Bozeman, Montana’s, Kal Fuller topped off his Resistol Rookie year in the number-one spot of the Heading standings with $41,762.15 in PRCA ProRodeo earnings.

“You know, it feels really good,” Fuller said. “It’s even better when you lead it from start to finish. I feel like I did good at Fort Worth. I didn’t do great after that until about mid-summer. That was my goal, was to win Rookie of the Year.”

Fuller started out at the winter rodeos roping with Travis Woodard then teamed up with Kasper Roy from Mossleigh, Alberta. He also had two head horses on his team throughout the season.

“I have a bay (Cash) that I rode a little bit—I rode him at Pendleton and a couple more. My main horse is Marshal. I don’t really know what I would do without that horse, honestly. He scores good every single time and gives me a great go. I bet I rode him at 75 rodeos. I can honestly say he’s only scored bad once. He’s 12. I got him from Nick Pullera from Colorado.”

The Resistol Rookie header was set up for success at a young age with the help of his parents and the ability to learn from watching other ropers to perfect his own roping.

“I picked up a rope when I was 2. My dad always made sure I had everything and then it was kind of up to me to get better. I didn’t get lessons from anyone. I pretty much trained myself. I would watch people rope and then go back and try to perfect my swing. My parents, without them none of this would be even imaginable.”

Fuller, who moved from Montana to Florida at a young age with his family, also gives credit to his old horse Concho that took care of him over the years to help him get to where he is now. 

“I was younger when we moved to Florida—6 or 7 years old. I was born in Montana and then we moved to Florida for a while. We’ve been all over. We lived in California for a little bit and then went back up to Montana. But when we lived in Florida my dad went over and bought this horse named Concho. He’s a big white horse that just took care of me all the time. Honestly, I think that was the biggest part because that horse always made sure I was taken care of. He never did anything to hurt me. He was gentle on the ground. He was an outstanding horse.”

When it comes down to it, Fuller knows that it takes so much more than talent to be successful. 

“Never giving up, practicing every day 100%, focus. Focus is a really big thing. Practicing with a purpose. My parents, They always made sure I was mounted. I would always have help from them whether it was mental or I needed some money or another horse, they were always on my side. I would say 40% of it was me and the rest of it was them.” TRJ