Rodeo Life

Author: Ruth Nicolaus

  • LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON(S)

    LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON(S)

    Nebraska high school rodeo cowboys work in the arena alongside their dad

    Hazard, Neb.  (June 8, 2021) – It’s a family affair when the Heikels work a rodeo.

    Lance, and he and wife Marti’s sons Cinch and Riggin, work as pickup men at high school rodeos across the state.

    A pickup man’s duties are to help the rider safely dismount from a bucking horse, as he takes off the bucking horse’s back cinch and flank strap and maneuvers his own horse close to the action.

    It’s not a job for the faint of heart, and it helps if the pickup man is a good horseman.

    Lance started picking up in 1992, working for regional rodeo associations and for PRCA stock contractors.

    Older son Cinch, who is eighteen, started with his dad at Nebraska State High School Rodeo Association rodeos five years ago, and Riggin, who is fifteen, started this year.

    It’s more than what goes on in the arena, however. Pickup men often help feed and sort cattle, and if the boys choose to stay out with friends till late, Lance still makes them get up and get to work. He tells them, “you’re hired to do a job. There isn’t any sleeping in.”

    The boys are no strangers to hard work. While their dad works at the Kearney sale barn, they take care of the family’s cattle herd.

    Being a pickup man requires the ability to be a good horseman and read livestock, Lance said. “You have to have livestock savvy,” he said, “and be able to read animals. And you have to ride a good horse.”

    The Heikel have good partners, as Lance calls their horses. They make most of their own, and use them for more than just picking up at rodeos. They ranch and compete on them, both in high school rodeo and at ranch rodeos. “We have a theory at our place,” he said. “They have to do all the above or we don’t keep them.”

    Being on good horses makes picking up easier. “You have to ride a good horse. If you have a good one underneath you, it makes it ten times easier.”

    Cinch is a 2021 graduate of Pleasanton High School; Riggin will be a sophomore at Pleasanton High this fall. Both boys compete in the Nebraska State High School Rodeo Association, in the tie-down roping and the team roping. Last year, Cinch finished as reserve state champ header and qualified for the National High School Finals Rodeo in the team roping, heading for Hunter Heath.

    Cinch has some rodeos lined out for this summer, to pick up. Then, this fall, he’ll attend horseshoeing school, and be back to work, shoeing horses, working for local ranchers, and picking up. Riggin will be in the high school rodeo arenas, alongside his dad, picking up.

    Being a pickup man provides a front seat to the action in the arena, Lance said.

    “If your (equine) partner is good, the horses are bucking and the cowboys are riding, there’s no better feeling in the world.

    “Picking up is really just about being a cowboy.”

    Riggin, who heels for Everett Blackburn, will compete at the Nebraska State High School Finals Rodeo in Hastings June 17-19. The rodeo takes place at the Adams County Fairgrounds (947 S. Baltimore Street). The first round is on June 17 at 10 am and 6 pm; the second round is June 18 at 11 am and 6 pm. The finals are at 1 pm on June 19.

    For more information, visit AdamsCountyFairgrounds.com or hsrodeo-nebraska.com, or call 402.462.3247.

  • Sweet Deal

    Sweet Deal

    Pop Can Commemorates Abilene Rodeo’s 75th Anniversary

     

    Abilene, Kan. (June 3, 2021) – To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Wild Bill Hickok Rodeo in Abilene, Kan., the rodeo’s logo will be placed on Pepsi cans in the central Kansas area.

    Mahaska Bottling Co. will distribute 60,000 Pepsi cans, with the rodeo’s logo on the back, at area grocery and convenience stores.

    The cans will be sold in twenty-four and twelve-packs and will hit the shelves in the next few weeks, said Larry Brake, rodeo committee man and coordinator of the project.

    The cans will be distributed in the general area of Salina, to Concordia, to Manhattan, Kansas.

    The same project was done for the rodeo’s 50th anniversary in 1995.

    The 75th Wild Bill Hickok Rodeo will take place August 4-7 in Abilene, Kansas at the Central Kansas Free Fair. Performances start at 7:30 pm each night. Tickets are $13 for adults and $5 for kids ages 6-12. They can be purchased at various locations around Abilene and the area, online at

    www.ckff.net, and at the gate.

    For more information, visit the website at WildBillHickokRodeo.com or call 785.263.4570.

  • Trading a Cowboy Hat for a Mortarboard

    Trading a Cowboy Hat for a Mortarboard

    Several Nebraska high school rodeo athletes finish as valedictorians, salutatorians of their classes

    Hastings, Neb.  (May 31, 2021) – In the last few weeks, the seniors among the Nebraska State High School Rodeo athletes exchanged cowboy hats for mortarboard hats, and several of them graduated at the top of their classes.

    Dalton Kunkee, Callaway; Brooke McCully, Mullen; Rylee Naprstek, Gothenburg; Dean Schroder, Taylor; Jessica Stevens, Creighton; Faith Storer, Arthur; and Kaci Wickersham, Verdigre, all graduated as either valedictorians or salutatorians.

    Kunkee finished as valedictorian of Callaway High School. Throughout his high school career, he was involved in FFA, (two years as president), One Acts (three years with the lead role), speech, National Honor Society, football and wrestling.

    He will attend McCook Community College with full tuition paid, thanks to an academic scholarship.

    In high school rodeo, he competes in the team roping and steer wrestling and is scheduled to make his fourth trip to the Nebraska State High School Finals Rodeo again this year, as he’s ranked in the top ten in both of his events. He is a 2021 recipient of the Broc Cresta Memorial Scholarship.

    He is the son of Dean and Angie Kunkee.

     

    Brooke McCully graduated as valedictorian of Mullen High School.

    Brooke McCully graduated as valedictorian of Mullen High School

    During high school, the cowgirl was a four-year letter winner in volleyball and basketball and a three-year letter winner in track (losing a year, due to the pandemic). She was a member of the National Honor Society.

    She competes in the breakaway roping, pole bending, barrel racing and team roping and, as a sophomore, qualified for the National High School Finals Rodeo in the breakaway. She’s currently ranked in the top ten in the barrels and the poles and is poised to qualify for her fourth state high school finals rodeo.

    This fall, her rodeo career will be on hold as she plays basketball for Chadron State College. She will major in business accounting and has chosen to put rodeo on the back burner till college is over. She joins her older sister, Brittni, on the basketball team.

    She is the daughter of Brad and Traci McCully.

     

    Rylee Naprstek, Gothenburg, graduated as valedictorian of Gothenburg High School with a 4.0 GPA.

    Rylee Naprstek, Gothenburg, graduated as valedictorian of Gothenburg High School with a 4.0 GPA.

    In high school, she was involved in the Interact Club, student council, the school musical, the speech team, one acts, basketball for two years, FFA, Sigma Phi Beta, pep club, and National Honor Society.

    This fall, she will attend Chadron State College on a Gold Presidential Scholarship, which will cover her entire tuition. Naprstek plans on studying elementary education.

    A breakaway roper, team roper and goat tyer, she has qualified for the state high school finals rodeo all three years and is headed to her fourth qualification this June in Hastings.

    She is the daughter of Chad and Renee Naprstek.

     

    Dean Schroder, the son of John and Belinda Schroder, finished his high school career as valedictorian at Loup County High School with a 4.0 GPA.

