Chandler Bownds looks like any 12-year-old boy, except, of course, that he’s a 20-year-old bull rider who just qualified for his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

He’s a pretty bad cat, too.

Bownds, of Lubbock, Texas, rode just three bulls during this year’s NFR. When he made the qualifying eight seconds, Bownds made the most of it, winning the second and sixth go-rounds and finishing second in Round 9. In all, he won just shy of $50,000 and finished eighth in the world standings.

Bownds was joined by fellow first-timer Jacob O’Mara of Prairieville, La., who, as it happens, is also just 20 years old. O’Mara rode four bulls, placed in four rounds – including the third-round victory – and finished sixth in the average race.

What these two young cowboys prove is there is a brilliant future for bull riding. That’s a good thing.