A 17-year-old girl from Oregon wants to buck the trends and become the first woman to compete at the highest level of the Professional bull riders tour, the highest level of the sport.
Najiah Knight won't be able to compete until next year, when she's 18, and even then she'll have to prove she's good enough to qualify, but it's been the quest of a lifetime to try and achieve great success.
Still in high school in Oregon, Knight faces stiff competition as only about 30 of the best riders worldwide reach the top.
The sport takes time, travel, money and perhaps above all courage, because riders often get injured even killed but Knight doesn't care at all.
“Ever since I was a little kid, 3 years old, I told my dad this is what I'm going to do,” she said.
Najiah Knight, a 17-year-old girl from Oregon, wants to buck the trends and become the first woman to compete at the highest level of the Professional Bull Riders tour, the highest level of the sport
'I'm going to be a bull rider. I'm going to make it. As I got older it was, 'I'm going to be in PBR, I'm going to be the first girl.'
“That's my why. That's what drives me,” Knight added.
She recently became the only woman to qualify for this month in the 16-18 age group World Junior Finals in Las Vegas.
Bull riders try to stay on the bucking animal for eight seconds, with one hand in the air. It's violent and chaotic. If eight seconds are achieved, both the bull and the rider are scored.
“You've got to get in the game, you've got to follow the bull,” Knight said.
Knight is more of a typical teenager than a rodeo star back home in Oregon.
She lives on the outskirts of Arlington, a town of 628 residents on Interstate 84, which cuts across the state.
She plays volleyball and basketball for Arlington High, which combines teams with a nearby school.
Najiah Knight won't be able to compete until next year, when she's 18, and even then she'll have to prove she's good enough to qualify, but it's been the quest of a lifetime to try and make it big.
Still in high school in Oregon, Knight faces stiff competition as only about 30 of the best riders worldwide reach the top
Looking at her, you'd never know how tough she is, her coach says. But her parents realized from that moment on that their girl was fearless.
At the age of three, Andrew Knight said, Najiah started riding sheep, also known as mutton breaking. “It was like she had a pair of Velcro pants on and she got stuck on them,” he said, laughing. “There wasn't an inch of movement to move her away.”
As her mother, Missi, put it, “The fire was out of control.”
When Najiah was 7, she started riding oxen. At the age of 9, she was riding miniature bulls. From 2018 to 2020, she was one of the top 15 mini bull riders in the country.
In 2020, she was the first girl to ride in New York's Madison Square Garden. In the third round she defeated all the boys.
A broken arm and the pandemic Najiah sidelined for a while. But for about two years she has been riding young bulls, a step below the big bulls.
At home, Najiah trains with Andrew on the ramp, a barrel with springs and levers to simulate a bull ride.
He walks a fine line between coach and father. If he feels fear, he said, so will his daughter. His motto is one of positivity.
The sport takes time, travel, money and perhaps most of all courage, because riders are regularly injured and even killed, but Knight isn't concerned about that at all.
Knight is more of a typical teenager than a rodeo star back home in Oregon. She lives on the outskirts of Arlington. She plays volleyball and basketball for Arlington High, which combines teams with a nearby school
Knight is direct about what she wants to accomplish: being the first woman on PBR's flagship tour, Unleash The Beast; being named Rookie of the Year; and win a world championship. Every ride is a step towards that goal.
She and her family played a strategic role in her promotion. They've cultivated her image on social media and secured major sponsorships – she has deals with Cooper Tires and Ariatthe boot and clothing maker.
Everyone from experienced riders to casual fans can see Knight's passion and fearlessness. But it's hard to say how feasible her dream is, say fellow riders and competition officials.
“There's a hopeful side of me that wants her to be a world champion,” PBR CEO Sean Gleason said. 'I believe anything is possible for her. She is dedicated. She's been working on it for a long time.
'But it is a very difficult sport. The hill to climb is high for everyone.”
Knight doesn't see her gender as an obstacle. “I'm just a bull rider,” she often says with a shrug.
But she also wants to be a role model for women and Native Americans. Najiah and her family are Paiute, part of the Klamath tribes, and she proudly wears a hatband with beads and chains before riding.
She's active outside the arena, too: Last year she appeared at a Ride to the Polls event to encourage young Navajo voters in Kayenta, Arizona.
Knight is direct about what she wants to accomplish: being the first woman on PBR's flagship tour, Unleash The Beast; being named Rookie of the Year; and win a world championship
Knight doesn't see her gender as an obstacle. “I'm just a bull rider,” she often says with a shrug
“I'm pretty sure I'm the only female indigenous bull rider I know,” she said.
The competition in Vegas hasn't affected her. When she turns 18, she expects to participate in the Pendleton Whiskey Velocity Tour. From there she works on the necessary points for the highest level.
Najiah – and her family, the league and its sponsors – know it's a long road. She long ago accepted the danger of the sport and the challenge of reaching the top.
“I don't care what anyone else thinks,” she said. “I'm doing this for myself.”