[country rock music playing]
[Donnie] Get outta the way.
[Donnie and Jorden chuckle]
- [Donnie] What's the problem? - [Jorden] Oh man.
I'm too good at roping. I roped your rope.
- All right. - [both chuckle]
You excited for your first rodeo tomorrow?
Oh yeah.
Feel real ready?
About as ready as I can, I think, before your first one.
Eight months ago, I knew nothing about bronc riding.
To be going to a rodeo now and feeling as prepared as I do, it feels good.
- You're not sore after riding The Baptist? - [Donnie] I'm a little sore.
[Jorden] That's a good ride you had on him.
Felt good.
[Jorden] Especially after bucking off of him.
[Donnie] Yeah. But I got him rode now, so I'm pumped. Ready to do this thing.
- Feel good? - [Donnie] Yeah.
- Feel good, look good, am good, talk good. - [Jorden] Mmm.
- I don't know if all those are right. - All of them.
[country rock music playing]
♪ Whoa ♪
Getting a few loops in in the morning. I like it.
- [Donnie] Oh yeah. - Jorden giving you some lessons?
Mmm, no. She's just getting in my way more than anything.
Shouldn't you be working on the spur board anyway? We're close to rodeo time.
Yeah, tomorrow.
- What time we leaving, by the way? - I was thinking 5:00.
Gates open at three o'clock.
Gotta be the first car in there. That way we can get a good parking spot.
If we're the first ones in there, won't we be the last ones out?
We're gonna be the last ones out anyway.
Your boy's gonna be signing autographs. Jorden, are you gonna ride with us?
Um, about that, I'm going to a rodeo myself tomorrow.
Why? You gonna miss his first rodeo?
No, I am gonna go, I'm just... I might be a little late.
So tomorrow, I'm going to another rodeo.
After my last rodeo, getting my knee stepped on, I was pretty sore,
and, you know, sometimes that gets in the back of your mind.
So, it would just feel really good to get a win in or even a good ride.
It's perfect. Both my interns headed to their rodeos tomorrow.
I'm not an intern.
Former intern. My apologies.
Both Jorden and Donnie got really big days tomorrow.
Really hope that Jorden can get past her injury,
and I hope that Donnie's rodeo is the start to a really good career.
Either way, I know they're both gonna give it their all
and they're gonna do a good job representing the cowboy way of life.
Which brings us to our last lesson.
Cowboys keep the tradition alive.
Jorden, ride up tomorrow. Come see us after.
We're gonna be easy to find. We'll have the best parking spot.
Donnie, after this, you'll be able to say, "This ain't my first rodeo."
Are you comin' with me, Catfish? Come on.
[upbeat music playing]
[Jorden] There's a lot riding on this event tonight.
I've even got a special fan coming to watch.
Hi, Jorden. I hope I see you soon. Have a safe trip.
Bye!
[Jorden] Lakota found me actually on TikTok.
Her mom reached out to me and we coordinated her
to be able to come to the rodeo this weekend in Cleburne
so she could meet me and watch me ride.
Can't wait to see you!
[Jorden] She wants to ride bulls and she wants to ride calves.
I think this is gonna show her that there are people out there
to help her and show her the ropes and, you know, be kind to her.
And I think... I think that's gonna be something that she holds on to.
I know I would.
She knows I'm coming back off of an injury.
She knows that I had leg surgery. So, I'm ready to show her that, like,
you can go out there and chase whatever, you know, you set your heart on.
And honestly, it's a little nerve-racking, a little bit, like, on that aspect.
'Cause you don't want to disappoint them either.
You don't want to disappoint yourself, but the fact
that you don't want to go out there and, like, disappoint your fans either...
But I think it's going to be a good day.
[Western music playing]
[Donnie] Jorden just left for a rodeo out in Cleburne,
now I'm about to pick up Dale and head out to mine.
Today's the day. First rodeo ever.
Right now, I'm on my way to pick up Dale.
He probably won't be ready. But...
- [man] How you feeling? - I feel good. I feel confident.
I feel like I've taken the steps I needed to take to get to this point.
I don't feel underprepared, that's for sure.
[rock music playing]
- [neighing] - [Dale] Whoa!
[Donnie] Hey.
Yo, let's rock.
Dude, I'm ready.
You're on a horse.
And I'm ready to go.
- Well, then let's go. - [Dale] Hold on.
It's Donnie's big day. It's his first rodeo. I'm so proud.
