Ty Erickson-Cedar Herald Index

Ty Erickson (born August 11, 1990) is an American professional rodeo cowboy who specializes in steer wrestling. He competes in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) circuit. He is the 2011 PRCA Steer Wrestling Rookie of the Year and is the PRCA 2019 Steer Wrestling World Champion.

Early life

Ty Erickson was born on August 11, 1990, in Helena, Montana. His father, Sid, is a veterinarian and equine chiropractor, who has competed in team roping, and his mother, Janet Bignell Erickson, is a health enhancement coordinator and gym teacher. She is also a barrel racing trainer and competitor, and a former Miss College Rodeo.

Ty Erickson

It was not until Erickson was a junior in Capital High School that he started competing in steer wrestling. In 2008 and 2009, he was the all-around champion in the National High School Rodeo Association (NHSRA). In 2010, in college, he was the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) Big Sky Region steer wrestling champion. He also did some team roping in college with his cousin. At Montana State University (MSU) in Bozeman, he studied business marketing. Erickson qualified for the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) all four years he attended MSU.

Ty Erickson

Career

Erickson began his professional steer-wrestling career when he joined the PRCA in 2011. Since then he has competed on the rodeo circuit every year. He qualified for the championship event, the National Finals Rodeo (NFR), six times: from 2014 to 2019. He also qualified for the National Circuit Finals Rodeo (NCFR) three times, in 2011, 2012, and 2016. He has won over $1 million in earnings in his professional career.

Ty Erickson

Season 2010

In 2010, Erickson won several regional rodeos on the Montana Circuit. He won the Wild Horse Stampede in Wolf Point, Montana; and the Energy Town Pro Rodeo in Gillette, Wyoming. He also won the 50th Belt Rodeo in Belt, Montana; the Mission Mountain PRCA Rodeo in Polson, Montana; and the Drummond, Montana, PRCA Rodeo. He was co-champion at the Last Chance Stampede in Helena, Montana. He finished first in the Montana Circuit year-end standings. Some rodeos he won while competing on his permit, and he earned $10,740.

Season 2011

In 2011, Erickson won several more regional rodeos in Montana, including the PRCA Kootenai River Rodeo in Libby and the Northeast Montana Fair and Rodeo in Glasgow. He reached the National Circuit Finals Rodeo and was the event leader earning $14,054 (this amount did not count in his official earnings). He finished 49th in the world standings, but finished first in the rookie standings, earning $22,007.

Erickson was still attending college when he was at the NFR to receive the PRCA Rookie of the Year award for steer wrestling. In fact, he was missing some classwork due to being in Las Vegas, Nevada. Only 11 cowboys from Montana had received the award since its inception, and Erickson was the second steer wrestler to earn it since the PRCA began splitting the award by event in 1977. "When the year first started, I didn't even think about rookie of the year," said Erickson, "I wanted to make the circuit finals again and the Canadian Finals." In January, he won the 2010 MPRC year-end circuit title and led Shawn Downing by more than $5,200 in the 2011 standings. In early July he earned his first circuit check. In Canada, he won more than $9,000. However, he did not qualify for the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) as he had only entered 7 rodeos in Canada instead of the required 15. He mentioned two specific weekends that got him the gold buckle. One weekend included good money at notable rodeos in Alberta and Red Lodge, Montana, among others. A month later he won three more rodeos and a large check at Strathmore, Alberta.

Erickson traveled with Nick Stubblefield of Choteau, Montana. His horse was a 19-year-old named Cisco. "It wasn't until August that I thought it (rookie title) might be possible", Erickson said. "That weekend of August put me past those other guys and it gave me the lead. I kind of coasted from there." Erickson arrived in Las Vegas on Monday for the award ceremony on Tuesday to spend some time in the NFR atmosphere. "It really didn't sink in that I won it until I got here," he said. “Being here motivates me even more. It makes me want to practice even more to get to the next level. I would love to rodeo for $17,000 for 10 rounds."