Bodie Mattson and Trae Smith picked up the 2024 Badlands Circuit Finals win Oct. 13, in Minot, North Dakota, after roping three steers in 17.7 seconds for $3,568 apiece.

The win marks Mattson’s first Badlands Circuit Finals team roping title and Smith’s second in a row. After going into Minot sixth in the standings, Mattson, 22, and Smith, 24, set their sights on the average title.

“We knew we were kind of back in the pack and honestly, in my mind, winning the average was a bigger deal for us than winning the year-end because all the money counts [toward the standings],” Mattson, of Sturgis, South Dakota, said. “We still got a spot to Colorado Springs. We got to rope at Colorado Springs last year with different partners and it was a good learning experience for us to realize how much money is available there.”

Hockey rink battle

Mattson and Smith kicked things off with a 6.5 in Round 1 to split third for $892 each. After watching some teams mess up in the first round, they knew they could set up their week early. 

“We were trying to knock the first one down in a timely manner, but not a stupid fashion,” Mattson said. “We made a smart run in the first round that set our week up to know whether we either had to step on it a little bit or be in a good spot just to ride that out.”

In the second round, they drew a steer that had taken another team out in Round 1. 

“That was really the only one that made me nervous,” admitted Smith, a Georgetown, Idaho, native. “Me and Bodie watched the video on him before we roped and went with the game plan of he was going to get the steer out of my way, and whenever I thought I could catch him, to take the chance.”

Mattson and Smith turned a tough steer into cash and picked up $595 a man for fourth in the round with a 5.7-second run. They came back to Sunday’s matinee leading the average on two head and sealed the deal with a 5.5 to also split second in the third round for $1,487 a man. Smith credits Mattson for setting steers up for him and making his job easy.

“Bodie is very consistent; with the way he handles cattle, I can ride to my spot and know where the cow’s going to be,” Smith, the 2019 Badlands Circuit year-end champion heeler, said. “I don’t have to guess where they’re going to go. It makes my job easier and helps me be more consistent.”

All in all, they left the circuit finals with $6,542 each.

Minot horsepower

While the steers are good and the barrier is friendly, the setup at Minot is no walk in the park. With a hockey rink for an arena, the draw and horsepower play a huge part in success there. 

Mattson called on his main mount Let R Buck Pendleton, aka “Pendleton.” A been-there, done-that gelding, Mattson knew he could afford to give him some time off before the circuit finals.

“My horse was phenomenal up there,” Mattson said. “It was the best he’s worked all year. I got to come home and give him some time off. I didn’t rope on him for three weeks beforehand, except for the Wrangler Finals, and he made it really easy for us. He scored really good, left flat and seemed like I got some pretty good rolls and didn’t have to reach as much to keep him on a shorter rope and let Trae have the whole arena to work with.”

Smith, meanwhile, rode a horse of Brett Fleming’s after his good horse—who he’d won last year’s circuit finals on—underwent surgery for a bone chip in his fetlock following the Utah Days of ’47 Rodeo in Salt Lake City.

Back to Colorado

In 2022, Mattson and Smith won the inaugural Resistol Rookie Roundup. They decided to pair back up in 2024, thanks to common goals. 

“We both wanted to go more out of the circuit than our partners wanted to, and we thought it’d be a good pairing,” Mattson said. “We roped all year, and I finished just outside the top 50 and he was just inside the top 50. This was dang sure a good steppingstone for next year.”

Both Mattson—who is the reigning NFR Open tie-down roping champion—and Smith are looking forward to heading back to Colorado Springs in July.

“It’s an unbelievable rodeo,” Smith said. “To be able to go during that week and run at that much money can really help a guy’s year go from an OK year to a ‘We have a chance’ type of year.”