Rodeo Cohorts-Bodacious

The World’s Most Dangerous Bull

That is the title given to Bodacious, PBR World Champion Bull and PRCA Bucking Bull of the Year. Bodacious was born in 1988 and became infamous in the world of rodeo, not only as one of the great bucking bulls but also as a sire. Many of his sons and grandsons went on to become top notch bucking bulls in their own right, including Cat Man Do, Copperhead Slinger and Scaredy Cat.

 

No bull in rodeo history was as feared as Bodacious, a 1,900-pound cross-bred Charbray who was first bucked in 1992. In the four years that Bodacious was hauled to rodeos, he was nearly unrideable. The big yellow bull bucked off 127 of his 135 riders and became known for a bone-crushing style that sent many riders to the hospital, including world champions Tuff Hedeman and Terry Don West.

Bodacious had a distinctive bucking style. He would explode from the chute with such force there were times you could see his belly from the top of the chute. First ridden in 1993, it was two years before another bull rider made a qualified ride. Only 6 cowboys out of a whopping 135 put together an 8 second ride on the huge 1,800 pound yellow bull.
He was named PRCA Bull of the Year in 1994-95 and top bull of the National Finals Rodeo in 1992 and 1994-95. He was retired during the 10th round of the 1995 National Finals Rodeo.

Bodacious is known for one particular trick that resulted in many injuries for the bullriders. He would kick over his head, forcing a rider to shift his weight forward then sling his head up full force, smashing the rider's face.

Tuff Hedeman is one of the few riders to have ever ridden Bodacious with a 95-point ride in 1993. However, the ride most people remember happened in the short-go of the 1995 PBR World Finals. Tuff was jerked down by Bodacious upon leaving the bucking chute and struck his face on the bull’s head, shattering every major bone in his face.

In 1995, rider Scott Breding tried wearing a hockey mask. However, this failed to protect him adequately. Bodacious head-butted Breding, breaking his nose and bursting his eye sockets.

A few days later, Bodacious was retired from professional bull riding forever. In 1999, Bodacious was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and many know him as "the greatest bull to ever buck."

He lived out the rest of his life on Sammy Andrews' ranch, where he is buried and fans still come to honor him.

He died in 2000 when a cut was discovered on his foot which caused a bone infection. The medication used to counter act the bone infection caused his kidneys to fail. 

Bodacious was a real star of rodeo being the first bull to have his own agent and merchandise line.

Anyone ever watch Bodacious buck? What an athlete.

 

Rodeo Cohorts-Texaco and Brazille

Ever wonder how Trevor Brazille got his calf horse, Texaco? 

The little red horse who’s registered name is Real "Someone offered owner Bob Scott $200,000 for him before the NCHA  cutting futurity," says Brazile. "Bob turned it down, and in the futurity, the horse ran off and refused to cut." It turns out Texaco was afraid of calves.

 

Cool Dual, is a son of Dual Pep, so he started out life as a cutting horse.

After gelding the horse, Scott gave him to Trevor to train for calf roping.

"When I got him, he didn't trust anybody," Trevor says. "He would kick when you dismounted, he would kick when you tried to put boots on him and he was scared of cattle. When he saw a calf loaded in the chute, he'd break out into a sweat. He's been the biggest challenge I've ever worked with."

Getting the horse over his fear took a lot of patience, but Trevor knew the horse had a lot of potential. Eventually his patience and persistence paid off, and Brazile earned the horse's trust. The two have been blazing a trail across the ProRodeo world ever since,

"He can score really well," Trevor says. "And for being such a small horse - he's only 13.3 hands - he can really fly. He's always right on the calf. I call him Texaco, because he's my own little oil well."

There’s only one horse Trevor has ever roped a calf on without a bridle--Texaco. The pair accomplished the feat at the Fort Worth Stock Show’s AQHA tie-down roping class late in January 2010. The 7.8 second run beat every other roper there.

So what made Brazille do it?  “Three-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo tie-down roper Cade Swor said it wasn’t fair I was riding Texaco, unless I didn’t use a bridle. I told him to go get a good seat. It would have been nice if I’d had a warning and could have tried it once at home. But that’s not how it happened, so we just had to roll with it.”

The run beat everyone else, but there is an AQHA rule that states, “in all western classes, horses will be shown in a western saddle and appropriate bridle, snaffle bit or hackamore for the duration of the class.”

Unfortunately, the run was disqualified, but Texaco has become one of the best known calf horses ever. For a little guy, he’s left big horseshoes to fill.

Have you ever had a little horse with a big heart? What is the name of your favorite horse?

Rodeo Cohorts--Night Jacket

If you ask around bucking horse circles, one name keeps coming up as a top contender for all-time top bucking horse sire--Night Jacket. The big paint stud is made a name for himself as a bareback bronc first, then after retirement, his colts have populated the best bucking horse of the year lists.

Night Jacket was by a stud out of Johnny Morris's herd. According to Guy French, the stud couldn't buck a lick but was probably one of the best sires ever. 

“Back in the early ’70s we bought a big brown mare out of a riding stable and named her Nightline,” said Jim Zinser of the J Bar J rodeo company. “That horse went on to be the three-time horse of the year in the International Pro Rodeo Association. She raised six colts, and all but one of them was a world’s champion. Nightline was three times horse of the year in the IPRA, and one of her colts was the great horse, Night Jacket, who has sired so many of these great horses we have in rodeo today.” 

