- This is a production of SDPB - When it comes to rodeo.

You won't find stronger passion for the sport than what we have right here in South Dakota.

It doesn't matter if it's at the professional level or junior high rodeo.

The support amongst each other is evident.

Today we're going to share with you a few stories that display some of the people, families, and excitement regarding rodeo in our state.

Thank you for joining us and welcome to Tale From the Arena.

- Tales From the Arena is made possible with your membership in the Friends of SDPB.

Thank you.

With help from Edgar Brothers Angus, South Dakota Department of Health, disit Farm Mutual Insurance, and Ag.

Tegra Cooperative - Donors to the Explore South Dakota Fund support the production of local documentaries and other programs of local interest presented by SDPB.

Friends of SDPB appreciates their support of this program.

- 2024 was a big year for high school rodeo in South Dakota.

Not only were there plenty of new memories made, but it was a milestone for the state finals rodeo.

The South Dakota High School Rodeo Association celebrated their 75th year of the event in Fort Pier this past June.

Let's take a look at this incredible tradition.

- I think a lot of it is because of our lifestyle, because a lot of the residents of South Dakota, it's the rodeo events are an everyday activity on the farm and ranch.

People are working with cows and working with wild horses and working with goats and it's only natural that they'd like to little, maybe a little competing in those events.

I, I think our lifestyle has a lot to do with it.

We're very, very fortunate here that, of that we have multiple stock contractors, you know, plenty to choose from.

We've got wonderful pickup men, the whole rodeo personnel crew.

You've got your timers and your recorders and your announcers and your committees and everybody's familiar with it and loves to promote it.

- Well, it's the 75th, you know, and that's huge for South Dakota High School Rodeo because last year was the 75th for the National High School Rodeo Association and it, it's a pretty proud tradition of South Dakota High School Rodeo.

Even look in the front of, of what it says for the National High School Rodeo, it says a South Dakota High School rodeo, non-profit organization.

So we hold the charter right here in South Dakota for the nationals.

So South Dakota's been involved with it since the beginning and we're still, we're, I think we're the fourth largest state in the nation as far as high school members go.

- It's been a new Underwood.

It's been in Clark, South Dakota.

I believe it was in Chamberlain.

It's been in Rapid City, it's been in Huron, it's been in Belfour and Fort Pier.

And Willie Cowen actually was the one that brought for H finals to Fort Pier and then high school finals followed that after that.

Its central location is huge.

Not that other locations don't have wonderful facilities as well, but a lot of grandmas and grandmas and aunts and uncles and even friends of the family can come for the day and be home again.

And so I think that's attributed to a lot of our gate.

And our gate has been great since we've been here.

I'd like to also give a shout out to the Fort Pier host committee, the things that they've done to this facility just since we've started and they keep improving things every year and all that working together makes it a great place to be.

A lot of our youth are multi-sport athletes and our system lends real good to that.

They can still excel in football and track and have a real, even though think it's very short and it is, but they still can excel in, in the rodeo arena as well.

- Dynamite kids are so amazing and we deal with 'em all the time.

We deal with the parents.

But the thing that makes high school rodeos so special is 10 years down the road I'll be somewhere and some high school kid will come up and shake my hand and say, how are you doing?

And, and they all call me Dale.

I'm never gonna be Mr. Christensen 'cause I don't want to be.

But that makes it so special.

That's, that's like a north feeling you get in this world.

A lot of states don't have the opportunity that our kids have because of our directors.

You know, our, our directors are here for the kids.

They do an amazing job and it, it couldn't be done without them.

And that's something that's very, very special to the state of South Dakota.

- It's not just the athlete but it's the animal as well.

And that can be, you know, the horse or the goat or the bull or depending on what event it is, it a lot of roots.

And it goes back to that western way of life, you know, which we are trying to preserve through the sport.

- SDPB provided full coverage of the state finals rodeo again this year.

Along with that, our crew had the opportunity to speak to some of the kids and people around the arena.

- We're in Fort Pier for the high school rodeo finals and we have one important question to ask.

What goes in to a good cowboy hat?

Let's go.

- Having your brother shape your hat and having a good toothpick, it's always a good necessity.

The shape of it, definitely.

- I got the coolest feather around right there.

Best hat ever.

It gets rained on, it gets stiffer, - It actually stays on.

None of my other ones have, it actually stays on.

So - My, my eagle, my feathers, that's about my, about my best, best interest in my hat.

Gets me all the ladies.

I think my hat's pretty special.

Last weekend at Regens, my grandpa, oh hold on boys.

