PRORODEO Sports News - Nov. 7, 2025

VIRGIL: C5 RODEO’S 2025 SADDLE BRONC RIDING HORSE OF THE YEAR He’s become one of the most sought-after matchups for cowboys at every rodeo he attends. Virgil, the famous bucking horse from C5 Rodeo, is responsible for multiple rodeo championships, re cord-breaking rides and a now a legacy that includes hon ors of Saddle Bronc Riding Horse of the Year and twice recognized as the Bareback Horse of the Year. “I knew we had a chance, but I was shocked,” said C5 Rodeo owner Vern McDonald. “There’s a lot of good hors es out there, but Virgil is a special horse. He’s a horse that, if you ride him, you’re going to win something.” Virgil’s legacy widely comes from his time in bareback. He set a new world record with Rocker Steiner when the two matched for a 95-point ride in Darby, Mont. in 2022. But at 17 years old, the infamous 1,600-pound grey bucking horse returned to saddle bronc on a more consis tent basis for the first time since 2021. He came out of the chutes five times that year. In 2025, he had three qualified rides on four outings with an average stock score of 44.75. His highest marked ride came in July at the Calgary Stampede. That’s when Zeke Thurston rode Virgil for 92.5 points to win the rodeo. Virgil becomes the sixth horse to have won both PRCA Bareback and Saddle Bronc Horse of the Year honors. He joins the likes of Lonesome Me, King sway Skoal, Spring Fling, Cool Alley and Xplosive Skies. “We’re very honored to have that happen to C5 rodeo. The horse has been great for us,” McDonald said. “I be lieve it was meant for us to have that horse. I think God laid the path for us to own that horse. We’ve taken good care of him.”

got better at it. Over time she just got stronger. We knew she was going to be special.” Lunatic Heaven is already building a strong legacy in PRORODEO, much like her mother, Continental Drift, and sire, Lunatic Bait, the son of legendary bucking horse Lunatic Fringe who were all part of the legendary breeding program established by Brookman, a 2005 Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame inductee. She made her first trip to the NFR in her “rookie” sea son out of the chutes. This past season, she turned it up a notch. She kicked off her 2025 season at the Fort Worth (Texas) Stock Show & Rodeo, followed by the Dixie National Rodeo in Jackson, Miss. She bucked off Rich mond Champion at the PRCA Xtreme Bares & Broncs in Watford City, N.D., last March, then two months later led Sam Petersen to a win at the inaugural Music City Rodeo in Nashville, Tenn., with an 88-point ride. That ride jumpstarted what was an impressive stretch of rodeos for the mare, as she went on to lead Kade Berry to a win at Cheyenne Frontier Days and a new arena record with a 93.5-point ride in the finals. Her last big ride came in Puyallup (Wash.) in September, when Jacek Frost took home the title after a 91.5-point ride. The 1,400-pound horse has quickly become a favorite of bareback cowboys. Wieferich said there is no ceiling for how good she can be. “I can’t put a ceiling on how good she can be because I don’t know how much better she can get at it,” Wief erich said. “We treat her like the true athlete she is and make sure she stays healthy so she can get stronger as she goes.”

Virgil. (PRCA photo by Roseanna Sales)

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