    The Taylor, Nebraska cowboy played football for four years and wrestled for three. He was involved in student council, FFA, and the National Honor Society.

    In high school rodeo, he was a saddle bronc rider and a team roper and qualified for the state finals all three years. He’s on track to be in Hastings June 17-19 for this year’s finals as well.

    He has earned a President’s Scholarship to Chadron State College, where he will rodeo collegiately and work towards a rangeland management degree.

     

    Creighton Community High School’s Jessica Stevens finished as salutatorian of her class, with a 4.2 GPA.

    Jessica Stevens

    The Creighton, Neb. cowgirl was involved in FFA, FCCLA, HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America), Teammates, speech, and participated in cross country, basketball and track.

    Through all four years of high school, Stevens placed in the HOSA statewide contests and this year, will compete at the international contest.

    In rodeo, she competes in the breakaway, team roping and goat tying and finished the 2019-2020 rodeo season as reserve champion at the national level in the goat tying. She is set to qualify for her fourth state finals next month, and is currently ranked first in the goat tying in the state.

    Stevens has received full tuition through academic and rodeo scholarships to attend Dawson Community College in Glendive, Montana, where she will work towards two degrees: animal science and business, and farm and ranch management.

    She is the daughter of Gene Stevens and Heather and Travis Stacken.

     

    Faith Storer, Arthur, completed her high school career as salutatorian of the Arthur County High School Class of 2021, with a GPA of 4.049.

    In high school, she was student body president of the Nebraska State High School Rodeo Association, was captain of the basketball and volleyball teams, and was involved in FFA and National Honor Society. She also participated in track.

    She earned early acceptance to the Bryan College of Health nursing program, which guarantees her, after two successful years of college at Bryan, acceptance into the nursing program at Bryan, which is located in Lincoln.

    The cowgirl competes in the breakaway roping, team roping and girls cutting and has competed at the National High School Finals Rodeo two years. She’s on track for her fourth state finals this year, currently sitting first in the girls cutting standings.

    She is the daughter of Jared and Angie Storer.

     

    Kaci Wickersham, Verdigre, Neb., is co-valedictorian of Summerland High School at Orchard, with a 4.0 GPA.

    The cowgirl, who competes in the breakaway roping and goat tying, was in cross country, track, band, choir, journalism, FFA and National Honor Society. She qualified for the state high school finals rodeo twice and is on track to be there again this June.

    She will attend Chadron State College with full tuition paid, and will study agribusiness.

    She is the daughter of Darin and Kerry Wickersham.

    The Nebraska State High School Finals Rodeo will take place in Hastings at the Adams Co. Fairgrounds June 17-19. The top thirty high school contestants in each event (the top sixty in the team roping) qualify; after state finals determines the winners, the top four in each event go on to the National High School Finals Rodeo, this year held in Lincoln July 18-24.

    The state finals performances are June 17 at 10 am and 6 pm; June 18 at 11 am and 6 pm, and the finals on June 19 at 1 pm.

    For more information, visit AdamsCountyFairgrounds.com or hsrodeo-nebraska.com, or call 402.462.3247.

  • Featured Athlete: Jersey Thompson

    Featured Athlete: Jersey Thompson

    It was a trail ride that inspired Jersey Thompson to run barrels.
    The Westminster, Colo., cowgirl, who is twelve years old, was under the tutelage of her trainer, Marie Stephenson, a barrel racer, when Marie suggested the girl try barrels.
    So she did, and at the age of five, began her career. She is the first in her family to rodeo.
    Now, seven years later, she’s a member of the Mile Hi Barrel Horse Association, True West Productions, Dinero Dash Barrel Racing, BetterBarrelRaces, the Northwest Barrel Racing Association and the KK Run for Vegas. She has qualified for the Jr. American as well.
    A member of the 5 Star Equine team, their products enhance her competition and keep her horses safe.
    Jersey loves the saddle pads. “I really like how they absorb the sweat,” she said. “It lets the sweat dry in all the right places. And if you take care of them, they’ll last a really long time.” The pads don’t shift on the horses, and “they keep my horses from getting sore.”
    She loves the colors, too, and “how you can customize them, and the cool prints and patterns.” She owns a black saddle pad with a turquoise scroll on the leather, a black pad with pink and black crocodile leather, and a third pad that is purple with turquoise leather.
    Jersey also loves the 5 Star Equine boots. One reason she uses them is they do a good job of keeping out rocks. They also give her horses joint and leg support while they’re running. And, like the saddle pads, “you can customize the colors.” Her horses’ boots match their saddle pad colors.
    The cowgirl has two horses, a paint and a palomino. The paint, named Priscilla, is ten years old. She’s been riding Priscilla for the last five years. The palomino, Magic, is seven. Priscilla is the boss horse, she said. “She’s pretty bossy and sassy but she does her job well.” Magic also likes her job, but she’s quieter and more gentle.
    A sixth grade student at Moore Middle School in Westminster, Jersey is doing school remotely. She loves the subject of history and studying World War II, and science, due to a teacher she admires, who makes it enjoyable.
    She also loves to draw, using any kind of medium. Her favorite subjects are people and horses, and her artwork is displayed across the Thompson home and in her mom’s office. Her mom has been bugging her for more artwork, to decorate her work space.
    Skateboarding is another of her leisure activities.
    The best trip Jersey has taken was to San Diego, Calif., three years ago. The family went to the beach, to the San Diego Zoo, Sea World, and whale watching, where they spotted a dolphin and sea turtles.
    The best meal her mom makes, in her opinion, is Texas hash, and the cowgirl is crazy for ice cream: brownie batter, mint chocolate chip, cookies and cream, and cookie dough types.
    The family has two pet dogs, Teddy and Harley, who are Rottweilers, four cats, and a bunny.
    Jersey has qualified for the Legends Shootout (the finals for the Mile Hi), and has competed at the 2020 Junior World Finals and the Jr. American. She won second in the 1D Dream Catcher slot race finals for the 2020 Mile Hi season.
    When she grows up, she would like to be a professional barrel racer.
    She is the daughter of Marc and Angela Thompson.

