FORT WORTH, Texas – Blake Sharp knows a thing or two about taking hits.

Long before he became one of the most decorated stock contractors in PBR history, Sharp was a lineman at East Mississippi Community College, also appearing on the first season of Last Chance U. Back then, the hits came across the line of scrimmage.

These days, they come in a much different form.

Now, Sharp spends his life around elite bucking bulls, hauling some of the rankest animal athletes in the sport across the country, keeping them healthy, fed, conditioned and ready to buck under the brightest lights in Western sports.

He may have traded shoulder pads for stock trailers, football fields for arenas and playbooks for feeding programs, but Sharp has never lost the toughness that shaped him.

He just uses it differently now.

And Saturday night inside Dickies Arena, that toughness gave way to something much softer.

Sharp was crowned the 2026 PBR Stock Contractor of the Year, earning the honor for the fourth consecutive season after also winning in 2023, 2024 and 2025. The award marked another historic accomplishment for one of the premier stock contracting operations in the sport and cemented Sharp’s place among the most respected bull men in the business.

But the celebration did not end with the award.

Moments later, Sharp turned the biggest professional honor of his season into one of the biggest personal moments of his life, proposing to his longtime girlfriend, Dr. Caitlin Wenzel, in the arena as his partners, the World Finals crowd and the PBR world looked on.

She answered with an emphatic “hell yes.”

There was not a dry eye among Sharp’s partners as they cheered for the lovable Stock Contractor of the Year, a man who may be built tough like the bulls he raises but has never been afraid to show how much the people and animals around him mean to him.

In many ways, the moment showed exactly who Sharp is.

He is a gentle giant. A big teddy bear. A stock contractor with a football background, a tough exterior, a tender heart and a deep love for his bulls.

He takes harder hits now than he ever did on the football field, but he would not change it for the world.

And when asked which bull he would compare himself to, Sharp did not hesitate.

He picked Fire Zone, who finished third in the 2026 YETI World Champion Bull race.

“I’d say Fire Zone,” Sharp said. “He’s not gonna let you just pet him, but he handles great. You don’t have to worry about him getting you, but he’ll give everything he has when the chute gate opens.”

For Sharp, the comparison runs deeper than personality in the pen. It is about work ethic, trust and the kind of all-business mentality it takes to win year after year.

“I feel like that’s my personality too,” Sharp said. “I’m gonna do my best at whatever I’m doing. I guess it shows from the Stock Contractor of the Year awards. I’ll do whatever it takes to get the job done.”

Sharp knows he can come across as intimidating. But like the bulls he understands so well, there is more to him than what people see from the outside.

“People say that I’m intimidating, but I’m also a very big teddy bear too,” Sharp said. “I have a big heart, but I am no nonsense.”

In Sharp’s mind, that makes Fire Zone the perfect match.

“He’s all business,” Sharp said.

And in a way, so is Sharp.

Big-hearted, no-nonsense and built to give everything he has when it matters most.

Sharp’s fourth consecutive Stock Contractor of the Year honor did not come easily. During his acceptance speech, he made clear just how difficult the 2026 season had been and where he believes the credit belongs.

“It's the fourth time in a row,” Sharp said. “This year was probably the hardest year yet, but without God, none of this is possible to me. So I’m going to give all the praise to Him, for sure.”

From there, Sharp turned the spotlight toward the people who have helped him build one of the strongest bull programs in the sport.

“My partners, I couldn’t do it without them, UB Bucking Company, the guys Koe Wetzel, Michael Floyd, K and S Bucking Bulls, Henry Wilson,” Sharp said. “Want to thank Connor, Catfish, and Scott here for going on the road with me, all the miles. I mean, without them guys, I couldn’t do it.”

Then he looked toward Wenzel.

“Caitlin, here, Dr. Caitlin Wenzel, she works for Mississippi State University,” Sharp said. “She happens to be my girlfriend too. Couldn’t do it without her. She keeps all these bulls healthy, and I got something for her.”

Sharp dropped to one knee and asked Wenzel to marry him.

She said yes.

For Sharp, who has always credited his circle for helping make his success possible, the proposal was more than a romantic gesture. It was a public thank-you to the woman who helps care for the bulls he loves so deeply.

Wenzel, a veterinarian at Mississippi State University, plays a key role in helping Sharp keep his pen healthy. Sharp has long leaned on Mississippi State when his bulls need to be checked out, and Wenzel’s presence in both his personal life and professional operation has become part of the foundation behind his success.

Sharp also said she is often the one who feeds the bulls their treats, a detail that says plenty about the way his operation works.

These bulls are not just livestock to Sharp. They are athletes. They are personalities. They are partners in the work. They are the reason he spends so many miles on the road and so many hours thinking through every detail of their care.

Every bull in Sharp’s pen has a regimen.

Some need more feed. Some need different care. Some need more time. Some need to be managed differently depending on where they are in the season, how they are feeling and what it will take to have them ready to perform at their best.

For Sharp, care is not one-size-fits-all.

Bex Red Eye, the biggest bull Sharp has, gets 25 pounds of food and eats intuitively throughout the day. That kind of detail is part of what has helped Sharp build a reputation not just for hauling rank bulls, but for understanding them.

He knows what they need. He knows what they are capable of. He knows when they are ready.

And if they are not ready, they do not go on the truck.

That standard has been years in the making.

Sharp grew up in the stock contracting business thanks to his father, Tony Sharp, a legendary stock contractor who hauled PBR bulls from 1996 to 2008, including Hammer, one of the best bulls in PBR history.

