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BIOS –
KANSAS BIGGEST RODEO 2025 CHAMPIONS
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Bareback Riding Champion: Cole
Hollen
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Cole
Hollen bested the bareback field
last year in Phillipsburg with an
87-point ride on the Beutler horse
Happy Hour.
He was excited about drawing the
mare. “I knew if I went out there
and did my job and rode like I
should, I’d have a good chance. She
came out there, did what she does, I
had a good day, and it all worked
out.”
Last year, Hollen’s rookie year, was
full of ups and downs.
“I definitely learned a lot,” he
said. “It was a good learning
experience. It didn’t finish the way
I wanted it to, but I’m excited for
this year, and to finish my goals.”
A graduate of Sul Ross State
University (Alpine, Texas), he
rodeos full time.
“It’s awesome. I get to focus all my
time on being the best version of me
I can be. I’m rodeoing and always
trying to get better.”
Residence: Stephenville, Texas
Morning person or night owl: Morning
person
Android or iPhone: iPhone
Facebook or Instagram: “I have both.
I prefer Instagram but I post on
both of them.”
Fruit or veggies: “I like both but I
eat more vegetables than fruit. My
favorite is spinach. My
great-grandma used to make it for me
a bunch.”
Sweets or no sweets: “I’m definitely
a sweets person. I like chocolate
chip cookies and my mom makes a
pretty good chocolate chip cookie.”
Coffee or tea: Coffee, black.
Mountains or beach: Mountains.
Summer or winter: Summer, “because
it’s rodeo time.”
Rodeo accomplishments: 2025 Texas
Circuit Finals Rodeo qualification
Family: parents Jason and Spring
Hollen. |
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Steer Wrestling Champion: Dalton
Massey
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Dalton Massey made the first steer
wrestling run at the ’25
Phillipsburg rodeo, and no one ever
bested his time.
The Oregon man was 3.5 seconds to
win the rodeo and pocket $2,717.
“I was the only one out of my
traveling partners that was entered
in Phillipsburg,” he said. “I didn’t
know what the start was, but I
figured it couldn’t be much more
than right behind (the steer.)”
He was aboard an “outlaw,” he said,
his 14-year-old gelding named
Rodney.
Raised by his grandparents, Rodney
bucked everybody off, including two
of Dalton’s cousins, who rode and
trained him. Rodney bucked Dalton
off, too, but with persistence, and
an introduction to cattle, he
changed.
“I use him as my hunting horse in
the mountains,” he said. “I even go
deer hunting on him. He’s pretty
special to me.”
Rodney doesn’t buck anymore, but he
still pulls back, he said. “You have
to be careful to not walk up to him
too fast when he’s tied up.”
Residence: Hermiston, Oregon
Morning person or night owl: Morning
person
Android or iPhone: iPhone
Facebook or Instagram: Instagram
Fruit or veggies: Fruit. “Watermelon
is my favorite.”
Sweets or no sweets: No sweets.
Coffee or tea: Coffee, “with all the
stuff in it.”
Mountains or beach: Both.
Summer or winter: Summer.
Rodeo accomplishments: Two-time
Wrangler National Finals Rodeo
qualifier.
Family: Wife Hilary and son Miles,
born in 2025. |
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Team Roping
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Team Roping Header Champion: Gage
Williams
Gage Williams was the header for the
pair that won the team roping at
Kansas Biggest Rodeo in 2025.
He and heeler LJ Yeahquo turned in a
time of 4.0 seconds to win the
two-piece buckles and a check for
$3,556 each.
Gage recalled his run. “We drew a
pretty good steer, and I was on the
barrier real good. What made that
run so fast was that LJ heels them
so fast. I didn’t get to that steer
any faster than anybody else, but
the second he was legal, LJ heels
them fast and gets tight fast. He
takes up a lot of the slack because
he gets the rope tight so fast.”
Gage was on a 13-year-old sorrel
gelding named Heater he’s owned for
the past year.
The year 2025 was the first year
Gage headed; he’s always heeled.
