Beth Moore,
Madison County 4-H
Contributor
How about this for a busy and unforgettable weekend? You graduate high school, compete in your final high school rodeo and leave your North Florida home to drive to Montana for the summer job of a lifetime. Not to mention, you are only 17 years old. Of course, this sounds like the making of a good movie but in this case, it is the life of Madison-local Bridger Jesse.
Bridger is the son of David and Jacinda Jesse, of Greenville. At the age of six, Bridger began showing performance horses but, in 2016, he decided that riding performance horses wasn't for him. Bridger wanted to try something new and even more exciting. So, he began his four-year high school rodeo career as a top-notch chute dogger.
Chute dogging is a rodeo event related to steer wrestling. The competitor starts the event in a roping shoot with the steer as opposed to grabbing onto the steer from horse back. Bridger was a natural and the skills needed to be successful in the event came very easily to him. In 2018, he attended The Campbell Chute Dogging school in the Florida panhandle where he was encouraged to continue in the sport because he had great potential.
During high school, he participated in GFYR (Georgia-Florida Youth Rodeo) events and in 2017, set the arena record for the fastest chute dogging time of 1.523 seconds. In 2020, he broke his own record with a time of 1.257 seconds. It took this young man less than two seconds to wrestle a 350 to 400 lb steer to the ground. It wasn't surprising that Bridger earned the title of 2019-2020 GFYR Grand Champion Chute Dogger.
Since graduating from high school in May and earning the champion title, Bridger has moved to Livingston, Mont. for the summer. He took the summer job of a lifetime working with Black Mountain Outfitters, a back-country fishing and hunting guide service.
Bridger plans to return to North Florida when the summer job ends. According to his mother, "Bridger will return to rodeoing in the winter, but this time it will be steer wrestling from the back of a horse," Jacinda says. "He will also be going back to school, because you can't rodeo for the rest of your life."
Bridger was as active member of the Madison County Saddle and Spurs 4-H Club. He was and remains an excellent role model for all 4-H members, especially the younger kids. Being homeschooled allowed Bridger to not only complete his high school course work, but also allowed for him to work full time with Jeffery Hamrick in the hay business. In his free time, he enjoys rodeoing and hunting.
Congratulations Bridger on your high school graduation, championship high school rodeo career and for being a reliable, dependable, hard working role model for 4-H members to look up to. Enjoy your summer in Montana!