Through hard work, dedication and a fearless approach to facing a challenge, Aidan Harder is grinding toward becoming a bull riding star.
Getting into the sport came pretty naturally for Harder, after he was forced to go and see it in person for the first time. "For me, it was my parents that took me and my brother to a PBR (Professional Bull Riding) when I was maybe 11 or 12, and I was mad, I didn't want to go. I ended up going and when I got there, I thought it was just so cool and I decided there that I wanted to try it one day. Fast forward to when I was 20 or 21, my brother became friends with guy from Winkler that had been riding steers and he asked me if I wanted to get into riding bulls and I said I did, so he invited me to his house, he said he'd get me in a rodeo in a couple months. That's how it started and it's still going."
Despite what many may thing, Harder says he didn't grow up the dare devil type or as someone that has no fear at all, he just loves doing what he does. "I think growing up, I was kind of middle of the pack. I was never really out there, but I wasn't too afraid to be a little out there, as a person."
For fans that have watched bull riding and wondered what is going through those competitors minds, Harder says he's tuned into what he needs to do and focusing on a few key things. "I need to constantly tell myself to breathe and stay calm, because I can really get in my own head when I'm sitting on the bull. Other than that, it's just focusing on doing what I need to do to stay on for eight seconds and score points."
When it comes to scoring those points, Harder details what he does after that shoot opens and things kick off. "As you're in the shoot, you slide up on the rope, you want your feet in front of your rope and turned out, so your spurs are kind of digging into the bull so you've got grip or traction. Every time the bulls front end comes up, you want to be up and over front of the rope and when the bulls back end goes up, you want to drive your hips forward into your rope so you're set in the center. That is your main goal. You can add a kick in there to maybe add some more points, but I'm not good enough to do that, yet."
Being on a bull for even just seconds can feel like a lifetime, as Harder explains. "It very much feels like forever. The longest I've been on a bull is maybe seven seconds and it felt like half a day went by right there. I got off and I couldn't believe it was only seven seconds, all I could say was wow."
The community around bull riding has become like a second family to Harder and he says he's going to keep working hard to earn their respect. "It's been really special, coming in last year as my first full year, I didn't really know anyone doing the Manitoba circuit, but by the end of the year, I made some really great friends. We all just want to see each other do well. We're all still amateurs, but we want to keep helping each other out so we can get better. It's a great time and some great people."
Looking into the future, Harder says his plans are to continue and to keep pushing himself to see how far he can go. "Right now, I'm still working on things. I want to keep getting better and maybe move up to some higher level rodeos in Canada. But, we got to maintain making money and I still have a full time job. It's a work in progress right now, that's the best way to put it."
Bull riding is not for the faint of heart and Harder laughs as he describes how his family watch him do what he loves to do. "My brother can watch full on and so can my dad, but my mom, when she comes to watch, she's terrified. Even on the ones where she doesn't come to watch, she tells me I have to send her a text as soon as I'm done. There's been a couple times that I have totally forgot and it's like, three hours later and I'm driving home and I remember I have to text my mom and tell her I'm not dead. She always replies right away, 'thank the Lord, you're alive'."
Great things are still to come for Aidan Harder and an entire community of bull riders and bull riding fans will be cheering him on.