Feel like a father and my redheaded stepchild
is going off to preschool with his lunch box.
You watch the place while I'm gone. Don't wait up for me now.
So, I'm gonna be as encouraging as I can to make Donnie feel good about himself.
Your truck smells like crap.
Smells like cottage cheese or old milk or something.
[Donnie] Smells like your mom.
Why didn't you clean it out?
[Leroy] Y'all ready?
We rodeoing or what, man?
Dude, it's rodeo time. Let's go.
We've all put in a lot of time and effort helping Donnie get to where he is.
Of course we're gonna go to his first rodeo.
Well, watch Fish. Don't hit him.
- He's in front of your truck. - [Dale] Hurry, beat him out.
- [Donnie] Move, Fish! - [horn honking]
[Leroy] I'm excited for him. I remember my first.
[Donnie] Look out, Fish.
It's the coolest experience. Something you remember for the rest of your life.
[Dale] Dang it! [groans]
[Cheech] Catfish is in the way.
[Dale] You're gonna make him late for his first rodeo.
[Leroy] Why aren't we riding with Dale? Like, why are you...
I can't ride with that. I can't ride...
I can't drive him. I can't ride with him.
Donnie Daytona's first, uh, first ride.
- My redheaded stepchild. - [Donnie laughs]
And, uh... [chuckles]
it's rodeo time.
[Leroy] I'll be honest. Bet they're not even having a conversation.
I bet he is sitting with his right leg on the dash like this right here.
- [Cheech] Yeah. - [Leroy] Doing this right here.
[Donnie] Get off your phone. Phone slap.
I hope you ride broncs better than your phone slaps.
[laughs]
What are Cheech and Leroy talking about?
I don't know. Food, probably.
One time I had to buy double the Chick-fil-A on a Saturday.
I got a buddy that used to work at Chick-fil-A.
- [Donnie] You think this is it? - [Dale] Yeah, I think this is it.
[Donnie] I didn't expect the stands to be so big. [laughs]
[Dale] Dude, these stands are bad to the bone.
Donnie had a great ride on The Baptist, who competed at the National Finals Rodeo.
[cowboys yelling] Clear! Clear! Clear!
- [Jorden] Spur! - [Dale] Whoo! Yeah!
But now it's rodeo time.
Going from the practice pen to a rodeo is gonna be a new ball game for Donnie.
It's a lot more eyeballs watching.
- [horn honks] - Oops.
- Watch it. - Glad you made it.
We got here first.
This ain't my shirt.
[Leroy] It's my shirt.
[sighs] Here's your boots. You're gonna get dressed on your side, too.
Check out that tan line. It's not a farmer's tan.
It's a rule.
If you're behind the chutes at a rodeo, you have to be in Western attire.
So, if you don't have a long-sleeve button up
and a cowboy hat on, you ain't no cowboy, literally.
Ooh, there he is. [chuckles]
- Finger guns. - We straight? We good?
Man, y'all are matching.
Are we? Oh.
Close.
- Whatever. Yeah. - Traveling partners, man.
- Want me to help you carry your saddle? - No.
'Course not. I don't do that.
He carries his own saddle.
Dude, we need a buckle for that belt.
Gotta win one.
I know, that's what I'm saying.
Why don't you stop telling me what I need and don't need.
It feels good everybody came to support me.
They joke around before getting on horses, which is good.
Keep it light and not think too much about your ride.
But I don't want to screw this up.
- You guys ready? - I've been ready, ol' son.
Oh, he's doing the... the double shoulder.
Double shoulder carry, I like it.
[sighs]
[inhales deeply] Mmm, smell that arena dirt?
Ah, it's rodeo season.
Mmm. Loving it.
It's rodeo time. Donnie's first rodeo.
It's manure too. It's part of it.
Nope, that's Dale.
He had some burrito.
[Dale] All right. Come on, Leroy. You're one to talk.
[speaking indistinctly]
[Donnie] Yes, ma'am. Donnie.
- Donnie. - Yes, ma'am.
- Do you have a card? - [Donnie] No, ma'am.
- [Dale] She's got your draw. - [woman] Nine-o-six.
[Donnie] All right, thank you, ma'am.
[Dale] Nine-o-six.
At a rodeo, you draw your horse randomly,
and you may not have ever seen it buck before.
Oh yeah. This is her right here.
Look at this is Big Betty.
Every horse bucks different, so first thing you want to do
is gather as much information as you can.