Oh my grandpa gave me this card in here of Jesus.

So that's what makes my hat special.

I don't know, paper towel.

Paper towel.

Yeah, here we go.

I got a, I got a Yoda right here from Disneyland right there.

My grandma made the hat band and then my grandpa is Feather and then, yeah, I just kind of shaped it myself a little bit.

That's about it.

- Straw and lacquer, if they do it right, an American hat company makes a really awesome cowboy hat.

Resistol is not far behind and and pro hats are right behind that.

But yep.

I actually - Just got this hat probably like two weeks ago and when I got it, it wasn't shaped at all.

So we probably sat at my house and we had to really work on the shape to get it.

- I've had it for 10 years, kinda wear it for good but good.

A good hat is hard to get.

It really - Is.

- No, I don't really like this hat, but it has to be a good shape.

- If you have it too flat, it just kind of looks weird.

It too thin, it doesn't look good.

- Good cowboy.

That would be the answer.

- Rough use.

Rough use per capita.

South Dakota has the highest rate of rodeo participants at the high school level throughout the entire nation and behind each one of those participants, there's a story to tell for Donovan Rosa Volga, he loves rodeo along with various other high school sports, but it's Donovan's beginning journey to Volga that separates him from most others.

- I think really the adrenaline for me, I just love everything that's competitive.

I'm a very competitive person, so anything that's competitive based I, I'll jump right in.

So, and it's just my parents did it and they just brought me into it at a young age.

I just fell in love with it.

- Like most kids surrounding rodeo, Donovan Rose of Volga fell in love with the sport at a young age, but his story has a unique beginning.

- I was born in the Dominican Republic of Congo when I was about six or five.

I came here with my mom, Sarah Rose and to Rose and they just gave me the life any kid would want.

- We have our older son, hunter, who was probably five or six years old at the time and we just thought about we would like to have more children and, but we weren't quite certain if we wanted to have another, a baby, right?

We were thinking that it would be exciting to have a family and we thought where would be the greatest need for children?

And so one of the greatest needs for children at that time was in Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

We are waiting and waiting and you get the picture right and they said, will you adopt this child?

What?

Like, you're gonna say no.

I mean right away our hearts were filled with joy and such excitement over being able to just experience life with this young man.

- Yeah, it was amazing.

And it's still like one of the best pictures that we have is our son and Hunter and Donovan walking together holding hands as we walk out of the airport.

So by far the coolest picture that I think we have.

So - While Donovan loves rodeo, he's involved in other sports as well.

- I play football, run track and play basketball too.

It's gotta be football.

I just, I love every aspect of that game.

It's so much fun.

I love it a lot.

I was introduced at a young age so I just really stuck with me and I, as I said, I just love being competitive.

- You can tell from his contagious smile.

However that rodeo holds a special place in his heart.

- I really just got into like the roping 'cause my dad was a really good, really big into roping and his whole family was really big into roping.

All of his siblings did college rodeo too and they, they, he just introduced me into roping.

I just, I just fell in love with it and yeah, that's, it's just how it's been going.

- He's always works hard at everything he does, whether it's in sports rodeo, he's always wants to help out and work hard.

- It's playful and filled with joy and it's one of the greatest qualities he has, but it's also been one of those qualities he's had to manage in the classroom.

But we've always encouraged him just to be filled with joy and to share joy with others around him - In team roping.

Donovan's partner is a longtime friend.

- His name is Sutton Bundy.

He's from Coleman, South Dakota.

And it started off in junior high and where we junior high rodeoed together, we, we didn't do it the whole time, but one of his partners was gone.

So I had hopped in for him and we just been partners ever since.

And the friendship just built on and we just junior high, we teamed together in junior high and we four h rodeo together too.

And now we're high school rodeoing together too.

- Probably started about 10 years ago.

We really started to hang out and then next thing you know, we're roping at his house two or three times every week in the summer.

And it's, it's been a blast with Donovan.

It's really, it's really quite fun.

We, we get a little competitive sometimes we'll do some team ropings or stuff like that and playing football, anything, we're pretty competitive.

It's, it's been quite a journey and I'm, I'm excited for it for the last one, but we're gonna have to make it a good one.

- As for his future, Donovan wants to continue with sports in a certain kind of way.

- I kind of want to be a sports medicine major and be like a trainer, like help other teams out and help players.

That's what I really want to do.

'cause that's what I got the benefit of is people that help me a lot.

Like my parents, coaches, trainers, just help me through injury and help me through just getting through the season.

