AVON — As his father tells it, Tanner Mills, a senior at Riverside High School, never had much fear as a child. He would take any dare his friends offered him. He would ride whatever vehicle or animal he was on — both fast and high.
But Mills would eventually mature. In high school he became a good student and did the things he needed to achieve, but he never completely lost that daredevil in him.
On Thursday at Riverside, Mills signed a rodeo scholarship to attend Pearl River Community College. When Mills is not studying for a midterm or working on a class project, he will ride bulls.
“I love bull riding. It is what I love the most,” he said. “I love the fact of being on a wild animal and trying to get the eight seconds you need to win. It is the ultimate man versus beast and it is the ultimate contest.”
Mills dream is to one day become a professional bull rider like the guys he sees making big money on television, but Mills said he also knows that it makes a lot of sense for him to also receive a college education.
“I had a learning disability growing up so a lot of people thought I would never get to college,” Mills said. “People thought I wasn’t all that until I found bull riding. I have found something that I know I can really do and really do well.”
Signing the scholarship on Wednesday was especially meaningful also to both of Mills’ parents, James and Sara, who attend his rodeos regularly.
“We are very proud of him, and what he has accomplished,” said Mills’ father. “He is a good kid with a lot of courage.”
