Three-time PRCA World Champion Jade Corkill wasn’t even in the top 50 of the PRCA World Standings in June, but by early July, he was No. 6 with $67,538.18 won—and it’s all on the back of a 9-year-old heel horse named Bodak Yello.
Corkill has had a string of great horses that have helped carry his already Hall-of-Fame-worthy career, from the grade geldings Ice Cube and Jackyl to his bay superstars Switchblade and Caveman. Bodak didn’t start out with GOAT status in Corkill’s lineup, but the palomino has gone from default A-string to a legit superstar the more runs he’s made.
“He wants to help—and that’s the difference,” Corkill said. “When it comes time for a horse to make a choice that matters, he always chooses to help.”
Bodak Yello, spelled without the “w,” wasn’t bred in the spotlight and didn’t show up ready-made. He was a green horse when Corkill first saw a Facebook video of someone heeling on him—steer number 10, to be exact. But even through a screen, Corkill saw something.
“He stopped good. He already looked decent. I just remember thinking, ‘This horse could be something.’”
A friend asked Corkill to come try the horse out. They were considering buying him for a young roper. Corkill agreed to take a look.
“I rode him and told her straight up—he’s not right for a kid, but I’d be interested in him myself. He was green and a little wild, but you could feel it. He had the try and the feel of a good one.”
Corkill took him home and started bringing him along, slow and right. Bodak Yello was 4 then. Now, five years later, he’s handling the pressure of summer run rodeos like a seasoned pro.
“He’s real broke, but just kind of fragile in the head,” Corkill said. “You do something to him, he remembers it. So I tried to keep things easy and clean.”
Corkill eased him through jackpots and lower-pressure setups, letting the horse build confidence. Slowly but surely, Bodak Yello proved he had the goods.
“I’d ride him at the jackpots, and my old gray horse Champ at the bigger stuff. But then I started riding him more and more, and when Champ got older, this one just stepped up.”
Last year, they went to a handful of amateur rodeos and won the UPRA Finals. This summer is Bodak Yello’s first real crack at ProRodeo—and he’s hit the ground running.
“Anywhere I’ve taken him, he’s done the same thing,” Corkill, 37, said. “Doesn’t matter if it’s short setup, long setup, fast steers, slow steers. He just does his job.”
One of Corkill’s favorite things about the horse is how honest he stays.
“If I need to throw fast, he’s right there,” Corkill said. “If I take two extra swings, he keeps going. I could crossfire 50 times in a row, and on the 51st, he’d let me kick over one.”
That reliability, paired with raw talent, makes Bodak Yello special.
“His stride matches my swing. He lines up with the steer just right. Everything’s smooth. It’s easy to see, easy to get in time. That’s rare.”
The horse isn’t without personality. He warms up calm, like a pleasure horse—but get a plastic bag near him, and it’s game on.
“All the good ones I’ve had, they’ve had a little something to ’em,” Corkill laughed. “He’s got his quirks, but that edge is part of what makes him tough.”
A Pedigree with Power
His sire, Reminic N Hollywood, is a 2010 buckskin stallion by Hollywood Vintage, a son of reining legend Hollywood Dun It.
His dam, Gold Rush Kitty, is by Megastar Kid, whose sire Brennas Kid is old-school reining blood. Further down, Docs Roan Oh Lena and Streaks Kitty Skip add grit, structure and stamina.
“Conformationally, it’s easy for him,” Corkill said. “It all fits. It’s built right.”
With Champ now 20 and doing the jackpot work for Corkill’s oldest son Colby, Bodak Yello is Corkill’s go-to. And after years of patience, the horse is paying it back every time the gates bang.
“He knows where I want him to go. And that’s just where he goes.”
