08/08/2026
I usually don’t post anything or respond to internet experts, but here’s why the bronc match in Faith, South Dakota, looks the way it does. As a professional cowboy, all you want is an even playing field. Let the riding do the talking. I’m showing you the stock scores from Faith. Yes, I’ve seen Faith when the horses were better, but I’ve also been there when they didn’t buck as good. A lot, and I mean a lot, of thought goes into setting pens. The goal is to make it as even as possible. There’s a reason you get the top guys in the world to show up, with 2 doctor releases and no turnouts. The guys you watched in Faith might only buck off two to five horses in an entire year. Turns out, they’re really good. That old Billy Bob down the road might have a bucking SOB that bucked off his nephew, and everybody thinks that horse could be a world champ. But that horse has probably never had Wyatt Casper spur the s**t out of him. Wyatt’s a bad cat, and so are the rest of the cowboys you watched in Faith. It’s a totally different game when you get to this level.
Now let’s talk about the bucking horses in the long go. These aren’t $2,500 bucking horses anymore. I’d guess the average price of those horses is somewhere between $25,000 and $50,000. Crazy, huh? And you probably don’t want to know what the short-round horses cost.
Now let’s talk about competition that week to get these bronc riders and horses there. While Faith was going on, there were rodeos in Sikeston Missouri, Lawton Oklahoma, Lovington New Mexico, Logan Utah, Dalhart Texas, Dawson Creek British Columbia, Missoula and Bozeman Montana, Coalville Utah, Afton Wyoming, and Venita Oklahoma. In a normal calendar year, Hermiston, Oregon, is going on too.
In the short go at Faith, I had a horse sitting there in the re-rides that Shorty was 90 points on in Fort Pierre. The next re-ride was an NFR horse, and the one after that was an NFR horse. You do that because if there are splits and you have to bring more riders back, you want every one of them to have a fair shot.
I can assure you this event costs a lot of money to put on. That committee is trying its hardest to make Faith special and guess what? They aren’t making money doing it either. This is what I do for a living, and Faith is the one I try to do as cheap as possible because I want to give back to a place that has given me so much. The same goes for the volunteers, this year and every year before. They are what has made Faith such a special place for so long. I know I’m thankful for Carv Thompson and every volunteer, past and present. What you’ve built gives young boys and girls a chance to see that they can go out and do something special in this world. Don’t tear down something that has taken so many years and so many people to build. Be proud of what you’ve done, past and present. There are a lot of places in this country that would love to have what Faith has.
Here’s to the Faith Stock Show & Rodeo and every volunteer who has helped make it what it is.
-Rorey
