Spud Jones' name won't be uttered in the same sentence as Trevor Brazile yet.

He doesn't have the rodeo résumé of Billy Etbauer.

But the 20-year-old from Tohatchi, N.M., is working on it.

Jones wasn't lathered with the kind of praise reserved for Brazile (a six-time and reigning All-Around World champion) or Etbauer (a five-time world saddle-bronc riding champion) for the second day of the 60th annual Rodeo de Santa Fe on Thursday. Those two cowboys' biographies could take up a page in a media guide.

Jones, though, does have a couple of special notes to his profile: He is the first Navajo bull rider to perform in his profession's biggest event, the National Finals Rodeo.

And he's learned to surf.

Surf took a backseat to turf when he got on top of his bull, Milk Man, for his attempt in the bull-riding event at the Santa Fe Rodeo Grounds. Unfortunately, the bull got the better of Jones as he was bucked off his ride just before reaching the 8-second count.

Jones brushed off the ride just like he did a broken leg he suffered while in high school (he waited three months before cutting off the cast so he could ride).

"That was a tough bull," Jones said with a laugh.

It's how Jones, the 2007 International Indian Finals Rodeo champion, has handled pro rodeo life, something he has experienced for the past three years. It only took him until Year 2 to break away from the bull-riding masses and become an NFR finalist, where he finished seventh overall.

The distinction of being the first Navajo to compete in the event didn't even dawn on Jones.

His focus had been on the 70 or so events it took to get him to the biggest stage of his career and the thousands of miles on the road he logged by himself.

"I don't know about that," Jones said. "I just go with the flow right now. I does feel pretty good."

That attitude led him to pick up surfing when visiting family in California last summer.

"It was just one of those things where I was with my aunt and uncle out there, and they gave me a surfboard." Jones said. "It's a lot different than bull riding. It was the first time I was even out on the ocean."

But such are the advantages of being on the road. Of course, there is the grinding pace of traveling from one rodeo to another, but his dad, J.W. Jones, believes the advantages of youth helped his son endure it.

This year, it has been eased by the presence of a fellow Navajo — Craig Begay from Rough Rock, Ariz. It also lessened the frequency of phone calls father and son have had this year.

"I was little bit worried," J.W. Jones said. "I was on the phone to him a lot. With Craig there, I don't have to worry about it as much. The heat's tough this time of year, but there guys are young. They don't know any better."

Spud Jones does recognize he has become something more than just a pro cowboy to the Navajo tribe and the people in and around Tohatchi. He already has grown accustomed to the praise and adulation of his accomplishments.

"They are really proud of it," Jones said. "It was really, really exciting, having people ask me for autographs. It was just great."

Perhaps this is just the start of his popularity.