Bareback rider makes winning ride on new riggin’; champions determined at N.D. Winter Show PRCA rodeo
Valley City, N.D. (March 7, 2020) – Tucker Zingg was dreading breaking in a new bareback rigging.
When they’re new, the riggin’, which looks similar to a suitcase handle on a band of leather, is stiff and doesn’t have the broken-in feeling like a comfortable old shoe.
But his new riggin’ worked just fine.
The Crow Agency, Mont. cowboy won the bareback riding at the N.D. Winter Show PRCA rodeo in Valley City on March 7.
He scored 83 points aboard the Championship Rodeo bronc called Bunny Hugger, a horse that has bucked in the saddle bronc riding in the past.
“I really didn’t know the horse,” Zingg said. He was looking forward to riding the horse in an indoor arena, where they are more likely to buck quicker because they see walls, unlike at an outdoor arena. “I figured he’d be good inside, and he was awesome. He bucked in front of the chutes for half the ride before he moved,” he said. “Shoot, he made the ride for me.”
The thirty-one-year-old is an “old-timer” in bareback riding terms, but he still loves to go. “I’d rodeo more if I could,” he said. He and his fiancée, Jamie Riley, live on a ranch, where she runs some race-bred horses. “I’m just a hired hand,” he joked.
Zingg, who grew up in Bismarck, N.D., was on horseback at a young age. “Like all us ranch kids, I started before I could walk,” he said. He began riding junior bulls at age thirteen, then added bareback horses when he was sixteen. In college, he also team roped and tie-down roped, but bareback riding was his strength. Since he began his PRCA career, Zingg has qualified for a circuit finals rodeo eleven times: once in the Badlands Circuit (North Dakota and South Dakota), several times in the Montana Circuit, and once in the Mountain States Circuit (Wyoming and Colorado).
He and Jamie will marry on September 19 of this year, the same day as his parents wed 39 years ago. It’s a lucky day, he says, even though his mom passed away seventeen years ago.
In the saddle bronc riding, a young cowboy won the Winter Show.
Qwint Stroh, Dickinson, N.D., was 85 points on the Bailey Pro Rodeo horse Big Casino for the win.
Stroh, who is 21 years old, is the son of five-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier Shaun Stroh. In his first year of pro rodeo, he also competes at regional rodeos in the North Dakota Rodeo Association and the Rough Riders Association. He won both the NDRA and Rough Riders saddle bronc riding titles last year.
In the bull riding, a Minnesota man topped the scoreboard.
Reid Oftedahl, Pemberton, Minn., scored 87 points on the Bailey Pro Rodeo bull The Preacher.
It was Oftedahl’s first trip to the Winter Show, and the win is a good start for his year. “It’ll give me a little push,” he said. Oftedahl is 26 years old.
Other champions from the 83rd annual Winter Show include steer wrestler Scott Kleeman, Killdeer, N.D. (4.0 seconds); tie-down roper Jason Vohs, Dickinson, N.D. (9.9 seconds); team ropers Alfred Hansen, Dickinson, N.D. and Luke Morast, Halliday, N.D. (5.3 seconds); and barrel racer Kaylee Gallino, Wasta, S.D. (12.16 seconds).
The 83rd annual North Dakota Winter Show concluded on March 7. Dates for the 2021 event are tentatively set for Feb. 28-March 6.
For more information, visit www.NorthDakotaWinterShow.com or call 701.845.1401.
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Results, North Dakota Winter Show PRCA Rodeo, March 6-7, 2020 –N.D. Winter Show
All-Around champion: . –steer wrestling and tie-down roping
Bareback riding champion- Tucker Zingg, Crow Agency, Mont.
1. Tucker Zingg, Crow Agency, Mont. 83 points on Championship Pro Rodeo’s Bunny Hugger; 2. (tie) Garrett Shadbolt, Merriman, Neb. and Blake Smith, Zap, N.D. 81 each; 4. Ty Breuer, Mandan, N.D. 80; 5.(tie) Jamie Howlett, Rapid City, S.D. and Ben Kramer, Max, N.D.79 each.
Steer wrestling champion – Scott Kleeman, Killdeer, N.D.
1. Scott Kleeman, Killdeer, N.D. 4.0 seconds; 2. Riley Reiss, Manning, N.D. 4.2; 3. Lane Day, Bartlett, Neb.4.5; 4. Evan Entze, Golden Valley, N.D. 5.0; 5. Kody Woodward, Dupree, S.D. 5.5; 6. Jason Reiss, Manning, N.D.5.7.
Saddle bronc riding champion – Qwint Stroh, Dickinson, N.D.
1.Qwint Stroh, Dickinson, N.D. 85 points on Bailey Pro Rodeo’s Big Casino; 2. Josh Davison, Miles City, Mont. 83; 3. Jacob Kammerer, Philip, S.D. 82.5; 4. (tie) Chuck Schmidt, Keldron, S.D. and Shorty Garrett, Eagle Butte, S.D. 81 each; 6. Taygen Schuelke, Newell, S.D. 81.5.
Tie-down roping champion – Jason Vohs, Dickinson, N.D.
1. Jason Vohs, Dickinson, N.D. 9.9 seconds; 2. Tanner Wznick, Cavalier, N.D. 10.4; 3. Rex Treeby, Hecla, S.D. 10.7; 4. Will Powell, St. Ignatius, Mont. 11.1; 5. Cody Rood, Bengough, Sask. 11.2; 6. Jordan Staton, Hickson, S.D. 11.5.
Team roping champions – Alfred Hansen, Dickinson, N.D. and Luke Morast, Halliday, N.D.
1. Alfred Hansen, Dickinson, N.D./Luke Morast, Halliday, N.D. 5.3 seconds; 2. Butch Levell, Ft. Calhoun, Neb./Martin Walker, Belzoni, Miss. 6.5; 3. Wyatt Treeby, Hecla, S.D./Jimmy Jacobsen, Jr. Stacy, Minn. 7.2; 4.Turner Harris, Killdeer, N.D./Jade Nelson, Midland, S.D. 10.5; 5. Mikey Loiseau, Egan, S.D./Emit Valnes, Eden, S.D. 11.2; 6. Layne Carson, Grassy Butte, N.D./Jake Beard, Menoken, N.D. 11.7.
Barrel racing champion – Kaylee Gallino, Wasta, S.D.
1. Kaylee Gallino, Wasta, S.D. 12.16 seconds; 2. Amanda Harris, Spearfish, S.D. 12.21; 3. Jill Moody, Pierre, S.D. 12.29; 4. Carmel Wright, Roy,Mont. 12.54; 5. Terri Kaye Kirkland, Billings, Mont. 12.58; 6. Brandee Wardell, Buffalo, S.D. 12.61; 7. Heidi Gunderson, Murdock, Minn. 12.64; 8. Carey Rivinius, Carson, N.D. 12.68; 9. Summer Kosel, Glenham, S.D. 12.69; 10. Austyn Tobey, Bemidji, Minn. 12.70.
Bull riding champion – Reid Oftedahl, Pemberton, Minn.
1. Reid Oftedahl, Pemberton, Minn. 87 points on Bailey Pro Rodeo’s The Preacher; 2. Coy Thorson, Fergus Falls, Minn. 80; 3. Cleve Spang, Billings, Mont. 75; 4. Tate Smith, Litchville, S.D. 74; 5. Dalton Wright, Keene, N.D. 72.5.
** All results are unofficial. For more information, visit www.NorthDakotaWinterShow.com.