Late by some standards, Angus started his bronc riding career at 19, forgoing the usual high school rodeo scene. After watching a Super Cross race in Reno he was bitten by the motocross bug. In addition to riding motorcycles, he wrestled, boxed, and dabbled in martial arts. At first pass his interests seemed diverse, though a closer look revealed a common thread. The kind of high tensile thread that holds great dreams together.

All of these pursuits required a high level of athleticism, intense focus and a special kind of mental toughness.

When Angus finally turned to his rodeo heritage, the delay proved no issue for the young athlete. He began riding bulls then switched to the event that had always been a family staple. The event that beckoned to him through four generations of history, tradition and genetics: Saddle Bronc Riding. The transition was a good one. So when higher education called, he studied Equine Science and Kinesiology while winning the West Coast Region and easily qualified for the College National Finals Rodeo twice.

Angus continued to rodeo, qualifying twice for the CCPRA Circuit Finals, twice the CPRA Finals runner up, and three times qualifying for CPRA Finals. He also qualified twice for the PRCA First Frontier Circuit Finals, became the PRCA First Frontier Circuit Finals Champion and average winner. He qualified twice for the Dodge National Circuit Finals was named PAFRA Rookie of the Year in the bronc riding and All Around and three time PAFRA World Champion Saddle Bronc Rider.

No small feat. Many cowboys would be content with such a start to a career, at least as long as their physicality allowed it. But Jace Angus ran deeper than that.

Sometimes our elders whisper to us from their past.

After a friend in the military lost his life while serving, Angus felt compelled to shoulder his share of the burden of defending his country and preserving the freedom that he had enjoyed. He enlisted in the United States Army at age 28, stepping quietly into the footsteps of his great grandfather Ray Blasingame, a bronco man on the historic ZX ranch of eastern Oregon. Blasingame was quietly known for his service in WWII as a member of the 101st Airborne Division, one of 6000 men who parachuted behind German lines in the predawn hours of the D Day invasion at Omaha Beach in occupied France. His injuries earned him two Purple Hearts and his proficiency in action earned him both a Bronze and Silver Star.

Quite a whisper, eh?

When asked about the draw of military service, Angus quickly replied that he wished “to be a part of a like minded team of warriors.“

That wish was granted as Angus became a Mountain Infantryman, Security Force, and deployed to the Horn of Africa; a forbidding landscape of desolation, despair and violence.

Once back on US soil Angus blended his love of rodeo with lessons learned from his military service. He and a friend brainstormed an innovative approach to rodeo schools. They organized a unique combination of rodeo and military experience and created Tier One Rodeo Bootcamp. The inaugural school was a success. More of these schools are in the queue.

With close to 10 years bronc riding experience and his military service behind him, Jace Angus is now locked and loaded for a whirlwind year. He’s got the chops, the heart, the experience to go the distance and is committed to going hard in 2023 on the pro circuit.

Going down the road professionally will take everything he’s got. His talent, his determination and of course, funding. In hopes of garnering much needed sponsorship, he’s set his sights high. With such a powerful legacy behind him and the addition of his 2 ½ year old son Ryat, Angus has a lot to ride for.

Jace Angus has matured into a unique combination of things. Intelligent, confident, modest, driven. Like all great warriors he’ll hold the truth of his abilities close to the vest. And yet there lies a brewing intensity just below the placid surface. An intensity that could carry him to the pinnacle of excellence if the universe would have it so.

Time will tell.

Here’s to that apple tree, to a commitment to family, to country, to the legacy we all discover when we finally hear our calling on the wind and follow our heart.