“I’ve always liked the heading
better but it seemed like I always
had better heel horses standing
around here. When I got Heater, that
changed things. He’s very good at
the rodeos. He’s gritty. And he
moves around very good for a big
horse. He’s 15.1 hands and weighs
1,200 lbs. He’s a big horse but
moves like a little horse.”
Gage’s dad wears the Phillipsburg
buckle Gage won.
“Anything cool I win, my dad steals
it. Me and my dad are very, very
close. His and mom’s house is on the
other side of the arena, across from
us, and me, my son, and my dad rope
every day, when we’re home.”
Residence: Foster, Oklahoma
Morning person or night owl: Both.
“We ranch a lot, and we’re up before
daylight a lot, but I like staying
up late, too.”
Android or iPhone: “I have an iPhone
but I can’t work it very good. I
might as well have a flip phone. LJ
can vouch for me on that.”
Facebook or Instagram: Neither
Fruit or veggies: Fruit. “My
favorite is grapes.”
Sweets or no sweets: None. “I’m not
really a dessert guy.”
Coffee or tea: Coffee, “lots of it.”
Mountains or beach: “Mountains for
sure, but we don’t do much
vacationing.”
Summer or winter: Summer, “because I
can be roping.”
Rodeo accomplishments: three-time
Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo
qualifier
Family: wife Ariah; two daughters,
Chaite and Crosby, and a son,
Crosston. |
Team Roping Heeler Champion: LJ
Yeahquo
LJ
Yeahquo was on the heeling end of
the team that won the 2025
Phillipsburg rodeo.
He and header Gage Williams teamed
up to make a 4.0 second run to win
the rodeo and $3,556 each.
Phillipsburg “is a super fast rodeo
(in the team roping), so we had to
bring the heat,” he said. “My
partner Gage does such a good job of
just hitting the barrier, not making
things faster than what they need to
be. Everything felt smooth and
controlled. Gage does a great job of
keeping my job simple.”
LJ was on his 20-year-old gelding
named Hangman, a horse he has owned
for four years. Hangman “is so
aggressive. He leaves the box hard,
never misses the corner, and he
shuts the run down so well. He’s a
great rodeo horse.”
LJ gets lots of compliments on the
two-piece buckle he won in
Phillipsburg.
“I thought it was a pretty neat
buckle, so I threw it on and I’ve
been sporting it. I get tons of
compliments on it. It’s different,
and neat to look at. Kudos to the
committee for picking that style.”
Residence: Crescent, Oklahoma
Morning person or night owl: Both.
“Granted, I sometimes stay up late
and it’s hard to wake up in the
morning. But I sure like being up
and seeing the sunrise.”
Android or iPhone: “Apple, all day
long.”
Facebook or Instagram: “Snapchat. I
conduct a lot of my horse business
on Snap.”
Fruit or veggies:Fruit. “I like
strawberries, especially chocolate
covered strawberries.”
Sweets or no sweets: “Every now and
then. I’m not a real sweets person
but I do like a chocolate brownie or
cake or cookie. I can eat one or two
bites but I get sugared out real
fast.”
Coffee or tea: Coffee.
Mountains or beach: Mountains.
Summer or winter: Neither. “Spring
and fall. In Oklahoma, that’s when
you get the best weather.”
Rodeo accomplishments: Three-time
Prairie Circuit Finals rodeo
contestant.
Family: parents Luke and Jennifer;
brothers Jesse and JC; sister
Sierra; nephew and niece.
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Saddle Bronc Riding Co-Champion:
Waitley Sharon
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In the
saddle bronc riding, the student and
the mentor tied for the win.
Waitley Sharon, a student at
Tarleton State University in
Stephenville, Texas, tied with his
mentor Jacobs Crawley, each scoring
84.5 points.
Waitley, from Ordway, Colorado, was
on the Beutler horse Revolving Door.
Waitley’s taken some tips from
Crawley, who no longer coaches, and
appreciated the advice he got.
