Creek Young is in the midst of a balancing act.
What he’s been able to accomplish since returning to competition on a regular basis in late May is remarkable. Young officially earned his first check of the 2025 season at the Will Rogers Stampede in Claremore, Okla., on May 25. Since then, he’s piled up almost $52,800 in winnings, including an $11,272 prize after tying Ky Hamilton for the win at the Oakley Xtreme Bulls Tour event in Oakley City, Utah on Monday.
The money helps masks the reality – his run has been a case of feast or famine.
“I’ve really picked things up with those better bulls and those good bulls that you can win on. The little lesser bulls, I’m struggling with, which is kind of odd,” Young said. “I’m not staying on as much as I’d like, but it seems like every time I stay on him, I’m winning something for a good check.”
Last September, Young sustained a broken femur late that forced him to medically withdraw from the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. He had qualified for the season-culminating event after finishing 15th in the PRCA World Standings.
Following surgery, Young sat out much of the winter, returning in March to ride at RodeoHouston before taking another month off. He competed at a trio of rodeos in late April, then had another brief hiatus before jumping back into action full throttle at the end of May.
His return has truly been a mixed bag. He’s recorded nine scoring rides in all, six of which have been good enough to win the event. He's also failed to score 22 times.
The win at Oakley City was a prime example as Young won the West Of The Pecos Rodeo to close out June before going just 1-for-6 during the July 4th run. He placed second at the Livingston (Mont.) Roundup Rodeo but was bucked off the other five times.
Then came his matchup with United Pro Rodeo’s Top Gun on Monday night, which resulted in his second-highest score of the year (90.5) and his biggest single ride check of the season.
“I had seen him a lot, but I hadn’t been on him. My travel partner, Trey Kimzey, was actually 90 on that bull last year in Durant, Oklahoma to win that rodeo, so I knew I had a good bull coming into the day,” Young said. “I wasn’t having the best fourth run, but that was definitely a good way to kind of cap it off.”
Moving forward, Young hopes to find a more consistent rhythm, one that isn’t so reliant on wins alone to help him climb in the PRCA World Standings. His recent success has him back inside the top 30 with an eye on inching his way into qualifying for his fifth trip to NFR.
If anything, it’s just something he’s got to navigate. Fortunately, he’s got the confidence to do just that.
“It’s been different than any other year and any other approach to a year that I’ve had. I feel like I’m kind of behind the eight ball as far as I didn’t get to go to all those big winter rodeos,” Young said. “But I’m crawling back and hopefully I’ll give myself a shot to make the NFR, hopefully in the top five, but at least making a trip to Vegas.”