Tribal youth Marcel Allen wins bull riding world championship title

Grand Ronde Tribal member Marcel Allen won the 40^th annual World Junior Bull Riding Championship at the 2015 Indian National Finals Rodeo held in Las Vegas, Nev., on Saturday, Nov. 7.

Allen qualified for the world championship, which was held at the South Point Equestrian Center, after winning three of seven bull riding events this summer.

“There were a lot more people,” said Allen. “There was a different set-up and it was just a whole different thing. I was super excited about the whole thing. It was fun.”

Allen, 16, scored a 73 on his first ride and a 66 on his second ride for a combined score of 139 points. Allen was in third place after the first two rides, which was good enough to qualify him for the short go.

Junior bull riders have to stay on the bulls for at least six seconds to register a score before the judges. Allen said he only had 15 seconds to prepare before each ride once he was in the chute.

“It was a whole lot different because you had a time limit,” said Allen. “When I was in there I was just ready. I was just breathing. I was focused on having fun really. I got super serious in my head and I couldn’t stop thinking like that.”

Allen scored a 73 on the final ride to win the championship. He was one of only two competitors, out of 32 riders who began the competition, to score on all three rides.

Allen’s mother, Tribal member Desiree Allen, said the rodeo announcers told the audience before his ride that Marcel needed a 68 in the short go to win.

The bull Allen was on during his championship ride spun left out of the gate and bucked down the fence line. The bull took him into the fence and he hit his head on the leg of one of the cowboys who had opened the gate and then jumped up onto the fence to get out of the way.

“It didn’t really change anything, but I definitely felt it,” said Allen. “It was intense.”

It could not have been a closer result as Allen was bucked off just before the buzzer sounded. Because Allen still had the rope in his hand and because he was still airborne when the buzzer sounded, the ride scored.

“I was just like ‘Oh my God!’,” said Desiree. “My dad (Desiree’s father, Toba Scott) was already down there and he said, ‘He got it, he won it’.”

Desiree said her family made the event special. Her mother (Debra Scott) and father, brother (Izreal) and sisters (Sisiley and Shelby) all traveled to Nevada.

Allen won a belt buckle, a saddle and chaps for winning the worlds.

When asked what’s next, Allen said he will do it all again next year and try to qualify for the Indian National Rodeo Finals again. If he makes it back to the finals next year, he will be on the largest bulls and no longer be a junior bull rider.

Desiree thanked the Tribe’s Youth Education program for sponsoring Allen this year. The $200 youth sponsorship he received was enough to pay for his entry fee.

After it was all over, Allen said it didn’t really hit him right away that he had become a world champion. Later that night, it finally sank in.

“It all just clicked,” said Allen. “I won the worlds. I just got super happy.”