SAN ANTONIO, Texas — It was a year ago, during the Texas swing of the professional rodeo circuit, that Blackfoot native Sage Allen began a run that would eventually land him the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s Resistol Rookie of the Year award.

His first professional rodeo was in Rapid City, South Dakota, and it didn’t go well. From there he drove to San Antonio for the next rodeo.

“It was in San Antonio that things kind of switched around for me, and things went great from there,” he said. “I’m not really sure why.”

In trying to explain it, Allen, a bareback rider, said he was in San Antonio a day early and had time to enjoy the opening ceremony.

“Watching the opening ceremony, I just thought, man, this is my home. This is where I belong,” he said.

Rankings in the professional rodeo circuit are based on winnings earned, and Allen cleaned up in San Antonio and during the Texas swing as a whole. He had built up such a lead among other rookies that when his 2025 season came to an abrupt end in late August, he was too far ahead for any other rookie to catch him.

“For about a week, I was worried because I couldn’t ride,” he said. “But after a week, I realized I had it locked up.”

That abrupt end to his 2025 season came on Aug. 24 when he was driving from Salmon, Idaho, where he had just finished a rodeo, to his next gig in Pueblo, Colorado. Avoiding a car that pulled in front of him, Allen swerved, hit an embankment and his car front flipped.

“I woke up three days later in the hospital,” Allen said. “I was very fortunate to come out as well as I did.”

But Allen did suffer head injuries and had bleeding on his brain. It was several weeks before doctors would allow him to ride again. During that time, one rodeo season ended, and the next one started. The professional rodeo season ends in September, and the new one begins in October.

The accident sidelined Allen for more than two months. He didn’t compete again until the first weekend in November. He managed a second-place finish in the first round of that event but didn’t score well in the other two rounds.

It would take through the end of the year for Allen to find his rhythm again. But on Dec. 31, he got paired with a familiar horse.

“I drew a horse in Gillette, CC Blue, which I rode the summer before in Gooding and scored 86.5 to win second place,” he said. “I rode her pretty good for six-and-a-half seconds.”

Even though those last couple of seconds didn’t go as well, the experience as a whole bolstered Allen’s belief in himself.

“I felt like I was back to my old self,” he said.

This week finds Allen back where it all began to take off for him last season, in San Antonio. His first ride was on Tuesday. He took third place that night with a score of 82.5.

“I felt like I rode pretty good,” he said. “I just needed a little more horse. I feel good going into rounds two and three.”

For those who are new to bareback riding, it isn’t just about how well the rider manages to stay on the horse, but it’s also about how much of a challenge the horse gives the rider. It really is a partnership of sorts. If the horse doesn’t give the rider a great enough challenge, which is what Allen was referring to when he said he “needed a little more horse,” then the rider can’t garner a winning score, no matter how well he rides.

Garner’s road to professional rodeo began in Blackfoot, where he competed in bareback and bull riding for Blackfoot High School. He won state in bareback riding his senior year, 2022. Then he made his way to the College of Southern Idaho, where he also managed some accolades, winning regionals both years and placing relatively high in the college finals both years.

It was always his intention to go pro one day.

“I have always had a love for this sport,” Allen said. “I had a great mentor and fell in love with the sport and decided that it’s what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.”

While winning rookie of the year for 2025 gave him some satisfaction, it fell short of his ultimate goal for his rookie season.

“My goal was to make the (National Finals Rodeo),” he said. “That was always my goal to make the NFR my rookie year.”

As his second season picks up steam, he is still aiming for that NFR dream but is taking with him some lessons learned during his rookie campaign.

“I worried about stuff more than I needed to,” he said. “The rodeo is the fun part. You have to trust the work you have put in and everything you have done and just enjoy the ride.”