It's a close race this year for PBR's Rookie of the Year, and ESPN.com caught up with the top two contenders to talk about it.

Pistol Robinson is a 24-year-old rookie who rodeoed in college and started out in the Professional Rodeo Cowboy's Association (PRCA), participaing in both Saddle Bronc and Bull Riding competitions, before making his way over to the Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR). Once he made the decision to ride bulls on the PBR, he said he felt right at home.

"The PBR, you know, it's like let's rock and roll, let's get it on, and let's ride some rank bulls. It just clicks with me."

Reese Cates is 19 and came to the PBR almost straight out of high school. And there was never a question in his mind about what he would do once he graduated.

"The whole time I was in high school I was waiting on Friday to get out and go bull riding instead of paying attention in my classes. I still wake up every morning and all I think about all day long is riding bulls."

Despite the five year age difference and the longer road to the PBR taken by Robinson, the two young men have much in common.

Both came to rodeo at a young age, driven by the examples and guidance of the men in their immediate families. And it quickly becomes clear, when talking to both Cates and Robinson that the men of both families have a long tradition of rodeoing.

"I got into bull riding because my grandfather rode bulls and my dad rode bulls," said Cates. "I grew up around it, and I started riding calves and steers at a pretty young age."

Robinson also traces his rodeo roots to a time when his memory was not yet fully developed. The memory of his first time on the back of a bull at age two must surely have been augmented by those family stories that are told and retold until they become part of the fabric of one's being.

"When I was born," Robinson paused. "Well, I pretty much grew up with a cowboy hat on my head. My dad, he put me on a bull at my great-grandparents' house when I was about two years old."

The two are obviously talented bull riders, ranked first and second in the PBR 2008 Daisy Rookie of the Year standings, with Robinson enjoying a $6,000 lead over Cates. And, according to some, besides a family history of rodeo, they have more marked similarities. "Yeah, they're a lot alike. The way they ride — they've got a similar style," said Justin McKee, the "Voice of the PBR" for televised events. "They even look alike."

McKee had a laundry list of similarities between the two and reasons why both are likeable. Their riding style is similar, he said, they both have good attitudes, they're both confident and they're both tough. But it's more than that, McKee said.

"I'll tell you what, the thing I like about both of them is they're just so well-spoken," he said.

"They have a real ability to connect with people and to convert their thoughts into words, which is hard for a lot of athletes to do, especially bull riders. They ride good, they look good, they sound good when they talk, and I think both of them are very similar."

In addition to all of the glowing adjectives that Robinson and Cates have coming their way, they also have a National Finals looming. There are several more PBR events upcoming before the finals, but with Robinson in 23rd place overall and Cates in 26th, they are well within the top 45 riders who are allowed to compete there. Both feel confident that they will make the finals, but neither will make a prediction for the final outcome of the Rookie of the Year race.

"There's so many great bull riders that are rookies this year, I can't even count," said Cates. "It's going to come down to the finals because the finals pay $20,000 a round, so if one of the rookies rides and wins a round that's a big step up in the standings."

McKee agreed. When asked if he could pick one over the other as more talented, he said, "I wouldn't be able to do that. Any other year I could. It will come down to the finals, I'm sure."

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