Larry Dean "L.J." Jenkins Jr. (born July 17, 1987) is an American former professional

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...

who specialized in

bull riding Bull riding is a rodeo sport that involves a rider getting on a bucking bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal tries to bucking, buck off the rider. American bull riding has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports." ...

. He competed in the

Professional Bull Riders The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) is an international professional bull riding organization headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It is the largest bull riding league in the world, sanctioning hundreds of events every yea ...

(PBR) and

Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is the largest rodeo organization in the world. It sanctions events in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with members from said countries, as well as others. Its championship event is the N ...

(PRCA) circuits. Jenkins is one of only four bull riders in history (the other three being

Ted Nuce Ted Nuce (born January 19, 1961) is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding. He was the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) World Champion bull rider in 1985, and was a co-founder of the Professional ...

Ty Murray Ty Monroe Murray (born October 11, 1969), is an American former professional rodeo cowboy. He competed in the three "roughstock" events; bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding, and bull riding. He won nine world championships in the Profe ...

and

Sage Kimzey Sage Steele Kimzey (born August 26, 1994) is an American professional rodeo cowboy who specializes in bull riding. For most of his career, he competed in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), winning seven bull riding world champions ...

) to win both the PBR World Finals and the

National Finals Rodeo The National Finals Rodeo (NFR) is the premier championship rodeo of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). It showcases the talents of the PRCA's top 15 money winners in the season for each event. The NFR is held each year in the f ...

(NFR).

Background

Jenkins was born on July 17, 1987, on his father's ranch in

Strafford, Missouri Strafford is a city in eastern Greene County, Missouri, Greene County, with a small portion extending into western Webster County, Missouri, Webster County, Missouri, United States. It is part of the Springfield, Missouri Springfield, Missouri Me ...

. He grew up in Highlandville and the Springfield area. He is 5 feet, 10 inches tall, and weighed 170 pounds while competing. His nickname is the initials of his first and last names. During his early career, Jenkins lived in

Texico, New Mexico Texico is a city in Curry County, New Mexico, United States. Its population was 1,130 at the 2010 census. The city is located on the Texas-New Mexico border with the town of Farwell across the border. History The name is a portmanteau of "Tex ...

, where he attended Texico High School.

Career

Jenkins qualified for the PBR World Finals 11 consecutive times (2005 to 2015) and won the PBR World Finals event in 2006. He competed briefly in the

Championship Bull Riding Championship Bull Riding, Inc. (CBR) was a professional bull riding organization that was based in Weatherford, Texas, United States. History Stock contractor Terry Williams and Texas businessman Joel Logan founded Championship Bull Riding (CBR) ...

(CBR) tour from 2004 to 2005 and qualified for the CBR World Finals in 2004. He also competed briefly on the PRCA circuit from 2009 to 2012 and qualified for the PRCA's National Finals Rodeo in 2011 where he won the average title in the bull riding. Jenkins competed the first few years of his professional career with a cowboy hat. However, by the middle of the 2009 season, he was riding with a helmet. After fracturing his C1 vertebra at the 2015

Built Ford Tough Series The Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) was the Premier Series tour name of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) competitions from 2003 through 2017. Inaugural season (2003) The BFTS kicked off its tour on November 16, 2002, with the Mohegan Sun Invita ...

event in

Nampa, Idaho Nampa () is the most populous city in Canyon County, Idaho, United States. The population was 100,200 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is Idaho's List of cities in Idaho, third-most populous city. Nampa is about west of Boise, Id ...

, Jenkins made the decision to retire from bull riding in the summer of that year, thus missing his 11th consecutive trip to the PBR World Finals (which he had qualified for). His total PBR career earnings amounted to over $1.8 million. In 2016, Jenkins was inducted into the

Missouri Sports Hall of Fame The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is located in Springfield, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1994 by Springfield businessman John Q. Hammons, the Hall of Fame is housed in a two-story, 32,000-square-foot building. On display are more than 4,0 ...

. Since retiring, Jenkins has become a

bucking bull A bucking bull is a bull used in rodeo bull riding competition. They are usually a Brahman crossed with another breed, weighing 1,500 pounds or more, selected for their tendency to "leap, plunge and spin" when a human is on its back. In the m ...

stock contractor A stock contractor is an individual or business that provides animals for rodeo competition. Stock contractors supply rough stock - bucking horses for Bronc riding, saddle bronc and bareback bronc riding (called buck jumpers in Australia) and buck ...

, providing his own bulls to various events (including PBR events). In December 2017, Jenkins came out of retirement for one final bull ride in the form of an exhibition at an event in

Claremore, Oklahoma Claremore is a city in and the county seat of Rogers County, Oklahoma, Rogers County in northeastern Oklahoma, United States. Its population was 19,580 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, a 5.4% increase over the 18,581 recorded in ...

, where he successfully rode his bull for eight seconds. He rode with a cowboy hat. He now runs his own semi-professional organization: the L.J. Jenkins Bull Riding Tour.

Personal life

Jenkins resides outside

Porum, Oklahoma Porum is a town in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. It was named for John Porum Davis, a rancher, Civil War veteran, and Cherokee Nation councilman from the Canadian District in Indian Territory. The community was first known as Porum Ga ...

, on a 600 acre cattle ranch.

References

Sources

External links

Official Facebook

Official Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, L J Living people 1987 births Bull riders People from Muskogee County, Oklahoma People from Curry County, New Mexico People from Springfield, Missouri