The 2026 rodeo season may have just come to an end but rodeo athletes are already jumping back in the arena to prepare for 2027 and their chance to earn a spot at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR). Winners of the Badlands Circuit Finals are now looking to set the tone for how the 2027 season is going to go.
Rough Stock Rides
After landing at No. 18 this past year, bareback rider Carson Hildre came out to Minot, North Dakota with something to prove. He set the tone with consistency during his performance at Badlands after a third place finish in round two with an 85-point ride.
Hildre pulled that momentum into the third and final round as his 88.5-point ride on Korkow Rodeos' Slushy Milk scored him the win and a check for $2,612 to add to his 2027 prizepot.
A rookie saddle bronc rider stole the show in North Dakota as Chase Kling set the bar high all weekend long. He started off in the middle of the pack with a third place finish (82.5 points) in round one but he only got better from there.
By the final round, Cash Wilson had also worked his way to the top with a round two win thanks to an 87-point ride. Both cowboys brought their A-game to the third round as Kling and Wilson tied for the win with an 87.5-point ride. Kling went on to narrowly secure the average title with 255 points on three head, compared to Wilson’s 254.5 for $2,285 each.
Rounding out the rough stock events was an impressive performance from bull rider Raile Joens. As the only cowboy to have two qualifying rides, he earned $3,917 with 164.5 points on two head. He came out on top after two second place finishes in round one and round three.
Barrels and Breakaway
This veteran lady of barrel racing was out for blood this weekend after not securing a spot at the NFR. Summer Kosel blazed into the arena during round one, clinching her spot at the top with a run of 13.46 seconds. After a second place finish in round two (13.58) and a third place finish in round three (13.56) her consistency and speed won her the average and a check for $3,917.
The ladies of breakaway had a need for speed in North Dakota as the time to beat was set by Samantha Fulton in two of the three rounds. She won round one in 2.2 seconds and round two in 2.1 seconds. It was only in round three that she was bested by Amber Carson with her run of 1.9 seconds.
That wasn’t enough to beat Fulton in the average though as the cowgirl won the rodeo with 4.3 seconds on two head pocketing another $3,917 to start her season off strong.
Timed Event Turnout
Steer wrestling cowboys kept each other on their toes as there were no repeat winners all weekend long. Even though Chance Grill won round one, Austin Hurlburt won round two and Trey Bohmbach landed on top of round three, it was Sawyer Strand who earned the overall win.
Strand may have finished third in rounds one (5.2 seconds) and two ( 4.0 seconds) but managed to pull in the overall average win thanks to 14.6 seconds on three head, pocketing another $3,917 to add to his weekend total.
Team roping pair Logan Olson and Matt Zancanella earned their win this weekend after landing near the top of the leaderboard in the first two rounds. The set the time to beat for the weekend at 4.2 seconds during round one and no other team came to touch that time, earning the cowboys the average title thanks to 21.1 seconds on three head.
To finish off the timed events, tie-down ropers came in strong with the time to beat set at 8.4 seconds by Dalton Porch in the third round. He won the overall title as he ran just 28.0 seconds on three head.
Even though the 2027 season is just beginning, it’s clear that these athletes are ready for the race that’s to come once the 2026 NFR comes to a close.
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