  • ProFile: Chuck Kinney

    ProFile: Chuck Kinney

    Chuck Kinney appreciates the Rodeo Clown Reunions, and plans on seeing his old friends at the 2021 event, to be held at Colorado Springs August 5-8, and the Douglas County Fair and Rodeo in Castle Rock, Colorado as well as the ProRodeo Hall of Fame & Museum of the American Cowboy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
    Kinney is one of those “old-timers” whose body might show its age, but whose mind is bright, alive and fresh.
    The retired rodeo clown grew up the son of Cotton Kinney, who owned Kinney Bros. Rodeo Co., alongside Cotton’s brother, Edward Lee Kinney. He traveled with his family across the nation as the family produced rodeos from coast to coast.
    In 1969, when Kinney was twelve, Cotton and Edward Lee sold the business, ending their pro rodeo days but keeping enough stock to provide for youth events.
    And Chuck resolved to take the Kinney name back to the National Finals Rodeo, in one way or another.
    “I set my goals to go to the NFR in something,” he said. “I didn’t know what, and I didn’t care what, but I was going to get there one way or another.”
    He competed in all the events but was better at the bareback riding, saddle bronc riding and bull riding. After high school graduation in 1975, he didn’t want to go to college so went to work. After a year of punching a time clock, he changed his mind. “I thought, no I need to go to college. This ain’t no fun.”
    Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas, offered him a full ride, so he took it, graduating in 1982 with a bachelors in animal science.
    By this point, he was fighting bulls and rodeo clowning, with one of his early gigs working with Mack Altizer of Bad Company Rodeo. He saw the Wrangler Bullfights and the freestyle bullfighting, and petitioned a friend, Miles Hare, to help him get on the Wrangler Tour. In 1988, his first year on the tour, he finished in the top six in the world, qualifying for the National Finals. “Whether I was first or last,” he said, “it didn’t matter. I had the Kinney name back at the Finals.”
    The next year, he began working for other contractors, building his business.
    Then the unspeakable happened. It was 1989, and he had worked the Salt Lake City rodeo, when Clint Branger, Cody Lambert, Tuff Hedeman, Jim Sharp and Lane Frost asked to shower in his hotel room after the rodeo. By 2 am, they were headed to Cheyenne and the fateful day when Lane would leave this earth.
    Chuck saw Lane’s accident happen, and it changed him. His daughter, Devin, was born the year before, and it got him thinking. “I thought, I’ve accomplished everything I need to do. Lightning is striking pretty close to home. I might need to rethink this.”
    So he retired in 1990. The only way he could retire was by not buying his PRCA card, so he could tell committees “no.”
    Chuck went back to college and ended up as an agriculture teacher. He was teaching what he knew as a bullfighter: animal psychology. “You have to know how an animal thinks before you can control him,” he said. He added more to his curriculum: butchering, welding, woodworking and other facets of ag.
    He taught for nearly 29 years in three parishes: Singer High School, rebuilding their ag program; Sulphur High School, starting their ag program, and Hackberry High School in Cameron Parish.
    “I told people I teach life,” he said, “how to make a living, how to use your hands, and how to use your head.”
    Newly retired the end of February, he’s found plenty to keep him busy. He and wife Tina’s place was hit by two major hurricanes last year, and there is still tree damage to clean up and buildings to repair. He also fishes nearly every day with his twelve-year-old grandson, Gavin. Grandpa Chuck enters him in junior bass master tournaments and youth fishing league tournaments, and “he wins,” Chuck said. “We’ve been fishing since he was three years old. He fishes. I don’t have to fish. I just have to drive the boat. That’s the way I like it.”
    He attended the Rodeo Clown Reunion when it was in Stephenville, Texas, and looks forward to this year’s reunion. He hears stories about Kinney Bros. Rodeo, told from the men who worked with his dad and uncle. He loves seeing his peers, too.
    He soaks up the newsletter written by Gail Woerner, on retired rodeo clowns, bullfighters, and acts. “I read it every time, from top to bottom.”
    The best part of rodeo for him is the friendships and the camaraderie. He talks to Miles Hare nearly every day, and Mike Horton and Rob Smets regularly. He tries to stay in touch with his friends.
    The rodeo life is like the old song, “the road goes on forever and the party never ends,” he thinks. “Ain’t nobody lived a better life than mine,” he said. “I just retired last week and from what I’ve heard, it’s fixin’ to get even better.”
    In addition to Gavin, Chuck and Tina have a granddaughter, Kynsie, who is nine, and a step-grandson, Brye Burnett. Devin’s husband is Brandon Burnett.

  • Back When They Bucked with Bob Hagel

    Back When They Bucked with Bob Hagel

    As a kid, all Bob Hagel wanted to do was be horseback.
    The saddle bronc rider, now a resident of Mobridge, S.D., was born on Feb. 25, 1935 and grew up in Ft. Pierre, riding horses at his maternal uncle’s ranch every minute he wasn’t in school.
    When he was six years old, his dad, Carl Hagel, took a construction job in Rapid City, S.D., and the family moved.
    Bob hated it. There were no horses to ride in Rapid City, so, every summer, he went back to his uncle’s to ride. “The day school got out, I went to Ft. Pierre,” he remembered. His mother, Marion Hagel, knew the bus driver personally, “so she’d put me on the bus, and I’d stay (in Ft. Pierre) till the day before school started, and then I’d come back home.”
    Two days after his fourteenth birthday, his mother died, and Bob’s life changed. His incentive to stay in school waned, and in 1952, Bob packed his suitcase and hitchhiked to Ft. Pierre and his uncle’s.
    His uncle and aunt bought a ranch near Lake Andes, S.D., and they made him an offer: if Bob would go with them and finish high school, they’d get him started in the cattle business. But Bob had a girlfriend, so he stayed in Ft. Pierre.
    In 1953, at a dance at the Timber Lake rodeo, he met a pretty black-haired woman and danced with her. Audrey Ducheneaux and he dated for three years, and on March 30, 1956, they married.

    They lived in Timber Lake for several years, Audrey working in the soil conservation office and he working for ranchers and then for the Rural Electric Association as a lineman. He worked in Wyoming on oil rigs, and then a lineman job came up in Flasher, N.D., so they moved. In North Dakota, Audrey worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and then for the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (now the Natural Resources Conservation Service) office.
    It was before he married when Bob was introduced to saddle bronc riding. He was running around with his future brother-in-law, Delbert Lamb, a bronc rider.
    Bob got on practice horses, and at a bucking horse sale in McLaughlin, S.D., he won first place and a buckle. His career was started.
    He ran into Mervel Hall, an accomplished bronc rider, who offered to take Bob with him rodeoing. “Mervel said, ‘I’ll pack you for twenty-five percent,’ and I said, ‘I’ll do that.’” A week later, Mervel was in Fargo but Bob had no way to get there. So he caught a ride with Emerson Chase, another bronc rider. They competed at the Badlands Saddle Club Rodeo, where Bob won first, and Emerson told him, “you stay with me and we’ll go to Florida this winter, to rodeo.”
    But Bob had made a promise to Mervel, so he and Hall took off, along with Dale Harper, a bareback rider from Carson, N.D. They rodeoed across Arizona and southern California, coming home in the spring.
    Bob was never more than a weekend cowboy, he said. He considered joining the RCA, the Rodeo Cowboys Association, predecessor to today’s PRCA, but he didn’t. “I was married, I had a job, and I knew damn well I could make more money working.”
    He competed in the South Dakota Rodeo Association, the North Dakota Rodeo Association, the Northwest Ranch Cowboys Association, and the International Rodeo Association. He finished as the SDRA’s reserve champion in 1961, to Bud Day, and in 1962, to Willie Cowan.
    At the time, the IRA (predecessor to today’s International Pro Rodeo Association), co-approved SDRA rodeos, and Bob qualified for their finals, held in Chicago, in 1962. He finished the year as reserve champion, one point behind Buzz Seely. It was the old-style of scoring at the time; Bob scored 172 points in the second round aboard a little black stripe-faced horse named Rastus, to win the round; Seely had 173 points in the third round to win the rodeo. Seely went on to win the bronc riding at the National Finals Rodeo in 1969.
    At the age of 85, Bob remembers the horses he got on and the rodeos he went to like they were yesterday. His favorite bucking horse was Dakota Chief, a horse owned by O’Leary Brothers and Annis, stock contractors. He won second on him, to Dean Reeves, at the IRA finals in Chicago, in a round. He recalls the horse, a Roman nosed bay named Friday, who he rode while doctoring for screwworms on his uncle’s ranch when he was in his teens, and his first horse, an old bay named Buster, which “I rode all day.”

