunthal on June 5, Fennig covered both of his bulls, posting 82 points in the opening round and 85 in the short round to finish second overall. The following day in MacGregor, he scored another 82-point ride before coming up short in the short round to place fifth.

The shift behind those performances, however, was surprisingly simple.

Fennig recalled speaking with an older judge after an event in Meadow Lake, where he had struggled. The advice was to spend less time overthinking in the bucking chute and trust instinct instead.

“And what happens is I [started] thinking instead of reacting to the bull – things are happening so fast. You can’t, there’s no time to think – you have to make your moves based on a reaction, not think about it and then do it.”

When he arrived in Manitoba, that became his only focus.

“I just tried to get out of the chute as fast as I could, and it seemed to work out pretty good,” he said. “It’s definitely a mental game, bull riding, more so than people think, I would say.”

He compares it to standing at a basketball hoop and convincing yourself you’ll miss before ever taking the shot.

“But it’s funny how bull riding, you can almost talk yourself out of it. The more you think, the more you start to doubt yourself, the more you worry about things,” he said. 

“So I’m just going to make a habit from now on. Go and get on. Don’t think about nothing. Let it play out.”

The Manitoba performances have provided renewed momentum heading into another busy weekend with three more BRC events on the schedule, and more to come before the season ends in November. 

“And honestly, I’m just gonna keep my mind sharp, my body healthy, and see if I can do it again,” he said.

“I’m still rigorous on the practice and everything else, so none of that’s changing. So as long as I do what I did three or four days ago. It should be another good weekend for me.”

As for the standings, Fennig isn’t dwelling on them.

“At the end of the day, it’s really simple. Just got to ride my bulls that they run underneath me, and everything else will take care of itself.”

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Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com