Beutler: Young bull has Voodoo potential

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Published on Wednesday, 31 August 2011 15:50

Dale Denwalt and Derek Brown
Daily Elk Citian

When Voodoo Child came out of the gates five years ago, the rodeo world watched as cowboy after cowboy fell under the bull's bucking prowess. 

Beutler and Son Rodeo Company owns the two-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Bull of the Year that bucked almost 95 percent of its riders, and has since let Voodoo Child go "runnin' with the cows." Fans of the sport may see another dominant animal from the Beutler ranch at this weekend's Rodeo of Champions.

Owner Rhett Beutler said Drop Tine, a 1,700 pound steer, looks an awful lot like Voodoo Child.

"He's going be a future star, a future superstar," he said. "He's got the same kind of tools, bucks the same, the same ability."

Voodoo Child is considered one of the best professional bulls in the history of modern rodeo. He won PRCA Bull of the year in 2007, and again in 2008. ProBullStats.com ranks him No. 3 all-time with only five complete rides in 98 attempts. 

He is the latest in a Beutler family lineage that dates back to the first time PRCA named its rodeo animal of the year. Since 1959, the Beutlers are the only stock contractor to have either a Bull of the Year or Horse of the Year in every decade.

"[Drop Tine's] got all the potential to be that," said Beutler. "We're going to just ease him along and see how he goes. Next year when he's bigger we'll put him on the truck full-time and see what he's made of."

In 12 tries this year, Drop Tine has gone the full eight seconds with a rider only once, said Beutler, for a score of 89 points out of 100.

Still, he is a youngster with a long way to go, even though he is drawing comparisons to the former champ.

"He's just a four year old, he's a baby," Beutler said of the bull.

Some stock can go compete for eight or nine years before showing their age, but some last longer than others. Rodeo bulls can take years to develop into a high-caliber animal.

"Some bulls still keep getting better and better, but they usually start slowing down, said Beutler.

He said a key to producing good rodeo stock is to pit it against good riders. An owner can haul a bull to smaller rodeos, letting lower class riders get on and get bucked off, but the real test comes when faced with the best cowboys, said Beutler.

"You don't really know how good they're going to be until you put him on the truck, and week in, week out those top guys get on," he said. "It's like Voodoo; we didn't know how good he was. So far this bull looks the same way. It'll be a good test for him this weekend in Elk City."