    He got on his last horse in 1967, when he was 32 years old. He and Audrey had just moved to North Dakota, and he was on call every other weekend for the electric company. “You can’t rodeo that way,” he said, “so I just quit. But my powder was getting damp anyway.”
    All these years later, he still misses the friends and the competition of rodeo. “The thing I missed the most when it came to an end, was not seeing them guys every weekend, and the B.S., and what goes along with rodeo. It was hard to get used to.”
    He and Audrey raised two sons: Clayton and Todd. Todd lives in Bismarck with his wife Lynn and their two sons and a daughter. Clayton lives in Ft. Yates with his wife Maria and their two sons. (Two of their sons have passed away.) Todd was never interested in rodeo, Bob said, but Clayton was, and Clayton did well, winning a state high school title, two NDRA titles, and a Great Plains Rodeo Association title, all in the saddle bronc riding. Clayton and Todd were among 59 first cousins on the Ducheneaux side, and one time, at the Timber Lake Rodeo, there were eleven first cousins riding saddle broncs, with Clayton included.
    Audrey was the best thing that happened to him, Bob said. They were married sixty-two years before she passed away from cancer in 2018. “She was a good woman and a hard worker,” he said. “She never complained, even when she had cancer.”
    In January of 2000, Bob took his last drink. He wasn’t an everyday drinker, but if he got started, the next morning he’d crave more and keep drinking. He got up one morning, and Audrey had made a line of every bottle he’d drank, on the wall. “I looked at that, and said, ‘I’ll never take another drink as long as I live.’ Audrey’s reply was, ‘I’ve heard that before.’” Bob told her, “No, I’m done.” And he was. Sixteen years later, one of her sisters told him Audrey had said it was the happiest sixteen years of her life. “Thank God I quit,” Bob said. “By the time she died, I had eighteen years alcohol free.” Marriage “was the best thing I did.”
    Now he golfs, shooting under fifty, and would play every day if someone is willing to play with him, Clayton said. He enjoys reminiscing about old times and rodeo. He was never a superstar but he loves the sport.
    “I enjoyed it. I rode some, and I rode with some good guys. I never made a lot of money at it, but I enjoyed it.”

  • Riding for the Gold

    Riding for the Gold

    Circuit finals rodeo determines Badlands rodeo champs in Minot

    MINOT, N.D. (October 11, 2020) – The best pro rodeo cowboys and cowgirls in the Dakotas gathered in Minot this weekend for the PRCA’s RAM Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo, held at the North Dakota State Fair Center.

    Over 100 contestants, the top twelve in each of eight events, competed for two titles: the year-end championship (the most money won over the season), and the average, or finals championship, the most money won in Minot.

    In the bareback riding, a North Dakota man made a clean sweep at this year’s circuit finals.

    Jordan Pelton had never won a check in the last four times he’s qualified for the finals, but this year he won first place for each performance, and the average, with 258 points on three head.

    In fact, he’s enjoying rodeo more than ever, after a mental “switch.” “My focus has changed to just riding,” the thirty-year-old said. “Rather than focusing on winning, which takes away from your job. It’s been a fun year, dang sure a lot of fun.”

    The thirty-year-old also realizes bareback riding careers don’t last forever. “I know the clock is ticking,” he said. “I can’t do this forever.”

    Pelton, who farms and ranches with his dad, has more to focus on than just rodeo. He and his wife Tessa are expecting their first child later this month.

    Jamie Howlett, Rapid City, S.D., competed on Sunday after pulling a hamstring during Saturday night’s ride. He finished as year-end champ, for the second consecutive year.

    In the steer wrestling, Riley Reiss, Manning, N.D., entered the finals in first place and finished in the same spot, even though he didn’t win any money.

    “I had a lot of luck this summer,” he said, but his luck ran out at the fairgrounds. “I’ve struggled in this building. I don’t know what it is.” Last year, in his first qualification for the circuit finals, he didn’t win any money, either.

    “This year, I couldn’t capitalize. Next year I’ll be prepared for it.”

    Reiss is in his sophomore year at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne, Wyo.

    His dad, Jason, also competed at the circuit finals, winning checks in two rounds.

    The year-end winner was Eli Lord, Sturgis, S.D. Lord’s dad, J.B., like Reiss’, was also a qualifier for the circuit finals, in the team roping.

    The winning team ropers came north to Minot in first place and never looked back.

    Brothers Tucker and Cooper White, Hershey, Neb., had an excellent season, and a finals as well, winning one first place check and two second place checks to also win the average (16.4 seconds on three head).

    They ran the numbers before the Sunday performance. “We had it figured before today,” Cooper said. “We did some math last night on what teams would have to do to beat us, even if we missed. We knew exactly what we had to do, and it worked out.”

    After their wins, the pressure was off for Cooper. “I’m glad it’s over with. We finally have the first one under our belts,” he said. “We’ve been working for this for a long time. It’s pretty cool to do it with your brother, that’s for sure.”

    Their mother was on hand for the win, and their dad, at home in Nebraska, was waiting to hear from his boys. “He’s been heckling us to send a video,” Cooper said. Cooper, the header, is 23 years old; Tucker is 27.

    In the saddle bronc riding, a veteran cowboy won the finals. Chuck Schmidt, Keldron, S.D., tied for first in the first round (83 points) and first place in the second round (81), with an average of 242 points on three head. Schmidt has been to the circuit finals a dozen times.

    Jacob Kammerer, Philip, S.D., was the year-end winner.

    For the barrel racers, it came down to a bit more than a half-second in the average between the top three cowgirls: Amanda Welsh, with 40.83 seconds on three runs, Heidi Gunderson, 41.29, and Molly Otto, 41.37.

    Welsh, Gillette, Wyo., won the average on her ten-year-old sorrel, Firefly. The horse, trained by her dad, excels in small indoor pens like the fairgrounds. “He seems to love it up here in Minot,” she said.

    The gelding, whose registered name is Frenchmans Firefly, is a special horse, she said. “He’s usually all business. He can be a little fret-y sometimes, so he’s always got to have a buddy. He’s a lot of fun.”

    Welsh finished the 2020 pro rodeo season in 36th place in the world standings.

    The year-end title went to Jessica Routier, Buffalo, S.D. She rode the 2020 Women’s Pro Rodeo Association Badlands Horse of the Year, Fiery Miss West, “Missy,” who is owned by Westergren Quarter Horses. This is the fourth consecutive year for Missy to win the award.

    Both tie-down roping titles went to Trey Young, Dupree, S.D.; in the women’s breakaway, Cora Borman, Backus, Minn., won the average title (29.4 seconds on three head) and Katie Mundorf, Mullen, Neb., won the year-end title.

    Out of a field of twelve bull riders, only four men rode two of three bulls, and no one rode all three.

    Thunder Boomer, TJ Schmidt, Ardie Maier, and Chance Schott made qualified rides on two bulls, but it was Schott who wrapped up both titles.

    Schott qualified for the circuit finals in first place, and also won the finals with 173 points on two head, seven and a half points ahead of the number two man, Maier, of Timber Lake, S.D. This is his second trip to the Badlands Circuit Finals; last year, he was the average champion.

    The all-around winner, the cowboy competing in more than one event, was Eli Lord, Sturgis, S.D. The rookie of the year went to Riley Reiss, Manning, N.D.

