Ropin' and ridin' at NDRA Rodeo

Among the many great events to take in this past Fourth of July weekend was the Sheyenne Stampede NDRA Rodeo on July 2.

Sanctioned by the North Dakota Rodeo Association, cowboys and cowgirls from throughout the state, and as far away as Montana, South Dakota and Texas, traveled to Sheyenne to compete for thousands of dollars in available prize money.

The day featured all the classic rodeo events, including bareback, saddle bronc and bull riding, as well as tie-down roping, steer roping, barrel racing and more.

The slack events kicked off at 9 a.m. beginning with ladies barrel racing.

Dozens of cowgirls from all over North Dakota and Minnesota did their best to maneuver around the barrels, but it was a local cowgirl who bested them all.

Bobbi Olson of Sheyenne raced around the ring in a time of 17.905 seconds, narrowly beating a time of 17.944 previously set by Korrey Tweed of Pekin, N.D.

Just nine barrel racers were left after Olson set her time, and none were able to best it, giving her a first place result and a cash prize of $822.62.

Tweed's time was still good enough for second place and a $710.45 reward. Finishing less than a tenth of a second behind Tweed and taking third place was Kally Sorenson of Watford City, N.D. with a time of 18.036, earning herself $635.66.

Meanwhile, another local cowboy impressed in the tie- down roping event later that morning.

Tie-down roping is won by being the fastest rider and horse duo to rope and tie down a calf, and Jordan Staton of Grace City, N.D. came close to doing just that.

Staton was the last cowboy to compete in the morning's slack, and earned 70 points with a time of 10 seconds – enough to put himself in first place.

However, Jon Peek of Bismarck, N.D., would come in later that afternoon to earn 80 points with a time of 9.2 seconds, earning him first place honors and a reward of $626.40. No other cowboy could best Staton's performance however, giving him second place and a nice cash prize of $518.40.

Taking home third place in the event was Trevor Sorge of Garrison, N.D. with a time of 10.2 seconds and a reward of $356.40.

Of course, the main events of the day were bareback, saddle bronc and bull riding, and as per usual, many competitors found themselves bucked off and in the dirt. In fact, of the 13 cowboys that competed in bull riding, not one could stay on his bull long enough to earn a score.

When it came to bareback riding, however, Cole Gerhardt of Mandan, N.D. earned himself 80 points and an overall score of 69, enough to win the event and take home $422.76.

Thomas Kronberg of Forbes, N.D. and Will Demontigny of Dunseith, N.D, were the other two riders to score points in bareback riding, both earning scores of 62 and taking home $276.42.

Meanwhile, in saddle bronc riding it was Gavin Nelson of Sentinel Butte, N.D. that held on best, earning an impressive score of 80 to take first place and a prize of $528.26.

Nelson also won himself the day's prized possession: the Tom Wetzel Trophy Henry Rifle, a classic Henry repeating rifle awarded to the champion Saddle Bronc rider by Tom's family, in his honor.

Tom Wetzel was an avid rodeo fan and he often competed in the team roping event. He lost his battle with COPD in May 2021 at the age of 73, and the Henry Rifle Trophy named after him has been awarded at the Sheyenne Stampede Rodeo since.

Falling just short of getting themselves that prized trophy were Easton West of New Underwood, South Dakota and FW Flowers of Old Glory, Texas, who tied for second with scores of 76. They finished just ahead of another South Dakotan, Tate Kelley of Buffalo, S.D., who earned a score of 75.

For the full results of every event from the Sheyenne Stampede Rodeo go to ndrodeo.com and click on "results & standings."