How's she gonna carry her head? What kinda trips is she gonna take?
So, I'm gonna call my good buddy Zack, who I think's been on this horse recently.
[line ringing]
- [clears throat] - [Zack on phone] Hello?
[Dale] Yo, Zack, this is DB. How are you?
[Zack] Pretty good. You?
Really good. man. I'm here, I got my buddy Donnie getting on nine-o-six.
[Zack] Oh! Oh, okay, yeah.
I don't like to get yanked on, so... He likes to get pulled on
and gotta cut her off a little bit, but she's just a nice hopper.
- [Dale] I appreciate it. - [Zack] Sure. Good luck.
- Have a good day. - [Zack] Yes, sir, you too.
- Pow pow. - [Zack] Bye.
Love you too. Bye.
Yeah, so, I think you just stick to the basics. Lift, stay back.
The better you do those two things,
your spur board and all the things you've been doing, they're gonna kick in.
- [Donnie] Yeah. - Don't have to tell your toes to turn out.
[Donnie] Right.
Why you keep grinning at me like that?
- We're rodeoing. - We are rodeoing.
Donnie said earlier this is cool, because he never thought he'd get on at a rodeo.
I started getting on bulls and I was like, I wanna ride broncs.
And I was like, "I'll never get on a bronc."
Got on a bronc. Kept getting on them.
- Now we're here. - Now we're here.
Yeah.
Since I've started doing this, there's been little moments where, like,
kind of it's just surreal and it kind of just hits you.
From where I come from, being a bronc rider's pretty much unheard of,
and to be doing it now, it's just... it's kind of crazy.
Like, if myself three years ago, I could talk to myself now,
like, he probably wouldn't believe this [bleep].
- [man laughs] - [laughing] To be real honest.
Like, it was all kind of a pipe dream before.
[Leroy] I'm super pumped for Donnie.
He said he wasn't gonna smile, but he's already smiled like 20 times, so...
- [Cheech] He's excited. - I can tell he's pretty pumped.
- He's pumped. - [Leroy] Yeah.
[Dale] Clear your mind and do everything you've been doing.
This is the time to have fun, and all your hard work...
- ...pay off. - Yeah.
Donnie can do it. I know he can.
Watching Donnie at his first rodeo, it's like I'm at my first rodeo.
I was nine years old and mine went really well 'cause I'm the greatest of all time,
but, uh, it's the same level of excitement.
And that's what I love about rodeo.
You get just as excited about your buddies as you do yourself.
I'm probably more nervous than he is.
I don't know.
Stop that.
[laughs]
Stop reading me.
[Jorden] That's it, right there.
Here we go.
- They're here. - [man] They're here?
- [Jorden] Yeah. - How do you know?
[Jorden] They shot me a text message.
Come on, Star.
- Hey, Lakota! - Hi.
- [Jorden] How are you? - Good.
Nice to finally get to meet you.
- Are you excited? - I am.
[chuckles]
[man] How'd you find Jorden?
Mommy was watching TikTok,
and then we went to her website and so we became pen pals.
[woman] She couldn't wait to get here. She was very excited.
It was a six-and-a-half hour drive.
This is something very special, very special to her.
I got the bag for you 'cause you love to go to the beach.
[Jorden] I do love to go to the beach. Wow. Look at this.
And I have my signature on the back.
[Jorden] Aw, I like it. You did a really good job with that.
When I first started riding bulls, there was no female bull riders
for me to look up to,
so it's important to me that I can be that role model
to someone like Lakota and other little girls out there
wanting to pursue their dreams.
We're very blessed to have her to look up to.
So, she enjoys Jorden a lot. [laughs]
- Y'all ready to go see the rodeo? - Mm-hmm.
[country rock music playing]
- [announcer] Uh-huh, it is time to rodeo! - [gate opens]
- There they go! - [crowd cheering]
Whoa!
Everybody wants to do good at their first rodeo,
but I kind of just want to get it over with and get on.
You got to sit there and watch all these other events going on.
It's kind of nerve-wracking.
[announcer] Yeah, she's gonna make it work.
- [kid 1] Can you sign my pants? - Can you sign my shoes and my pants?
[kid 2] Can you sign my pants too?
I'll sign your pants. One of them will get me to sign their forehead.
When I was a kid going to rodeos, it's all I ever wanted to do.
So, seeing a lot of kids come up, it's a really special moment.
