There’s nothing quite like getting on the back of a bucking bull in front of tens of thousands of onlookers.

Just ask Jake Gardner.

The B.C. cowboy with Fort St. John roots is at the top of his game, coming off a big championship win at RodeoHouston that kicked him to the top of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association standings for bull riding.

Houston’s the biggest rodeo in the world. The Top 40 in the world standings get to go there. I originally didn’t get in, so I called them and just asked, ‘Hey, where am I at on an alternate spot?’ because if people get injured, they will replace them.

They said I was 10th. I didn’t really think that they would have went down 10 spots, but unfortunately some guys must have got hurt and some other guys might have not been able to make it. They called me and said, “Hey, can you be in Houston? We got a spot for you.”

I was in Arizona at the time, found one flight that was getting there about an hour before it started. We made it work, got to the rodeo about 15 minutes before it started. I didn’t have much time to think about things. I went and rode five bulls later, and three weeks later ended up winning the title.