Long ago, the Horace Greeley-coined term “Go West, young man,” inspired countless pioneers, referring to the many opportunities on the American frontier. Even today, it can be a motivating motto for those looking for a change.
Well, ProRodeo steer roper Will McBride definitely is embarking on a change in scenery. Except he’s going east.
Middle East, that is. McBride, 42, is putting his horses and ropes away for the year while he works in Kuwait as an independent contractor for KBR, a Houston-based engineering and construction company that has won many contracts with the U.S. military over the years. He hopes to earn enough money there to come back and compete more heavily on the ProRodeo circuit in 2009.
“I went to Odessa (Texas), won some money there, then turned out my horses for the year,” said McBride, a native of Ogallala, Neb., during a break at a seminar on insurance adjusting. “It’s definitely going to be an adventure. I was hoping they’d mail my Odessa check to me over there. That way, I would have been the first cowboy from the Middle East to have made the world standings.”
McBride, who joined the PRCA in 1996, earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Nebraska-Kearney. Among his career accomplishments in the arena include a pair of year-end steer roping titles in the Mountain States Circuit and a 2005 circuit finals average title, also in the Mountain States circuit.
Despite the distance, McBride, thanks to technology, won’t be too far from the rodeo world.
“Oh, I’ll have access to the Internet over there,” McBride said. “I’ll miss America, but I’ll be keeping up with stuff.”
McBride, who started his professional career as a tie-down roper but switched to steer roping in 1998, finished 29th in the final 2007 Crusher Rentals PRCA World Steer Roping Standings with earnings of $11,291. His best finish came in 2003, when he earned $14,228 and finished 22nd.
