Wyatt
Denny Best known as “Wildman”
W
yatt is anything but quiet. Although the youngest of three brothers, he is the loudest. He was given the nickname Wildman when he first started on the Heavenly Ski Foundation. This name was taped on his locker when I came to pick him up from training when he was three years old. It has stuck with him ever since. At the junior rodeos, he would try to get the photographer to notice him. He would be the boy surfing on his pony Patches, which was usually okay with the horse. Wyatt was always the entertainment for the rest of the kids and parents on those long, hot days of junior rodeo in Nevada. Wildman seemed like the perfect nickname for Wyatt. Wyatt has so many different hobbies; he loves to hunt, team rope, golf, wakeboard, ski, and downhill bike, but when it comes down to it, he is a true cowboy. During his high school years, Wyatt participated in every event. Team roping, calf roping, steer wrestling, bull riding, bareback, and cutting. Practice was always brutal. He visited the gym daily to keep up with the physical demand of his activities. He had several different coaches to help him with each sport on a daily basis. He would always push himself to do better. That’s one thing that Wyatt isn’t: A quitter! Wyatt won the cutting title his senior year on a 23 year-old turnback horse. He beat the old world champion to get the title, which shows it’s not always the horse but the rider on his back. It took everything that boy had in him to win. One of his most memorable moments was a steer wrestling event in Fernley, Nevada. The usual call came about his horse and steer being ready in the chute. He went racing down the arena on his dogging horse and his hazer pushed the steer in front on his horse. The steer took his horse off his feet at the end of the arena. Horse and boy went cartwheeling into the fence. The announcer began screaming in fear, as did the crowd. Wyatt jumped up, handed his bent-up mount to the hazer, and ran to get on his bull. This was just another day in the life of Wyatt. There were only a few medical moments to be dealt with despite all the potential for accidents. Even during sleep, Wyatt found ways to be active. One morning, just after midnight, a family member came out to the living room after they heard a lot of loud noises. Wyatt was roaming around, the bar lights swinging wildly, ballbearings were everywhere, and one of the heavy metal barstools was bent in half. Apparently during an active dream, Wyatt was chasing a dodge ball over a fence. He jumped the railing in the loft while sleepwalking and hit the bar, the bar stool, and the counter below with his mouth. His current front teeth are the result of that accident, not from a rough stock event. There never was a dull moment in the Denny household.
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There were many great coaches within an hour of his home, but Wyatt’s favorite coach was Mario Cucci. He showed him how to ride broncs in junior high, and continued through high school. Mario was the one who took him to Blackfoot, Idaho to meet Sean Shields to get his first riggings. Mario traveled with him throughout his high school career, and has always been there for moral support. Mario was inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame a couple years ago and is Wyatt’s best supporter. Wyatt may not have been the biggest bull dodger, but he was the most fearsome. It was a team effort on his family’s part to get everything ready for each event. This way, he could fly from team roping, to steer wrestling, and then on to his bull. The long, rigorous travel has been hard his rookie year in the PRCA. He was invited to participate in the World Rodeo Challenge in New Zealand, which he won in front of a huge crowd of Kiwis. He has participated in rodeos in Australia and skied in Switzerland. Wyatt has been to China, Europe, Canada, and Mexico. South America and Africa are all that are left for him to explore. He has been to about every state for rodeo, but Nevada is still his home. Even gypsies on the rodeo trail need a place to call home. Wyatt now attends Feather River College in Quincy, Texas. He is now part of the team Jesse Segura allowed him to practice with while in high school. Being a cowboy, living on a ranch, and taking care of so many different chores show that whatever he chooses to do in life, he is going to succeed.