When Cody Cabral talks about “chasing” his pro rodeo dream it is no mere metaphor.

It is a full-on border-to-border pursuit that takes him to 20-something states each year between the Pacific Ocean and Mississippi River, wrestling to the ground steers that can weigh as much as a piano.

The life of a rodeo cowboy, he said, “means you live out of your camper and are never in one place very long. You’re always traveling.”

But that will change, however briefly, next month when he competes in the Super Bowl of the sport, the $10 million Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, Dec. 1-10, the first steer wrestler from Hawaii to do so.

Only one other cowboy from Hawaii, Myron Duarte, a bull rider from Maui who last appeared in 2004, has competed in the 80 years of the PRCA nationals, the group said.

For Cabral, a 27-year-old former Waiakea High basketball player, the nationals are an affirmation of the belief that he could compete at the highest level in the grueling sport as well as the fulfillment of a childhood dream.

Cabral’s parents operate the Panaewa Stampede Rodeo on Hawaii island “and I grew up around horses,” he said. He competed in national rodeos as a high school and college student but, after graduation, settled into a stable, well-paying job in Washington state as a welder while occasionally competing in nearby rodeos.

Between wrestling steers that weigh 450-650 pounds to the ground in a matter of seconds, the 6-foot, 5-inch, 215-pound Cabral also grappled with his heart for months.

After a while on the job, Cabral said, “I just thought, ‘I don’t want to wake up 10-15 years down the road and wish I had chased my dream. So, I quit my job, packed up everything I owned in my truck and trailer and took off.”

He said, “My mom wasn’t too excited to hear that. But I figured I could get a job and settle down someplace later on.”

Cabral, who says, “My mail goes to Oregon, but I don’t really live anywhere,” traveled on regional circuits competing in as many as 70 rodeos a year, sometimes several in a weekend. In 2012 he became a rookie on the PRCA tour, steadily working his way up the standings, camper and horse trailer in tow.

For all the injuries and doubts as he lived paycheck to paycheck, Cabral said. “This is what i wanted to do and I kept my focus. It helped having my family and so many people behind me. People think it (steer wrestling) is all strength. But the mental part is big, too. It took me a few years to get that all figured out.”

Last year he was poised to make a breakthrough and qualify for the nationals (the top 15 in each event make the cut), ranking 10th until he severely tore a pectoral muscle that ended up sidelining him for four months.

This year strong showings in Redding, Calif., and Tucson, Ariz., helped propel him up past $56,000 on the earnings list and into a berth in the nationals.

“This is obviously something I’ve been working for quite some time now,” Cabral said, “but it also makes me proud to be able to represent Hawaii. I really hope that other kids in Hawaii who are involved in rodeo will see that this is something they can pursue, too.”

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Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.