11-Year-old Keagan Santana from Mays Landing has a dream to one day be a professional bull rider. He takes a big first step toward his goal this week when he competes in the Junior World Rodeo Finals in Las Vegas.

Keagan is a first-time Junior World Finals qualifier representing the North East Region beginning Thursday in a rodeo competition airing live on the Cowboy Channel+.

This isn't Keragan's first rodeo, though.

Keagan says he started riding rough stock at age 3. Rough stock is when cowboys ride bucking horses bareback or with a saddle for 8 seconds. In Keagan's case, he was riding sheep on his family's petting zoo and farm in Mays Landing.

Keagan advanced to riding bulls by age nine and now rides in the New Jersey High School Rodeo Association, according to his Facebook bio.

Last year he won the all-around cowboy and reserve champion in bull riding and he's competed and won event titles in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New Jersey.

The rodeo isn't Keagan's only sport.

His Junior World Finals bio points out that he also plays baseball, wrestles, runs cross country, rides dirt bikes, and enjoys the beach. He works on his family farm tending to his animals and sharing them with the public.

Keagan will compete in the bull riding event Thursday and Saturday at the Junior World Rodeo, and, if he does well, he will advance to the finals on Monday.

He has a host of South Jersey sponsors and fans rooting for him to do well in Vegas this week and we wish him well. Go get 'em, cowboy!

Here's a vdieo of Keagan in action...

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