Submitted Photo The Minot Y’s Men’s Rodeo received the Women’s Pro Rodeo Association’s Innovative Rodeo of the Year Award, presented, from left to right, by Doreen Wintermute, WPRA president, and Joe Beaver, emcee of the event, to Max Weppler and Jason Jensen, Y’s Men’s Rodeo Committee members.

The Minot Y’s Men’s Rodeo has won the prestigious Innovative Rodeo of the Year Award for its work with the Women’s Pro Rodeo Association.

The award was given to committee representatives during the WPRA luncheon, held in Las Vegas on Dec. 5.

The award is given to rodeo committees who are “all in, who do something different,” said Heidi Uecker-Schmidt, vice-president of the WPRA. This year, the Minot rodeo added WPRA breakaway roping to its event. The rodeo hosts the Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo, and of the 12 circuit finals rodeos in the nation, it was the only finals to have breakaway roping.

“Minot put their necks on the line for the breakaway,” Uecker-Schmidt said of the rodeo becoming the first to host breakaway in conjunction with its event.

The rodeo committee has gone above and beyond to make arena conditions as good as possible for the barrel racers, Uecker-Schmidt said. The ground is important for the safety of the horse and the rider. The committee brings the rodeo dirt into the arena several days before the event, allowing the barrel racers to make practice runs to see if the dirt is too loose, too dry or hard pan – all conditions that might cause horses to slip or fall.

“They’ve been nothing but great to deal with,” said Uecker-Schmidt, who is a former WPRA Badlands Circuit director. “They figure out how to make the ground right. Because of it, the cowgirls are able to compete at the highest level, when they don’t have to worry about the wellbeing of their horse or themselves.”

This is the second year for the Innovative Rodeo award to be given; it was given to the Salt Lake City Days of ’47 Rodeo in 2017.

The 66th annual Minot Y’s Men’s Rodeo will be held Oct. 9-11, 2020. For more information, visit www.MinotYsMensRodeo.com.