Bronc Rider Expecting New Baby, Takes a Shot at The Million

Announcing for the first time that he and his wife are expecting, Professional Saddle Bronc Rider Mitch Pollock says the million would be a "cherry on top," but he doesn't measure his success by a dollar amount.

The biggest payout opportunity in professional rodeo happens Saturday night in Arlington, Texas, where the Rangers Stadium has been transformed into a rodeo arena with tens of thousands of pounds of fine dirt to host The American.

Emotions are running high for athletes who have a shot at taking home one million dollars. Saddle Bronc Rider Mitch Pollock of Winnemucca, Nev., knows what it’s like to feel that sort of pressure in the arena. A million dollars, he said, is a life-changing number, but it won’t change the person he is as a friend and family man.

“The million would truly just be a cherry on top,” Pollock stated, “But only because I already have everything I really need in life. Is it going to make things easier? Yes, it will. Will it set me up to be successful for the rest of my life? Financially, yes, but I don’t measure my success on a dollar amount.”

Top Five Saddle Bronc Rider Mitch Pollock competing in the 2024 American Rodeo in Arlington, Texas.  / Teton Ridge

The 30-year-old cowboy made it to The American Rodeo in 2019, where it was down to the final four contestants in each discipline. That year he went to be one of the top bronc riders, tipping his hat at the Wrangler National Finals in Las Vegas for the first time in his career.

Less than 24 hours before nodding his head in the bucking chutes at what is known as “The Crown Jewel” of professional rodeo, Pollock said he’s in a much calmer head space. The Nevada man says he embraces failure to set himself up for success.

“I know what it’s like to fail here,” the Nevada cowboy added.

Sitting #19 in the world, according to his PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboy’s Association) ranking, he said he often reflects on the young rider he was five years ago and how far he’s come.

“In 2019, I ended up getting bucked off, and people were always telling me, just forget about that four-man round. ‘It doesn’t matter.’ You know, I kind of disagree with that,” Pollock stated. “I kind of want to keep that in the memory bank, just to remember that feeling and what it was like to kind of fuel my fire.”

Fueling his fire, Pollock says, is the support system around him, the feeling of hard work, and who he comes home to once rodeo is said and done.

“I have the friends and family that I need that make me feel rich… In July, my wife and myself are expecting a baby. No amount of money could ever surpass that feeling.”

Other than marrying the love of his life, Jordan, Pollock said that would be his greatest treasure.

Mitch and his wife Jordan at their Wedding in 2020 / Jordan Pollock

His wife flew into Dallas late Friday evening to make it for the rodeo Saturday afternoon. Pollock said he gives her more credit than most as she’s one of the hardest workers he knows. A registered nurse, he said she spent many of her first shifts covering nights in the OR at St. Luke’s Hospital in Twin Falls, Idaho

“I think she’s the best nurse in the world. Every day she goes to work, I tell her to be the best she can be.”

If you’re going to do something, be the best at it is the motto Pollock said he lives by. However, that doesn’t always mean winning the money, and that’s what he said is different about his perspective on rodeo now.

“When I made the finals, I started picking up sponsors, and I was very grateful, but there’s a lot of pressure there,” Pollock added. “I lost the love for riding bucking horses, or at least made it more about others versus myself. I need to ride bucking horses cause I love it. That’s something I finally kind of have changed this year.”

‘See it, feel it, and trust it.’ The cowboy said it may have taken him five years to figure that out, but it’s a piece of advice he tries to share with younger guns taking on the sport.

“I’m enjoying what I’m doing again. A lot of people forget that when they go through struggles. I’m going to show up, take it all in, and enjoy every minute.”

Presented by Teton Ridge, The American Rodeo is Saturday, March 9, at Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX.