Ride ‘Em Cowboy Andy Bolich, Who Was Introduced To Rodeoing At Age 12, Says Bronc Riding Is ‘Poetry In Motion’

This has been a year of firsts for Green Bluff resident Andy Bolich.

In his first year competing in high school rodeo, Bolich, 16, became a two-event state champion who next week competes for the first time at the National High School Rodeo finals in Pueblo, Colo.

Bolich will also be a member of the first junior class at Mt. Spokane High School when it opens next fall.

He was part of a student committee that helped design the new school crest, and select a mascot and school song.

“All the stuff an ASB class does, that’s what we got to do,” he said.

But moving into a brand new high school can’t compare with the adrenalin rush Bolich said he receives from rodeoing.

“I don’t think anything can match up to that,” he said.

Bolich was introduced to the sport as a 12-year-old.

“My cousins and uncle rodeoed a long time ago,” he said, and his older brothers competed. “A friend of mine rode bulls and I got into it with him.”

An early experience didn’t exactly thrill his parents.

“My first time riding a steer I was stepped on, cracked some ribs and have a scar across my chest,” Bolich said. “I still had fun, though.”

He compromised in order to continue riding.

“They didn’t want me on steers,” he said. “I stuck with bucking horses and have been doing it ever since.”

And doing it very well. In mid-June, he completed his rookie year of high school rodeo by winning both bareback and saddle bronc state championships.

Now, Bolich said, “My parents enjoy it as much as I do.”

This year’s high school state competition in Pasco concluded a series of 18 statewide rodeos. Four were conducted last fall, the remainder in the spring.

“They take all the points you earn during the year and everybody qualifies for state,” Bolich said.

He was ranked among the top four in both bucking horse categories.

At state there were two go-rounds in which everyone competed. The top 10 advanced to the final go-round.

“My first round wasn’t so good, but in the second round I won both events,” he said.

When the final points were tallied and combined with the season points, Bolich had won two state titles.

National competition this weekend will offer Bolich exposure to colleges.

“I hopefully want to get a scholarship and after that go on to the pros,” he said.

It will also be an opportunity to ride better bucking stock.

“Other guys who qualified in bareback say they have rank PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association) horses,” Bolich said. “That ought to be fun.”

Bareback riding, said Bolich, is more physically demanding than any other event.

“There’s more jerk to it than on a bull,” he explained. “It’s probably not as dangerous, but takes more (out of you).”

Riders grip a rawhide suitcase handle attached to a leather strap around the horse’s withers. Judges want to see the rider expose himself to the ground while his feet work from the neck to the rigging and back again.

“If you can beat the horse to the ground, be ahead of him, you get more points for that, too,” Bolich said.

Saddle bronc riding, he continued, “is poetry in motion.”

Said Bolich: “It’s a classic event. There’s a lot of balance and timing. The more spurring you do and the more control, the higher your score.”

Although he’d ridden horses his entire life, Bolich wasn’t initially prepared for the rodeo experience.

“The first couple of times you don’t remember a whole lot,” he said. “It’s a big blur.”

After a few rides he settled down. Now he’s the best in the state.

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