CORTEZ – Few on the Pro Rodeo Cowboy Association circuit have experienced quite the highs and lows that Albuquerque native Scottie Knapp has faced during his decade-plus career riding bulls.
Just last July, Knapp feared that he had broken his neck after a fall in the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo. Fortunately, the injury proved to just be a severe sprain, but the former Turquoise Circuit Finals champion then had to reevaluate his future in the sport. His decision didn’t take long.
“It was a hard pill to swallow – these things happen in bull riding – but as soon as I was cleared, I was back,” said Knapp, “the bigger challenge was making sure that I didn’t try to come back too soon – and overcoming that mental hurdle of believing that you’re fully prepared.”
The injury proved to be just another in a long list of setbacks for Knapp, including a stretch where he had three surgeries in a span of 15 months, yet true to the bull riding mentality, the opportunity to get back for one more chance proved to be too enticing to pass up. Knapp had been turning his fortunes around prior to the Frontier Days disappointment, including a win at the 2024 Ute Mountain Roundup as part of a seven-win calendar year. He’d accrued over $60,000 in yearly winnings to that point, and appeared poised for a run at a coveted NFR spot.
With the healing under his belt, Knapp headlined the riders taking to the nightcap event at the Montezuma County Fairgrounds on Thursday night, hoping to build on a win from just a week earlier in Flagstaff’s Pro Rodeo event. He’d also collected the Yuma Silver Spur Rodeo crown for the second straight year earlier this spring – a back-to-back feat he sought to repeat with UMR.
“I had been shut out all week leading up to the UMR last year, but had a great calf from Powder River Rodeo (livestock provider) – it’s never easy anymore,” reflected Knapp with a laugh.
While the win itself wasn’t the full reason to come back to defend his title, Knapp noted that the community hospitality played a big part in his Thursday night reprisal. “The way that the UMR committee treats the contestants, the quality of all the stock, the energy the arena brings – those are big incentives to return to a rodeo like this,” he added.
Inside the PRCA top 50 heading to the rodeo season’s midpoint, Knapp remembers vividly the grind that it takes to make it all the way to Las Vegas – where in 2016, he took seventh at the NFR to help him earn sixth overall in earnings in the world standings.
“You work all year to get to that point – and you’re competing not only at your highest level, but against other riders who are at their peak, too,” said Knapp of his NFR ride, “I’d like to get there again.”
While the setbacks have been intense, so too is his passion for the sport, something that he gained from his father, who took up the sport in his mid-30s before passing along the love of bull riding to his son.
“Right around the time the movie ‘8 Seconds’ came out, that’s about the time my father had taken up the sport, so there was no question I’d be hooked,” said Knapp, noting how the UMR falls on the eve of Father’s Day weekend.
Now with two children of his own – aged nine and four – Knapp knows that rodeo will be a part of his family for another generation. “The older girl is getting into the goat-tying, and the younger one is starting to get down the pattern of the barrel racing,” said Knapp with a smile.
His journey has been one requiring persistence and plenty of aches that he may endure for the rest of his life, but Knapp wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s a trait that endears him to hundreds of fans that sit on the edge of their seats when Knapp grips the ropes and the chute opens.
“Coming into the summer, it’s all about building momentum – and even with everything I’ve dealt with, you have to just jump into it head first and believe that you’re the best that you’ve ever been,” said Knapp.
While Knapp is hoping that his Cortez stop on his rodeo circuit helps him continue his recent surge back toward the top, he also sees the big picture while raising two kids and their love for the sport. “My goal is to just have as much fun as I can, because I know it doesn’t last forever,” he said on his way to saddle up for another ride in the Montezuma County summer night.
