Tait Kvistad, Hudson, Colo., won the first round of the steer wrestling at the Buffalo Bill Rodeo. Photo courtesy Clay Guardipee/Rodeo Ready Photography
North Platte, Neb. (June 18, 2025) – A Colorado cowboy is in the steer wrestling lead after the first night of the Buffalo Bill Rodeo in North Platte.
Tait Kvistad, Hudson, Colo., had a time of 4.2 seconds during slack on June 18 to win the first round.
The 42-year-old cowboy had done his homework on the steer, asking other steer wrestlers how the animal would run.
Tagged #110, Kvistad knew the steer might “slip a horn,” when the steer’s left horn slips across the steer wrestler’s belt line and the steer gets away.
“I was just trying to stay on my feet,” Kvistad said, “get in there to the nose early, and hope for the best.”
And the best is what happened: he won the round and a check for $1653.
Kvistad isn’t too old to steer wrestle, but he’s among the upper percentile in his age bracket among wrestlers.
It’s the horses that keep him in the game.
In North Platte, he rode a seven-year-old gelding named Cactus who is “still a little green.” Kvistad started him last summer, roping on him “a bunch.”
“He’s just a good horse,” he said. “My son (Trigg, age 14), was just riding him back to the trailer. If you’re around him, you wouldn’t even know he was a bulldogging horse. He’s really broke and just an easy horse to get along with. Between me and my fiancée (Selina Wiseman), he’s one of our favorite horses.”
He trains most of the horses he rides and takes great enjoyment in that process. “That’s what keeps me going, is the training part of it,” he said, “being able to train my own and haul them, and when you get those wins on them.” It’s part financial, that he’s able to win money on his home-trained horses, but it’s also incentive, “motivation to get out there, keep practicing, and stay hooked even though I’m 42 years old.”
In the saddle bronc riding, the number twelve man in the PRCA world standings is leading after the first night of the rodeo.
The Miami, Texas cowboy was aboard a Beutler and Son horse named Ridge Walker. “That horse, he got me worked up in the chute,” Casper said. “He’s a bugger to saddle and get my halter on.” But the ride went well, to the tune of 84 points. “He came out there to the right, was pretty danged good, so I just stayed ahead of him and did what I could.”
The busiest part of the rodeo season is about to heat up, and Casper’s schedule is evidence.
He has off Thursday, then competes in Pleasant Grove, Utah; and Elko and Reno, Nevada before coming home to Texas for a few days. Then he’s off to Springdale, Ark., Greeley, Colo., and Pecos, Texas, all before July 1.
He’s competed at the Buffalo Bill Rodeo a few times.
“It’s been a few years since I could fit this one into my schedule,” Casper said.
“It’s nice to be back here in North Platte. I’ve got friends all around here that cowboy and raise cattle, so it’s fun to see them and hang out.”
Other leaders after the day’s slack and the evening’s competition include bareback rider Quintonn Lunsford, McCune, Kan. (77); tie-down roper JD McCuistion, Estes Park, Colo. (8.9 seconds); breakaway roper Cedar Jandreau, Kennebec, S.D. (2.5 seconds); team ropers Marty McPherson, Piedmont, S.D. and Wroper Kosel, Mobridge, S.D. (6.2 seconds); barrel racer Amy Jo Reisdorfer, Cheyenne, Wyo. (17.61 seconds) and bull rider Jad Fogelsonger, Jefferson, Colo. (76 points).
The 2026 Miss Rodeo Nebraska was crowned during tonight’s rodeo.
Brylee Thompson, Hershey, won the crown. A graduate of Mid-Plains Community College in North Platte, she will serve as ambassador and representative of pro rodeo in the Cornhusker State in 2026 and will compete in the Miss Rodeo America pageant in December 2026.
The 2025 Miss Teen Rodeo Nebraska was crowned on June 17. Dakota Glasshoff, Murdock, Neb., won the title. This fall, she will be a senior at Elmwood-Murdock Public Schools.
The Buffalo Bill Rodeo continues with its second of four shows on Thursday, June 19 at 8 pm. Tickets range in price from $11 to $24 and are available online at www.NebraskalandDays.com and at the gate.
Results, 1st Performance and slack, June 18, 2025
North Platte, Nebraska – Buffalo Bill Rodeo
Bareback riding
- Quintonn Lunsford, McCune, Kan. 77 points on Hot Rod; 2. Gauge McBride, Kearney, Neb. 76; 3. Darren Doporto, Milan, Mo. 59; 4. Stetson Bierman, Hidalgo, Ill. 57.
Steer wrestling
1st round
- Tait Kvistad, Hudson, Colo. 4.2 seconds; 2. Aaron Vosler, Laramie, Wyo. 4.3; 3. (tie) Charlie Smith, Killdeer, N.D. and Hoyt Kraeger, Weeping Water, Neb. 4.4 each.
Tie-down roping
1st round
- JD McCuistion, Estes Park, Colo. 8.9 seconds; 2. (tie) Macon Murphy, Keatchie, La. and Zane Kilgus, 9.1 each; 4. Austin Lawrence, Sperry, Okla. 9.4.
Saddle bronc riding
- Wyatt Casper, Miami, Texas 84 points on Ridge Walker; 2. Jake Clark, Crane, Ore. 80.5; 3. (tie) Jake Schlattmann, Greybull,Wyo. and Kade Bruno, Challis, Idaho 80 each.
Breakaway roping
- Cedar Jandreau, Kennebec, S.D. 2.5 seconds; 2. Samantha Fulton, Miller, S.D. 3.4; 3. Ally Brennaman, Deerfield, Kan. 3.5; 4. (tie) Kayla Olson, Chadron, Neb. and Misti Brown, Valentine, Neb. 3.6 each.
Team roping
- Marty McPherson, Piedmont, S.D./Wroper Kosel, Mobridge, S.D. 6.2 seconds; 2. JB Lord, Menoken, N.D./Ed Shearer, Parshall, N.D. 11.0; 3. Corben Culley, Lawton, Iowa/Trent Vaught, Mena, Ark. 11.4; 4. Guy Howell, Belle Fourche, S.D./Logan Schliinz, Whitewood, S.D. 11.6.
Barrel racing
- Amy Jo Reisdorfer, Cheyenne, Wyo. 17.61; 2. Jamie Olsen, Brock, Texas 17.88; 3. Prairie Rose Robbins, Brooksville, Kan. 17.93; 4. Hadley Tate, Apache, Okla. 17.96.
Bull riding
- Jad Fogelsonger, Jefferson, Colo. 76 points on No. Y72; no other qualified rides.
** All results are unofficial.
