Bucking horses, bulls selected for awards in the Badlands Circuit
Minot, N.D. (October 23, 2018) – In rodeo, it’s not just the cowboys who get the glory. It’s the animals, too.
In the Badlands Circuit, four bucking horses and two bulls have been honored with accolades.
For the Badlands Circuit Year Awards, Yankee Rose and South Point, both bucking horses owned by Sutton Rodeo Co. won the events of bareback horse and saddle bronc horse, respectively. The bull Cougar, owned by Bailey Pro Rodeo, won bull of the year.
For the Badlands Circuit Finals Awards, bareback horse Onion Ring and saddle bronc horse Bad Onion, both owned by Korkow Rodeos, won their events, and the bull of the finals was won by Ace High, of Bailey Pro Rodeo.
Yankee Rose is a horse that Steve Sutton, along with his dad Jim and the family, based out of Oneida, S.D., raised. The seven-year-old buckskin was started in the saddle bronc riding but when she didn’t show an interest in it, the Suttons switched her to the bareback riding, and “she’s been one of the cowboys’ favorites ever since,” Steve Sutton said. “She’s cowboy friendly. She’s not an arm jerker, she’s not hard on their bodies, but she’s still marked nineteen or twenty points all the time.”
The saddle bronc of the year, South Point, is owned by the Suttons and waits for no one. The twelve-year-old bay gelding doesn’t delay in the chutes; some cowboys don’t get a measurement on their rein because the gelding doesn’t wait around, Sutton said. At nearly every Sutton rodeo this year, the saddle bronc riding was won on him. This is the second year South Point has won the Badlands award.
Ty Manke wins the third round of the Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo aboard South Point, the Sutton Rodeo horse that won the 2018 Badlands Bareback Horse of the Year. – Peggy Gander/Cowboy Images
The bull of the year, Cougar, is a five-year-old black flat-horned animal who is “pretty rider friendly,” said Shane Gunderson, co-owner of Bailey Pro Rodeo, Baldwin, N.D. “They ride him about sixty percent of the time, but they win on him every time. He’s just good to ride.”
Cougar, a five-year-old bull owned by Bailey Pro Rodeo, is the 2018 Badlands Bull of the Year. – Peggy Gander/Cowboy Images
For the finals awards, two Korkow horses were recognized.
Onion Ring, an eight-year-old solid sorrel gelding, won the bareback horse of the finals. He’s docile, said TJ Korkow, who is the third generation of the family on the ranch near Pierre, S.D. “You can go up to him and pet him. He’s just dog gentle, but he loves what he does.”
Bareback Horse of the Year Onion Ring – Peggy Gander/Cowboy Images
The cowboys love him, too. “He gets stronger as the ride goes on,” Korkow said. “He leaves the chute good, and as the ride progresses, he’s jumping higher and dropping harder.” Onion Ring was selected as the number two bareback horse in the PRCA for 2018.
His half-brother, Bad Onion, won saddle bronc of the finals. Also an eight-year-old, Bad Onion is not like his sibling. “You cannot walk up to him without maybe him pawing you in the head,” Korkow joked. “He is not friendly.” The sorrel with socks on his back feet and a strip face leaves the chute and often kicks over the top rail of the chutes. “He’s a bucker,” Korkow said.
Saddle Bronc of the Finals Bad Onion – Peggy Gander/Cowboy Images
In the bull riding, the bull Ace High is the one the cowboys love to ride. The six-year-old yellow bull, however, has other plans; in the last two years, only two cowboys have made a qualified ride on him. Outside the arena, he is “pretty easy to handle,” said Gunderson. “He’s just a nice bull.”
Bull of the Finals Aces High – Peggy Gander/Cowboy Images
Voting on the animals is done at the Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo by the contestants in their respective events. The Badlands Circuit Finals, hosted by the Minot Y’s Men’s Rodeo was held in Minot October 5-7. Next year’s circuit finals will be October 11-13, 2019. For more information, visit www.MinotYsMensRodeo.com or www.ProRodeo.com.
Bad Onion bucks off saddle bronc rider Jeremy Meeks at the Badlands Circuit Finals in October. The horse, owned by Korkow Rodeos, is the 2018 Saddle Bronc of the Finals. Photo by Peggy Gander/Cowboy Images.
The 2018 Bareback Horse of the Finals went to Onion Ring, who bucked off Nick Schwedhelm at the Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo in Minot in October. The horse is owned by Korkow Rodeos. Photo by Peggy Gander/Cowboy Images.
Jeff Bertus attempts to ride Bailey Pro Rodeo’s Ace High at the Badlands Circuit Finals earlier this month. The bull, who is the Badlands Bull of the Finals, has bucked off every cowboy but two in the past two years.