To be able to keep that alive really means something to me.
Is Donnie in the bronc riding?
Yeah, Donnie's right there. He's entered tonight.
Most of the time, these fans are here to see me.
But now, they want to know about Donnie,
which means I've done a good job as a coach.
[kid] I like your Winnebago bucking bulls.
Thank you, brother.
[announcer] So, it is time now to go to the saddle bronc riding.
[neighing]
It's rodeo time, ol' son. This is my happy place right here.
[announcer] Here we go.
Oh man.
[Leroy] From what we hear, this horse is a good horse.
And Donnie's put the work in.
He's got the man-hours down, and I think he's going to do all right.
I think he's gonna do good on his first one.
[Dale] Lift and fight.
They all buck. Mark her out and lift.
I think the goal for today is to build his confidence,
and I would really like to see him execute the fundamentals
and fight whenever he leaves the chute.
[announcer] That is gonna take us to chute number three,
the man that is originally from Missouri.
I'm talking about Donnie Daytona.
It is his first actual rodeo to be on a saddle bronc horse.
[Donnie] I felt about as ready as I could be for this moment.
Like, you can't control everything. You can just control you.
Just go for it.
- [announcer] Donnie Daytona! Here we go! - [Dale] Lift and fight!
Lift! Fight!
- [horse neighing] - Fight! Fight!
Yeah! Dang.
- [announcer] Oh my! - [Dale] Gah!
[buzzer sounding]
[announcer] Folks, I would say for his first bucking horse at a rodeo,
a pretty good job for a cowboy.
How about sharing a little love with a Missouri man, Donnie Daytona?
I think it went great. That was a rank horse.
I mean, her first four or five jumps were really good.
Donnie had a really good second effort.
You see him almost sit back down.
Uh, horse was just fast and rank.
I'm sure he wanted to do better.
You know, every competitor does, but he needs to be excited.
That was good.
It was a damn good first rodeo.
[announcer] Hold him there. He wants to take a look at it. Hold him...
You sat yourself back down. That was awesome. That's hard to do.
It was just overwhelming.
- Just it... I don't know. - But... All of it?
Yeah, it was...
- [Leroy] A lot? - Yeah.
It's a lot going on.
[Cheech] Super excited for Donnie.
He didn't stay on for eight seconds, but that's okay,
because this is his first rodeo.
He went in here with a clear head
and from the time he got taped up and then afterwards, he's a pro.
And he's gonna be able to go a long ways in bronc riding.
[Dale] Let's watch it and review.
[Donnie] That's dirty right there.
I'm glad that horse bucked at least.
Obviously, I wanted to do better,
but I'm gonna get on more broncs at rodeos,
so this is one night out of the rest of my life.
[Dale] I'm excited for him.
I think he felt the first rush of, uh, competition.
I couldn't be more thrilled for his first rodeo.
He's gonna want another one soon.
[announcer] Okay, the rules are pretty easy, right?
Simple. You gotta be the wildest, craziest...
- Yep. That's what we gotta do. - [Lakota cheering]
[announcer speaking indistinctly]
[Jorden] I'm here. I'm at Cleburne. I'm super excited.
This is one of my favorite pens to go and get on bulls at.
My emotions are running, I'm ready to ride,
and I just really want this to go really well.
[upbeat music playing]
I get so pumped up when I get to the rodeo.
Seeing the people, seeing my friends, seeing fans just gets me so hype.
Usually, that kinda helps me with my nerves.
You'll catch me dancing and, like, just having a good time.
[announcer] How many ladies out here want to see a cowgirl win this whole deal?
[cheering]
[Jorden] Tonight isn't about being better than my last ride or overcoming injuries.
It's about proving to myself and to my fans that I'm back to being on my A game.
And so a win here tonight would be great.
[Tawanna] Okay, here they go! Here's all the girls.
Now, they head outside. Here we go! Come on!
- [woman] Oh! - [grunts]
- [buzzer buzzing] - [announcer] It'll be 65 points, 65.
So, Jorden needs to meet 65.
[man]Aggressive!
Be aggressive! Be be aggressive!
I'm the last rider to go,
and the highest score right now is 65 points.
That's a pretty good score that I have to beat.
- [announcer] Are you all ready? - Say, "Yeah!"
If I can win here tonight, in front of Lakota,
that'd be huge for me.
[announcer] We're gonna go to Jorden Halvorsen.
She's on a bull we call Jester.
