Zane Lambert recognized he wanted to be a bull rider at an early age.
“I think I was 10-years-old when I got on the first steer,” said the Professional Bull Riding (PBR) rider during an autograph signing at the Hitching Post in Yorkton Saturday.
By the age of 12 the Ponoka, AB., cowboy was participating in Canadian Cowboy Association events, a relationship with the rodeo circuit that he recalls brought him to Yorkton in the past.
“And I was jumping on amateur ones before that, when I was 10 and 11,” he said.
Lambert said he realized from the first ride the sport was for him.
“I was good at it,” he said.
And the experience riding for years before he was old enough to drive a car would earn Lambert a scholarship at Vermillion. At the college he would expand on a friendship with fellow rider Aaron Roy, and refine his skills in the sport.
“We really just went there to ride bulls,” said Lambert.
That meant a weekly trek to the practice pen to ride bulls for the education of it.
“It was pretty much bull riding 101,” he said.
Certainly riding a bull can mean bumps and bruises, even in the practice ring, but that is simply part of the sport.
“You’ve got to be serious about it. Every time you get on a bull it’s dangerous,” offered Lambert.
But riding with friends made it easier in terms of riding.
“We had fun every time we went to the practice pen,” said Lambert.
Lambert obviously learned a lot on those practice bulls as he has been riding bulls as a career. He said while in the past he did a little carpentry, it has been bulls and nothing but bulls for the past eight years, something he points to with pride.
“Only a handful of guys in Canada do it,” he said, adding he hits about 60 events annually.
“You could probably get to 80, or 100, if you went hard,” adding that when you factor in multi-day events, like the New Holland PBR event in Yorkton, and championship rounds a rider can climb on up to about 150 bulls.
“There’s not really time for anything else,” said Lambert, especially factoring in travel time and recovery from the knocks of the game.
Certainly dealing with hurts is part of bull riding, but Lambert said today the sports medicine side of bull riding is helping in terms of recovery.
“We know more about injuries,” said Lambert, and that knowledge helps in terms of doing the things to get the body back ready to ride.
Lambert proved both healthy and successful last year. He overcame a 500 point gap in the national standings to earn his second PBR Canada Championship at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon in 2017. His first title was in 2013.
Lambert, now 32, joined Aaron Roy of Yellow Grass, SK., also a competitor in Yorkton on the weekend, who won the title in 2008, 2010 and 2012, as the only repeat title holders in Canadian history.
Lambert also tied for the event victory in Saskatoon, earning his second consecutive PBR Canada Finals event title, the first rider to accomplish the back-to-back feat.
In terms of riding Lambert said it comes down to a basic approach taking whatever bull he draws “one jump at a time.”
The dual championships are certainly among the career highlights for Lambert, who also pointed to 2014 when he qualified for the World Championship.
“On the world stage that was probably my best year,” he said.
Lambert also lists being named to Team Canada for the third straight year as a highlight. He and the best of Team Canada, including Roy as coach and Jared Parsonage, who also competed at Harvest Showdown, will compete against teams from Australia, Mexico, Brazil and the United States in Texas in the new year.
In Yorkton Lambert would buck off Friday, but scored an 85.5 on Saturday, good enough for sixth place.
