Hometown: Decatur, Texas
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 170 lbs.
Rookie Year: 2006
World Titles: 23
DOB: 11/16/76
Website: www.brelentless.com www.TrevorBrazile.com
Social Media:
TrevorBrazile
@TrevorBrazile
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“Trevor Brazile, 23-time World Champion Cowboy, has competed professionally for 19 years. He competes in the Tie-Down Roping, Team Roping, and Steer Roping. Originally from Amarillo, Texas Brazile now lives in Decatur, Texas with his wife Shada and their three kids.
Brazile is considered the face of rodeo. The most decorated cowboy in rodeo history, he has won more money than any other cowboy in the sport of rodeo. He is also the first cowboy to cross the $3 million threshold in career earnings. When asked what he loves most about his career he said, “There’s better ways to make a living, but there’s probably no better way to live.”
We asked Brazile what he enjoys to do outside of rodeo, he said, “Right now it is playing sports with my kids and watching them learn new things. Stella is playing soccer and Treston is playing baseball and I love getting to rope with him. Just watching them growing up is fun.” His hobbies include hunting, fishing, playing softball and training horses.
Trevor Brazile Q&A
Q: What do you want the fans to know most about ERA?
A: We will not ever know what rodeo’s full potential is until we bring something to the public that gives rodeo a chance to be a real sports property. I don’t think rodeo has ever known it’s full potential, and that is what we are out there trying to do. Our goal is to make the sport thrive and not decline.
Q:What do you hope is different about the ERA based on a fan’s perspective?
A:Fans will be able to consistently see their favorite cowboys on Fox Sports and during the regular season. They don’t just get to watch a culmination, but the entire journey.
Q:Tell us about the Fox Sports television partnership and why it is important?
A:It is important for fans, sponsors and future generations of cowboys to bring rodeo to a platform that showcases the elite athlete’s talents on a national stage.
Q: Who inspires or motivates you?
A:The opportunity to make a living doing what I love I do motivates me. That is what gets me up and working, because I know that I’m truly blessed to be able to make a living doing something I’m passionate about.
Q:What do you do for fun?
A:Right now it is playing sports with my kids and watching them learn new things. Scout is playing soccer and Treston is playing baseball and I love getting to rope with him. Just watching them growing up is fun.
Q: If you have free time, what are you doing?
A:While I’m on the road me and other contestants are always doing pick up games. We play basketball and baseball if we can get a big group together. Patrick and I usually throw the football or baseball whenever we have down time.
Q: We know that you love to play sports, what sports did you play in high school?
A: I played varsity basketball as a guard and our team won state. My coach was really lenient to let me still play and miss games to rodeo. Rodeo was always my first priority.
Q:Who have your mentors been and why?
A:I’ve had a lot of people that I’ve looked up to in the sport. Ty Murray for what he accomplished in the All Around category. Joe Beaver because he did the same events I do. Roy Cooper took me with him and let me rodeo with him. He let me see how a champion did it. He taught me how much a role of confidence and believing in yourself plays in winning. He taught me how to win.
Q: What is the most exciting thing about tie down roping and team roping?
A:In tie down its all on you. I love it when it all falls into place. There are so many variables and to have a run where you don’t look back and think you could do anything any different. From the stands a run looks pretty generic, but it is very rare that when I uncinch my horse after a run that I wish I hadn’t done something different. So when you complete a run where you wouldn’t do anything different that is exciting.
Team roping is exciting when you rope with someone long enough that you become like a quarterback and receiver. You are on the same page and they can just read what is going on. We get a lot of confidence in knowing each others styles and knowing how your partner is going to react to any situation. It’s a true partnership, its not just someone roping the head and someone the heels to stop the clock.
Q: Tell us about your rookie year and any advice you have for those just starting out?
