She’s an Army captain, rancher and bull rider — and she needs side hustles to afford the sport she loves

There’s multitasking, and there’s Alexia Huffman. When she’s not juggling a career in the Army, teaching Zumba or managing a ranch, the 27-year-old Texan can be found on the back of a bull. Huffman, who appears in the Hulu docuseries Not Her First Rodeo, is one of only a handful of women competing in professional bull riding. It’s an honor and a challenge that she doesn’t take lightly.

“Growing up, I would watch professional bull riding on TV or the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association,” Huffman tells me during a conversation for Yahoo’s OT Diaries. “I was in love with the bull riding event, but I never saw a female out there, I never saw a woman competing.” Along with four other female riders featured in the Hulu series, she hopes to be the representation that younger girls who might be watching need to see. “We can prove that females can do it.”

Huffman herself grew up riding, but she took a 10-year break to go to college and serve in the military. She fell back in love with the sport a few years ago and uses her side hustles to fund her life on the rodeo circuit.

“I regret quitting because I love it. But I feel like my time away from the sport really showed me that this is where I belong,” she says. “It may seem like a lot, but if you’re doing what you love, it’s never enough.”

Here’s what she does to make sure there are enough hours in the day, and enough money in the bank, to get it all done.

You have a lot going on. How much of your time is dedicated to your bull riding career?

The life of a bull rider is very go, go, go. The rodeo season starts anywhere from late January, early February and goes all the way through December, so it’s all year round. When it comes to training and staying prepared, staying healthy, you have to be ready to ride every day.

What does that training look like?

It’s really important for me to feel very light, so I do a lot of cardio. My goal is to run at least five miles every day. Sometimes that doesn’t happen, but the goal is for me to do cardio every day.

I teach Zumba twice a week, so there are a couple of hours of cardio there, which helps me stay agile as well.

During the week, it’s a lot of drills on the barrel, which is just a 55-gallon empty drum. My husband put carpet on it, so it mimics the cowhide. Every day, I’m doing simple drills and holding that form of what I want it to look like on the bull, so that the body gains that muscle memory. If your body knows what kind of form you want to do on the barrel, then it’s going to know how to perform in the rodeo arena. By the time Friday, Saturday and Sunday come, I’m out there in my front yard getting on actual bulls.

That’s not something a lot of people can say. How many bulls do you have at home?

I think I have 15 bulls. Just to name a few: King Julian, Scuba Steve, Ruben, Homelander and Butcher. Most of them are raised for beef, and then the other ones are raised for [rodeo events]. If they’re not bucking stock, they’re beef that we sell to local buyers. We also save some for ourselves.

Another source of income! You have quite a few of those.

The sport is very expensive. Any rodeo event is very expensive — flights, hotel rooms, rental cars and rodeo entry fees. You have to buy your own gear, purchase vests and boots and spurs and all that. So it gets very, very expensive. That’s why, for most riders, it is very important to win because those winnings pay you back for all your traveling fees and all the fees that you have to pay to buy your gear.

For me, it’s more of a loss when it comes to money, rather than gaining it all back. For female bull riders, there aren’t a lot of associations that have extra winnings for first place and for second place, so we just do it because we love it, because it’s a very addictive feeling.

Mainly, what keeps my addiction going is the fact that I teach Zumba twice a week and I’m in the U.S. Army [working as a human resources officer]. The paychecks that I get from my job help me with my bull riding career.

Why did you join the Army?

I started riding sheep and calves and bulls when I was younger in middle school and high school. Then I quit riding and rodeos and went to school at the University of Wyoming, where I joined the Army ROTC program. I really didn’t want to join the Army; I didn’t want to join the military at all. I just liked the structure, and I liked the classes. You also had to work out three times a week, so I really liked waking up at 5 in the morning and working out with other very like-minded, disciplined people.

Eventually the program offered me a scholarship. The U.S. Army would pay for three years of my college, and in turn, I would owe four years being an officer in the Army. At the time, I wasn’t riding; I wasn’t really even going to rodeos to spectate at all. I had just kind of taken a break from the western rodeo lifestyle. But in 2022, I found a local practice pen when I was living in Alabama, and I went for it and I started riding again.

And now you’re riding, teaching Zumba, running your own ranch and still in the Army.

It gets exhausting. But if you’re doing what you love, then it doesn’t really feel like work. I love going to the gym, I love teaching Zumba, and I love helping people work out and get in shape. When it comes to bull riding, I absolutely love the sport. I’m never going to quit again. I want to help motivate other girls to want to get into the sport as well. … The Army has given me a lot, and it has helped me financially become extremely independent. Not a lot of bull riders can say that when they go practice, they go to their own practice pen and [ride] their own bulls. So it took a long time to get here.

What’s the most difficult part of riding bulls?

I have to stay focused, even when I’m tired. … If you are not in it, you are 100% going to get hurt, and that time when you get hurt could be the last time you’re getting on. I don’t want that.

That same concept rings true in the Army. You can be training or you can be out in combat, but you need to be focused and you need to make sure that your life is safe and your fellow soldiers’ lives are safe.

Do you ever have a day off from all of your jobs?

Those days seem pretty rare, only because now it’s the summer and there are a lot of rodeos on the weekends. We invite a lot of people to come over to the house and practice. But when I do find time to relax, I utilize that time. … My husband and I will usually sit out with the goats and the cows to relax.

That sounds amazing. Let’s get into some rapid-fire questions …

Who is your No. 1 call when you have good news?

My husband.

What is your comfort watch?

I’ve been into the show The Boys with the superheroes.

What is your guilty pleasure?

I love to eat cookies.

Biggest fear?

Any time I get on a bull, that could be my last ride. Every time, it’s overcoming that same fear.

What gives you the ick?

I don’t like when people grind their teeth. That’s annoying.

What is something that you eat or drink every day?

I am an energy drink fiend. I love to drink energy drinks every day.

What is your internet rabbit hole?

Going on Facebook or auction sites to buy more bulls. I can’t stop. I’m just always looking to buy some to ride or to put in the rodeos.

What is one go-to item that never leaves your bag?

Gum. I just need to be chewing something.

What song or album is your personal soundtrack right now?

I’m a big Peso Pluma fan. I named one of my goats Peso Pluma.

What is a wellness trend that you swear by?

Yoga is very important. I like to do that in the sauna.

What is a skill or hobby that you’re trying to get good at?

I want to get better at my Spanish and reading. I need to get good at relaxing.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.