Cameron Morman wins the first round of the 2021 Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo. The Glen Ullin, N.D. cowboy leads his event and rides a four-time Badlands Circuit Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year. Photo by Alaina Stangle Photography.

By Ruth Nicolaus

MINOT, N.D. (Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo) – There’s a certain horse that loves the N.D. State Fair Center Arena.

Sir Frenchy Rio, whose barn name is Rio, has been making the trip to Minot for the Badlands Circuit finals Rodeo for the last dozen years, and he consistently carries his riders to steer wrestling wins.

And he did the same after the first round of the circuit finals for his owner, Cameron Morman. Morman made a 3.7 second run on Fri., Oct. 8 at the circuit finals, the PRCA’s championship event for the Dakotas.

Morman, Glen Ullin, N.D., purchased the sixteen-year-old horse three years ago from South Dakotan Jake Rinehart, who steer wrestled at the Badlands Circuit Finals on the gelding prior to that.

The horse, four times voted the Badlands Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year, fits Morman well.

The horse “is about as solid as they come. He gives me a lot of confidence,” he said.

Morman came into the circuit finals rodeo in first place in the circuit, with over $12,000 won, but he admitted he didn’t make the most of the rodeo season this year.

“I was maybe a little dull and fought my head just a little bit,” he said. He broke barriers at rodeos, adding ten second penalties, “just little things like that,” he said. “You win some, you lose some.

“And when you go to the next rodeo, you hope you’re sharper.”

Ironically, his backup horse, KG, won the 2021 Badlands Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year and is ridden by fellow steer wrestlers Sterling Lee and Billy Boldon.

But he prefers Rio. “It’s hard to quit something that works.

Morman leads the number two man in the circuit, Riley Wakefield, by more than $3,000. Wakefield, O’Neill, Neb., finished the round in second place.

Morman’s lead might be considered comfortable, but he’s not resting. A lead “is never comfortable because I want to win as much as I can. I need to do my job every round, stay in the average, and do my job.”

He’s had plenty of success at the Badlands Circuit Finals in Minot. “I like this building,” he said. “I’m pretty excited to come up here every year.”

He qualified for the National Finals Rodeo, the PRCA’s world championship, in 2019 and is a four-time Badlands Circuit champion: twice as year-end winner and twice as average winner.

Other first go-round winners include bareback rider Ty Breuer, Mandan, N.D. (79 points); team roping brothers Tucker and Cooper White, Hershey, Neb. (5.2 seconds); saddle bronc rider Cole Elshere, Faith, S.D. (82.5 points); breakaway roper Taylor Engesser, Spearfish, S.D. (2.4 seconds); barrel racer Amanda Welsh, Gillette, Wyo. (13.50 seconds); tie-down roper Riley Wakefield, O’Neill, Neb. (8.2 seconds) and bull rider Coleman Entze, Golden Valley, N.D. (85 points).

The second and third rounds of the Circuit Finals continue Oct. 9-10 with a performance on Saturday night at 7 pm and a Sunday matinee at 2 pm. For more information on the rodeo, visit BadlandsCircuitFinals.com.

For full results from this night’s rodeo, visit ProRodeo.com.

Results, 1st Go-Round, Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo, Minot, North Dakota
October 8, 2021

Bareback Riding
1. Ty Breuer, Mandan, N.D. 79 points on Fettig Pro Rodeo’s Ninety Proof; 2. Nate McFadden, Elsmere, Neb. 68; 3. Andy Gingerich, Aberdeen, S.D. 67.

Steer Wrestling
1. Cameron Morman, Glen Ullin, N.D. 3.7 seconds; 2. Riley Wakefield, O’Neill, Neb. 4.1; 3. (tie) Riley Reiss, Manning, N.D. and Billy Boldon, Oglala, S.D. 4.2 seconds each.

Team Roping
1. Cooper White, Hershey, Neb./Tucker White, Hershey, Neb. 5.2 seconds; 2. Braden Pirrung, Hartford, S.D./Coley Nicholls, Kinnear, Wyo. 5.3; 3. Cameron Irwin, Buffalo, Wyo./Cash Hetzel, Lemmon, S.D. 5.8; 4. Jade Schmidt, Box Elder, S.D./Jade Nelson, Midland, S.D. 5.9.

Saddle bronc riding
1. Cole Elshere, Faith, S.D. 82.5 points on Sutton Rodeo’s Best Friend; 2. Ty Manke, Rapid City, S.D. 82; 3. Dusty Hausauer, Dickinson, N.D. 81; 4. Jade Blackwell, Rapid City, S.D. 80.

Breakaway roping
1. Taylor Engesser, Rapid City, S.D. 2.4 seconds; 2. Sarah Morrissey, Ellensburg, Wash. 2.5; 3. (tie) Sawyer Gilbert, Buffalo, S.D. and Bailey Berg, Mandan, N.D. 2.6 each.

Barrel racing
1. Amanda Welsh, Gillette, Wyo. 13.50 seconds; 2. Lakken Bice, Killdeer, N.D. 13.55; 3. (tie) Jessica Routier, Buffalo, S.D. and Kristen Zancanella, Aurora, S.D. 13.71 seconds each.

Tie-down roping
1. Riley Wakefield, O’Neill, Neb. 8.2 seconds; 2. (tie) Clint Kindred, Oral, S.D. and Trey Young, Dupree, S.D. 9.5 each; 4. Rance Johnson, Philip, S.D. 10.2.

Bull riding
1. Coleman Entze, Golden Valley, N.D. 85 points on Korkow Rodeo’s Medicated; 2. Riggin Shippy, Colome, S.D. 83; 3. Mason James Moody, Letcher, S.D. 75; no other qualified rides.

** All results are unofficial.