A:My rookie year was pretty rough. I didn’t win a lot. I remember trying to take it to the next level instead of trusting my skills where they were at that point. I tried to keep pushing the envelope, trying to produce that perfect run each time. That’s not realistic. Trust your skills, you can’t sustain perfection daily. You will have mistakes, you just have to minimize them and win with them.
Q:What does practice look like for you when you are home?
A:I leave house in the morning and I rope until we are done, usually 6-8 hours in the practice pen. Doing 3 events you have to put more time into it. I have to do triple what everyone else is doing or I’m cheating myself in one of those events.
In the past, I have considered that time in the arena as my work out, but the older I get I am realizing that I need to workout and take as good of myself as I do my horses. My competition is getting younger every year and it is important for me to stay quick.
Q: What is your favorite part about traveling?
A: Traveling with my family. If we have downtime then we take advantage of that. A lot of people have to take vacations and time off work to do things together as a family. We get to do that on a regular basis. We are blessed to have that.
We go fishing a lot, we go to zoos, and local attractions. We get to spend so much time together on the road, even more than we do when we are home.
Q: Do you bring any special pets on the road with you?
A: No, and I’ve been prolonging that exact conversation at my house. My take is, lets not complicate things by brining a dog into the mix. Traveling with small kids has been all the company we need.
Q: Before you back into the box, what is on your mind?
A: You can’t think about every step, that’s why you put in the time practicing at home. Pick 2-4 things within the run that are important and think about those, your cliff notes of the run. Maybe its something that has been your weakness in other runs, think about those things. Let your muscle memory take over.
Q: Tell us your most memorable moment in rodeo.
A: Me and my wife both making the finals together. The main reason that was the most memorable moment is that she has been with me since my first year of college and has helped me reach my goals. She has been my chute help and untied calves … she has been so instrumental in all my championships. To see her goal and dream come to fruition was special.
Q:Tell us your most challenging moment in rodeo.
A:That was definitely my rookie year. I had to be realistic and wonder if rodeo was really the career path for me. It was costly. If I hadn’t won the reserve championship at the Timed Event Finals that year I don’t know if I could have stayed on the road and continued. I had to win more than I spent or I had to go home. In rodeo you have ups and downs and it can be challenging to keep your head right. The bottom line was I had to make a living in order to do it.
Q:Horses are a vital part to your success on the road. Tell us about your most favorite equine athlete.
A:You have to have an arsenal when it comes to horses. Especially as much as we have to travel. Which really is another great thing about the ERA, you can get more years out of a great horse because there will be fewer rodeos and less traveling. You do everything you can from soft ride boots to air ride trailers to keep them in top shape, but fewer miles down the road will be good for them too. My horses are crucial in my event.
The reason I have so many horses to choose from is that different venues or draws calls for different horses in your arsenal.
If I had to pick my favorite would be Deputy. He is a big sorrel calf horse. He is the one I ride when the chips are down. His scoring and speed are his best attributes. He is 11 and I bought him as a 5 year old and I just seasoned him. He is a a pet coon, he wont leave people alone. He always thinks people have something for him to eat, so he is in your pockets or nosing on you. Its probably because my wife and kids feed him treats all the time.
Q:How do you keep your horses healthy and always ready to compete?
A: Platinum performance is great for preventative maintenance and overall wellness. The team at Outlaw Equine knows Deputy like a book, so if I feel like anything is off with him they can easily identify what is going on. I give him cold salt water therapy, chill his legs, and swim him when I’m not riding him to keep him physically fit and keep him sound.
Q:What does your family mean to your success?
A: They are everything to me. It is fun to see how much my kids learn about the sport daily. They know what I do right and what I do wrong. They pick up little things without us even telling them.
Getting to travel with young kids, well it doesn’t get better than that. You can have a bad day and just going to the trailer and being with them helps me keep things in perspective. I love it and it is a great sport, but at the end of the day it is what I do for a living. My legacy is being a good husband and father, if I don’t do that well then the rest really doesn’t matter.
