Keyshawn Whitehorse barely missed what would have been his first rodeo, but through fate, destiny or whatever you want to call it, he found his way back.
“It’s intertwined within my DNA to do the sport and be who I am,” he said. “I’ve just never seen myself doing or being anything else.”
Take his mother’s word for it. Back in July 1997, when Del Whitehorse was pregnant with Keyshawn, she and her husband, Norbert, had tickets to see bull riders during the Days of ‘47 Rodeo in Salt Lake City. But Del suddenly went to the hospital, only to be told that she was going to deliver Keyshawn that day.
“It caught me off guard,” Del recalled, “and the only thing that I could think of at the time was, ‘No, I’ve got to make the bull riding event.”
That didn’t happen. Instead of tagging along to the rodeo with his parents, Keyshawn was born that day — July 24 — weighing only 3 pounds.
“He was like, ‘Mom, I just wanted to hurry up and get on with life,’ Del said. “‘I wanted to hurry up and get to bull riding.’”
(Del Whitehorse) Keyshawn Whitehorse with his parents, Del and Norbert Whitehorse.
Whitehorse, who is from McCracken Springs, Utah, is set to compete at Delta Center on Friday and Saturday as he pursues his long-term goal of reaching the World Finals in Arlington, Texas, later this year.
Along the way, Whitehorse, widely known as the “Pride of Navajo Nation,” hopes to show off his Dinè heritage on the world stage.
Whitehorse first got interested riding bulls when he was five years old, watching a National Finals Rodeo competition with his dad on TV. He was mesmerized, enough that he stayed quiet until finally he said six words: “I want to do that, dad.”
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He rode his first big bull at 12 years old at a rodeo bible camp. The exhilarating memory still lives on.
“My heart was pounding. But when I did nod my head, the chute gate opened, [and] everything was slower,” Whitehorse said, “because it is a bigger animal, [it] takes bigger strikes and stuff.”
That moment allowed Whitehorse to face his fears, he said, and realize that fears are often “built up in our head.” He learned that pushing past them is possible, but it starts with that first daring step of courage.
It’s a step he’s taken over and over. Whitehorse has won 28 events in his career, qualified for finals seven times and was the Professional Bull Riders 2018 Rookie of the Year. He’s currently ranked ninth in PBR’s Unleash the Beast standings.
Dinè culture as a foundation
Whitehorse grew up both on and off the Utah side of the Navajo Nation, which spans the Beehive State, Arizona and New Mexico.
“Not only bull riding, but rodeo in general, plays a huge factor in the culture [there,]” he said. “Our culture is having and taking care of animals. We really basically live the Western lifestyle.”
Cultural reverence is something his parents instilled in him from an early age.
His mom said their Navajo identity and culture is something they want Keyshawn to carry with him no matter where he lives. That culture includes what he learned from different stories he heard from his elders and grandparents, and the tribe’s language, teachings and prayers.
When he competes, Whitehorse wears a Navajo bow guard — a protective wrap for an archer’s forearm — above his free hand.
“It just represents the warrior mentality,” he said, “protection, being strong-willed and powerful, and [having] that courage.”
He also wears a medallion beaded by his grandmother — something he’s had since he was a young child — and he always says prayers in his Native tongue before riding.
(James Phifer | Bull Stock Media) Keyshawn Whitehorse during the second round of the New York City Unleash The Beast PBR.
“These are all things that keep me connected with the animals here on Mother Earth,” Whitehorse said, “and those animals that the Creator has provided us with.”
He credits that cultural foundation directly for his success in professional bull riding.
“The only reason why I am who I am and where I’m at, is because I’m able to be a Navajo from Utah,” he said, “and be able to represent the Navajo Nation proudly and give them something to cheer for.”
A smooth dance or a fist fight
For onlookers, a bull ride happens in the blink of an eye — after all, it lasts only eight seconds — but for riders, the experience of those eight seconds is everything.
“It’s just the feeling of overcoming a huge challenge,” Whitehorse said.
He tries to compare it to other big accomplishments — like catching a lifelong dream fish. “That sense of feeling of like, ‘No way that this happened and was I able to pull that off.’”
“It’s all boiled down to that one ride, or that one moment. That’s what we live for,” he said, “That’s a feeling that makes you feel the most alive, because at that moment in time … everything seems to fade away: all problems in your life … that’s what most people try to seek in their life, is being in that moment so presently.”
Whitehorse says riding a bull is either like a “smooth dance or walking into a fist fight.”
“There’s such a glide in bull riding. There’s a lot of things that you can’t control, but the things that you can … you’ve got to make sure that you do control as best as you can.”
One of the most elite riders
Colby Yates, head coach of Whitehorse’s team, the Arizona Ridge Riders, said Whitehorse is currently riding at 64%, meaning that is the percentage of time he stays on the bull for the full eight seconds.
“That’s a world champion number,” Yates said. “… I don’t think he’s ever been as good as he is right now.”
According to his coach, Whitehorse also embodies some of the popular sayings that go around in the bull riding world, like “take it one bull at a time.”
“Keyshawn really defines what that means,” Yates said. “He comes up with a game plan. He studies the bulls. It is a head-to-head match.”
In team bull riding, there are multiple matchups at a competition, but the team with the highest combined score wins.
(Josh Homer | Bull Stock Media) Keyshawn Whitehorse during the first round of the Manchester Unleash the Beast event.
Sometimes that win comes down to a stellar final ride, and more often than not, Whitehorse takes the position of closer.
“All the weight tends to come on Keyshawn’s shoulders,” Yates said, “and he thrives in that moment.”
At a recent competition in Arizona, Whitehorse took on a bull nobody wanted to ride and scored high enough to win the event for the Ridge Riders. “Surreal” is how Yates described it.
“It was something that, to me, felt like a moment in sports that everybody needs to witness,” Yates said, “because we were down, we were back in the corner, and it was going to take a big ride from Keyshawn in order to get this win.”
Giving back to Indigenous kids
Whitehorse still visits the same rodeo bible camp he attended as a kid, but now he’s an instructor.
“It’s just my way of being able to give back,” he said. “I understand that not every kid is going to become a professional bull rider, but there are those that love it and they want to do it.”
Whitehorse said the main lessons he has learned from bull riding are consistency and discipline — both topics that go back to overcoming fear and finding his courage. They’re the two main points he stresses with the kids he mentors.
He also teaches them to stay in touch with their roots, like he has done.
“You don’t want to be able to get lost while you’re out there,” he said. “You want to be able to have deeper roots within who you are, your culture, so that it keeps you grounded.”
As he continues to chase a world title, Whitehorse is sure of one thing: He wants to be the best.
“Not just be one of the best Native American riders; I want to be one of the best bull riders there is,” he said, “because I want them to see that we can do what they do, all the other people out there.”
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