Editor’s note: This is part of a series of articles about exceptional high school graduates in the class of 2021 across Central Oregon.

Few things motivate Madras High School senior Josh Olney like rodeo. Specifically, riding broncos — or broncs, as he calls them.

“A lot of times, I’m just thinking, ‘Sooner or later, I’m going to be at a rodeo and I’m going to be having fun,’” said Olney, 18. “Rodeo is my happy place, I guess.”

Olney has participated in rodeos since he was about 3, starting out with riding sheep. After graduating high school, he’ll be riding for Odessa College’s team in west Texas.

“One guy told me, ‘If you get the chance to go to Texas, do it, because that’s a really big rodeo state,’” Olney said. “So I jumped on it after that.”

Olney — who grew up in Warm Springs but moved to Madras two years ago — developed a passion for rodeo while watching his older brothers ride. Since then, he’s been deeply involved in the sport.

There are four horses Olney rides at his family’s facility in Warm Springs — Lonestar, Dixie and two that are still unnamed. He rides them all the time to hone his sense of balance, he said.

Olney also has a spur board at his home he uses for practice, he said. That’s a piece of wood shaped like a horse’s back, with a place to tie in a saddle and stirrups and practice riding a bucking bronc.

Olney’s also played a few sports for Madras High School: basketball, wrestling and baseball.

His biggest competition to date was the Intermountain Icebreaker Rodeo this March in Ogden, Utah, where he competed against bronc riding professionals, he said.

Utah is also where Olney met Tom Kelly, the rodeo coach for Odessa College. Kelly asked Olney to send him tapes of his bronc riding, and then Kelly offered him a spot on the college’s rodeo team.

“Josh really rides with a lot of heart,” Kelly said. “That impressed me. The kid wanted to stay on the horse. He was there to win.”

Olney said he plans to study auto mechanics at Odessa.

Growing up, Olney’s family frequently had car troubles, and he noticed how his family was always at the whims of mechanics who sometimes never showed up. He wanted to be able to help others, like his family, who weren’t knowledgeable about cars.

“I could fix my own cars and help out wherever and whenever I can,” Olney said.

Still, if there’s a chance for Olney to go pro in bronc riding, he plans to seize that opportunity, he said.

“If I get good enough, that would be something I’d definitely consider,” he said.

Name: Josh Olney

Age: 18

School: Madras High School

Hometown: Warm Springs

Post-high school plans: Study auto mechanics and join rodeo team at Odessa College in Texas

Favorite food: Steak and eggs

Favorite TV show or movie: Pure Country

If you could hang out with a famous person for a day, living or dead, who would it be?: Cody Wright (professional bronc rider)

Once COVID-19 restrictions are fully lifted, where do you want to go?: Travel with pro rodeo circuit around the United States

If Hollywood makes a movie about your life, which actor would play you?: Tom Cruise