    Badlands champs will go on to compete at the RAM National Circuit Finals Rodeo, to be held in Kissimmee, Florida next spring. Points from the Badlands Circuit Finals count towards the 2021 National Finals Rodeo.

     

    For full results from this night’s rodeo, visit ProRodeo.com.

     

    Ram Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo, Minot, ND

    3rd  performance October 11, 2020

    Year end and average winners for the Badlands Circuit

     

    All-around Champion: Eli Lord, Sturgis, S.D.

    All-around champion for the Finals: Eli Lord, Sturgis, S.D.

     

    Bareback riding

    Bareback Riding Year End Champion: Jamie Howlett, Rapid City, S.D.

    Bareback Riding Average Champion: Jordan Pelton, Halliday, N.D.

     

    4th go round results:

    1. Jordan Pelton, Halliday, N.D. 85 points on Mosbrucker Rodeo’s War Chick; 2. Nate McFadden, Elsmere, Neb. 84; 3. Shane O’Connell, Rapid City, S.D. 81; 4. Jamie Howlett, Rapid City, S.D. 80.5.

     

    Average results:

    1. Jordan Pelton, Halliday, N.D. 258 points on 3 head; 2. Shane O’Connell, Rapid City, S.D. 249; 3. Jamie Howlett, Rapid City, S.D. 248.5; 4. Ben Kramer, Max, N.D.225.

     

     

    Steer Wrestling

    Steer Wrestling Year End Champion:  Riley Reiss, Manning, N.D.

    Steer Wrestling Average Champion: Eli Lord, Sturgis, S.D.

     

    4th go round results:

    1. Carson Good, Long Valley, S.D. 4.1 seconds; 2. Billy Boldon, Oglala, S.D. 4.3; 3. Eli Lord, Sturgis, S.D. 4.4; 4. Jason Reiss, Manning, N.D. 4.5.

     

    Average results:

    1. Eli Lord, Sturgis, S.D. 14.1 seconds on 3 head; 2. Joe Nelson, Watford City, N.D. 14.7; 3. Jason Reiss, Manning, N.D. 15.2; 4. Jake Kraupie, Bridgeport, Neb. 23.8.

     

    Team Roping

    Team Roping Year End Champion Header: Cooper White, Hershey, Neb.

    Heeler: Tucker White, Hershey, Neb.

    Team Roping Average Champion Header: Cooper White, Hershey, Neb.

    Heeler: Tucker White, Hershey, Neb.

     

    4th go round results:

    1. Jared Odens, Pierre, S.D./Matt Zancanella, Aurora, S.D. 5.0 seconds; 2. Cooper White, Hershey, Neb./Tucker White, Hershey, Neb. 5.6; 3. (tie) Cody Hilzendeger, Bismarck, N.D./Ty Talsma, Avon, S.D., Jade Schmidt, Box Elder, S.D./Jade Nelson, Midland, S.D. and JB Lord, Valentine, Neb./Jesse Dale, Timber Lake, S.D. 5.7 each.

     

    Average results:

    1. Cooper White, Hershey, Neb./Tucker White, Hershey, Neb. 16.4 seconds on 3 head; 2. Cameron Irwin, Buffalo, Wyo./Rory Brown, Edgemont, S.D. 23.9; 3. Brent McInerney, Alzada, Mont./Tanner McInerney, Alzada, Mont. 26.0; 4. Jared Odens, Pierre, S.D./Matt Zancanella, Aurora, S.D. 11.2 on 2 head.

     

     

    Saddle Bronc Riding

    Saddle Bronc Year End Champion: Jacob Kammerer, Philip, S.D.

    Saddle Bronc Average Champion: Chuck Schmidt, Keldron, S.D.

     

    4th go round results:

    1. JJ Elshere, Hereford, S.D. 89 points on Sutton Rodeo’s Prom Night; 2. Dusty Hausauer, Dickinson, N.D. 88; 3. Jacob Kammerer, Philip, S.D. 87; 4. Jade Blackwell, Rapid City, S.D. 83.5.

     

    Average results:

    1. Chuck Schmidt, Keldron, S.D. 242 points on 3 head; 2. Jacob Kammerer, Philip, S.D. 241.5; 3. (tie) Dusty Hausauer, Dickinson, N.D. and Jade Blackwell, Rapid City, S.D. 239 each.

     

    Barrel Racing

    Barrel Racing Year End Champion: Jessica Routier, Buffalo, S.D.

    Barrel Racing Average Champion:  Amanda Welsh, Gillette, Wyo.

     

    4th go round results:

    1. Jessica Routier, Buffalo, S.D. 13.51 seconds; 2. Molly Otto, Grand Forks, N.D. 13.58; 3. (tie) Carey Rivinius, Carson, N.D. and Amanda Welsh, Gillette, Wyo. 13.73 each.

     

    Average results:

    1. Amanda Welsh, Gillette, Wyo. 40.83 seconds on 3 head; 2. Heidi Gunderson, Murdock, Minn. 41.29; 3. Molly Otto, Grand Forks, N.D. 41.37; 4. Carey Rivinius, Carson, N.D. 41.82.

     

    Tie-down Roping

    Tie Down Roping Year End Champion: Trey Young, Dupree, S.D.

    Tie Down Roping Average Champion: Trey Young, Dupree, S.D.

     

    4th go round results:

    1. JT Adamson, Cody, Neb. 8.3 seconds; 2. Trey Young, Dupree, S.D. 8.4; 3. Myles Kenzy, Iona, S.D. 8.5; 4. Rex Treeby, Hecla, S.D. 9.3.

     

    Average results:

    1. Trey Young, Dupree, S.D. 26.3 seconds on 3 head; 2. JT Adamson, Cody, Neb. 27.6; 3. Cody Rood, Bengough, Sask. 29.6; 4. Myles Kenzy, Iona, S.D. 30.9.

     

    Women’s Breakaway Roping

    Year End Champion: Katie Mundorf, Mullen, Neb.

    Average Champion: Cora Borman, Backus, Minn.

     

    4th go round results:

    1. Tanegai Zilverberg, Holabird, S.D. 1.7 seconds; 2. Cora Borman, Backus, Minn. 12.3; no other qualified runs.

     

    Average results:

    1. Cora Borman, Backus, Minn. 29.4 seconds on 3 head; 2. Samantha Fulton, Watford City,N.D.5.5 on 2 head; 3. Kirby Eppert, Seneca, Neb. 5.6; 4. Katie Mundorf, Mullen, Neb. 5.9.

     

    Bull Riding

    Bull Riding Year End Champion: Chance Schott, McLaughlin, S.D.

    Bull Riding Average Champion: Chance Schott, McLaughlin, S.D.

     

    4th go round results:

    1. Chance Schott, McLaughlin, S.D. 86 points on Korkow Rodeo’s Jambalaya; 2. Ardie Maier, Timber Lake, S.D. 85.5; 3. Ethan Lesiak, Clarks, Neb. 84.5; 4. TJ Schmidt, Belle Fourche, S.D. 84.

     

    Average results:

    1. Chance Schott, McLaughlin, S.D. 173 points on 2 head; 2. Ardie Maier, Timber Lake, S.D. 165.5; 3. TJ Schmidt, Belle Fourche, S.D. 159; 4. Thunder Boomer, Interior, S.D. 152.

