Britt Bedke stopped the clock at 10.3 seconds in the final round of the 2026 Cheyenne Frontier Days to earn the biggest win of his career and $9,200 at the Daddy of ’em All.
The 27-year-old from Oakley, Idaho, punched through the Daddy’s new bracketed playoff system all week—a 13.0-second run to advance out of his qualifying bracket, then an 11.5 to place second in his semifinal—before laying down the fastest run of Sunday’s finals on July 26. His 10.3 topped second place Macon Murphy’s 10.5 and held off Cory Solomon (10.7). All told, Bedke’s week at Cheyenne added up to roughly $11,950 and the saddle that comes with winning one of ProRodeo’s crown jewels.
“It was very special, it’s the dad of them all,” Bedke said. “That was the biggest win of my career for sure.”
The Run & Draw
Bedke had circled his finals calf as one of the best in the pen.
“I knew I had one of the top two calves,” Bedke said. “I thought that was the one I dang sure wanted. I knew if I used my horse, it was going to be a dang good run and I just didn’t want to screw up.”
The calf left sharper than he expected, and Bedke leaned on his horse to make up some ground.
“I had to kind of ride just an extra jump in there on my horse, and my horse was phenomenal,” Bedke said. “I got a shoulder in that calf as I flanked, and he jumped right into my arms. I was just praying he’d lay there and not kick. He was really, really good to tie.”
Sweating out Shane
Roping toward the front of the final round meant a long wait. Shane Hanchey, one of the most dangerous ropers in the sport, was last out so Bedke knew he would have to sweat it out.
“It’s always tough going towards the front in a playoff bracket like that and you just never know,” Bedke said. “Especially when Shane Hanchey’s last and we knew he had a pretty good calf, and I was like, ’I ain’t going to kill my chickens too fast because we all know what Shane can do.’”
The Horse Named Rico
The horse doing the heavy lifting was Stylish Cowboy, “Rico,” an 8-year-old sorrel gelding Bedke owns and one he says fits nearly any setup—including the long Cheyenne score.
“That horse has been super, super special here,” Bedke said. “You can go in a setup where you got to be seven flat, to Cheyenne where you got to run him down, and he just kind of fits all the setups. We’ve had him for three years. Jake Hannum started him and trained him and I just had to season him.”
Rico stayed busy in the finals with Bedke and Brayden Roe. Roe also rode Rico and finished seventh in the final round with a 12.6 second run.
“I think what really sets him apart of other horses is that he can really run,” Bedke said. “When I first got him, I wasn’t sure how much run he had, but he’s got a lot, and he rates off on cattle great. A jump before, he’s kind of starting to already want to stop and it just makes it where you can get an easier, snappier go.”
One Calf at a Time
The win shaped up a quiet summer. Bedke had a strong spring, then things went kind of cold from May on.
“My dad’s been on my butt just staying hooked,” Bedke said. “He’s like, ’You just got to keep running one calf at a time and it’ll change.’ And it was a great week to change. There’s so much added money in all these rodeos up here this week and it was good time to turn it around for sure.”
Family is the throughline. Bedke gets back to Oakley to help on the family ranch when he can, and credits the people at home for the momentum he’s riding.
“My family has done so much for me,” Bedke said. “My dad, he’s unbelievable. He’s been in my corner forever. My mom, my dad have been super, super supportive with the whole rodeo deal, and my grandparents and all of them.”
Entered Up
The Cheyenne check gave Bedke a boost in the world standings race, and he plans to rodeo hard the rest of the summer with an eye on the big-money stops.
“I’m going to enter up for sure and go as much as I can and hopefully get into Sioux Falls or Puyallup,” Bedke said. “There’s so much added money there. There’s just no telling. If a guy gets hot right there, you can make the finals easy.”
For now, Bedke gets a buckle and a saddle, plus some bragging rights, from one of the biggest rodeos a cowboy can win.
“That’s one of the biggest rodeos to win, and when you win it, take that victory lap and get on stage and they give you the saddle buckle, it’s an unreal experience,” Bedke said. “There’s not many rodeos you can get that experience. That was for sure the peak of my rodeo career.”