by Terry Ann Lidral

For more than 35 years, Hank and Lori Franzen have worked to build one of the top bucking horse programs in the rodeo business.  And for them, it’s a labor of love.

“We’re going on 36 plus years in February,” said Lori Franzen.  “I was raised with the love of ranch and horses.  Hank grew up in rodeo and went pro in college.”

When Lori and Hank got married, it was just the natural thing to do to get into the rodeo business.  And for Lori, there was no question about the direction they should go in.

“I have a great love for these animals,” she told of the bucking horses they raise.  “They are big.  They are smart and they are unique.  Every horse has its own personality.  For example,” she continued, “the bronc Charlie Russell, now 23 years old and retired to watching over the foals in the pasture, is a horse who bucked into his twenties.  He could be scratched and touched in the pen.  But put him in the chute and he’d start grinding his teeth and getting ready to buck that cowboy off his back.”

Another thing Lori Franzen loves is the fact that you can watch the bucking genetics pass from one generation to another.

Bucking horses buck because of genetics.

“After 30 into our breeding program, you see that there is such a common athletic ability that is passed down.  It’s eerie how animals are so much like their parents.”

For the bucking horse industry, the genetic foundation goes back to the 1930’s.

“It’s the Tooke bloodline,” Franzen explained.  “Feeke Tooke wanted big size in his broncs so he brought a Shire stud from out East by train and bred him to an Arabian mare.  That was the beginning of the Tooke bloodline.  Over three quarters of the bucking horse bloodlines can be traced back to that.  We’re proud of being in on that foundation.  It’s an amazing lineage.”

Powder River Rodeo is building on the tradition of that amazing bloodline.  Cut the Cards was an outstanding stallion of the Tooke line that produced 40 offspring with the distinction of being National Finals Rodeo horses.  He was a proven sire with an impressive record of passing on those great genetics.

“It is truly something special for a stallion to have 40 of his offspring make the NFR,” said Franzen proudly.

Powder River Rodeo is an eight-time nominee for PRCA Stock Contractor of the Year.  To continue its status as a top stock contractor, Powder River has to look to the future by maintaining a quality herd of brood mares and young bucking horses.

“We have around 50 brood mares that give us between 35 and 40 foals a year.  Our mares are bucked on the rodeo circuit and then retired into the brood mare herd,” said Franzen.  “One of the fan favorites, Miss Congeniality, is now retired from bucking competition and is living in Canyon, Texas with Dr. Greg Veneklassen where she is giving us embryos every year.”

Since the horses aren’t bucked until they’re 4 years old, that means there are about 150 young horses running free on the ranch only occasional human contact and penning for vaccinations.

“In all,” said Lori, “we run about 300 to 350 head.  We have around 150 horses ready to go at any time.”

One of the stars of the Powder River breeding program is Craig at Midnight.

“This horse is phenomenal,” Franzen stated with admiration.  “He is a pretty gray horse that weighs around 1700.  He is one of the top horses in the PRCA.”

National Finals Rodeo broncs can be compared to athletes making it to the Super Bowl.

In fact, Craig at Midnight has been the PRCA Bareback Bronc of the Year, Top Bareback Horse at The Nationals Finals Rodeo and has been Top Horse at a number of the premiere PRCA Champions Challenges.  He’s also been the Mountain States and the Wilderness Circuit Bareback Horse of the Year.

 Another superstar is saddle bronc mare Look Again.

“She is a Powder River Rodeo saddle bronc mare with an 80 percent buck off rate.  She’s solid weighing between 1200 and 1300 pounds.  She’s strong, powerful and kicks way high which makes her hard to ride.  When she’s ridden, the score is usually a high score between 85 and 90.”

 There are a number of other Powder River Rodeo broncs who have made a name for themselves on the professional rodeo circuit.  The coveted title of WNFR broncs has gone to a good many of the Powder River horses including Show Me Again, Black Leg, Miss Chestnut, Craig at Midnight, Bob Cat, Not So Foxey, Double Take, Bombshell, Rich n Fancy and Cowboy Cut.  And, as usual, the Powder River Rodeo broncs made the highlight reels. This year there’s the addition of super star saddle bronc Two Buck Chuck who wowed the PRCA with his outstanding performance over the course of the regular season.

For the Franzens, raising bucking broncs is much more than just a business.  It’s all about the horses.

“There’s nothing I like more than to just stand out at the ranch and watch the baby horses playing in the field.  It’s so peaceful.  And I get to watch the genetics in action that we started building over thirty years ago.”