     

    ** All results are unofficial.  For more information, visit www.ProRodeo.com.

  • Hold Your Horses

    Hold Your Horses

    Pro rodeo selects horse of the year awards for the Badlands Circuit

    MINOT, N.D. (October 19, 2020) – The 2020 Badlands Circuit PRCA and WPRA Horses of the Year have been selected for their exceptional ability in rodeo.

    The steer wrestling horse of the year was won by Cameron Morman, Glen Ullin, N.D.; the hazing horse of the year also went to Morman. The tie-down horse of the year is a repeat winner, won by Trey Young, Dupree, S.D., and the team roping head horse of the year went to Cooper White, Hershey, Neb. The team roping heel horse of the year was awarded to Jade Nelson, Midland, S.D.

    For the women’s events, the Women’s Pro Rodeo Association Badlands barrel horse of the year went to Jessica Routier, Buffalo, S.D., and the WPRA Badlands Rising Star horse of the year went to Molly Otto, Grand Forks, N.D.

    It’s the first time for Jade Nelson’s horse Ray to win the heeling award.

    The ten-year-old sorrel, with a flaxen mane and tail, has just come into his own, Nelson said.

    “He’s a really big motored horse, who is kind of wild. It took him longer to get good. He wasn’t really good till he was eight.”

    Ray is great to be around, Nelson said, but has a quirk that is unusual for rodeo animals: he’s scared of livestock, when they’re facing him. When the steer or sheep is looking away from him, he’s fine, Nelson said, “but if they’re looking at him, he’s plumb crazy.” Nelson rides him for cattle drives, but Ray doesn’t work well for sorting cattle.

    Ray does an excellent job for Nelson. “He’s a bigger horse, and he can move better than any horse I’ve ever rode before. He can do things that most horses can’t, and that makes my job a little easier.” Nelson purchased him as a four-year-old, and knew he had potential even then. “He’s been phenomenal since he was four.” Nelson roped with Jade Schmidt at this year’s Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo.

    A Nebraska horse is another first-time winner.

    Cooper White rides Razor, a nine-year-old bay roan, for the heading.

    Razor, owned by Andy Miller of Wellfleet, Neb., is a threat in the scoring: how fast the cowboy can be, after he gives the steer a head start. No matter the size of the arena, Razor delivers the goods. “Any set up, scoring isn’t a problem. You can go from a little building like Minot  (N.D., where the Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo was held), to the long score in Cheyenne,” for Frontier Days.

     

    Razor is also speedy. “His next biggest threat is how fast he is,” White said. “He’s crazy fast. It makes it easier for me to not reach so much. Sometimes I can use my horsepower instead of me trying to do it all with my rope.”

    White roped on him nearly all year, and Razor responded well to the travel. “He took a lot of runs,” he said. “He travels good. He’s an easy keeper.” White and his brother, Tucker, make sure Razor gets the care he needs. “We take pretty good care of him,” Cooper said. “Tucker does, too. He knows he’s the way he makes money, too.”

    Miller roped on the horse for several years, but as his rodeo career slowed, he offered the horse to White to ride. White never made a practice run on Razor, never even got on him, till a rodeo in Nelson, Neb. “He felt like nothing I’d ever been on before,” he said. “He’s a lot of fun, that’s for sure.”

    The brothers finished the 2020 rodeo season as the Badlands Circuit team roping year-end champions.

    Morman’s horse Rio won the steer wrestling horse of the year for the fourth consecutive year; the fifteen-year-old buckskin, previously owned by Jake Rinehart, had three riders at the Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo.

    Morman’s horse Bull, the hazing horse of the year, is also a repeat award winner; he tied for the award last year.

    Young’s horse Fozzy is also a repeat winner, having won tie-down horse of the year in 2017 and ’18. The horse is owned in partnership by Young and his father Doug.

    In the barrel racing, Routier’s horse Missy, a nine-year-old palomino owned by Gary Westergren of Lincoln, Neb., won the barrel horse of the year award for the fourth consecutive time.

    The 2020 Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo took place in Minot October 9-11, where champions were crowned. More information can be found at www.prorodeo.com.

  • KING OF THE RODEOS

    KING OF THE RODEOS

    Championship rodeo to take place in Minot this weekend

    Minot, N.D. (October 7, 2020) – The best of the best for the Dakotas will be in Minot this weekend, to duke it out for the title of Badlands champ.

    The annual Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo will take place at the North Dakota State Fair Center October 9-11, with performances at 7 pm on October 9, 6 pm October 10, and at 1:30 pm on October 11.

     

    More than 100 cowboys and cowgirls, with about a dozen in each of eight events, will compete, said Max Weppler, organizer for the rodeo and a member of the PRCA’s Badlands Circuit committee. “The fans will see the best talent in the Dakotas,” Weppler said.

     

    This part of the country has its share of rodeo talent which will be on exhibit this weekend, Weppler said. “Some of the best saddle bronc riders and barrel racers, and other events, as well, come from the northern plains.”

     

    The rodeo will also include an expo and trade show.

     

    Tickets for the Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo are $20 for adults and $10 for children ages 3-12. They can be purchased online at gethookedup.com/rodeoticket.com (search for Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo), at 52 West (2815 S. Broadway A, Minot), and North Country Mercantile (2000 20th Ave. SE, Minot) and at the gate. The Sunday matinee is sponsored by EPIC Companies, Spicy Pie, Bud Light, Pepsi and the North Dakota State Fair. Discounted tickets are available at Spicy Pie in Minot.

     

    For more information, visit the Facebook page (Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo).

  • Featured Athlete: Baby the Steer Wrestling Horse

    Featured Athlete: Baby the Steer Wrestling Horse

    There’s a Baby making a big splash in the steer wrestling world, and she’s doing it with 5 Star Equine Products, too.
    Baby, a nine-year-old quarter horse, is a steer wrestling horse owned by Sam Dixon and ridden mainly by Jacob Talley, Justin Shaffer, and Will Lummus.
    The blaze-faced sorrel, off the race track, was purchased by Dixon in 2018. Jacob and Justin rode her in 2018 a bit, and they considered taking her to the National Finals that year, but thought she might not be ready for the big stage
    In 2019, Jacob was out with an injury for three months, so Justin, Will and Cody Harmon rode Baby. She responded well, carrying the three men, plus Dixon, to the pay window several times, including big wins in Salinas, Calif. “People started asking where she came from,” Sam said.
    Now, in her second full year of rodeo competition, Dixon says she’s won over $130,000 in the last two years.
    Equine products are often overlooked for steer wrestling horses, Sam thinks. Some of the steer wrestlers are big men, and it’s not a natural movement for a horse when the wrestler hangs off the side. It can cause horses to have sore backs. “Here we are, hanging off the side of them, and that puts a major strain on their back. Ever since we’ve been using 5 Star pads, we’ve never had a problem.”
    Sam had a horse at home with back concerns, and he switched products. “I got a 5 Star pad and since then I’ve never had any back problems” with the horse.
    The saddle pads clean up well, he said, and the material, one-hundred percent wool, “wicks the sweat away very well, compared to others.”
    He has a few 5 Star saddle pads that he customized with certain neon colors that will be put into use at the 2020 National Finals, but they’re a surprise. “We’re waiting till the Finals to bust them out. When we do, they’ll be very noticeable.”
    He and his wife Allison’s kids: daughters Bailey, Hadlie and Reiny, use the boots, pads, and breast collars. “I’ve always believed that 5 Star (products) were above and beyond.”
    At the 2019 NFR, Baby came out of nowhere. She was the backup horse for Will, and when things weren’t clicking for him, he decided to ride her in the eighth round. Dixon and the guys were a bit worried; she had been seasoned, but they were concerned that she wasn’t quite ready.
    There was no need to worry. Will was3.6 seconds that round to win it, and he rode her in the ninth and tenth rounds, placing in the tenth. Dixon was in a motel room, on night eight, trying to bring up the NFR with limited service, when his phone blew up. “I spent three hours answering phone calls and texts,” he beamed, “before he could download the video to watch her run.”
    Baby, whose registered name is Babysgonecountry, lets guys do their job, Sam said. “She’s so good in the box, as far as scoring. She stands still, and lets you do your job and not worry about it.” She’s also versatile. “She fits any situation you’re in. A long score, running them down like at Salinas or Cheyenne. Everybody likes her in the short scores, too, because she’s quick off your hand.
    But she comes with an attitude. “She is very much a woman,” Sam said. “She wakes up on the wrong side of the bed many days.” Her quirks can be overlooked. “She is so gritty,” Sam said. “It doesn’t matter what she’s doing, she gives one hundred percent every time.”
    Baby loves to run and often plays with the hazing horse. She thinks it’s a contest to be the fastest, Sam said. “She’ll put her ears back and it’s like a race to the back end. It’s pretty fun to watch. If you really get after her, she’ll catch another gear.”
    Sam has been a 5 Star customer for as long as he can remember, even before Terry Moore bought the business in 2012. “Since the Moores bought it,” Sam said, “they have gone above and beyond to make sure their stuff is right. They put a lot of time and money into it, and it shows.”

