Story by Buffalo Bill Rodeo Communications
North Platte, Neb. (June 13, 2024) – During the second night of the Buffalo Bill Rodeo, a Wyoming cowboy took over the bareback riding lead with an eight second ride on the Beutler horse Level Out.
Joe Priebe, Cody, scored 84 points on a horse he’d been told would be a good draw.
Priebe, who is in his second year of pro rodeo competition, was ready for the ride.
The horse “left clean, and I felt him take a bit of a scoot, and I was saying to myself, I hope this horse breaks (into bucking) and I kept lifting my rein.”
“That’s a really good horse to have.”
Priebe competed in North Platte two years ago, but didn’t do well. He’s grown and progressed in his bronc riding since then.
“I was not as good as I am now,” he said. “I wasn’t near as prepared and I didn’t have the confidence I have now.”
Time has helped his skills mature, and he’s worked at it, too.
“I read a lot of books about sports psychology and mental preparation, and I applied them. I prayed a lot, and I put a lot of work into it,” he said.
He set goals as well.
“I used to write down a list of everything I needed to do every day, to get better, and I’d cross things off,” as they were accomplished. “Once I started doing that, it made a difference.”
A farrier by trade, when he travels to rodeos throughout Wyoming, he’ll schedule appointments with clients as he travels to rodeos.
“If I’m not out rodeoing, I’m shoeing horses. I try to separate the bronc riding and horse shoeing a little bit, but they overlap.”
In the bareback riding, a household name in the rodeo world leads his event.
Rocker Steiner, known for his “rebel” image, scored 88 points on Beutler’s Happy Hour to take the lead.
It was the second time for the Weatherford, Texas cowboy to ride the mare; he won the long round in Tucson, Ariz. on the horse in 2023.
“That’s probably my favorite horse of Bennie (Beutler’s),” he said. “She’s probably not the rankest horse he has, by any means, but she gives you confidence, makes you feel like you’re doing everything right.”
The twenty-year-old cowboy is ranked fifth in the world standings; his dad, Sid, was the 2002 PRCA Steer Wrestling World Champion; his granddad, Bobby, won the 1973 PRCA Bull Riding World title.
Beutler’s horse Happy Hour is an eight-year-old mare who has been selected to buck at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo several times.
Other high scores and fast times from the morning slack and the evening competition include steer wrestler Eli Lord, Sturgis, S.D. (3.9 seconds); tie-down roper Ryan Belew, La Junta, Colo. (9.1); breakaway roper Rylee George, Oakdale, Calif. (2.9); team ropers . Erich Rogers, Round Rock, Ariz. and Paul Eaves, Lonedell, Mo. (5.7); barrel racer Shelley Morgan, Eustace, Texas (16.77) and bull rider Colton Byram, Mound City, Kan. (86 points).
The third night of action at the Buffalo Bill rodeo takes place Friday, June 14 starting at 8 pm. The rodeo is broadcast on the Cowboy Channel app and on local radio station KODY 1240 AM.