Very blessed, very, very blessed.

Yes, I, I got adopted by very great people.

It is probably the best bond I've had.

It's crazy.

Like I, I can't even explain how crazy it is.

It is great.

It is very, and she, my mom is really into God and she's taught me that I was a blessing and just everything, just everything that's happened is a blessing.

- Rodeo isn't a sport that revolves around individuals in most cases.

It's a family sport with many gears turning to make each a weld oiled machine - For the Haugen family.

Rodeo means everything.

- Rodeo is just in your blood.

I mean it, it's our lives.

Honestly, - This dynasty in the arena starts with mom and dad.

- Well I don't think we ever weren't in rodeo.

I grew up with folks that rodeoed my dad was a bro rider in North Central, South Dakota.

And I, it is just part of who you are in the western industry.

You know, it just gravitates, you know, to to the back of a horse when you're, when you're ranching.

- Yeah, my similar, you know, my folks, you know, in cattle and that type of thing.

I probably really was not exposed till, till I got into high school and then I got in high school, knew it was something I wanted to do and you hit the ground running, figured out a way to just be a part of it.

- In fact, both D and Tyler met at the rodeo - And he did out of a Buffalo regional road.

- Well you remember that.

- I seen you there.

- Yeah, I remember meeting you at an amateur rodeo over the 4th of July.

Yes.

So yes, and that would be, so this will be 25 years of marriage for us.

And I believe it was seven years that we've dated.

If I'm correct and I could be wrong, - Falcons then passed down their love of competing to their three daughters, Landry Arena and blazing.

I, I - Don't know if we necessarily ever pushed it on 'em, but our days were spin the horseback, you know, even when they were little we were horseback, you know, we either training or practicing or you know, we really enjoyed the horse end of it.

I think the minute that they felt like they could ride, there was always a horse we could put 'em on.

- I always tell people I didn't walk until I was almost two years old because I grew up in a blue semi with my parents driving across the country.

They were priority Owen from every, from Canada to Salinas, California was one of my favorite rodeos.

And then Cheyenne, wish I had the opportunity to enter here just this last year.

It was fun.

So I, I didn't really, I was born into it.

It might have been a choice or not, that's to be determined, but I was riding ponies and horses and everything since I was small.

Small.

So I just happened to love it and it's just grown from there.

- The Haggins have also been successful in the arena with both Dee and Tyler competing professionally.

Andrew had a standout high school career that led her to compete for her parents.

Alma mater, the University of Wyoming Arena was just named the Rookie of the year at the state and National Finals Rodeo and Blaise at her age already winning buckles.

While the success is great, it's the practice time together that keeps this family going.

- Yeah, it's, it's cool.

I I love practicing with my siblings.

My parents know a lot about it and so they're able to help me and work through things with me.

So that's, that's awesome.

- Yeah, it's, it's pretty fun.

I really, really, really like to kind of just watch everyone study them to see to so I can copy them and do what they do.

- But that doesn't mean there isn't some friendly competition amongst the family.

Who's the best roper in the family?

Listen that.

- Well I'm telling you that there is not one, but right now I have two little girls that are, have surpassed me and they did that quite a while ago.

- Yeah, - He's a bulldog.

- I don't even try to rope around.

I I, I try to bustle 'em but I know what I'm talking about.

But they didn't.

- I did see, I did see you spin a lot of steers this weekend.

So - My two, my two older son here blazes roping now and she won't be too far behind them.

- I think we both real pretty, pretty evenly.

Just depends on what horse she ride that day I guess.

- I think both of my sisters are probably really good.

There's not really one that's better because they both, they're basically - At the same level.

I don't know.

That's a great question.

I guess you're gonna have to watch Arena and I rope and tell us what you think My foot - With all this level of competition amongst the family, you can expect to hear the name Haugen with buckles for many years to come at rodeos all across the state.

- I mean you'll walk out in that arena and there's a sign that says Practice with a Purpose and there's another one that says your buckles are one right here.

You just got ready to pick 'em up - Earlier.

We found out what goes into a good cowboy hat.

Now we're gonna meet one of the people who shapes them.

- The central piece to complete a cowboys outfit is their hat.

Kenny Fus has been shaping hats for 15 years.

- I used to pack saddles with it, but it just gotta be too much for me to keep up.

So now I just do cowboy hats.

I'll take 'em from an open crown like that one and just shape 'em to whatever the, you know, if they want that's a cattleman or a brick or whatever style they want.

It is just heavily lacquered so they last longer, they hold up better in rain, stuff like that.

