Inuvik (May 14/04) - In the rodeo world, everybody has a nickname and mine is -- you may have guessed it -- "The Kid."

In the 2003 Professional Rodeo season, I rode in the Novice Bareback category.

I have turned 21, this season (2004) I will have to move up the ladder and ride in professional open events.

After applying for and receiving my permit from the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association, I am now able to enter pro open events at sanctioned rodeos.

Last year, my season did not go quite as I planned. Because of a leg injury I missed five of the 20 rodeos I wanted to enter.

It happened at the All Native Rodeo on the Sarcee Reserve at Bragg Creek near Calgary.

During my last ride, I got hung up in my rigging after the whistle and the horse dragged me and I was kicked a couple of times in the leg.

Despite this, I won second in the bareback bronco riding event and was ranked ninth overall in the country.

Unfortunately, I was out of action for six weeks and would only compete in two more events that year.

However, my 2004 season got off to a great start at the Royal Rodeo in Calgary where I placed third in the final round of the bareback competition. Now, I sit in seventh in the Canadian top ten.

This weekend, I'm going to the Pro Open Rodeo in Vernon, B.C., and with "top guns" coming from around North America, it is sure to test my ability.

Some of the guys I will be riding against are former Canadian Champions and some from the United States have competed nationally there as well.

After Vernon, I will finish the weekend off at the All Native Rodeo in southern Alberta on the Blood Reserve.

From time to time I'll keep everybody posted on how I'm doing in the rodeo world.

My goal for 2004 is to win the Canadian title in the novice bareback and win enough money in the pro open bareback to earn the Permit Award or maybe even rookie of the year.

Billy "The Kid" Turner is the son of Don Turner and the late Kathy Thrasher, both former residents of Inuvik.

He has many relatives around the region from Tuktoyaktuk to Paulatuk and Fort McPherson.