All in the Family
08/27/2025 02:55PM ● By Sophie Dingle
Annie Mortensen may like her heels high, but no one knows a rodeo like she does. It’s all in the family: Her father is rodeo legend JC Trujillo, and he rtwo oldest sons are professional bull riders.
Growing up in Steamboat Springs, on an idyllic ranch at the base of Dunckley Pass, Annie knew that her father was something special. “Everybody kind of knew who my dad was because he was one of the founders of the Cowboy Downhill,” she explains.
He was also a world champion. JC began his rodeo career at age six in his hometown of Prescott, Arizona. He competed in college and continued on to a professional career that spanned more than a decade. In 1981, he won the World Championship in bareback riding. The year that the Calgary Stampede offered $50,000 to the winner; JC won it. He used that money to buy the ranch in Steamboat, where he and his wife, Margo, raised Annie and her sister.
When it came time for college, Annie was offered a rodeos cholarship at College of Southern Idaho. She accepted the scholarship but left school after a year when she met her (now ex) husband, who was also a bull rider.
Together, they built a family and a business. Rocky Mountain Bull Bash Productions was a rodeo production company that the couple ran for 15 years. When they divorced, Annie took over the bull riding event, Riding in the Rockies, that takes place every Labor Day weekend in Steamboat.
“When we got a divorce, I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to stay in rodeo,” she says. She had been married for nearly 20 years and post-divorce, her world was upside down. But after a weekend in Steamboat with some of the best ticket sales to date – and Annie doing it on her own – she knew that she needed to stay in the industry.
“I realized that I really knew what I was doing,” she says.
So she started her own rodeo production/consulting company, AM Sports Productions. Through the company, rodeos hire her to manage everything from sponsors, marketing, the safety of the arena and hiring personnel. “When I started the company, I didn’t want to be with the rodeos forever,” she says. "I wanted to give them the tools they needed to set them up for success and then move on.”
The first rodeo that she helped was in the small Californiat own of Springville. Organizers wanted help pushing their Sunday show, increasing ticket sales and gaining new sponsors. Annie signed a three-year contract. By the time she left, earlier this year, the Springville rodeo had the highest ticket sales and the most sponsors it ever had.
Since she started the company, Annie has helped multiple rodeos and was recently named general manager of the San Juan Stampede Pro Rodeo in Utah.
“When you think about rodeo, you probably think about a cowboy,” she points out. “I’m more of a high heel kind of girl, so when I go into a meeting and the committee sees me, they’re like 'wait a second, she’s going to be running our rodeo?’"
But Annie’s knowledge of the Western industry and rodeo is just as extensive as a cowboy’s. “It’s being confident enough to know that I know the ins and outs of rodeo,” she explains. “And then earning their trust and confidence in me.”
That’s something she can do, even in high heels. In late August, the Riding in the Rockies event returns to Steamboat under Annie’s watch for the 19th year. AM Sports Productions brings about 30 bull riders to town – including Annie’s two oldest sons – for the event. “There’s a lot of cool things about this event, but for me, the best part is that most of the sponsors are kids that I grew up with and graduated with,” Annie says. “The fact that they always show up to support my event makes me so happy.”
Annie's son, Jaxton Mortensen, rides during the Riding in the Rockies event. Courtesy of Dirt Circus Media.And of course, she always loves returning to Steamboat. “I always tell people, ‘If you haven’t been to Steamboat, it’s definitely a place you should go,’” Annie says. “Once you drop into that valley, you don’t want to leave. It’s why my dad loves Steamboat so much and why we all do."
Growing up in Steamboat Springs, on an idyllic ranch at the base of Dunckley Pass, Annie knew that her father was something special. “Everybody kind of knew who my dad was because he was one of the founders of the Cowboy Downhill,” she explains.
He was also a world champion. JC began his rodeo career at age six in his hometown of Prescott, Arizona. He competed in college and continued on to a professional career that spanned more than a decade. In 1981, he won the World Championship in bareback riding. The year that the Calgary Stampede offered $50,000 to the winner; JC won it. He used that money to buy the ranch in Steamboat, where he and his wife, Margo, raised Annie and her sister.
Annie with her father, JC Trujillo, on the family's ranch at the base of Dunckley Pass.
JC built an arena on the ranch to ensure that his girls would grow up riding horses, running barrels and learning how to rope. “We were always on horseback in the summertime,” Annie says.When it came time for college, Annie was offered a rodeos cholarship at College of Southern Idaho. She accepted the scholarship but left school after a year when she met her (now ex) husband, who was also a bull rider.
Together, they built a family and a business. Rocky Mountain Bull Bash Productions was a rodeo production company that the couple ran for 15 years. When they divorced, Annie took over the bull riding event, Riding in the Rockies, that takes place every Labor Day weekend in Steamboat.
“When we got a divorce, I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to stay in rodeo,” she says. She had been married for nearly 20 years and post-divorce, her world was upside down. But after a weekend in Steamboat with some of the best ticket sales to date – and Annie doing it on her own – she knew that she needed to stay in the industry.
“I realized that I really knew what I was doing,” she says.
So she started her own rodeo production/consulting company, AM Sports Productions. Through the company, rodeos hire her to manage everything from sponsors, marketing, the safety of the arena and hiring personnel. “When I started the company, I didn’t want to be with the rodeos forever,” she says. "I wanted to give them the tools they needed to set them up for success and then move on.”
The first rodeo that she helped was in the small Californiat own of Springville. Organizers wanted help pushing their Sunday show, increasing ticket sales and gaining new sponsors. Annie signed a three-year contract. By the time she left, earlier this year, the Springville rodeo had the highest ticket sales and the most sponsors it ever had.
Since she started the company, Annie has helped multiple rodeos and was recently named general manager of the San Juan Stampede Pro Rodeo in Utah.
“When you think about rodeo, you probably think about a cowboy,” she points out. “I’m more of a high heel kind of girl, so when I go into a meeting and the committee sees me, they’re like 'wait a second, she’s going to be running our rodeo?’"
But Annie’s knowledge of the Western industry and rodeo is just as extensive as a cowboy’s. “It’s being confident enough to know that I know the ins and outs of rodeo,” she explains. “And then earning their trust and confidence in me.”
That’s something she can do, even in high heels. In late August, the Riding in the Rockies event returns to Steamboat under Annie’s watch for the 19th year. AM Sports Productions brings about 30 bull riders to town – including Annie’s two oldest sons – for the event. “There’s a lot of cool things about this event, but for me, the best part is that most of the sponsors are kids that I grew up with and graduated with,” Annie says. “The fact that they always show up to support my event makes me so happy.”
Annie's son, Jaxton Mortensen, rides during the Riding in the Rockies event. Courtesy of Dirt Circus Media.