STOUGHTON - Kaden Piper knows what he wants in life, and he wants to be a professional bull rider.
Piper is a born and raised farm boy, living on a farm northeast of Stoughton with his parents, Chris and Jaycee, and has three older brothers Kienen, Cole and Karson.
On the farm, they have approximately 140 head of cattle. Some are purebred red Angus; others are registered Herefords, and the rest are commercial stock.
Last summer Piper purchased a couple of brahma cross heifers. His plan is to also purchase a bucking bull to breed his heifers to. If Piper cannot obtain a bucking bull, he will lease a bull from another contractor to use.
Depending on size, the calves, once grown to the age of two or three, are then ready to ride. Piper plans to purchase a few more heifers in the following year.
These brahmas will be used for Piper to practise on while at home to increase his riding skills.
Piper has been riding since he was eight years old and now is in grade 11. Last year he won at the Arcola Rodeo.
Piper also attended the Canadian Cowboy Association championship in Saskatoon last October.
He rode four bulls at the event: Mean Machine, Style Bender and Low Voltage. All gave Piper great rides, but his fourth ride on Fire It Up had him seeing dirt.
Although he had one ride that did not make the cut, it was still enough for him to win the CCA Championship.
Through the winter, Piper helps on the farm with feeding, and in the spring assists with calving and bottle feeding if they have calves with no mothers.
Come summer, he will help with haying, which includes bringing in the bales to be stacked.
In the meantime, Piper is looking to his future. When he graduates, he hopes to attend a college in the U.S. that has a good reputation with a rodeo program and excellent rodeo coaches to help him improve his ride.
While in school locally, he plays a variety of sports. The senior boys’ basketball team that Piper plays on just won the Hoopla 1A basketball bronze medal.
Piper plans to attend as many rodeos as possible this year to continue his quest to become a professional bull rider.
His first stop was in Tisdale on April 15 for the CCA. This was to gain points for the nationals and high school rodeo.
