‘Making every run count’: Moreno captures bull-riding title at high school season opener

PAYSON, Ariz.

Three-time high school national qualifier Brad Moreno used his experience to capture the bull-riding title at the Arizona High School Rodeo Association season opener.

The Casa Grande, Arizona, cowboy was the only rider to cover his bulls during the two-day event, which ended on Sunday in Payson.

“I got on some good bulls,” said Moreno, who is originally from Kayenta. “I just tried to work on finishing out my rides all the way through.”

Moreno turned in a pair of 82-point rides as seven other cowboys came up short of completing the 8-seconds. The field included local cowboys Robbie Taylor Jr. of Chinle and Winslow’s Kailar Charley.

“I just took it one ride and one bull at a time,” said Moreno, who earned a trophy buckle for his efforts.

And although he had a strong start to the 2020-21 season, Moreno said there is still room for improvement as he hopes to earn his ticket for nationals in two other events, tie-down and team roping.

“I still need a lot of work,” he said. “In rodeo you can’t get ahead of yourself. There are a lot of good guys out there and you just can’t back down. You have to keep working.”

In addition to his pair of first-place scores in the bull riding, the Diné cowboy added a first-place run of 10.980 seconds in Saturday’s tie-down event.

On the second day, however, he ran into trouble with his groundwork, as he placed 13th with a 20.890 effort.

“I made some mistakes,” Moreno said of Sunday’s run. “I didn’t get a good setup with my run. I fumbled my tie a little bit.”

Nevertheless, he was pleased with how his new horse worked.

“I’m trying to make every run count with him,” he said of muscular equine OD.

“It’s a step up for him,” his mother Sammy Jo Boyd said. “We purchased that horse for Brad and he’s going to be needing it for college next year too.”

During this past year’s national high school rodeo, Moreno came up a tad short of making the tie-down short round with then-mount Darla. The pair finished 21st in the aggregate race after two rounds with the top 20 making it.

“We had to make sure that we have the right stuff underneath him,” his mom said. “His dad (John Boyd III), grandpa (John Boyd Jr.) and I sat down and we figured that he needed a new horse.

“Now that he’s using his new horse I believe it’s going to be his year,” she added. “In order to step it up you got to have the horsepower.”

Having qualified for nationals in both events last year, Moreno said he’s looking to add the team-roping competition to his resume this year as he is partnered up with Casa Grande cowboy Cooper Andersen.

On Saturday they posted a no time but on Sunday they recorded a 21.610 run that placed them 14th in the round.

“We’re still working things out,” Moreno said.

As one of the veterans in the AHSRA, Moreno said he’s motivated about the upcoming season.

“I’m going to make every run count,” he said. “I just need to be smart about it.”

Besides competing in the arena, Moreno was elected treasurer for the association as he hopes to help out every way he can.

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