Night Jacket, a seven-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo bareback horse, sold in 2009 to Cullen Pickett of Lancaster & Pickett Pro Rodeo for $200,000, which is believed to be the most money every paid for a rodeo bucking horse.

Night Jacket had a very distinctive bucking style. He got entirely up in the air. He looked like he was floating and had a lot of kick. Lan LaJeunesse teamed up with Night Jacket in the fifth round of the 2001 Wrangler NFR for an 89-point ride to help him win his second world championship. The feature that made him a great sire is that many of Night Jacket's offspring also exhibit his size and athletic ability and disposition.

J Bar J, previously owned by the Zinsers, was purchased by Mark "Sparky" Dressen in 2007. "Night Jacket was the coolest horse,” said Dressen. “He never really acted like a typical stud. When we took him to Vegas he stood comfortably in the pen. You could put him by mares. You could haul him with other horses easily. He was a gentleman, but when he got in the arena he knew he his job."

Sixteen offspring of legendary stud Night Jacket competed at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo during the 2010 season. The bucking horses are owned by five different stock contracting firms and the list includes, a son, 2010 Bareback Riding Horse of the Year Big Tex owned by Classic Pro Rodeo.

Night Jacket’s first colt crop was in 2000 and from then until 2007 he produced 74 colts, 24 of which have been selected to buck at the Wrangler NFR. Those colts have accumulated 75 total WNFR qualifications. At the 2012 WNFR, there was $159,407 won on his 17 colts.

Big Tex and MGM Deuces Night, Night Jacket foals, have been two of the last three recipients of the Pendleton Whisky Let ’er Buck Bareback Horse of the Year Awards. Dirty Jacket finished third in last year’s balloting, and Delta Ship was twice been voted Wrangler NFR Bareback Horse of the Year. These outstanding bucking horses have won numerous awards from PRCA. At last year’s NFR, Delta Ship was the Bareback of the finals. Two of these colts hold the arena record at the WNFR, Delta Ship and Big Tex.  

This was the FB post from Picket Pro Rodeo on July 31, 2013.

“Today we lost a part of our family, a legend in his own time, and quite arguably the best bucking horse sire ever. 
Night Jacket and his progeny have forever changed the rough stock world of bucking horses. His colts have continually impacted and moved our industry a giant leap forward. We are so very proud to have owned him, cared for him, and loved him. Our hat is off to Jim and Margaret Zinser for their dedication to their genetics and breeding program otherwise we would never have been able to experience everything Night Jacket had to offer. No doubt he was one of the special ones that will be greatly missed by so many in the rodeo community. Thanks so much for all if your support and look forward to seeing his legacy perform for the next decade!”

    

Night Jacket is on a very short list of candidates for the title of best-producing rodeo stud of all time. Most stud horses leave descendants behind when they pass--

Night Jacket leaves a legacy.

Rodeo Cohorts-Peanut

Peanut, Make It Do, came by his nickname honestly. When he was unloaded at the Bay Meadows Track in 1966 for training, he was a scraggy two-year old, much smaller than the other Quarter Horses coming into the barn. He was owned by well-known horseman, Judd Morse, who predicted the 850 pound midget would win more races than any of his stable mates. He was a well-built colt, but was, “no bigger than a peanut,” said jockey, Jack Robinson.

Little Make It Do made do. He left the starting gate like a scared jackrabbit and won his first race easily. He kept doing that, and size never mattered. “They said this little shrimp is the best,” boasted Stan Immenschuh, the trainer who was delivering horses to the track. He was raced as a two and three year old, and won six of twenty-two starts. 

The gelding was traded to rodeo cowboy Bob Barnes who turned him into a steer wrestling horse. With his quick move out of the box and speed, he was perfect for the event. He became the hazing side of CR Jones team in 1978 and moved to the other side a year later. He quickly became a star.

Aboard Peanuts, Tom Ferguson of Miami, Oklahoma, won six Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association all-around titles and three steer wrestling titles. Frank Shepperson and Bob Marshall both won world championships in steer wrestling, and C.R., Larry Ferguson, Dave Brock, Paul Tierney, Fred Larsen, Larry Dawson, Pat Nogle, Casper Schaefer, Paul Hughes and Darrel Sewell all rode the bay gelding at the National Finals Rodeo.

Peanuts the steer wrestling average at the Calgary Stampede five years in a row. Even better, he won the world championship in steer wrestling four years in a row (1976-1979). He went to the NFR every year from 1973-1980, and each year, at least five of the top 15 cowboys rode him.

He was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the Pendleton Rodeo Museum in Pendleton, Oregon, the Rodeo Hall of Fame in The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City and the AQHA Hall of Fame.

When Peanuts was retired in 1981, cowboys had won more than a million dollars on his back. He was turned out in a small acreage at C.R.’s home near Lakeside, California, and was euthanized April 27, 1995, at the age of 31 due to complications from a twisted gut. 

Of an estimated 450 Finals runs, cowboys wrestled 225 consecutive steers from Make It Do's back before ever missing one. I guess nobody ever told Peanut he couldn’t do it, or maybe, he just didn’t listen.