At 15, he's already taming bulls

A Columbia Falls sophomore is already making his mark on the bull riding world.

Gage Redd came within a half point of winning the Brash Rodeo Blue Moon Summer Rodeo bullriding series and recently took fourth at the miniature bullriding world finals in Guthrie, Oklahoma.

The 15 year old has been riding bulls, both full-size and miniature, for about four years now and hopes to follow in the footsteps of local professionals Beau Hill and Matt Triplett.

Redd is 5-foot-3, 110 pounds, but doesn’t lack for toughness. This summer he broke his wrist during the Blue Moon bull bash after a bull stomped on it. His ride won the event, but he didn’t take the rest of the summer off.

“I just switched hands,” he said.

In addition to the Blue Moon series, Redd traveled across Montana, Wyoming and Idaho last summer to compete in bullriding rodeos. He works with his father, Jeremy, who is a diesel mechanic, to earn enough cash to travel.

Bullriding at this level, even if a rider wins, usually just means a buckle and enough cash to pay for gas to get back home.

Redd’s gone to bullriding school with former world champion Terry Don West and rides a horse just about everyday to keep in condition. He also has a couple of bulls on the family’s spread in rural Columbia Falls that he practices on as well.

His younger brother, Radley, also rides miniature bulls, said Redd’s mom, Shellene.

Redd plans on competing through the winter months at the rodeo series at the Majestic Valley Arena.