McIntosh County Teen Wins Steer Wrestling World Championship

A McIntosh County teenager is a world champion in steer wrestling after a week of competition in Las Vegas.

Traden Anderson and his father Josh have been working for this day for years- from making sure their horses are in the best shape to driving thousands of miles to rodeos across the country.

They both say the feeling of the win was worth every ounce of hard work.

Traden is now a two-time state and two-time world champion in steer wrestling, but that didn’t come without a lot of time and practice.

"It's not just about me getting off, there's a lot that goes into it,” said Traden. “You got to have your horses in shape, and you've got to have a great hazer, so you don't have a doubt in your mind that when you get off, it's going to be right there straight and ready for the money."

Traden’s father, Josh Anderson, is his hazer.

In steer wrestling, the hazer rides the horse next to the calf to keep the calf running in a straight line.

Josh comes from a rodeo background and is happy to see his son be passionate about it too.

"I was a steer wrestler in the past, so this is like something that you want your kids to do, if you were a guy that was in some success, and my kids fell in my foot tracks,” said Josh. “And he's been better than I was way faster."

Traden loves steer wrestling with his dad by his side.

"It's fun, it's like he's my dad, but a lot of times he's more like my best friend,” Traden said. “We're going up and down the roads all the time, and I can talk to him as close as anybody I ever got."

Josh says Traden has a bright future ahead of him and he is proud of the work his son has put into the sport.

"As a dad moment, it's really good,” said Josh. “I never had a dad but my grandpa was always like my dad, so I try to motivate my son to the best I could, and that's what he did. Two-time state champion, two-time national champion, and he's got a big scene ahead of him."

For both, every mile drove and every obstacle faced was worth it.

"When these guys get so amped up, so excited and there's adrenaline, there's nerves, there's tons of emotion on the inside of this, and when you do throw one and get by him and the crowd goes wild, it's a feeling like you can't describe," said Josh.

"Everyone kind of sits back and see how everything I've put into it, and now I come back and we can all celebrate it together, and it's awesome,” said Traden.

Traden says he wants to keep steer wrestling for as long as he can.