Neil Holmes: Heart of a Champion

For most bull riders, introduction to the sport would first begin as a generational hobby passed down from time spent following behind loved one’s at an early age. Most riders can recall memories as early as the age of 10 that would ignite their passion to prevail in the dangerous sport of man verses beast–Bull Riding. But not Neil Holmes.

Blazing a Trail

Neil Holmes is a retired bull rider from Cleveland, Texas. Unlike most, his start into bull riding would not begin until his late teens (17). With no prior history of bull riding in his family line, Neil would rely on his natural ability and mental toughness to create a lane for himself as the only black bull rider during his tenure in what is a predominantly white sport.

A Springboard to a better life

Neil comes from a background where opportunity is both scarce and futile. Youth trying to escape poverty are often led to make choices that lead to crossroads of crime and grim hope. Much like others where he grew up in Cleveland Texas, Neil’s choices could have landed him in situations that might have ended his life or landed him in jail. But fate. What initially for Neil was an opportunity to show off his horse riding skills to attract girls, Neil could not predict the unraveling of opportunity and a “way out” awaiting him.

“Everything good that has happened in my life came from bull riding,” Neil Holmes.

For Neil, Bull Riding was more than just a sport, it was an alternative that sent him to college, companionship, life-long friends, economic opportunity, and purpose.

Challenged but Undeterred

As the only black in a predominantly white sport, challenges would be a seemingly bottomless pit. But to Neil, racism was just another opportunity to show the world the mental toughness and unwillingness to quit that carried the then 17-year-old away from the streets of Cleveland, Tx.

Mental toughness became the stamp for his arena persona. As expected in a sport as physical as bull riding, which has been described as “the most violent 8 second sport in the world”, Neil had a series of injuries. He has at different times suffered a broken jaw and broken pelvis which would ultimately land him in the hospital and forfeit his run in the Las Vegas Professional Bull Riding Finals.

This would be last of just few events left to see the 5’8 145lb vet from Cleveland Tx, whose grit, guts, and champion spirit forever carved a placed in history in the sport. Neil would opt to retire professionally.

A Continuing Legacy

For Neil, the sport that gave him so much opportunity and love would unexpectedly house one of his deepest pains for the rest of his life. The passing of friend turned bull riding brother, Ty Pozzobon, would heavily influence Neil’s decision to retire from bull riding and detach from the sport for a while. Ty’s death would become bull riding’s first confirmed case of CTE.

But retirement does not mean quit!

Neil continues to be an advocate for change, working closely with institutions and researchers to bring awareness to brain trauma and concussions commonly suffered in the sport.

Although his professional riding days may have ended, Neil maintains an
active presence on the circuit through training and mentorship. He believes
that youth from the inner cities can be given a lifestyle that is more worthwhile through the sport.

Despite his sterling legacy as a bull rider, Neil’s wish is not to be remembered only for his activities as a bull rider. He would instead choose, to garner a legacy that outlines his qualities, first as a good guy whose grit and unwillingness to quit found a platform in bull riding forever.