Over the decades, rodeo has remained consistent. While slight adaptations have been made, the foundation has stayed the same. Allowing those who are excelling now to be deservedly associated with those who came before them.

Putting on a show

The biggest rodeo in North Dakota each year is the Minot Y’s Men’s Rodeo, as they host the regional Badlands Circuit Finals with the winners advancing to the National Circuit Finals. There are 12 regional circuit finals across the country.

“It’s probably one of the best circuit finals in the whole nation,” said Rick Thompson, the executive director of the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame. “I haven’t been to all of them, but I’ve been to most and it’s one of the better ones. We can be really proud of that.”

Submitted Photo Barrel racer Britany Diaz from Solen speeds through the arena during a Minot Y’s Men’s Rodeo.

The event was founded in 1955 in a partnership between the North Dakota Rodeo Association (NDRA) and the Minot YMCA to hold a grand finale event to end the rodeo season and crown state champions.

Held at the Minot Auditorium, it was North Dakota’s first indoor rodeo. The three-day event attracted nearly 11,500 people through the gates.

The NDRA slowly separated itself from the event after controversy arose several times in the naming of all-around champions, and in 1964 they established their own Championship Finals rodeo in Valley City.

The Minot rodeo was relocated from the auditorium to its current venue at the All Seasons Arena in 1975.

With the leadership of former Minot Mayor George Christensen, who was a charter member of the NDRA and founding member of the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame (NDCHF), the Y’s Men’s Rodeo evolved into one of the premier events on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) circuit.

This photo shows Jeff Bertus from Avon, S.D., riding bull High Maintenance at the Minot Y’s Men’s Rodeo. Submitted Photo

Minot also hosts a pair of Ranch Rodeos during the State Fair. The team-based competition with five timed events is catered toward the full-time ranchers wanting to win some bragging rights.

Elsewhere around the state, there are long standing rodeos that are embedded into their communities.

Killdeer is home to the first sanctioned rodeo in the state and is still going strong 94 years later. The NDRA Finals were held in Watford City this year.

Larger cities like Fargo, Bismarck, Dickinson and Jamestown each host annual events, but it’s everlasting rodeos in smaller communities – from the PRCA rodeo held in Ashley, population of 700, to the NDRA rodeo put on by the 550-plus people in Towner – that embodies the dedication to preserve tradition.

“There were a lot more rodeos back in the 1940s and 1950s in North Dakota, but they didn’t survive,” Thompson said. “It costs a lot a money to put on a rodeo, and that’s the biggest problem. Small rodeos are really hard to fund.”

Submitted Photo This photo shows Mandan’s bareback rider Ty Breuer.

Evolution of rodeo

Once just a hobby, money has turned rodeo into a business.

“It was a different deal back then, when they had rodeos because it was something to do on a Saturday afternoon,” Thompson said. “They weren’t really in it for the business. But, when the business part of it came, they couldn’t see how they could afford to do it anymore. That’s the main thing why they quit. It takes people and people with passion to do it and they ran out of that. And I’m sure there is a story behind everyone for the reason why they quit.”

On the other hand, prize winnings have increased with the economy and access to more sponsorships to support the larger events. As a result, there are more trained athletes competing to make a living.

“It’s more of an athletic type of sport now than it was say in the ’80s,” Thompson said. “There is a lot more emphasis today in every event on working out and the physicality. That’s really easy to see in the bull riding… These 18-year old kids are coming out and doing these things that the veterans haven’t even thought about doing.”

A development of new tendencies despite having traditional events that haven’t really changed.

“That’s the thing about rodeo,” Thompson said. “It’s rich in history and has maintained that. There are a few rule changes, but not like you would see in football or basketball. It’s pretty rooted in history.”

Past and present icons

North Dakota has produced three world champions, all whom are in the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado. The first was Grassy Butte saddle bronc rider Alvin Nelson in 1957. He was followed by four-time (1981, 1983-85) saddle bronc riding world champion Brad Gjermundson from Richardson.

Lastly, Dickinson’s Wayne Herman won the 1992 bareback rider world championship.

Nelson is also known for being a part of the North Dakota Six Pack crew, which included Jim and Tom Tescher, Duane Howard, Joe Chase, and Dean Armstrong.

“If you’re rodeo fans at all then you’ll know who the North Dakota Six Pack are,” Thompson said. “Those six traveled at the same time period and that’s why they were called the Six Pack. That was at a time when there weren’t a whole lot of cowboys participating because they left ranches to go to Madison Square Garden for instance, or Dallas, Texas, or Los Angeles, California.

“They had to travel long distances and for those guys to do it was definitely tougher than it is today. They all had success, all at the same time. Plenty of accolades at time not many people were getting them.”

Nowadays, the faces of North Dakota rodeo are the likes of Mandan’s Ty Breuer – a three-time bareback qualifier for the National Finals – or Dickinson saddle bronc veteran Dusty Hausauer or a handful of cowgirls that have taken up barrel racing: Dickinson’s Erin Wanner, Solen’s Britany Diaz or even Gjermundson’s daughter Hali.

A pastime passed down through generations, rodeo rides on.