Koby Radley won his first major professional bull riding title at age 18 with Tuff Hedeman in command of the chutes.
#Geauxtime
In 2018, Koby Radley, the 21-year-old Cajun Cowboy from Montpelier, Louisiana, rode with just one goal...qualifying for the National Finals Rodeo. With one NFR experience in the books, he heads back to Las Vegas as one of the elite PRCA bull riders in the No. 12 position and wearing back no. 38.
Competing in 104 rodeos, Radley qualified, winning nine rodeo titles and earned money in 45% of those rodeos. He eerily qualified in the same No. 12 position in 2019 as 2018 and won the same number of rodeo bull riding titles as in 2018.
If he mirrors his 2018 rookie NFR experience, he will place in three rounds and finish ninth in the average title race with 259 points on three head and a $62, 814 paycheck he picked up leaving Vegas.
Like LSU head coach Ed Orgeron, Radley, a 21-year-old die-hard LSU Tiger football fan, made significant adjustments in his approach to the game this season and it earned him over $17,000 more than last year.
“The key difference from 2018 to 2019 is making more of my short round bulls count! Last year I let a lot of good opportunities slip through my hands, and as everyone knows, the money is in the short round,” said Radley.
2015 International Finals Rodeo Champion Bull Rider and CBR Horizon Series Champion - Koby Radley
"I had to prove myself last year, and I am ready to get after it for the richest ten days in rodeo," said an excited Radley.
Radley believes respect is the best cowboy tradition, and no doubt, he is respected by his peers after earning $114,554.21 on this year’s trail.
The Learning Curve
Radley's style is one of control and is known to be a student of the bulls and the sport, but now a three year veteran of the PRCA, he cited this as his plan for Las Vegas.
“No big changes to be made, I will try to keep things pretty simple, and if I can just go out there and take it one bull at a time I think things will work out,” added Radley.
What will Koby do between now and December?
I imagine Koby Radley will be getting on plenty of practice bulls in the upcoming weeks. Still, growing up in the "Sportsman's Paradise" state of Louisiana, there are a few other things to do in November, including his favs - duck hunting and fishing and cheering on the LSU Tigers.
The Beginning
Radley is a past International Finals Rodeo (IFYR) Youth World Champion bull rider, where he was the only rider to cover three bulls at the 2015 Super Bowl of youth rodeo. He started riding calves when he was 8. He began competing and progressed in junior rodeo, including competing in high school rodeo in both Mississippi and Louisiana as a junior bull rider.
“I have always wanted to compete at the highest level and waited on this a long time, it is my dream, I started riding when I was 8 or 9 years old when my Dad put me on for the first time,” said Radley.
Jacob O’Mara, Kortlin Radley O’Mara, Koby Radley
Radley won the Mississippi High School Rodeo title 3 times as a freshman, sophomore, and junior.
In Las Vegas, it will not be Radley’s first time listening to Tuff Hedeman on the bucking chutes.
In 2016, Koby Radley followed his dream and joined the PRCA and his brother in law as a professional bull rider. Radley’s sister Kortlyn is married to NFR qualifier Jacob O'Mara, and they competed on the road together, they massed seven CBR event titles with Radley winning the Salina Championship title, and the year-end Horizon Championship buckle and the bonus check. Radley also competes on the Tuff Hedeman Bull Riding Tour.
Radley, who describes his ride style as "under control," is known to study bulls and prepare as much as possible.
Follow Koby and the NFR bull riding on Facebook, Tuff Hedeman, Instagram, Tuff Hedeman Official, and Tuff Hedeman Bull Riding.
Professional
2019 Highlights
Ranked #1 Southeastern Circuit Standings - $20,788.52
• Won the Dodge City (Kan.) Roundup Rodeo
• Won the NE Mississippi (Tupelo) Championship Rodeo
• Won the Southeastern Livestock Exposition (Montgomery, Ala.)
• Won the Bill Hoy Kiwanis Rodeo (Clarksville, Tenn.)
• Won the Gladewater (Texas) Round-Up Rodeo
• Won the Lexington (Ky.) Rodeo
• Won the Parker County Sheriff's Posse Frontier Days And PRCA Rodeo (Weatherford, Texas)
• Won the Tri-State Rodeo (Fort Madison, Iowa)
• Co-champion at the Sikeston (Mo.) Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo
• 2017: Won Rapides Parish PRCA Rodeo in Alexandria, La., the Magnolia (Ark.) Stampede, and the Lea County Fair & PRCA Rodeo in Hobbs, N.M. Finished the season 28th in the world standings with $52,880.