Meet Potlicker: a 1,700-pound rodeo star defying riders across B.C.

At his ranch in Black Pines, just outside Kamloops, B.C., Ed LeBourdais knows how to get his bulls' attention.

Grabbing a five-gallon bucket, he gives it a few firm thumps to summon his herd.

"They all come once you beat the bucket," he told CBC's Daybreak Kamloops host Shelly Joyce. "The older guys will definitely come first. The younger ones, they'll follow when we start [scattering grain]."

Among the towering figures lured by the rhythmic thuds is Potlicker, a 1,700-pound bull who has made a name for himself in B.C.'s competitive rodeo world.

Last week, four-year-old Potlicker was crowned the B.C. Rodeo Association's 2024 Bull of the Year — a title voted on by professional bull riders, and considered one of the sport's highest provincial honours.

For LeBourdais, the award is a testament to his decades-long commitment to breeding top-tier rodeo bulls.

"It's an athletic award for these bulls," he said proudly. "You don't train them to buck, it's bred into them."

LeBourdais, a former professional bull rider with 21 years in the arena, said he understands both the physical and emotional demands of the sport.

"My body knows I rode bulls," he said, pointing to old injuries.

Now, his focus is on raising the next generation of champions.

He started S&E Bucking Bulls in 1981 with his childhood friend Schaan Perry. 

The former bull rider said each animal at the Black Pines ranch is given care, attention and a name that reflects its unique personality.

LeBourdais said Potlicker's name came about organically.

"When he was a calf, my wife, Alina, used to feed him grain in an old pot. He'd lick it clean every time."