Gilbert Carrillo and his twin brother, Adam, got their start riding bulls with the help of Roach Hedeman, brother of Tuff Hedeman. “Roach was our mentor. He taught us the basics.” Throughout their teens, the Carrillo brothers worked their way up from high school and amateur rodeos to college and professional rodeos. “We traveled with Ted Nuce for five years and became good friends with him. I admired his ability of riding. Not to mention, he’d been through so much, and he still made the sport fun. Once you’ve been [bull] riding for a lot of years, your desire starts to burn out.” Carrillo has numerous accomplishments and buckles to his name. One of his most memorable moments came atop Blueberry Wine of Herrington Cattle Company in 2002. He rode the bull for a score of 96 points at the Ty Murray Invitational in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which was enough points for a second place finish at the event. When it comes to injuries, Carrillo definitely has seen his share. “Sometimes I think—why me? It seems like right after I recover from one injury, I get injured again.” One of the most serious injuries happened at the BFTS event in Nashville in 2003. “The bull threw me up in the air, and I landed on my head. I kept thinking my arm was broke, but actually I broke my neck , and when that happened, it pinched all the nerves, so I couldn’t feel my arm.” Carrillo walked out of the arena and was taken to an area hospital where X-rays confirmed his neck was broke. Fans might notice Carrillo riding with a helmet now. “I’ve gotten too many concussions. I think we figured it up, and in four years, I’ve had 11 concussions.” Gilbert says one of the best parts of competing in the PBR is doing it alongside his brother. “Adam and I are really close. I can tell how he’s going to do just by looking at him. There’s no sibling rivalry between us—we just pull for each other.”
About Gilbert
