Even bull riders are down with pickleball

DALLAS, TX - Professional bull rider Keyshawn Whitehorse hadn't stepped on a pickleball court until this past September.

Enter the inaugural Arizona Ridge Rider Days Pickleball Tournament at Chicken N Pickle in Glendale, AZ to benefit the Western Sports Foundation. The Ridge Riders, who compete in PBR’s Camping World Team Series, are the state's first-ever professional bull riding squad.

Whitehorse was quickly enamored with America’s fastest-growing sport while playing alongside mixed martial artist Sheymon Moraes.

“I really enjoyed the camaraderie with everybody and the friendship,” said Whitehorse, the 2018 PBR Rookie of the Year. “Also, playing pickleball, you need to be athletic and you need good hand-eye coordination, but it’s not super taxing on the body [injury and pain-wise] like bull riding, so it allows you to get your physical activity in without wearing yourself down too hard, and it brings out your competitive edge, too.”

While bull riding and pickleball don’t have a lot in common, the McCracken Spring, Utah native could see a day when courts become a staple at PBR host venues to give riders a good option to stay fit, decompress, and have a little fun before getting down to business.

Courts have already found their way into NASCAR tracks, so the concept has legs, and driver Austin Dillon - a pickleball enthusiast - is among its biggest supporters. The 2018 Daytona 500 winner also just happens to be part of the Carolina Cowboys’ (PBR) management group.

Keyshawn Whitehorse at work. Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media

“Everybody thinks that bull riding is a sport where you just hold on, but there’s such a mental stress that goes on, sometimes even more so than other sports because you’re riding for such a short period of time in that eight-second window. When you’re there behind the bucking chutes about to ride, you have to be very mentally alert and aware of what your thoughts are and where your mind’s going. Everything is running on all cylinders, so playing a sport like pickleball takes your mind off riding for a bit,” explained Whitehorse. “Like I got into golf, and it’s comparable because it lets me just enjoy life. It gets you outside, it gets you moving, and it allows you to get that tension out.”

Whitehorse's Ridge Riders teammate Nick Tetz also participated in the event at Chicken N Pickle alongside fellow rider Chase Outlaw.

No stranger to pickleball, Tetz was previously exposed to the game in grade school in Canada and while playing minor hockey with the Calgary Royals.

“I remember we’d always play sewer ball before [hockey] games, so I think you could definitely see something like that with pickleball, PBR teams with paddles, whether guys are bouncing pickleballs off the walls or just playing in the hallways as part of their warmup,” said Tetz, the 2018 PBR Canada Rookie of the Year and 2022 PBR Canada Champion. “I don't like to sit around too much on the day of an event. I like to go-kart race, but I could see some guys packing paddles and playing pickleball.“

Nick Tetz on the job. Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media

Only time will tell, but it appears that pickleball and bull riding could eventually come together on a much bigger scale.

“Pickleball is really good exercise. You've got to be agile and fast. I feel like it kind of helps with bull riding, but you don't have your mind completely on bull riding when you're actually doing it,“ concluded Tetz. “And what's really cool about the sport is that you can play at any age.“