Blake was around the sport so early and so often that he does not even remember his first interactions with bucking bulls. His childhood memories are tied to the road: riding in trucks, watching bulls unload, watching them buck, watching them load back up and then falling asleep on the drive home to the ranch.

Those early years gave Sharp an education few people can replicate.

He was not just learning how to haul bulls. He was learning how to see them. How to read them. How to recognize traits, tendencies and potential before the rest of the world saw them under the lights.

Sharp has compared it to football coaches who have spent their lives around the game. The longer someone is around it, the more they understand what to look for.

“It’s kind of the same thing with me,” Sharp said in 2024. “Growing up around it, you kind of learn certain characteristics of bulls and you see certain potential of bulls.”

Before he became a full-time stock contractor, football was the center of Sharp’s life.

He hauled bulls on the side in high school, then continued finding ways to stay connected to the business while playing college football at East Mississippi Community College and Louisiana Tech. During that time, he began buying and flipping bulls to make extra money.

“I’d buy them bulls cheap, and then I’d make them into something,” Sharp said. “I’d go home on the weekends or when I could, and I’d work with them. I had somebody back home taking care of them, and when I had time, I got to sell a few to make a little money. Once I got done playing football, I just went full time.”

That side hustle eventually became his life’s work.

But the beginning was humble.

Sharp once hauled only one bull, X22 Hammered Again, for an entire year. That was the only bull on his truck.

Now, he can haul upwards of 35 to 40 bulls to a single event.

The growth of Sharp’s operation has been dramatic, but the values behind it have stayed steady.

Good bulls. Good care. Good partners. Good people.

That combination has now led to four consecutive Stock Contractor of the Year titles, making Sharp the winner in 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026.

In 2024, when Sharp won the award for the second consecutive season, he called it a childhood dream.

“There’s no better feeling,” Sharp said. “It’s a childhood dream of mine. Growing up around it, you always want to accomplish something like this, and I feel like it’s the best accomplishment in what I do. So there’s nothing like it. My first one was – I guess it was not a shocker, but it was unexpected. The second one, I knew what we had to do to get it done. I knew we had to go the miles. I knew we had to have the right kind of bulls on the truck to make it all come together. But it worked out for the best, and I think we’re going to continue to strive for it every year.”

Two years later, Sharp is still striving.

Only now, the streak has reached four.

And in 2026, the award carried even more weight after what Sharp called the hardest year yet.

The honor also came with an increased bonus. During his acceptance speech, it was announced that the Stock Contractor of the Year bonus had been raised from $10,000 to $25,000, giving Sharp and his partners another reason to celebrate after a long season on the road.

But Sharp has never treated the award like it belongs to him alone.

He has repeatedly credited his partners for making the operation possible. He has said the best partners are not in it just for the money. They are in it because they love the bulls and love the sport.

That love shows in the bulls.

Sharp’s pen has included some of the sport’s most accomplished animal athletes, including Mike’s Motive, UTZ BesTex Smokestack and UTZ BesTex Legend, who finished No. 3 in the 2024 YETI World Champion Bull race.

Sharp has long believed Mike’s Motive could challenge the PBR record for most premier series outs. He has believed UTZ BesTex Legend had the ability to become a world champion. UTZ Smokestack had already won a world title in the PRCA.

But whether the bulls chase records, win titles or simply continue showing up rank, Sharp’s commitment remains the same.

They get the best.

That means good feed. Good hay. Good water. Good veterinary care. Good handling. Good judgment.

Sharp has spent years fine-tuning his feed program, even working with a local mill to create his own feed by testing different ingredients and combinations.

“I ended up working with that mill and just trying different ingredients and different combinations to get the very best out of the bulls,” Sharp said. “I kind of fell in love with it. I’m not a nutritionist, but I just fell in love with that part of it. I just love knowing what’s in my feed and what they’re getting out of it.”

That attention to detail is part of what separates him.

Sharp is not simply putting bulls on a truck and hoping they perform. He is studying them, adjusting for them, feeding them with purpose and building routines around what each animal needs.

He knows some bulls are bigger. Some are harder keepers. Some need more attention. Some are easygoing. Some are all business.

Some, like Bex Red Eye, need a program suited to their size and appetite.

Others, like Fire Zone, remind Sharp of himself.

Fire Zone is not the kind of bull Sharp describes as overly affectionate, but he is the kind of bull Sharp trusts. He handles well. He is dependable. He is not looking for trouble. But when the chute gate opens, he gives everything he has.

That is the part Sharp connects with most.

He knows what it means to be counted on.

He knows what it means to show up ready.

He knows what it means to be all business when the moment calls for it.

And after four consecutive Stock Contractor of the Year awards, the results speak for themselves.

In a way, Sharp is a little like the bulls he loves most.

Big. Powerful. Tough. Built for the road.

But also gentle.

The same man who can manage a truck full of elite bucking bulls can also stand in an arena, voice cracking, and tell the world how much he loves the people who help him do it.

That softer side was on full display at Dickies Arena when Sharp spoke about Wenzel, thanked her for keeping the bulls healthy and then asked her to spend her life with him.

His partners erupted. The crowd cheered. Wenzel said yes. Sharp shed tears.

It was a World Finals moment that had nothing to do with a qualified ride, a bull score or a gold buckle.

It was about love, gratitude and the people behind the rankest bulls in the sport.

For Sharp, the 2026 Stock Contractor of the Year award was another historic milestone.

For his operation, it was proof that the miles, the care, the partnerships and the work continue to pay off.

And for Sharp and Wenzel, it became the night a fourth consecutive award turned into the start of forever.