A pair of Williams Lake brothers are burning up the rodeo circuit.
Brandon and Tanner Loring of Riske Creek kicked off another season of bull riding last month in style, with both of them winning in the senior and junior bull riding divisions respectively at the Williams Lake High School Rodeo. Bull riding runs in the family, as their father Hugh was also a bull rider when he was young.
Tanner started bull riding at a very young age, participating in his first rodeo, as well as speed pattern racing and timed equestrian events when he was just two-years-old and has never looked back.
The now 14-year-old has competed in many different competitions and rodeos over the years, such as the BC Little Britches Rodeo, BC Rodeo Association, BC High School Rodeo Association and Jackpot rodeos. His most memorable win came at the Canadian High School Junior Bull Riding Championship last year in Manitoba. He also placed fourth at the same tournament in the junior tie down roping.
Last October, Tanner was the all-around cowboy and won the stakes, breakaway and steer riding for the year, and scored the highest in steer riding. He earned the most combined points in steer riding, breakaway roping, goat tying, chute dogging and stake racing as well, and took home the sportsmanship award and Keith Pozzobon Memorial Buckle to boot, an award given to the person with the fastest breakaway run. Tanner’s time was 3.4 seconds.
“He tried hard and worked hard, had ups and downs, so it was pretty cool to see him accomplish his goal,” Shelly said.
Aside from the rodeo events, Tanner enjoys playing basketball, hunting, fishing and working with his parents, Hugh and Shelly, on the ranch.
As for 17-year-old Brandon, he has been bull riding for about four to five years now.
“I got on steers first when I was seven,” he said.
Like his brother, Brandon has also participated in a variety of events and tournaments, with his favourites being chute dogging, steer riding and now bull riding. His most memorable moment was when he finished the BC High School Rodeo season as the leader for senior bull riding.
Brandon competed in the Little Britches Association in 2018 in the chute dogging event and finished the year in the top 10.
His first year of competing in the BC High School Rodeo Association as a chute dogger was in 2019 when he was in Grade 7. He was one of the youngest students to compete at the finals in Merritt and finished in the top 10 once again.
Brandon started attending the Mike Gill Chute Dogging School in Merritt in 2018 where he learned a lot from Gill and Cole Scott.
In the 2022 season, both brothers, along with their cousin Kagen Russell, worked hard throughout the high school year and qualified for the Canadian Rodeo finals in Swift Current, Sask. Brandon competed in bull riding and Tanner competed in the build a cowboy bareback riding, build a cowboy saddle bronc riding, bull riding and calf roping.
At the finals, they both earned some top spots, with Tanner finishing in seventh in all of Canada in junior bull riding.
“The boys had a great time at the finals and gained so much experience,” Shelly said. “Tanner tied for first in junior bull riding on day one with a bull rider from Manitoba, winning some cash and a buckle cup.”
Brandon had some good bull rides but came up short.
“He walked away with a lot more experience and had so much fun doing it,” Shelly said.
Both Tanner and Brandon are looking forward to the rest of the 2024 high school season and multiple rodeos and events they they will be participating in this year and beyond.
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