The Match of Champions has been compared to Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game, matching the best horses with the greatest cowboys going down the road. It is one of the country’s few remaining saddle bronc riding matches. The legacy thrives between the rolling hills of southwestern North Dakota, bringing together people from all over the nation.

More than six decades of elite saddle bronc riding competition has made the North Dakota grounds of Sentinel Butte electric. The Home On the Range (HOTR) Match Saddle Bronc Riding took place Saturday, August 6 hosting 32 of the top cowboys in the world with 1,600 fans in attendance.

The natural amphitheater of the North Dakota countryside, along with only the finest bucking horses in the U.S .and Canada represented the true notstalgia of the western way of life.

“For the past ten years, I have watched this event grow from the old arena to the new arena (built and completed in 2021 for last year’s match), watching influential bronc riders like Cody Wright win it, to present day, his three sons competing at it. It is so good and so real, the whole mission behind the HOTR is touching. This working therapeutic ranch gives children a chance to be around a group of people that can change and make an impact in their lives. They evolve from disengagement to helping, working, and having a purpose,” said Codi Miller, committee volunteer and grand entry coordinator.

Not only is the history and entertainment of Champions Ride epic, but the mission of HOTC is nothing short of pure goodness.

HOTR is a nonprofit organization which helps neglected, abused, homeless, and traumatized teenage boys and girls. The ranch was established in 1950 by Father Elwood Cassedy as a home for neglected and homeless boys, and it is observing its 73rd anniversary this year.

“I couldn’t believe the attendance and the people that stayed to watch this event Saturday. I have been bringing horses here since 1998, and it has never rained until this year. We were tickled on how well the horses bucked in the mud and performed as well as the die-hard fans that stayed throughout,” said Sparky Dreesen, J Bar J Pro Rodeo Company of Circle, Mont.

During the 1950s, HOTC relied on donations to care for the children. Sentinel Butte ranchers and rodeo cowboys, Jim and Tom Tescher, came up with the thought of a saddle bronc match to raise money for Cassedy’s kids.

Alvin Nelson, 1957 World Champion Saddle Bronc rider of Grassy Butte, ND, helped with the first match along with Ed Doherty, Bill Martin, Harley Roth, and Bill Law. Former North Dakota Lietuenant Governor Ray Schnell and his sons, Raymond and Willard, managed the event.

The competition included the Jim and Tom Tescher Memorial long-go round with the top twelve bronc riders coming back for the Alvin Nelson Memorial short-go round.

Jim Tescher was a PRCA All-Around Champion Cowboy in 1957 and 1966 competing in the Saddle Bronc riding and steer wrestling. He was born in 1929 at Beach, ND where he grew up around horses and cattle on a ranch near Sentinel Butte. He was inducted into the ND Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2004. Tescher never followed the sport of rodeo full-time. He was devoted to his ranch and family, but when cattle prices fell in the 1950s, he managed to sustain the ranch with his rodeo winnings. In later years, he served as a rodeo arena judge at the Denver and Fort Worth Stock show rodeos and National Finals Rodeo. Tescher is a past three-time ‘Match of Champions’ winner.

This was the eighth year the event has been sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) with money won counting towards the PRCA World Standings. Six of the best stock contracting companies including: J Bar J Rodeo, Pickett Pro Rodeo, Muddy Creek Pro Rodeo, Stace Smith Pro Rodeo, Outlawbuckers Rodeo, and Burch Rodeo all hit the trail bringing their best bucking horses to the scenic, ‘made-by-nature’ venue.

Rodeo fans, groups, and businesses had the chance to bid on their favorite cowboy and win back some serious cash. The Calcutta and sponsor reception was held at the ND Cowboy Hall Fame in Medora the evening prior on August 5. The short-go Calcutta had bidders waving their hands high between the intermission of long and short-goes.

Zeke Thurston, two-time world champion saddle bronc rider and 7-time NFR qualifier, left the crowd on their feet — marking a 91-point ride in the short-go aboard J-J Pro Rodeo’s mare, Straight Moonshine, solidifying the win.

Thurston was awarded a trophy bronc saddle made by Randy George of G Bar G Saddlery, a trophy gun, and the title of HOTR 2022 Bronc Riding Champion. Thurston of Big Valley, Alberta rodeos, with his wife, Jayne, and their children.

“Straight Moonshine stacked up and circled around tight for the crowd and judges in the short-go. She was the highest marked horse of the match and handled the conditions like a champ,” explained Dreesen.

The bucking mare is by the stud, Straight Jacket and out of a Moon Hawk mare. The eight-year-old bucking horse went to the National Finals Rodeo in the bareback riding two times and has just been switched to the saddle bronc pen. “She is something special,” added Dreesen.

“It was a great day to dance in the rain,” commented PRCA photographer, Jackie Jensen of Winnett, Mont.

HOTR’s program goal is simple — to help the child and family, so they can be reunited as a strong and healthy family unit. To learn more about HOTR and help, visit: www.hotrnd.com.