He stays on bulls. That’s his job.
Some people arrive on earth knowing who they are and what they’re meant to be. Sage Steele Kimzey, of Strong City, Oklahoma, is one of those people. He’s in the coveted #1 Bull Riding Position going into the 2016 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (WNFR), with $171,989.72 in Bull Riding Earnings. He is returning to defend his PRCA Bull Riding World Champion title for a third year in a row.
Kimzey, a mere 22 years of age, has just come from winning a 2nd CBR World Championship title in July; the only Rider to complete five rides at the 2016 CBR World Finals in Cheyenne, Wyoming – held during the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo. Eight-time PRCA World Champion Don (Donnie) Gay thinks that Sage Kimzey has a legitimate shot at breaking his bull riding record. Donnie went on to say, “Kimzey grew up at the rodeo. He was born to do this. He rides fundamentally flawless, and it’s all he has ever wanted to do.”
Indeed – “Kan-Do Kimzey” in his inaugural PRCA year, smashed records. In 2014, at the very young age of 20, he won the PRCA Rookie of the Year. During the 2014 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, he won an event-record-tying four rounds. He ended up winning the 2014 PRCA World Championship; only the 2nd Rookie Bull Rider to do so. The last time that feat was accomplished was back in 1963, by Bill Kornell. Sage’s total WNFR earnings that year were $175,466; the highest of any other rodeo competitor in Vegas during that event, earning him the RAM Truck Top Gun Award; and he finished with a rookie record total, any event or combined, of $318,631. We’re sure that Kimzey left Vegas with a smile on his face; as the newly crowned World Champion, WNFR Average Champion, and PRCA Resistol Rookie of the Year. He drove out of town, off into the sunset, in his brand-new RAM Top Gun Truck. But before leaving, he was quoted as saying, “I had been (to the Wrangler NFR) before as a fan to watch the Gold Buckle Presentation, so to be standing here now and holding it, and to be at the pinnacle of the sport, it’s making me want to do this all over again next year.”
So he did.
In 2015, after a successful bull riding season that included winning 12 major PRCA events, “Kan-Do Kimzey” placed in an amazing seven rounds at the WNFR, securing his second PRCA World Championship.
“Getting paid for doing what I love – riding bulls – it’s all I’ve dreamed about since I was three years old. And to get to come do it for a living, it doesn’t get any better than that.” Sage Kimzey – at the 2016 CBR World Finals in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
It seems that Sage Steele Kimzey made his earthly debut in August of 1994 with a recipe for success, and he has been meticulously following it up to and including the 2016 season. He has won an impressive 13 major PRCA events this year, including the prestigious San Antonio and Pendleton rodeos. All of us at the Cowboy Lifestyle Network wish him the very best. We know without a doubt that Kimzey Kan-Do it!
NOTE: This is the 32nd Annual Wrangler National Finals Rodeo; running Thursday, December 1 through Saturday, December 10. Performances will be held at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. They start at 6:45 pm (PT), nightly.
Watch it LIVE at 10 pm (ET) on the CBS Sports Network, immediately repeating at 1 am (ET).
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