James Carroll Sharp (born October 6, 1965)[2] is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding.
[3] The record-breaking performance earned Sharp his first of two PRCA World Champion Bull Rider titles.
Sharp rode his first steer in 1974 at the age of nine in Pecos, Texas, while competing in an American Junior Rodeo Association event.
The college years in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) were also the beginnings of his professional riding career.
However, he made a limited comeback in 1995, riding in the Southwestern Livestock and Exposition Show and Rodeo in Fort Worth finishing 2nd in that event.
In 1998, he finished 48th overall in the Bud Light Cup Series and spent the majority of the year with a dislocated shoulder.
Finishing 31st in the Bud Light Cup (BLC) standings for 1999, Sharp felt his riding career was back on track.
[7] The 2000 Bud Light Cup season ended for Sharp with a 15th-place ranking, 4,013 Bud Light Cup points and earnings of $74,856 plus solid top five (2nd, 3rd and 5th) finishes in three major events and a championship at the Copenhagen Tough Co. event in Lufkin, Texas.
[citation needed] Unable to amass enough points to stay on the BFTS, he was cut from the tour following the BFTS event in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was unable to qualify for the 2004 PBR World Finals, ultimately finishing 60th in the world with just $11,896.38 won.