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Horses, bulls at St. Paul Rodeo are accomplished animals with large personalities

Capone, a ten-year-old saddle bronc, bucks off a cowboy at the 2018 Livermore, Calif. rodeo. The horse, owned by Bridwell Pro Rodeos, likes to buck off cowboys.

St. Paul, Ore. (June 27, 2018) – The St. Paul Rodeo is full of “stock.”

Not the stock found on Wall Street, but the four-legged stock: livestock.

Without the bucking horses and bulls, the rodeo wouldn’t happen; they are the silent stars of the show.

Tim and Haley Bridwell, owners of Bridwell Pro Rodeos, will bring many of those animals to the St. Paul (Ore.) Rodeo July 3-7. They talk of their animals like a mom talks about her kids, knowing their accomplishments, personality, quirks, and their lineage. Their animals, like those owned by other pro rodeo men and women, are valuable and well treated.

One of their standout stars is Raggidy Ann, an eighteen-year-old strawberry roan mare.

The mare is one of Bridwell’s more accomplished horses, being selected to buck at the pinnacle of the pro rodeo world, the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (WNFR), nine times.

Raggidy Ann is a bareback horse, and an “alpha female,” Haley said. In the pen, “she and her friends rule the roost.” She’s the type of horse the cowboys love to ride. Because of the way she bucks, she allows cowboys to get a lot of points. Her bucking style is “very patterned,” Tim said, “and all the guys know it. Her style is real flashy, and the cowboys are able to spur and show off their ability.” At the Livermore, Calif. rodeo in June, bareback rider Caleb Bennett scored 86 points to win third place on Raggidy Ann.

Raggidy Ann is also a mom. Her son, Capone, was born in 2008 and is both a bareback horse and a saddle bronc. Capone has been selected to buck at the WNFR three times, but his bucking pattern isn’t as consistent as his mom’s. He’s more of an “eliminator” – the type of horse that will throw cowboys off. “He jumps one way,” Tim said, “then another. He’ll jump forward, and he’ll jump high.”

When it comes to bucking horses, the Bridwells choose a stallion that bucks well, a mare that bucks, and breed them. The Bridwells are looking for size, intelligence, and heart in their bucking horses. “The main ingredient is heart,” Tim said. “You can’t make them buck.” Smarts are also important. “They have to know how to do their job, and be calm enough to take the cheering of the crowds and all the other activities that go on” at a rodeo.

The Bridwells are the primary stock contractors for the St. Paul Rodeo; other stock contractors will also bring horses and bulls. There will be about 180 bucking horses and about sixty bulls. The bulls will buck twice over the five day rodeo; the horses will only buck once.

It takes quite a bit of logistics and feed to house and care for 240 head of horses and bulls. The horses from different owners can be put in the same pen, but the bulls can’t. They will fight for domination amongst themselves, so they must be kept in different pens, each owner’s animals in their own pens.

Raggidy Ann, a bareback horse, is an “alpha female” in the herd owned by Bridwell Pro Rodeos. A strawberry roan, she will buck at the St. Paul Rodeo July 3-7.

Tim has been involved with bucking horses since 2005, beginning with the Growney Rodeo Co. in Red Bluff, Calif. Two years ago, he and Haley started their own company. They provide livestock for rodeos on the west coast.

Another mother/son duo owned by the Bridwells will bring to St. Paul is Indian Summer and Indian Burn.

Indian Summer is a fourteen-year-old brown mare who is a saddle bronc. Her son, Indian Burn, who is a five-year-old, was selected to buck at the WNFR last year.

Indian Burn is exceptionally large, weighing in at 1,550 lbs. His personality matches his size, Haley said. “He’s so gentle, he’s a gentle giant.” At the Bridwell ranch near Red Bluff, he had his hoof on the fence. Haley walked by and picked it up, pushing it off the fence. He’s also very smart and curious. “He’s always in your business,” attentive to what people around him are doing.

Indian Burn is friends with his half-brother, a horse named Beaver Bend who is by the same stud, but out of different mares. The horses become friends, nickering at each other when they come back from the rodeo arena and into the back pens.

Indian Burn has thrown off nearly all his riders. Out of eleven attempts, only one cowboy has made it to the eight second buzzer: Cort Scheer, at the City of Industry, Calif. rodeo last year. He got a score of 79 points, because “he barely stayed on,” Tim said.

During the rodeo season, the horses are on special rations. They eat about five pounds of grain and thirty pounds of hay a day, and fresh water is kept in front of them all the time.

The Bridwells love their job and their animals, and they want that to show through to rodeo fans. “We want our fans to see a glimpse of what we do on a daily basis,” Haley said “We wish they could know our animals as intimately as we do. They are so different, and there are so many things that are fun to see, as they grow and develop into their own. We are invested in our animals first and foremost, and making their life good.”

Other stock contractors who will have animals at the St. Paul Rodeo include Big Stone Rodeo, Cessford, Alberta; Big Stone, Moreno and Growney Rodeo, Cessford, Alberta; Corey and Lange Rodeo, Moses Lake, Wash., and Korkow Rodeos, Pierre, S.D.

The 83rd annual St. Paul Rodeo kicks off July 3 and runs through July 7. Performances begin each night at 7:30 pm with a 1:30 pm matinee on July 4. Other attractions at the Nation’s Greatest Fourth of July rodeo include fireworks following each night of rodeo and a big parade through St. Paul at 10 am on July 4.

Tickets are on sale and range in price from $16 to $26. They can be purchased online at www.StPaulRodeo.com, at the rodeo ticket office, or at the gate.

For more information, visit the website or call the rodeo office at 800.237.5920.

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