Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo this weekend
MINOT- Another year of the region’s top Cowboys and Cowgirls are set to flood the North Dakota State Fair Center for the PRCA Badlands Circuit Finals October 11th -13th.
The Badlands Circuit Finals crown champions of ProRodeo from North and South Dakota. This year is shaping up to have a dramatic finish on Championship Saddle Sunday. The stakes are high for these Cowboys and Cowgirls with prize money on the line in addition to the chance of qualifying to compete at the NFR Open in July.
Saddle Bronc-Currently Holding the #1 spot is Kash Deal of Faith, SD. Although he sits $4,000 ahead of Cole Elshere, he plans to “Just take it one horse at a time. I just need to beat the horse” to hold onto first.
In June, Kash had back-to-back rodeos of no scores. Desperate to get out of his rut, Deal buckled down and found success in Clear Lake, SD, scoring 87.5 points on Dakota Rodeo’s “Richie’s High” placing 1st.
That same weekend Deal managed to take home another win on Korkow Rodeos “Joker Poker” in Dickinson, ND.
Those successive wins “spun the whole season around” for him. His cheering section will be heading to Minot with him, including his wife and two sons. Deal is excited about the finals and all it entails, but having his family there with him is the “best part of it all.”
Looking towards the circuit finals, Kash plans to stick to the basics, “Pre-Workout, stretch and ride.”
The 2nd position is held by Cole Elshere of Faith, SD who said there are two best-case scenarios at circuit finals, “either Kash wins the average, or I do.” In March at Rodeo Houston, Cole had consistent high scoring rides with a comfortable position in overall standings.
This July at Cheyenne Elshere tore his bicep, forcing him to take time to heal outside of the arena.
Wanting to keep up in the standings with hopes of qualifying for finals, Elshere made the difficult decision to continue riding with his non-dominant left hand for the remainder of the season. Cole will ride left-handed in Minot with plans to switch back to his right mid-November.
Elshere has managed to collect several checks riding with his non-dominant hand while the muscle tear heals, the most recent being at the Rough Rider Cup in Mandan, ND marking an 85 on Korkow Rodeos “Wiggle Worm.”
Cole and his family look at circuit finals like vacation, “we get a hotel, and the kids like to swim every day.” Family is first for Cole, not only have fellow contestants become like family, but he will also be competing against his own relatives: Thayne and Talon Elshere, “it’s always fun to be rodeoing with family.”
Steer Wrestling- Just shy of $300 ahead to claim that 1 st spot, Joe Nelson of Watford City, ND is hanging on by a thread.
Nelson has had a slow start to the season, he underwent surgery in January after tearing his shoulder in three places and his horse “Shortcut” needed time to recover form a life-threatening case of phenomena, the pair did not compete until the beginning of June.
The first rodeo of the 2024 for the team was Newtown, ND, “I felt a little behind” Nelson mentioned, but at the end of June in Kadoka, SD Nelson took home his first check of the year. Nelson remembers his run explaining the “steer was way to the right, I just had to snag and tuck,” and from “there on, it took off.”
This will be Nelson’s 5th circuit Finals, “it’s what you work for all year, I went in as #1 last year and I am excited to have another crack at it.” Nelson attributes his comeback to his traveling partners Rope Smith, Colten Herbert, River Voigt, and Lane Rossow.
With only a marginal lead as he heads to the circuit finals weekend, Joe has a game plan to hold on to that spot, “I just need to do my job. Score sharp, stay close to the barrier, get heads and throw ‘em down.”
Tie Down-Bodie Mattson of Sturgis, SD has Trey Young of Dupree, SD edged out of 1st coming into Minot by less than $1,000.
Mattson’s strategy is simple, “last year I came from behind, I am going to keep the same mentality, aggressive.”
Mattson has blazed his own rodeo trail by winning the NFR open and currently is marked high in world standings for the all-around title. “You know, rodeo is a humbling sport” Mattson said, describing how the highs of rodeo will last a few weeks with good runs, then a cowboy may hit some tough runs and things do not go as planned.
Mattson has learned from last season; he qualified for San Antonio and Fort Worth and wants to keep that same momentum going for circuit finals in Minot. Mattson wants to “keep it simple and do the same thing every time.” His consistency with each run is partly due to his horse “Bomber,” a 14-year-old black horse trained by his father, “he’s not the most athletic, but he is honest.”
Mattson hopes to enjoy some fine dining in Minot to celebrate his victories, “a guy could win $12,000, the committee does a great job with added money and the back number ceremony is always a good time.”
Bareback- Andy Gingerich of Aberdeen, SD and Richmond, MN native Kyle Bloomquist are the two cowboys sitting at the top. Bloomquist is behind by $2,000 and eager to close the gap with Gingerich.
Kyle Bloomquist plans to put up a fight, “Each round pays around $3,000; I just need to draw the right horses and go do my job for three nights in Minot”. Bloomquist has had a strong season with wins in Huron, SD, Council Bluffs, IA, Burke, SD and scored an 87.5 at the Burke Stampede aboard Muddy Creek Pro Rodeo’s “Black Mamba.”
“It’s a lot of reflection between your own thoughts and talking to your buddies about what they saw,” Bloomquist explains. Although he does not claim to be superstitious, for good measure he keeps his hat of the bed and so far, it has been proven to keep the bad luck away.
Gingerich, the leader going into circuit finals, has secured a check at every rodeo he entered since the beginning of August. Gingerich scored an impressive 87 in Killdeer, ND on Fettig Pro Rodeos “Hot Money” and has kept up his consistency all season.
The bareback riding is set to be a battle between these two, all coming to a head on championship Sunday.
Bull Riding- Dylan Rice of Flandreau, SD who has managed some impressive rides this season marking an 85.5 on Sutton Rodeo’s “Charlie Brown” and he currently sits in second place behind Custer, SD native Jestyn Woodward.
Jestyn has a different outlook on circuit finals after a head injury nearly cost him his life earlier this year,
“I am going to go have fun and let the cards lay the way they do.”
His road to recovery has been difficult, from regaining the ‘mind muscle’ connection, dealing with delayed reaction times, and sometimes forgetting where to put his hand on the bull. For someone who wears yellow chaps (a notoriously unlucky color), he is managing quite well, “sponsors pay me too much to change the color, superstitions are not even real.”
Woodward is ‘just glad to be here’ and looking forward to seeing his friends. A good buddy of his, Chance Schott, was injured in Greeley this year, “we talk every day on the phone” but Woodward is looking forward to Schott making it to Minot and spending three days.
For a man that was told he may never ride a bull again, Jestyn Woodward is coming into Circuit Finals sitting in first and ready to “let the cards lay.”
The competition at the PRCA Badlands Circuit Finals does not stop there. Barrel Racers, Team Ropers and Breakaway Cowgirls will all be competing for prize money, circuit championship saddles and the bragging rights that come along with it.
Tickets and more information are available online at www.rodeominot.com. Performances are at the North Dakota State Fair Center October 11th and 12th at 7pm, Cowboy church Sunday the 13th at 10am the high stakes Championship round to follow at 1pm.
The Wrangler Tradeshow will be back this year with shopping open until 10pm Friday and Saturday and 10am-4pm on Sunday.
The 2024 Badlands Circuit Finals, produced by Rodeo Minot is brought to you by 4 Bears Casino & Lodge, Dig It Up Backhoe Service, LSI Truck Sales, Pendleton Whisky, Cinch Jeans & Shirts, Las Vegas, Justin Boots, Montana Silversmiths, and Tenda Farm Paint.
