At this stage in Cyle Denison's career, it would be easy for him to look past this week's National Little Britches Finals Rodeo in Guthrie, Oklahoma. After all, the 18-year-old from Iowa, Louisiana, has been competing in pro rodeos since March and plans on concentrating on them full-time next year. But like so many young cowboys before him, the July 4-9 event holds a special place in his heart.

"I wouldn't be where I am today in the rodeo world without Little Britches," he said during a recent phone conversation. "It's a good start for any little kid that wants to start a rodeo career. You learn what it's like to be in a bigger pool of competitors than just your area."



The National Little Britches Rodeo Association (NLBRA) was founded in 1952, and in the years that have passed, it has served as a launching pad for some of the best pro cowboys in the world, including Ty Murray, K.C. Jones, and Shane Hanchey.

"Little Britches is very important for rodeo families," said Cyle's mother, Carmen, who serves on the NLBRA's executive board.

It's the stepping stone for kids. It's just like Little League. It leads to college and the pros.

Carmen grew up on a farm in southwest Louisiana, where she and her sisters learned how to rodeo at a young age. She competed in Little Britches Rodeos in high school before moving on to college rodeo and then amateur rodeo. After giving birth to Cyle, she took a short break from the sport before returning to it when he was five weeks old. Her passion for riding and roping rubbed off on her son, and by the time he was 6, he was already competing in youth rodeos.

The qualifying process to get into Little Britches can be daunting for some. You have to place in the top seven in your event four times in a single year. But Cyle has never had a problem with it. He first competed in Little Britches when he was 8 years old and has returned every year since.

Before he'd even entered high school, Cyle had already won a Louisiana state championship and the All-Around Cowboy award at the National Junior High Finals Rodeo in Gallup, New Mexico, but some of the greatest moments of his young career have occurred at Little Britches. He's won titles in heeling and breakaway roping in the junior division, and last year, competing in the senior division, he won a round in the tie-down roping and team roping, along with finishing Reserve World Champion in the team roping for the year.

Cyle focuses on the roping events, with team roping being his best and favorite one. At Iowa High School, he often partnered with his cousin Britt Buller from Kinder, Louisiana, but at Little Britches, Cyle usually partners with whoever is available. Last year, it was Seth Smith from Columbia, LA; this year, it will be Tayt Little from Hackberry, LA.

Cyle and Tayt have only competed in a team roping competition together on one occasion, but the result of that event bodes well for their chances at Little Britches. "Cyle roped with [Tayt] at a regular rodeo one time, and they won first," Carmen explained.

Next year, Cyle plans to take classes online at Hill College and follow the pro rodeo circuit full-time. In anticipation of making rodeo his career, he moved to Stephenville, Texas ("the cowboy capital of the world"), last week.

"All the best in the world live here," he said. "It makes you a better competitor to be roping and competing and practicing with them every day. It helps you learn how to win."

Carmen seemed to have already come to terms with her only child heading out on his own. "Everybody said, 'What are you going to do when he moves to Stephenville?'"

Her response? "I've been grooming him for this his whole life. That's why you haul them everywhere--so they can go on and be successful."

Before starting the next phase of his life, Cyle hopes to go out with a bang during his final year competing at Little Britches. Some of his inspiration has to come from the bad taste left in his mouth from last year's event. Although he approved of Little Britches relocating from its longtime home in Pueblo, Colorado, to Guthrie, OK, in 2016--"I like it a lot better because it's inside in the air conditioning," he said--Cyle didn't perform quite as well last year as he would have hoped.

"He ended up missing one of his calves in the final round, and it cost him," Carmen explained.

When asked what his goals at this year's event were, Cyle said he hoped to pull off a rare trifecta by winning the ribbon roping, tie-down roping, and team roping events. "I want to try to win all three of those events," he said.

"He's capable of doing it," Carmen said. "He's a competitor. No matter where he goes he likes to win."

Watch the 2017 National Little Britches Association Finals July 4-8 LIVE on FloRodeo.

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