Hardwick native JR Scott’s interest in beef cattle began at a young age, participating in Rock County 4-H and in FFA at Luverne Public Schools. Today, the 36-year-old is still involved in beef, operating a livestock auction barn in Herreid, S.D., as well as raising his own feeder cattle.
“One thing about it, it’s in your blood,” said Scott by phone during one of his frequent trips from Herreid to Hardwick, where he has cattle on pasture.
Among the stock currently on pasture is a mix of registered American Bucking Bulls (ABB), used on the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) circuit and at other rodeo events where bull riding is conducted. Scott’s registered ABB herd are a cross between Brahma and Texas Longhorn, or a bull that is both athletic and rugged to handle the stress of traveling and performing at rodeos.
For Scott, feeding cattle began with his great-grandfather, BJ, with grandfather, Earl, constructing the two large feedlots northwest of Hardwick visually identified by the dozen stave silos constructed between the two sites. In the late 1990s, his late father Randy added a commercial cow-calf operation and in 2003, Scott and his wife, Lacey, started their own ABB herd with the cow-calves and the yearling bulls at the Hardwick location. Lacey’s family has been raising bucking bulls for decades in Mandan, N.D. and her father, Chad Berger, grew up raising bucking bulls, having developed the interest through his father.
The Scotts, then, represent the third generation of raising rodeo stock and currently have one of their homebred bulls on the PBR circuit: Rock River Red, a 5-year-old bull named after the river located near Hardwick.
Rock River Red is ranked 35 on the top 50 bucking bulls in the country as of the end of June on the probullstats.com website. Rock River Red has had 12 rides in 2014 at the PBR’s top rodeo event, the Built Ford Tough Series,’ with an average score of 43.58. The No. 1 ranked bull has an average score of 45.78.
Heather Croze, a PBR spokesperson, said a bull is scored based on the jumps, spins and bucks they complete in eight seconds. Bulls also receive a buck-off time percentage that lets riders know their chances of being bucked off. Rock River Red’s BOT percentage is 81.82 percent; the No. 1 bull’s is 93.75.
“Owners get money for a bull that is doing well,” Croze said.
Livestock owner Scott said, “It’s a long process to prepare” a bucking bull for competition.
For the first two years of its life, a bull is allowed to mature in the pasture with limited contact with humans. Training begins at age 2 when the horn ends are clipped as a safety precaution and their ability to buck is assessed. Scott said the best bucking bulls have a natural ability and can’t be taught to “kick the lights out.”
Using a 24-pound riding dummy, bull owners evaluate a bull’s ability to push their hind legs into the air as well as any twisting or spinning the animals can do to rid itself of the dummy and the flank strap. Scott said bulls are also evaluated for the “wild factor,” the natural instinct to bolt out of the bucking chute and begin bucking immediately.
Bulls that make the cut begin their careers at regional rodeo events as 3-year-olds, reaching their prime around 5 to 6 years but can continue to perform well at twice that age. Bucking bulls, like athletes, are fed a special diet and receive adequate rest between rodeo events. Most weigh between 1,500 to 1,700 pounds and are relatively small in stature, Scott said.
He is a member of the American Bucking Bull Inc., an organization that encourages “best practices” in bucking bull ownership, breeding, training and welfare.
Scott frequently attends the events where his stock is being used and said he finds routing for his bull or the rider conflicting.
“You want to root for your bull but then the guys are your friends too,” he said.
Scott settles on just wishing that each has a good ride.
The ultimate goal is to have the No. 1 ranked bull and as Rock River Red continues his performance in the top 35, more people have a chance to see the local bull on televised PBR events.