Local Teen Becomes First Maryland Native To Win Junior Bull Riding Championship
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- One Maryland teenager can now call himself a bull riding champion.
His name is Nick Jackson.
"The first time I ever did it, I was a whole mix of different things," the 13-year-old said. "I was excited, I was a little scared, but not too much."
It could be Nick wasn't so scared because being a cowboy is in his blood.
"Nick is a fifth-generation cowboy from my wife's side, it's in his DNA," Corey Jackson, Nick's father, said.
Unlike most other cowboys, Nick is from Maryland.
"When we travel, folks are surprised to hear that we're from Maryland," Corey Jackson said. "The first thing they say is, 'Wow, we didn't know there were any cowboys in Maryland.'"
But when Nick is riding his bull, none of that matters.
"In bull riding, you have to stay on for eight seconds, and within that eight seconds, you want to stay as controlled as possible without touching the bull with your free arm," Nick said.
He did exactly that, winning this year's championship.
"It was an avalanche of emotion," Corey Jackson said. "There's actually a video of me in the back of the bucking shoot cheering him on."
Nick is the first Maryland native junior bull riding champion.
"This is the first of many world championships for him," Corey Jackson said.
"I couldn't have done it without my family, my friends," Nick said.
