Plant City’s Gus Trent Is Putting Rodeo Within Reach for Inner-City Youth
by REBEKAH PIERCE
If there’s one symbol of rural America that has stood the test of time, it’s the rodeo. There are more than 600 rodeos sanctioned yearly in the United States by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.
For many, rodeo isn’t just a hobby but a way of life that fosters a stronger sense of self, purpose, and community. But for those who live in urban areas, it’s a lifestyle that can be elusive and difficult to explore.
Plant City’s Gus Trent hopes to change that with the creation of the Gus Trent Rodeo Association.
Established in February 2025, the goal of the association is to give inner city and underprivileged youth and adults an opportunity to learn the sport of rodeo, Trent says.
According to Trent, it’s uncommon for individuals to get involved in rodeo culture, somewhat of a “legacy” sport, unless their family already is entrenched in the culture.
Trent himself does not come from such a family. He was raised in Pittsburgh, Pa., where he did not grow up with horses. He has vivid memories of when, at 9 years old, a neighbor who owned horses in the country brought them to his neighborhood.
“I was mesmerized,” he explains. “I told my friends at 9 years old that I would be a cowboy and have horses and a ranch.”
Fast forward to 2010, and Trent, who had joined the military, found himself stationed in Tampa. A coworker with horses brought him to visit her barn one day. He left as the proud owner of one of those horses.
“I bought it not knowing anything about horses,” Trent recalls. “I started reading books, watching videos, and hanging around horse people.”
Though new to horses, Trent wasn’t entirely new to the rodeo scene. He had visited his first rodeo, the Bill Pickett Invitational, in 2007. He worked as an intern with the organization to learn more about the sport, then, in 2013, he started his own horse ranch — Gus Trent Horse Ranch in Plant City — and hosted his very own rodeo.
The idea for the association evolved slowly over time.
“Most of the time at the rodeos, I didn’t see anybody of color,” Trent explains. “I saw a lot of people who wanted to engage in the sport of rodeo but did not know or have the resources to get involved. I wanted to create an atmosphere where they could learn, grow, and develop, and get involved with rodeo.”
Trent put together a diverse board of directors, all of whom hail from different backgrounds and from areas outside of the rodeo world. He’s also recruited a team of ranch hands and rodeo professionals to help him accomplish his objectives. What all these people have in common, despite their varying interests, is a passion for supporting rodeo for anybody who wants to be involved in it.
The Gus Trent Rodeo Association is meant to help youth and adults learn about the different events associated with rodeo, from barrel racing to break away roping, relay racing and more. Beyond the “hard skills” associated with the sport of rodeo, Trent also hopes to instill several invaluable soft skills in its participants, too.
“Understanding the commitment it takes to engage in a discipline in rodeo is not something that’s going to happen overnight. It’s a serious commitment, and most people struggle with that,” Trent says. “Part of my goal is to coach, teach, and mentor those folks. I start [showing] all these things they need to do up front so they aren’t wasting my time or their time.”
The association provides entry level training with introductory clinics to see where participants’ interests and strengths might lie. Then they have access to development training for the specific discipline they want to pursue.
Most recently, Trent has partnered with a local nonprofit organization that provides academic tutoring during the week, working with kids as young as 5 and as old as 16. Through this partnership, Trent’s curriculum is added to the program and gives him the opportunity to reach even more young people than he could otherwise.
The results have been outstanding. Though the association is still in its infancy, Trent says that the skills he and his team instill in its participants go beyond the rodeo ring.
“I don’t just work on rodeo aspects. I work on instilling pride, discipline, leadership, self-control…confidence so they can engage in this sport. I have one young lady who was really shy, and now she’s coming out of her shell, jumping full force into things.”
In June, the association plans to charter a bus to Jacksonville to experience a rodeo firsthand; for many of the participants, it will be their first rodeo ever.
In the future, Trent hopes to expand the reach of the program outside of Central Florida. As a rodeo announcer, he’s working hard to drum up interest around the country.
“I got into horses late in life, and horses have brought me so much joy,” he says. “Rodeo is a family-oriented sport. It brings people together from all walks of life. America needs rodeo right now. It’s something that brings us all together.”
To learn more, get involved, or support the mission, visit www.gustrentrodeoassociation.com.