By Siri Stevens
Kelly Timberman starts his day with fruit and cottage cheese. Later on, he eats eight egg whites for the protein, two pieces of whole grain toast, and a cup of oatmeal with a half of cup of fruit. Around two or three, he has a cup of noodles for the carbs and a five-ounce piece of lean hamburger, or chicken; a vegetable and part of a yam. Dinner is about the same. He works out from 6 to 8 PM and finishes the day with a rehabilitation electrolyte shake. The shake has a lot of protein and nutrients. The world’s number two bareback rider asked health specialists and trainers and found a plan that works. “My diet and workout plan puts less strain on how I’m going to perform,” he explains. “It’s the only guarantee I have.” Timberman calls Casper, Wyo., home. “I’ve moved away but I’ve always come back,” he says. “I went to Colorado and rode reining and cutting horses before I ever got into rodeo. I had an indoor arena and horses to ride.” Rodeo is in Timberman’s past. “My dad rodeoed for 13 years and he’s my hero.” His father, Lon, ran a feed store and his sons (Kelly, Chris, and Zeb) did the deliveries and learned early about hard work. There was very seldom time to play. Summers were spent putting up hay. “We had an indoor arena here in Casper where all the college kids came. I grew up behind the roping dummy. I roped with a piggin’ string because I wasn’t big enough to rope.”

The arena burned down in 1982. “Seven horses died in there,” recalls, Lon. “It pretty much destroyed everything.”

Somebody set fire to the arena and three other places in the area. “That was my dad’s whole dream in life,” said Timberman. “Insurance didn’t cover arson so we couldn’t rebuild. It put a big strain on our life. My dad associated rodeo with that whole era and I wasn’t allowed to pursue rodeo. My best friend rode steers and it was tough to grow up not having any involvement.” When Timberman moved to Colorado, his luck changed. “I ended up at Bruce Ford’s house,” states Timberman. “My friends gave me a glove and a riggin’; and a five minute lesson and we went to the practice pen.”

I rode three horses and I spurred every one of them. Bruce asked me if I was ready to get bucked off and bet me a dollar.” Timberman didn’t get bucked off and Ford gave him his first dollar. “I was hooked.” Life changed for Timbe-rman. “I’d been on about 15 horses and broke my collarbone and couldn’t ride for awhile.” A few weeks later he was offered a scholarship at Casper College. He went there from 1998 to 2000 when he ran out of eligibility. “My freshman year in college I went into the CNFR first in the nation. It was a big accomplishment for me to make it. I was the only kid from Casper that made it that year,” shares Timbernam. “I was up against Forest Bramwell. Without his competition I wouldn’t have gone anywhere. You need guys like that to compete against to make it better.” He has two children that have changed his life. “I want them to look up to me and I don’t want to miss any time with them.” His son, Chris, is ten and his daughter, Dayanera, is eight.

Timberman is completing his sixth year total and fourth year pro. “I’m doing okay. I’m so critical of myself. At this point in my career I have to be. I don’t feel like you can ever be perfect. There’s always something new to learn and get better at. At this point I don’t know how good I can be. I feel there’s a lot more I can do. I’m going to push and push. Put 100 percent of yourself into it and where you end up is where you end up, there are no regrets.”

Timberman is slowly building up his own herd of horses. “My business is horses … anything to do with them. In a couple years I’m going to have some of the best two-year-olds you’ve ever seen.” Timberman has always been into reining. “I showed as a kid and I want to pursue it. For being a cowboy, that’s a great field to be in. I love horses and people and the combination is great.”

Timberman attributes part of his success to his dad. “He’s taught me what’s right and wrong,” he explains. “He didn’t know for a year that I was rodeoing. I got into it and worked really hard and once he saw how dedicated I was, he started driving 900 miles to watch me ride. We are really close. If it wasn’t for rodeo I don’t think that would have happened and I’m real thankful for that.”

Lon has influenced his son. “I always tell him positive things,” he says. “I tell him he’s a champion and he’ll make it. We talk about hard work, a clean-cut attitude, and being a real cowboy.”

Timberman has rodeoed really hard for the past three years. “I rode consistent; I would say a 22 spur ride every time. From there on I just tried to set goals – I watch films, practice, workout. Whatever I can do to be better than my competition. What I have to worry about is the horse I draw and that’s it.”

Timberman works at being a great spokesperson for rodeo. He realizes that his choice to rodeo involves everybody in his life. “So much time is spent away from home that they have to be involved. When I’m out on the road I’m doing the best I can because I’m away from them. People follow by example and the way you live your life. Mistakes make you better.” Timberman also works on his attitude. “I work at being positive just like I do lifting weights and running,” he says. “Today is going to be a great day. The only way that happens is if you make it happen. I think that’s missed in life.”