Trading skates for boots pays off for Calgarian
Novice bareback champ Hamilton makes the most of his switch from hockey
It’s been nearly three years since Connor Hamilton traded in his hockey skates for a pair of cowboy boots and it’s been one of the most rewarding decisions the 21-yearold Calgarian has ever made.
However, as for his most recent life-changing decision — leaving a full-ride rodeo scholarship to the Southwestern Oklahoma State University to turn professional and bareback — for real? Time will tell.
But after competing at the Calgary Stampede last week and winning the Novice Bareback championship (for the second year), it’s off on the right track.
“I decided I wanted to take a year off and try pro-rodeoing this year so I’ve been on the road a lot and been all over the U.S. and Canada,” explained Hamilton, who last won the Novice Bareback championship in 2015, his first year in the sport.
“I’ve been trying to go to as many rodeos as I can.”
Hamilton grew up in the northwest neighbourhood of the Hamptons and played 71 games from 2013 to 2015 for the Calgary Mustangs of the Alberta Junior Hockey League before deciding to chase another dream.
On off-days — or whenever he had a free night — he’d head to Olds College to try his hand at bareback riding during open nights.
A quick study, Hamilton started travelling to rodeos in Alberta and Saskatchewan, where he soon discovered that road trips as a cowboy are not the same as road trips as a hockey player.
“It’s a lot different,” Hamilton said with a chuckle.
“Rodeo is such an individual sport. You’ve got all your buddies that you travel with and you’re driving yourselves and booking your own rodeos. You’re doing all your own hotels, food, everything is by yourself.
“With hockey, you’re travelling on a bus and everyone’s organizing your games and practices and you’re really on a strict schedule. It’s a little different, but I really enjoy it.”
So much so that he ditched his Calgary buddies last week, those who wanted to participate in the extracurricular activities of Stampede, to concentrate on competing and helping out his rodeo buddies behind the chutes.
“They still think I’m a bit of a wild guy,” Hamilton said. “They never saw it coming, for sure. But they love it too. They are like ‘Why aren’t you coming out with us during the day?’ or at night and enjoying the midway part of the Stampede. They don’t understand that for me, now, it’s all about the rodeo.”
Hamilton, who’ll continue on the professional circuit, will aim to be at the Calgary Stampede next year — this time, among the big boys of bareback — although he considers himself “a longshot,” because he’s been riding mostly at the novice level. His goal is to be tops in Canada the following season and to make a bigger impact on the U.S. scene.
Hamilton has been on his permit for the last two years and aims to get his professional card.
Short-term, he wants to be at the Canadian Finals Rodeo and is shooting for a novice bareback title there.
But for now, he’ll bask in the glow of another victory at his hometown rodeo.
“The first one was a huge shock,” Hamilton said. “This was the biggest event I’ve ever been to before. To come out and get on two really good horses, I wound up winning it and it was definitely a big shock. But this one means a lot now that I’ve been going hard and grinding and being in the gym and eating right to try and be the best.”