  • Featured Athlete: Rylee Howton

    Featured Athlete: Rylee Howton

    Rylee Howton and her horses are a walking advertisement for 5 Star Equine products.
    The Three Rivers, Texas cowgirl is in love with the 5 Star saddle pad, sports leg wraps and sports boots, and they work well for her five horses: Turnpike, Moe, Hildie, Renee, and Lil Mama.
    She loves the softness of the saddle pad and how it molds to her horses’ backs. She thinks the leg wraps are more supportive, and the straps grip better and support in places that other brands don’t. But they’re not stiff, either. “They are flexible so the horse can move,” Rylee said. “They’re more soft, and aren’t as long (as typical boots.)” Being a bit shorter is good, she said. “If a horse was to make a crazy movement, he wouldn’t step on the strap and injure himself.”
    The seventeen-year-old competes in the barrel racing, pole bending and team roping in the Texas High School Rodeo Association, the Texas Youth Rodeo Association, the Better Barrel Races, and the National Barrel Horse Association.
    For the barrels, she rides Bit of Gold Dust, “Turnpike” and Heza Fast Kitty, “Moe”. Turnpike, a seventeen-year-old, is her main horse and “the most consistent horse you’ll ever ride,” she said. “He makes the same run every time.” When Turnpike was injured earlier this year, the family bought Moe and she used him. Turnpike is recovered, so she trades off between the two. “Moe usually outruns Turnpike the first day, and the second day, Turnpike outruns Moe.” Turnpike prefers the big pens and Moe likes the smaller pens.
    Turnpike was the big boss around the ranch, “the grumpy old man, the only boy at our house,” till Moe appeared, Rylee said. Moe has quite a personality. “If he sees you outside, he’ll run up to you and get all in your face,” she said. “If you’re not giving him attention, he’ll throw a fit.”
    For the poles, Rylee rides two horses: Rocking Renee, “Renee”, and NQH Sun Hocks Hilda, “Hildie.” In the team roping, her mounts are Shes A Royal Fletcha “Lil Mama.”
    Rylee is a 2020 graduate of George West High School. Looking back on her high school career, she recognizes how fun high school was. “I didn’t realize it when I was in school, but you see your friends every day and get to play sports every day. You don’t realize it at the time, but it’s a lot more fun to be in school than not.”
    In high school, she participated in FCCLA, FFA, volleyball, basketball and softball. The pitcher for her softball team, the team qualified for districts the last two years.
    In high school, she made it to the Texas State Finals all four years in the barrels and the last two years in the poles.
    She will be a student at Texas A&M in Kingsville this fall, competing in the barrels and possibly the team roping. She plans on majoring in ranch management/ag business and would love to manage a ranch someday. She and her family live on her grandpa’s ranch, and she loves being around animals.
    Her mom, Krystal, loves the 5 Star Equine products as well. “You can’t compare them to any others,” she said. The saddle pads “really reduce soreness in a horse’s back, and are one hundred percent wool, which absorbs sweat.” Krystal and Rylee use the garden hose to clean them. “Most saddle pads, with sweat, turn hard. These don’t do that.” They also have a horse with high withers and before they started with 5 Star Equine, they had trouble finding a pad that fit. “They just lay on the horse’s withers. They are so much softer.”
    The boots also do what they’re supposed to do, Krystal said. “They stay where they’re supposed to be.”
    Rylee’s step-dad is Londie Ruiz; her dad is Magoo Howton. She has a younger sister, Kylie Ruiz, who is six years old.

  • HASTINGS RODEO WRAPS UP

    HASTINGS RODEO WRAPS UP

    Nebraskans claim two events, move closer to finals;

    World champion makes record setting ride

     HASTINGS, NEB. – (August 23, 2020) – Two Cornhusker cowboys were among the nine champions crowned at this weekend’s Oregon Trail Rodeo in Hastings, Neb.

    Bareback rider Garrett Shadbolt, Merriman, won his event, as did steer wrestler Dru Melvin, of Hebron.

    Shadbolt was 86 points on Korkow Rodeos’ Black Velvet to win the title, two points more than the number two finisher, Paden Hurst.

    The horse didn’t make it easy for the cowboy. “He really moves ahead, and that’s tough in the bareback riding,” he said. “He’s making a circle, and when they jump away from you in the bareback riding, that’s when they pull on your arm. (The ride) was just a fight. I kept my feet in front and kept moving. Honestly, he’s a lot more bucking horse than I anticipated.”

    In addition to Hastings, Shadbolt also won the Burley, Idaho rodeo this weekend, and the two wins are a blessing. “That’s been a really big break for me,” he said. “It’s been tough going.”

    Because of COVID-19, more than 350 PRCA rodeos have been canceled, meaning that more cowboys compete at fewer rodeos and making for tougher competition, Shadbolt said. “I’ve been 85 (points) more times this year than I’ve ever been, and I’ve won less this year than I’ve ever won.”

    He’s ranked twenty-first in the world standings, less than $8,000 and seven spot from qualifying for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. The rodeo season ends Sept. 30, and he has a full schedule for next month. “If a guy can push hard, go to them, and get the right horses (to ride), there’s still a chance (to qualify for the Wrangler NFR). At least, I’m out there, winning money and competing with the best in the world.”

    Shadbolt and his wife Katie have a seven-month-old son, George James. Shadbolt has a chemistry degree from Doane College in Crete, Neb.

    The third time’s a charm for Dru Melvin.

    The Hebron, Neb. steer wrestler is the 2020 Oregon Trail Rodeo steer wrestling champion, with a score of 4.2 seconds on his run, after winning the Hastings rodeo twice in the early 2000s.

