Michael Gaffney helped build the sport long before he ever coached from behind the chutes. The New Mexico native was one of the original 20 cowboys who put up $1,000 apiece in 1992 on the belief that bull riders deserved something better. At the time, Gaffney was barely making ends meet despite being one of the best riders in the world, and he has said he walked into that Scottsdale, Arizona, motel meeting with virtually nothing in the bank and plenty riding on the idea that would become PBR.

Five years later, he was a World Champion.

Gaffney captured the 1997 PBR World Championship after going a perfect 5-for-5 at the World Finals, doing it while still dealing with an unstable left shoulder that had plagued him for years. His career would eventually include five PBR World Finals appearances, 13 90-point rides and one of the most memorable performances in the sport’s history. In 2004, Gaffney rode legendary bull Little Yellow Jacket twice, first for 93.75 points and later for 96.5 points — a score that stood tied as the highest-marked ride in PBR history for 17 years.

His résumé stretched beyond PBR as well. Gaffney twice won the average at the National Finals Rodeo, in 1990 and 1991, before helping launch the organization that would eventually reshape professional bull riding. The difference between those early days and what followed was enormous. When Gaffney won his World Championship in 1997, the season consisted of just 18 events, and he earned $243,251 during the title campaign.

Gaffney retired following the 2004 season and was inducted into the PBR Ring of Honor in 2005. But leaving competition never meant leaving the sport. He transitioned into television, bringing the same experience and understanding that made him a champion into the broadcast booth before eventually becoming a coach and mentor.

That perspective carries extra weight because Gaffney remembers what bull riding looked like before PBR existed. He competed when riders could finish among the best in the world and still struggle financially, when endorsement deals might mean gear instead of money and when simply getting down the road to the next event could erase most of a cowboy’s winnings. He was not just there for PBR’s growth — he helped gamble on its existence.

Now, as the head coach of the Austin Gamblers, Gaffney gets to pour that experience into another generation. His riders benefit from someone who understands nearly every side of the sport: what it takes to win a World Championship, what it feels like to ride through injuries, what it means to compete against legendary bulls and what it took for professional bull riders to create better opportunities for themselves in the first place.

Few coaches can tell their athletes they helped build the organization they are competing in.

Gaffney can.

From writing a $1,000 check he could hardly afford to becoming a PBR World Champion, Ring of Honor inductee, broadcaster and coach, Gaffney’s career has followed the same sport from its uncertain beginnings to the global stage it occupies today.