[woman] All right, Jorden. Keep at it now.
Come on, Jorden!
[mooing]
[man 1] Bear down, chica. What do you say now? Be bad, girl. Come on.
[man 2] You're the best.
[both cheering]
[man 1] Don't check out. Check back in. Be aggressive. Finish.
[Tawanna] Go, Jorden!
[Lakota cheering] Jorden!
[crowd cheering]
[buzzer buzzing]
Go, Jorden!
[inaudible]
[Jorden] It felt really good. That bull kept trying to pull me down.
I kept sitting back up and fixing it every jump.
[announcer] Now that's 71 points. Into the lead she goes!
[crowd cheering]
Good job, Jorden!
[announcer] Unofficially, it looks like the world champ is Jorden Halvorsen.
- [Lakota screaming] - [announcer continues indistinctly]
Congratulations! That is awesome!
[man] Very good riding.
[Jorden] So this is it. This is the buckle I won from that.
See, Lakota? Remember? You were there. [laughs]
[Tawanna] There you go.
[Jorden] I made it count and I'm feeling good.
That's awesome. It sure looked good.
[Lakota] Was I your lucky charm?
- You are my lucky charm, for sure. - [Lakota giggles]
When I got to Radiator Ranch, I had just come off a really bad knee injury.
I hadn't been getting on bulls and my confidence was super low.
- I think you're in the right place. - Yeah. I'd say so.
Working with Dale and his team has helped build my confidence
to get back to riding the way I know how to.
Every aspect of today was a win.
[Tawanna] Thank you again.
- Bye, Star. - [Tawanna chuckles]
Bye!
Winning this buckle tonight and seeing that look on Lakota's face,
knowing that I'm inspiring other young female bull riders, is everything to me.
I don't think I would change anything about today.
Come here, Star. Star!
As much as I would like to celebrate this win,
I did promise Donnie I'd try to make it to his first rodeo,
so I better hustle to get over there.
Phew!
[country music playing]
[announcer speaking indistinctly]
[Jorden] Hello, hello. How'd it feel?
Uh, it felt pretty good. Yeah. It felt good. Yeah.
- Get that first one out of the way. - Yeah.
That's... That's it.
I might have drove a little fast to get here,
but there's no way I was gonna miss his first rodeo.
Less nervous for the next one?
[Donnie] Hopefully, yeah. I was nervous.
I was definitely nervous. It was overwhelming.
- It was a good horse. - [Donnie] Yeah, she was good.
[Leroy] That's the best trip she's ever had.
[laughs]
- Happens to you a lot, don't it? - Yeah.
That's good. You bring the best out in the horses.
- Just means once you catch up to 'em... - You'll win everything.
Yeah, you'll be winning everything that you go to.
- [Dale] Jorden, how did your rodeo go? - [Jorden] It was good.
[Dale] Dang, look at that buckle! I guess you won.
- [laughs] Yeah. - [Leroy] It's a sweet buckle.
[Donnie] Can I have it? [chuckles]
[Jorden chuckles] You'll win you one.
[Dale] Donnie made it through his first rodeo
and definitely gained some fans today.
Jorden won her first buckle since her injury.
And she's showing the world that bull riding isn't just for the guys.
[Lakota cheering]
[Dale] Cheech and Leroy are both finding their way too.
Cheech has become a better cowboy and a real businessman
who's helping me spread the cowboy culture.
Leroy has shown me that it's worth listening to his ideas.
And we've been getting along, sometimes.
He even forced me to face my own fears.
Even though there's only one or two of them.
- [Dale screams] - [Cody] Hang on! Hang on, ol' son!
[Dale] Seeing everyone on the ranch grow and find success is a great reminder
that the cowboy way of life was here long before I was.
Even though I'm the one that perfected it.
And with some help from the crew on Radiator Ranch,
it'll be here long after I'm gone.
- You ready to go on to the next one? - [Donnie] Yeah.
- [man 1] Dale yeah. - [Dale] Dale yeah!
- [man 2] Yee-haw! - [Dale] Oh, Dale yeah! Oh, Dale yeah!
- They're not saying "Cheech yeah." - [Cheech] No.
Bingo! Bingo.
I'm glad we're out before the traffic hits.
There's a Steak 'n Shake going outside of town. It's bad to the bone.
[Western music playing]
[Dale] Why you keep grinning at me like that?
- [Donnie] We're rodeoing. - [Dale] We are rodeoing.