THROWS BOTTLE OFF HIS BACK –
May 22, 2022 – In 2021, after a year and a half in recovery from his injuries and struggling with alcohol abuse, Oleson checked himself into Renaissance Ranch, a treatment facility in Bluffdale, Utah.
“It was tough at first. I was in pretty bad shape emotionally, mentally stuff like that,” says Oleson. “But going through it, it was one of the best things of my life, honestly. Even today, when I’m back in the Idaho/Utah area, I try to hang around that treatment center. They have a pretty good group of people, a community I guess.”
Getting back to bull riding was a huge part of Oleson’s decision to get help and focus on his sobriety.
“It was my last resort. It’s not something that anyone wants to do. I just found myself in such bad shape that there were not a lot of options,” says Oleson. “I could tell I wasn’t getting better no matter how hard I was trying to. It seemed kind of hopeless. So then I knew that I needed some actual help.”
After graduating from both the inpatient and outpatient treatment, Oleson was ready to get back on the bulls and he made headlines while doing so.
In January, Oleson competed in what he called “a minor league” bull-riding competition, which is part of the qualification process if you want to make it to the World Finals. Oleson won the first event and received an invite to be in the Top 35 bull riders.
Every weekend since, he has been competing and eventually made it to his first-ever World Finals, where he won first place in the first round.
“That was crazy…my first ever world finals. I had a good bull drawn, I didn’t know exactly what he was, but I rode him and they said 91 and a quarter points,” says Oleson. “And that kind of just shocked me.”
