Tower bronc rider makes his mark

TOWER- Carter Peterson was the first rider out of the chute in the bareback bronc finals at Wojo’s Rodeo Circuit Finals in Thief River Falls. He was also the only one to stay on for the full eight seconds.
The ride earned the 15-year-old from Tower first place and his first buckle at the end-of-season championship, held the first weekend in October. It capped his first season of competition.
“I won a buckle, some money, and a jacket,” he said with a big smile. “It was very exciting and my first time winning a championship.”
The winning ride
The championship was three days of riding. After the first two days, the top ten riders advanced to the finals, which featured riders from Minnesota and North Dakota.
Carter drew a horse that was brand-new to the sport. Riders can often talk to a horse’s handlers to get an idea of how it rides in the ring, but this time that wasn’t possible.
“I had no idea what to expect,” he said.
When you are on the horse, “everything goes blurry,” he said. “It’s you and the horse and you do your best to stay on and hold onto the rigging.”
Carter hung on for the entire eight seconds, then had to wait to see how the other riders in the finals scored. When the scoring was done, he was the only rider to hit eight seconds.
From bulls to broncs
In most ways, Carter is a typical 15-year-old boy. He loves to be outside, loves to ride his dirt bike and ATV, and snowmobiles in the winter.
He grew up with his family’s four horses. According to his mom, Pam Frazee, he wasn’t that interested in horseback riding until a couple of years ago, when he wanted to try bull riding.
“I’ve been around horses my whole life, but I didn’t like riding,” he said.
“Last year I rode bulls,” Carter said. “But for a while I wanted to ride bareback and tried to convince my mom to let me do it.”
“He had to go to bronc riding school first,” said Pam.
Carter spent two days at a bronc riding school in Backus.
“I learned safety skills, how to get on in the chute and get off with the pickup men, proper form, and how not to get hung up.”
How bareback riding works
Bronc riding is considered one of rodeo’s most physically demanding events. The powerful bucking and speed of the horse are punishing to a rider’s arms, neck, and back.
Bareback broncs are raised to be strong and agile, with good bucking ability. In competition, both the rider and the horse are judged on a 50-point scale. The more the horse bucks and zigzags around the arena, the higher it scores. Riders must last eight seconds for the ride to count. At the eight-second bell, pickup men on horseback help the rider safely off the moving horse.
Bareback cowboys ride with no saddle or stirrups. Instead, they use their own custom leather rigging with a handle. They must ride one-handed and cannot touch themselves or the horse with their free hand. Carter has a specially-made glove to hold the handle, and he wears a padded safety vest and neck guard when riding.
A rookie season
Carter started competing this past June.
“The first time it was crazy,” he said. “So much pressure and adrenaline.”
“He likes adrenaline,” said Pam.
His first few rodeos went well, but he often got bucked off before the eight-second timer sounded.
Partway through the season, at the rodeo at the St. Louis County Fair, Carter took a hard fall.
“I think I broke a rib or two,” he said. “I got bucked off after six seconds.”
Carter wasn’t sure his ribs would heal in time to finish the season, but they did.
Now that rodeo season is over until next year, Carter is keeping busy. He works part-time for Rolando’s Concrete in Tower, goes to online high school, and will do some strength and agility training over the winter.
“He built a wooden practice spur board,” Pam said. The board is a training simulator that helps build timing, form, and muscle memory.
A family affair
The family often travels together to rodeo competitions. Carter’s four-year-old brother, Troy, has become his “littlest” big fan, Pam said. Troy wants to build his own practice spur board so he can learn to ride bareback.
“He wants to be like his big brother.”
Watching your 15-year-old hang on for his life on a bucking bronc isn’t for the faint of heart.
“But it’s just an eight-second ride,” Pam said. “Everything else he does takes more time. I can worry all day about him.”