Crawley “was good at breaking stuff
down, telling you the fine points to
work on.”
The year 2025 was a good one for
him. He finished asPrairie Circuit
year-end and finals champions.
A sophomore at Tarleton State
University in Stephenville,
Texas,the 20-year-old is majoring in
agricultural service and
development.
Residence: Ordway, Colorado
Morning person or night owl: Night
owl
Android or iPhone: iPhone
Facebook or Instagram: Facebook
Fruit or veggies: Vegetables. “My
fiancée makes these green beans that
are really good.”
Sweets or no sweets: Desserts, “all
the way. My favorite is any kind of
cobbler. My grandma makes a pretty
mean cherry cobbler.”
Coffee or tea: Coffee. “Black in the
morning, and as the day goes on, I
might go to doctoring it up.”
Mountains or beach: Mountains.
Summer or winter: Summer, “because
it’s rodeo time.”
Rodeo accomplishments: three-time
National High School Finals
qualifier; 2025 Prairie Circuit
Year-End and Finals champion
Family: fiancée Brendi. |
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Saddle Bronc Riding Co-Champion:
Jacobs Crawley
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Jacobs
Crawley tied with Waitley Sharon for
the 2025 win in the saddle bronc
riding.
He scored 84.5 points aboard the
Beutler horse Dark House for the
title and the buckle.
“I knew that horse was consistent,”
he said. “I knew he’d give me a shot
at winning money. He stayed close,
circled around the chutes, and it
all worked out.”
He estimates he’s competed in
Phillipsburg every year of his
career, since he was 18 years old,
and won it in 2016.
“I love that rodeo,” and the small
towns that host rodeos, he said. “I
love the ‘Phillipsburgs’ of the
world, the grassroots, the Americana
rodeos. I just love them. I have a
spot in my heart for those outdoor,
full rodeos in small towns. It’s
really cool.”
Crawley retired from rodeo two years
ago, after breaking his back, but
after healing, he’s back to
part-time competition. He and his
wife and their two children, both
under the age of seven, traveled
with him last summer. “The kids love
going to rodeos. It was a vacation
for them, and I was able to get on
bucking horses along the way.”
He loves the competition, but not
the travel.
“The travel is pretty tough, and
that’s the toughest part of rodeo,
once you have a family.”
Home: Stephenville, Texas
Rodeo accomplishments:2015 World
Champion; ten-time National Finals
Rodeo qualifier; 2016 Kansas Biggest
Rodeo champion
Family: wife Lauren; two children.
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Tie-Down
Roping Champion: Marcos Costa
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Marcos
Costa had a time of 8.6 seconds to
win $3,484 and the tie-down title.
The Brazil native-turned Texan left
home at age 14 for Sao Paulo,
Brazil, 1,000 miles from his
parents, to become a horse trainer
and roper. He met 2008 World
Champion Tie-down Roper Stran Smith
at a clinic in Brazil at which Stran
was teaching, and moved to the U.S.,
not knowing English or even how to
drive.
He learned the language, learned how
to drive, and learned how to rodeo
professionally, and in 2018, was the
World Champion Tie-down Roper.
Marcos has competed in Phillipsburg
numerous times.
Home: Texas
Rodeo accomplishments:2018 World
Champion; four-time National Finals
Rodeo qualifier.
Family: wife Keyla |
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Breakaway Roping Champion: Carlee
Potter
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Carlee
Potter never knew her last breakaway
run on her favorite horse would be
in Phillipsburg.
When she backed into the box with
Tippy, a 15-year-old gelding, she
had no idea he would die of an
aneurysm a few months later.
After her winning 2.2 second run in
Phillipsburg, Tippy went with her
boyfriend to rodeos in the
Northwest. It was during a tie-down
roping run in Kennewick, Wash., that
he died.
“He was life changing,” Carlee said.
“He made me a roper. He was
awesome.”
A native of Latham, Kansas, she had
seen a video of the calf she drew.
