Rodeo Articles

Brittany Pozzi-Tonozzi and Conquer Equine

February 4, 2022
Jessie Salter

Brittany and Garrett Tonozzi are the team behind Conquer Equine. A cowboy or cowgirl’s career can be made by a good horse. With the competition being so tough, competitors want to do everything they can to help their horses stay conditioned and recover from injury faster.   2-Time World Champion Barrel Racer, Brittany Pozzi-Tonozzi knows how […]


Badger and the Queen

January 31, 2022
Ruth Nicolaus

One of the first Miss Rodeo Americas rode a special horse. Dallas Hunt George, the 1957 Miss Rodeo America from Lincoln, Neb., owned a special quarter horse, Wyoming Badger. The gray horse known as Badger was purchased for her by her granddad, Guy Hunt, who she knew as Gramp, when she was sixteen years old. […]


Fire Fly; Ranch Bred, Raised and Trained Makes NFR

January 4, 2022
Ruth Nicolaus

A ranch-raised and trained horse was among the barrel racing mounts at the 2021 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Frenchman Fire Fly, “Fire Fly,” was bred by B-P Quarter Horses, Bob and Peggy Welsh, Gillette, Wyo., and is ridden by their daughter, Amanda Welsh. Bob got Fire Fly’s grandmother, Special Rocket, whose bloodlines included Idaho Special […]


Apollo the Badlands Rising Star Horse of the Year

January 3, 2022
Ruth Nicolaus

Summer Kosel has a horse that she says is “blessed by the blood of Jesus.” FirewaterFrenchFame, “Apollo,” a seven-year-old gelding, carried his jockey to her first Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo qualification in October, and to a top 50 finish in the WPRA 2021 world standings. Raised by Carol Warren of Oregon, he was purchased by […]


Cowboy Boot Style Evolution

October 10, 2021
Jolyn Young

I had to buy cowboy boots the other day, because it’s been a year or eight since I purchased a new pair. I wish I was kidding. A combination of more motherhood=less saddle time, owning a few pairs that I rotated through so none were too worn, and just not really stopping to consider the […]


What a Guy

September 29, 2021
Ruth Nicolaus

An iconic horse passed away on August 13 of this year. Frenchmans Guy, the palomino stud owned by Bill and Deb Myers of St. Onge, S.D. died at the age of 34. The horse changed the rodeo world and the Myers’ world as well. Sired by Sun Frost and out of the Laughing Boy mare […]


Spider the Bucking Horse

September 10, 2021
Ruth Nicolaus

There’s a hole a special horse used to fill, at the Gunderson ranch in western North Dakota. H46 Spider, a bucking horse in the Bailey Pro Rodeo string, has passed on to greener pastures. He was originally owned by Montanan Jack Hinland, who sold him to Shane Vaira. The 26-year-old gelding died of colic on […]


Sky is the Limit

September 1, 2021
Ruth Nicolaus

A very special horse changed the course of Nikki Steffes Hansen’s life. Because of Sky High Guy, the South Dakota barrel racer is training horses and competing on them instead of being a dentist. This year, she’s decided to retire the seventeen-year-old palomino from professional competition. She and Sky’s paths crossed when he was a […]


Electrolyte Lowdown

August 4, 2021
Jolyn Young

Electrolytes. They’ve been a mainstay buzzword for years in the performance horse world. Professional competitors smile at us from the pages of glossy magazines and attest to how much such-and-such brand has drastically improved their performance. Online ads tell us we need to give them to our equine partners in order for them to stay […]


How To Hydrate

July 15, 2021
Jolyn Young

Temperatures are soaring, high temperature records are breaking, and the forecast is calling for many more weeks of hot weather before summer’s end. Active people like horse owners aren’t content to stay indoors until the weather cools down, so how can we safely enjoy outdoor activities? Hydration is one important piece of that puzzle. Drink […]