Gavin Knutson held onto the rope for two successful bull rides, placing sixth with a score of 143 at the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyo., last month. This was his second win at the CNFR before he begins competing in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association events.  

Knutson started out young in the rodeo world, mutton busting at the age of 6 in the Mission Mountain Rodeo. Throughout high school, he participated in team roping, calf roping and, of course, bull riding at local rodeos in the Mission Valley.  

Knutson calls bull riding his favorite event because there is “something about being in control of a crazy situation like that.”  

“You’re in control, but at the same time you have zero control; it’s almost like a dance,” he said.  

He attended Polson schools from kindergarten through his junior year before transferring to Ignite Christian Academy — an online faith-based private school — to focus on rodeo.  

“That was when rodeo kind of really took off for me,” Knutson said.  

After high school, Knutson joined the competitive rodeo team at the University of Montana making it to four CNFR qualifiers as a Montana Western student-athlete.  

While he was bucked off his freshman and sophomore years at CNFR, during his junior year in 2025, he claimed second place in bull riding.  

During his time at Montana Western, Knutson also ran into a childhood friend and current teammate, Luke Garrison. Knutson and Garrison quickly became team-roping partners and traveled across the state, competing in collegiate rodeo. Both were also two of eight Montana Western athletes to qualify for the 2026 CNFR.  

Now, after graduating from Montana Western, Knutson is traveling to as many pro rodeos as he can find both in and outside of Montana. Knutson has had his PRCA permit card for the last four years, which is the entry-level membership. 

Next year, he intends to purchase his full contestant card and continue rodeoing. At 22 years old, he hopes that next year he can earn the PRCA Rookie of the Year award, a defining honor he’s had his eye on for many years, which is presented to a first-year PRCA cardholder.   

Reflecting on his other big rodeo wins, Knutson described a time when he was one of 40 bull riders and won $16,000, a much-needed win. Before the win, he was in a panic about heading off to college rodeo without a trailer, but with this money, he was able to buy one immediately, which got him through his college career.  

Another win that will always stick with him was on a red bull at the Dutton Ranch Darby Xtreme Bareback event in Darby in June. He won $10,000 on his bull and immediately donated it to a kid who is battling terminal cancer.