“He ran out there, with his head up,
and I knew I was going to be fast on
him. He stepped to the right, and I
love them when they step to the
right. That’s my sweet spot to rope
them.”
In addition to losing Tippy, truck
troubles plagued her all summer,
too. “I left for the summer in June,
and my truck blew up on the way to
Gladewater (Texas). Then in
mid-July, it blew up again. Then I
was on my way from Abilene to Hill
City (Kansas), and it blew up again.
My poor dad. He drove a lot of miles
to come and save me.”
A 2024 graduate of Vernon (Texas)
College, she accomplished her goal
of qualifying for the Prairie
Circuit Finals for the first time.
Residence: Vernon, Texas
Morning person or night owl: “I was a
night owl but I’m starting to become
a morning person.”
Android or iPhone: iPhone
Facebook or Instagram: Instagram or
Tik Tok
Fruit or veggies: Fruit. “My favorite
is strawberries.”
Sweets or no sweets: “No sweets. I’m
a salty person. I carry a salt
shaker in the console of my truck
for French fries.”
Coffee or tea: Sweet tea.
Mountains or beach: Beach. “I don’t
like being cold.”
Summer or winter: Summer.
Rodeo accomplishments: 2025 Prairie
Circuit Finals Rodeo qualification
Family: parents Chris and Amy Potter.
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Barrel
Racing Champion: Summer Kosel
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Summer
Kosel rounded the barrels at Kansas
Biggest Rodeo in 17.07 seconds to
win the barrel racing title and a
check for $2,953.
The Glenham, S.D. cowgirl was aboard
her famous palomino horse,
FireWaterFrenchFame, whose barn name
is Apollo. The 13-year-old gelding
is an amazing horse, she said. “He
does stuff that most horses can’t
do, in the way he moves. He’s
muscular and built more like a calf
roping or heel horse than a barrel
horse.”
He has a one-in-a-million
personality, too, she said. “He’s
intelligent and eager to please.
He’s really like a big dog. You can
whistle and call his name and he’ll
come to you. He’s very, very smart
and very kind.”
Apollo has his quirks, too. Before
he and Summer make their barrel
racing run, he pushes himself back
on his hind end, paws at the ground,
does a leap and shakes his head.
“That’s how you know he’s warmed up
and ready. He’s like, ‘let’s go.’”
Rodeo accomplishments:2023 Wrangler
National Finals Rodeo qualifier;
multiple qualifications to the
Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo.
Family: Husband Kevin; daughters
Hope, Serenity and Victory, and son
Courage. |
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Bull
Riding Champion: Riley Shippy
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Riley
Shippy made his first trip to
Phillipsburg count.
The South Dakota bull rider scored
88.5 points on the Beutler bull Fake
Friend to win the rodeo and a check
for $8,401.
Riley was excited he’d drawn the
bull. “I was tickled to have him
drawn in the Saturday performance,”
he said. “It worked out good. I was
glad to be as many points as I was.
It felt like 85 points but you take
it when you can get it.”
He enjoyed competing in
Phillipsburg.
“It had good (purse) money for as
small of a town as it is,” he said.
“On top of that, it’s old school,
the way they set it up, and I like
that.
“They give out really sweet buckles,
too. It’s definitely my favorite
buckle. I’ve been wearing the crap
out of it. When I go to church or
somewhere nice, that’s the one I
wear.”
Residence: Colome, South Dakota
Morning person or night owl: Night
owl. “You don’t find me outside
before 9 am very often.”
Android or iPhone: iPhone
Facebook or Instagram: Instagram.
Fruit or veggies: Fruit. “My
favorite is peaches.”
Sweets or no sweets: Sweets,
“chocolate chip cookies. The best
ones are made by my grandma.”
Coffee or tea: Coffee, “with just a
little bit of creamer in it.”
Mountains or beach: Beach. “I like
warm weather.”
Summer or winter: Summer.
Rodeo accomplishments: three-time
Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo
qualifier
Family: parents Randy and Jennie
Shippy; an older brother, Riley, who
is also a bull rider. |
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