April 25, 2019
Rodeo comes home to Fort Berthold
By Jerry W. Kram
The resurgence of rodeo on Fort Berthold got a real boost last weekend with the inaugural rodeo of the newly formed Northern Badlands Indian Rodeo Association at the Healing Horse Ranch near Parshall.
The NBIRA was formed by Chaundee Chase, Marty Youngbird and other area cowboys to give young riders a chance to get their feet wet in the organized rodeo circuit. The indoor rodeo at the Healing Horse Ranch drew cowboys from Wisconsin to Montana, including nearly 30 saddle bronc riders and more than 60 team roping teams.
Chase is the first president of the NBIRA and a fifth generation cowboy. The NBIRA organized in November. Chase is hoping to have eight to 10 rodeos this summer, mostly in the communities of Fort Berthold. He hopes this will continue the growing popularity of the sport.
“We’ve always had really good bronc riders come out of Fort Berthold and all around cowboys,” Chase said. “But over the past 10 years we’ve hardly had any new rodeo cowboys. For our first rodeo we have 21 rookie bronc riders. That’s almost unheard of. We’re pretty proud of that.”
Chase hopes NBIRA will be an entry point for a lot of young people interested in rodeo. Along with the rookie bronc riding, the Parshall rodeo included junior breakaway roping, barrel racing, team roping and bull riding.
The NBIRA was formed by Chaundee Chase, Marty Youngbird and other area cowboys to give young riders a chance to get their feet wet in the organized rodeo circuit. The indoor rodeo at the Healing Horse Ranch drew cowboys from Wisconsin to Montana, including nearly 30 saddle bronc riders and more than 60 team roping teams.
Chase is the first president of the NBIRA and a fifth generation cowboy. The NBIRA organized in November. Chase is hoping to have eight to 10 rodeos this summer, mostly in the communities of Fort Berthold. He hopes this will continue the growing popularity of the sport.
“We’ve always had really good bronc riders come out of Fort Berthold and all around cowboys,” Chase said. “But over the past 10 years we’ve hardly had any new rodeo cowboys. For our first rodeo we have 21 rookie bronc riders. That’s almost unheard of. We’re pretty proud of that.”
Chase hopes NBIRA will be an entry point for a lot of young people interested in rodeo. Along with the rookie bronc riding, the Parshall rodeo included junior breakaway roping, barrel racing, team roping and bull riding.