And I've always been, I've worn cowboy hats since I was a little guy.

So I always loved doing it.

I've shaped them since I was small and just like to do it.

Yep, great.

In front everybody and I love being with all the kids.

There - You go, you're ready.

Rock towns across South Dakota host their own rodeo.

Some like to keep it simple, others make it into an elaborate weekend long event.

But this year in Burke they tried something a little out of the box.

Their arena dirt has seen all sorts of things over the years, but nothing quite like this.

- The worlds of wrestling and rodeo has some differences but they have some polarities.

- The two sports seem to fit well together.

There's a lot of commonality and, and a lot of can-do like get it done spirit in both.

And you have to be, you have to be, you know, you really have to persevere in in those sports.

You have to work hard when nobody's watching and it takes a lot of time and dedication in both those sports.

They're very similar that way.

- The people at Burke love both of these sports so much that they came up with the idea of a summer outdoor tournament just led to the question of where it would be held.

- Somebody said, well we could do a tournament here outside.

And we were talking about like maybe dog days and then it hit me.

I was like, we could do one rodeo weekend in the arena.

- You know, we can house probably 25, 3000 people out here for this one.

So we just thought we'd, they have the big rodeo so we thought we'd throw it in at the same time and make one heck of a headache for a week.

- After that.

It was time to go to work.

- So I went to the rodeo club and started talking to 'em about it.

Actually started calling him individually and my cousin Kim says, well that's really a great idea, but I told you about that like two months ago that you should do that.

I'm like, I don't remember this but I believe - You.

Next up was to get the facilities ready.

- So we're gonna run eight matches at a time.

We got about 150 by 180 blocked off of the rodeo arena.

About three quarters of it.

We'll have two full mats going and Nate matches going at a time and they watered it and packed it all for us.

Tried to make it as level as possible and the rodeo club's been working with us.

Great.

- The rodeo grounds has every, a lot of the things you need.

We have grandstand, we have a concession stand, we have a ticket gate entry, we have lights, you know we have an arena floor, although it is sand and dirt, but we put tarps down, put the mats on the tarps.

It worked great.

The mats stayed really clean.

We had beautiful weather for it.

It just really worked out and exceeded, far exceeded my expectations with an A a U sanctioned tournament.

- This group wanted to make sure everyone could wrestle - And we actually added the high school girls division.

Just, it's been blown up in South Dakota.

So we thought we'd get ahead of the game and just add that to our A A U tournament.

No one's really done it yet and we've had very good reception.

I think we have as of right now, 78 girls in this tournament, which is unheard of for an A A U wrestling tournament, especially a summer tournament.

So we've had very good feedback and yeah, just a lot of people signing up for this tournament - With the okay and a little promotion.

It was time to rumble in the arena - Really hot, but it's really fun.

Like the pretty sunsets.

It's really fun.

It was pretty fun.

It got got pretty hot but it was really fun.

It was - Really cool and enjoyable.

It may be hot, but the best thing about is making memories no matter if you win or lose.

And that's just the coolest part about these outdoor tournaments.

Kind of weird.

Yeah, it was fun.

I liked it.

It was super fun.

Especially 'cause I've always go tie and it is really fun because obviously I've been in the arena and I've never been in the arena 70, 70, - Much like the riders ropers and steer wrestlers that would compete at the Berk Stampede.

These young grapplers also got to take home some pretty cool prizes - As we gave belt buckles to the champions.

We called it the Rumble at the rodeo.

The Stampede Shootout.

You know, we tied it to the rodeo that way.

- Thanks to the success of year number one, you can expect to see Grapplers come back to the rodeo grounds for year number two.

- Well, the thing that kind of helped for this is Billy's the president of the wrestling club or the Rodeo Club as well as being on the board for the wrestling club.

So it all just kind of fit in that we could tie the two together.

It was a lot more work than we probably initially planned on it being, but all for the best.

I mean, people all over the state are talking about this, but next year I think we wanna blow this thing up and see where we can go with this because there's not another one in the nation.

I mean, this is a just a original tournament that you can't find anywhere else.

- Tonight we took a peek behind the curtain into some of the rodeo stories that make up what we have right here in South Dakota from a celebration of tradition to a passionate, multi-sport athlete in vulgar from the Hogan family to Rumble at the rodeo behind all of these stories, our passionate people who are dedicating their time and their lives into keeping rodeo special in our great state.

We'd like to thank you for joining us tonight for Tales from the Arena.

I'm Tim Davison.

Have a great night.