    “I knew a little about my steer,” he said. “I got a good start, and my hazer, Weston (Winkers) picked that steer up. The horse worked great, the steer worked out, and it was a good (4.2 second) time.”

    Melvin, who is 37 years old, grew up in Tryon, Neb., and rodeoed full time till a year ago. He had a successful career, qualifying for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo twice and having earned over $500,000 in his PRCA career.

    Last September, he took on a full time job with a farm cooperative and now rodeos on the weekends, staying mostly in the Prairie Circuit, the rodeos in Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma.

    The transition from full-time rodeo to part time has been good for the husband and father of four. “It’s been good,” he said. “My wife (Brittany) enjoys it, and I’ve enjoyed it with the kids.” Their oldest child, Jaxson, a son, is six; twins Chase and Rainey are four, and their youngest is Natalie, age two.

    An arena record was set on Friday night at the rodeo.

    The 2018 world champion saddle bronc rider Wade Sundell scored 90.5 points on Korkow Rodeos’ horse Onion Ring to win his event and move the mark in the record book.

    It was the second time that the duo had met up. In 2012, at the Gooding, Idaho rodeo, Sundell rode the colt, but the colt slipped and fell, giving him a score that didn’t earn a check.

    “It’s been eight years later and I finally got to draw him again, and to be ninety and a half, it’s amazing. Words can’t explain it. It’s a great feeling.”

    Not only did Sundell win the Hastings title, it was a year after he was seriously injured at a rodeo in California.

    On August 24, 2019, in San Juan Capistrano, a horse reared, pinning him in the chute and lacerating his liver.

    In the hospital, doctors found internal injuries that bled two or three units into his torso. He was on a ventilator and in a medically induced coma for over a week. The liver laceration was within a centimeter of severing an artery that leads from the liver, which would have caused him to bleed to death.

    He spent 28 days in the hospital, then contracted pneumonia. “It was a battle, a struggle for a long time.”

    Sundell was out for eleven months, just returning to riding a month ago. “So it’s amazing to be back at it and rocking and rolling again.”

    But the cowboy, who is often known as the Wild Man, is making a comeback. “If you have enough willpower and have your mind right, you can beat anything.”

    He grew up in Boxholm, Iowa and now lives in Oklahoma with his girlfriend Shelby Janssen and their two-year-old son Rankin.

    Other champions at the twenty-ninth annual rodeo include tie-down roper Charlie Gibson, Midland, Texas (8.1 seconds); team ropers Cory Kidd V and Clay Futrell, both of Stephenville, Texas (4.4 seconds); barrel racers Jessica Routier, Buffalo, S.D. and Tamara Reinhardt, Canadian, Texas (16.47 seconds) and bull rider J.W. Griffin, Stratton, Colo. (85 points).

    The 2020 Miss Oregon Trail Rodeo queen was crowned during the Sunday performance.

    Bailey Lehr, Columbus, Neb., won the right to wear the sash. The nineteen-year-old daughter of David and Jodi Lehr, she is a student at Central Community College in Columbus where she is studying agriculture business and playing collegiate basketball and volleyball. She will represent the Oregon Trail Rodeo at rodeos and other events throughout the year.

    Next year’s Oregon Trail Rodeo is tentatively set for August 20-22, 2021. For more information, visit the fairgrounds website at AdamsCountyFairgrounds.com.  For complete results, visit ProRodeo.com.

    Results,   August 21-23, 2020 – Oregon Trail Rodeo, Hastings, Nebraska

    Bareback riding champion: Garrett Shadbolt, Merriman, Neb.

    1. Garrett Shadbolt, Merriman, Neb. 86 points on Korkow Rodeos’ Black Velvet; 2. Paden Hurst, Huntsville, Texas 84; 3. Anthony Thomas, Humble, Texas 83.5; 4. Taylor Broussard, Estherwood, La. 81.5; 5. (tie) Jesse Pope, Marshall, Mo. and Jamie Howlett, Rapid City, S.D. 80.5 each.

    Tie-down roping champion: Charlie Gibson, Midland, Texas

    1. Charlie Gibson, Midland, Texas 8.1; 2. Westyn Hughes, Caldwell, Texas 9.3; 3. Will Howell, Stillwater, Okla. 9.4; 4. Adam Gray, Seymour, Texas 9.6; 5 Marcos Costa, Menard, Texas 9.8; 6.Lucas Potter, Maple City, Kan. 10.8.

    Saddle bronc riding champion: Wade Sundell, Boxholm, Iowa

    1. Wade Sundell, Boxholm, Iowa 90.5 points on Korkow Rodeos’ Onion Ring; 2. Logan Hay, Wildwood, Alb. 88; 3. Dusty Hausauer, Dickinson, N.D. 84.5; 4. Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La. 84; 5. (tie) Cooper Thatcher, Goodwell, Okla. and Sam Martin, Goodwell, Okla. 82 each.

    Steer wrestling champion: Dru Melvin, Hebron, Neb.

    1. Dru Melvin, Hebron, Neb. 4.2 seconds; 2. Reed Kraeger, Elwood, Neb. 4.3; 3. (tie) Newt Bush, Whitefield, Okla. and Sean Mulligan, Coleman, Okla. 4.5 each; 5. J.D. Struxness, Alva, Okla. 5.0; 6. Taz Olson, Prairie City, S.D. 5.1.

    Team roping champions: Cory Kidd V, Stephenville, Texas and Clay Futrell, Stephenville, Texas

    1. Cory Kidd V, Stephenville, Texas/Clay Futrell, Stephenville, Texas 4.4 seconds; 2. Clay Valley View, Alb./Jake Edwards, Ocala, Fla. 4.6; 3. Andrew Ward, Edmond, Okla./Buddy Hawkins, II Stephenville, Texas 4.8; 4. Tyler Wade, Tyler, Texas Billie Jack Saebens, Nowata, Okla. 4.9; 5. Paul David Tierney, Oklahoma City, Okla./Thomas Smith 5.2;  6. Brit Ellerman, Ft. Lupton, Colo./Trey Johnson, Weatherford, Texas 5.9.

    Barrel racing co-champions: Jessica Routier, Buffalo, S.D. and Tamara Reinhardt, Canadian, Texas

    1. (tie) Jessica Routier, Buffalo, S.D. and Tamara Reinhardt, Canadian, Texas 16.47 seconds each; 2. Emily Miller, Weatherford, Okla. 16.57; 4. Leslie Smalygo, Skiatook, Okla. 16.76; 5. Alishea Broussard, Estherwood, La. 16.80; 6.Anna Jorgenson, Hudson, Colo. 16.81; 7. Lisa Lockhart, Oelrichs, S.D. 16.85;  8. Michelle Darling, Medford, Okla. 16.87; 9. BryAnna Haluptzok, Tenstrike, Minn. 16.97; 10. (tie) Jamie Chaffin, Burwell, Neb. and Jeanne Anderson, White City, Kan. 17.12 each.

    Bull riding champion: JW Griffin, Stratton, Colo.

    1. JW Griffin, Stratton, Colo. 85 points on Korkow Rodeos’ What Happened; 2. Nathan Hatchell, Castle Rock, Colo. 82; 3. Chris Bechtold, Balko, Okla.80.5; 4. Clayton Sellars, Stephenville, Texas 79.

    All-around champion: Paul David Tierney, Oklahoma City, Okla. tie-down roping and team roping