Born and raised in Piffard, New York — a city of barely 700 folks — Daylon Swearingen grew up removed from the normal bull driving hotspots of Texas and Oklahoma.
However rodeo wasn’t a pastime in his household; it was a lifestyle. His father runs Rawhide Rodeo Firm. His mom competed as a barrel racer and trick rider. His grandfather rode buckinghorses.
This weekend, he’ll be competing at Skilled Bull Using’s Unleash The Beast occasion at Madison Sq. Backyard, which unfolds over three days, Friday via Sunday.
Swearingen attended his first PBR occasion at Madison Sq. Backyard as a young person, when his household introduced bulls there, watching from the sidelines and dreaming of at some point driving there. He returns this weekend as a key member of the Carolina Cowboys — the 2025 PBR TeamsWorld Champions — going through off in opposition to the New York Mavericks in one of many weekend’s occasions.
“You cannot describe the feeling at a sold-out Garden, when they announce your name…youcan feel the energy,” stated Swearingen, the 2022 PBR World Champion.
“Growing up, the goal was always to ride here,” he stated. “To come back here, in front of a New York crowd — it means a lot.”
The sting-of-your-seat occasion incorporates a rider atop prime practically a ton of bucking muscle,gripping a rope with one hand and attempting to hold on. Every occasion incorporates a sequence of high-stakes matchups.
Bull rider Lucas Divino competes within the Skilled Bull Riders (PBR) 2025 Unleash The Beast Monster Vitality Buck Off at Madison Sq. Backyard in New York Metropolis on Jan. 5, 2025. Divino received the competitors. (Picture by Andrew Schwartz)
Riders want to remain on the bull for eight seconds to qualify for a rating, with their free hand raised within the air. The bull is scored as effectively. Judges ship the scores, and the group with the best rating after a spherical of rides wins that matchup.
Over the previous decade, PBR has expanded, including worldwide excursions, main tv partnerships, and a team-based league modeled after different sports activities. Final 12 months’s PBR occasion on the Backyard bought out, drawing a crowd that blended longtime rodeo followers with a extra mainstream crowd.
Western tradition in media
That electrical energy isn’t misplaced on actor Neal McDonough, who starred in, co-wrote, andproduced the movie The Final Rodeo, and has change into a passionate advocate for the game.
“I love being part of the western culture, especially at Madison Square Garden, coming up the tunnels on a horse with a packed house, are you kidding? To me this is the greatest thing,” he stated eventually 12 months’s occasion.
Bull riders compete within the Skilled Bull Riders (PBR) 2025 Unleash The Beast Monster Vitality Buck Off on the Backyard inside Madison Sq. Backyard in New York Metropolis on January 5, 2025. (Picture by Andrew Schwartz)
Swearingen was forged in The Final Rodeo.
“It’s a film about family, faith and the pursuit to keep going,” stated Swearingen. “My rolewas that of a cocky bull-rider and I try not to be.”
Swearingen additionally starred within the Prime docu-series, The Final Trip, which pulled again the curtain on the lives of riders — the accidents, the journey, the psychological toll.
“I have to say without question,” McDonough stated. “These are the toughest guys in sports.”
