Brookman Rodeo Discusses Loss of WNFR Bucking Horse Famous Dex

The rodeo world has lost one of its premiere Wrangler National Finals Rodeo bareback horses in Brookman Rodeo’s Famous Dex. He was nine years old.

Famous Dex’s final out came at the Pendleton (Ore.) Round-Up on Sept. 17. After bucking off Ty Breuer in the finals the horse lost its footing on the dirt, suffering a leg injury. Famous Dex was able to exit the arena on his own and be brought back to the family ranch in Sidney, Mont., but unfortunately had to be put down earlier this week.

“The vet out there took care of him as soon as he came out of the arena and actually thought he was going to be all right,” said Cathy Wieferich, owner of Brookman Rodeo. “Then he got on the truck and made his big trek home. He wasn’t too bad when he got home, but as the week progressed, he got worse. We made the tough decision to put him down.”

Famous Dex competed at the past two Wrangler National Finals Rodeos. A year ago, Kaycee Feild won Round 5 in Las Vegas on the horse with a 91-point ride. The ride was a historic one as it pushed Feild to 26 round wins at the NFR, which broke the PRCA bareback riding record for most round wins previously held by Bobby Mote.

In 2022, the horse led four different cowboys to the pay window. As a Montana ranch raised horse, the family said Famous Dex had a big impact on them both inside and out of the arena.

“He had a pretty large impact on us,” Wieferich said. “The cowboys loved drawing him because he was rank. He was ranch raised, so it was really neat to see him go on and be a big bucker.”

Courtesy of PRCA