Dirk Tavenner spent his life learning and adapting in the world of rodeo, while roping and riding from a very young age.
Growing up in Rigby Idaho, Tavenner looked up to his father who also steer wrestled, alongside being a cattle rancher. His love for rodeo developed as a child and continued into his high school years.
Although Tavnner is known best in the world of steer wrestling today, he more commonly tie-down roped as a teen, making it to the High School Finals twice.
Due to his stature, steer wrestling did not seem like the ideal event for Dirk, however, growing up around the sport pushed him to overcome this obstacle and has learned how to be successful by fine-tuning his technique.
“My father steer wrestled so that’s kind of why I stuck with it. I was pretty small at the time, but in my heart, that’s what I wanted to do. I grew up watching Luke and some of those guys bulldog. We had this little team roping dummy in the basement that I tried to bulldog as a kid,” he said.
While attending New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas, Tavenner was able to focus on rodeo and continue to improve, while also making it to the College Finals.
In 2009, he obtained his PRCA Card and went on to circuit rodeo while continuing to haze for many of his friends, such as Olin Hannum. During his time hazing, people began to notice the Idaho cowboy. His career took off from there and he started to climb in the standings, making him eligible for big winter rodeos such as The American and Rodeo Austin in the Spring of 2014.
In 2021, Tavenner qualified for the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. Although he didn’t take home a World Title, Dirk felt as though his experience in Vegas was successful. As he is now sitting at No. 11 in the world, the cowboy continues to live out his dream and work for that Gold Buckle.