Local Bronc Rider Looks for Good Showing in Home County

Chase Redfield, of Opheim, is looking forward to a few good rounds of bareback bronc riding this year on his home turf at the Northeast Montana Fair. Redfield has been riding pro for nine years qualifying for the Montana Pro-Rodeo circuit finals for seven of the last eight years.

For Redfield, rodeo has not just been a hobby or a job, but rather a passion. Redfield's passion for rodeo is apparent as he tells the story of how he got started saying, "I always watched my hometown rodeo, my dad rode bareback and I knew I always wanted to ride. At 13 we borrowed a bucking horse and I would ride three times a week to train."

That start took Redfield from rugged self-taught training to the Dickinson Rodeo school where he learned to ride both bareback and saddle broncs before returning and entering himself in every open rodeo he could make it to.

"Since I wasn't old enough for high school rodeo I went to as many open rodeos as I could in Opheim, Brockway, and Richey," explained Redfield who was just over fourteen-years-old. When asked how it felt to be riding broncs at 14 he calmly replied, "You know I never ever got nervous, believe it or not, despite getting bucked off a lot with a 30-year-old outdated rigging."

After a while Redfield trained up in Canada with the High School Rodeo Association before signing on at 15 to ride in high school rodeos. During his high school career, he qualified for state as a freshman and qualified as a sophomore in both bareback and saddle for the Silver State International Rodeo in Fallon, Nev., taking third overall in bareback. His junior year, he qualified for nationals in Farmington, N.M. His senior year he won state in bareback and went on to take 20th at nationals.

His high school career would earn him a full-ride at the University of Montana, Western in Dillon where he rode bareback for all four years. At the same time, he earned a degree in secondary education in industrial arts. He now teaches industrial arts at Opheim High School and advises the Future Farmers of America Chapter there.

Redfield's college career was as impressive as his high school career with qualifications for the College National Finals both his sophomore and senior years earning third in his region each time.

When asked what excites him most about rodeoing at the upcoming fair, Redfield said he is, "Looking forward to the good horses and the hometown crowds."

He is also looking forward to passing on his tradition of rodeo not only to his young son, but to the kids he teaches and anyone interested in learning rodeo. "Rodeo has been a pretty amazing thing in my life. I've travelled all over the country and made friends all over the world," explained Redfield. He later added, "I'm getting a little older now and people are saying, 'Why don't you give that up?' I say the rodeo community is something I love and I want my kids to be a part of that."

Redfield is more than interested in helping get others involved in rodeo and anyone interested should reach out to him for help at 724-7447.