Trey Young claimed his fifth Badlands Circuit Calf Roping year-end title with $24,044 won on the season, while Dalton Porch placed in all three rounds and won the average with 28.0 seconds on three head at the Badlands Circuit Finals in Minot, North Dakota, Oct. 9-11, sending both cowboys to the 2027 NFR Open in Colorado Springs.

Young placed fourth in the first round, worth $653, but a kidney stone forced him to turn out his third calf. Still, he held on to the year-end title he also won in 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Porch was second in round one, third in round two and won round three with an 8.4-second run, banking $9,794 for the weekend and his first trip to the NFR Open.

Young’s Fifth Year-End Title

Young finished No. 2 in the Badlands Circuit standings in 2024, just $1,237 behind Bodie Mattson. This year, he came back to win his first year-end title since 2021.

“Felt good,” Young said. “It’s been kind of a few years since the last one, and I guess I’m getting closer to the end of my career than the beginning, so I appreciate every one of them now.”

His circuit finals didn’t go the way he planned.

“This is kind of a memorable circuit finals for me, not for the best reasons,” Young said. “My first round, I placed fourth on the calf, and then the second round I kind of came back and jerked one down and took a while to stand him up, so it was longer. And then the third round, I didn’t even get to run my calf. I had a kidney stone about an hour and a half before the rodeo and tried to wait it out, and then I had to go to the ER. I made it to about the bulldogging, and then I couldn’t wait anymore. So I had to turn out my third round.”

Young said he’s feeling better now.

“They kind of got my pain down in the hospital, and I’m as good as I can be now as far as I know,” Young said.

Young rode 7-year-old Jessie James Oakley, “JJ,” a 7-year-old bay gelding that he bought at a horse sale in Billings, Montana, when he was 2 coming 3.

“I kind of ranched on him for a year,” Young said. “I’ve actually been roping on him for quite a while. He’s only seven, but I think that was the third time I rode him at the circuit finals. I rode him there first as a 5-year-old and then he’s been back every year since.”

JJ carried Young most of the season. When the gelding abscessed for two weeks, Young pulled a 5-year-old off the ranch that had never been to a rodeo.

“He’d never been off the place before and actually placed at three out of four rodeos on him,” Young said. “He got thrown to the wolves. He did pretty good. But other than that, JJ was the only horse I rode all year. I had an older backup horse, but I sold him in February, and I guess that was kind of a risk, but the younger horses kind of fit me a little better, so I just tried to roll with it.”

Young lives fairly central in the Badlands circuit, keeping his rodeoing close to home.

“About the farthest I’ll get away is about six hours, which is plenty far for me,” Young said. “There’s a few co-approved in Montana and a few in Nebraska. I just stay within that six-hour radius. As many as I can a weekend and still hit some amateur rodeos. I don’t do as much rodeoing in the winter, so when the summer comes, I try to go every weekend that I can.”

Young doesn’t plan to slow down anytime soon, but he’s more selective about where he enters.

“The last three or four years, my entering hasn’t really changed much,” Young said. “The only thing is I don’t really go to anything that doesn’t have a Badlands Circuit rodeo by it. And I go to the amateur rodeos around my area, so I’m not going to go to any less the next couple years. I just realize that it’s closer to the end of my career than the beginning.”

Young competed at the NFR Open in Colorado Springs its first year in the city and is looking forward to going back.

“I’d never been to that arena, and it’s a pretty cool arena to rodeo in,” Young said. “They’ve probably changed the format since I’ve been there, so that’ll be a little different. I guess it’ll be more convenient where you don’t have to be there the whole time, you just show up for your set. But it’s always exciting to go to that.”

At home, Young ranches with his dad, Doug, and his wife, Madison, an attorney who works from home. The couple has 3-year-old twins, Avery and Blair, who will turn 4 soon.

Porch Wins Average, Punches Ticket to First NFR Open

Porch came into Minot after a month of roping in Texas and his preparation paid off.

“Man, it felt good,” Porch said. “I’ve been down in Texas for the last month roping, so just getting to go up there, I was on top of my game, I felt like. Going into it, I knew it was a three-head average, so I just wanted to go out there and make clean runs. Honestly, the first two weren’t as good as I’d like, just smooth-wise. There were a couple mistakes I needed to clean up.”

Porch stopped the clock in 9.6 seconds in round one to place second, worth $1,959.

“I didn’t handle my slack the best and I got it under her back leg, so she just kind of popped around,” Porch said. “They were some bigger, older calves and I just tied her down.”

In round two, he drew a calf that was a touch wild on the end of t rope in Round 1.

“She kind of ran around on the end of the rope,” Porch said. “So I honestly went in there and hoped my horse would help me clean her up. I got a sharp neck catch on her and got her popped around. Then I kind of struggled flanking her. She was a big calf, and I put a wrap and hooey on her and won third.”

Porch’s 10.0-second run was worth $1,306. With a big lead in the average, he still went for the round in the short round.

“Going into third round, I knew I had a good calf and I had a big lead on the average, but I told myself I wasn’t going to back off and I was going for the go-round,” Porch said. “It kind of all came together. I ran out there and roped her sharp and got her popped around and tied her down and won the last go-round.”

His 8.4-second run won the round and $2,612. Porch finished 4.4 seconds ahead of Myles Kenzy, the 2025 Badlands year-end champion, in the average and collected another $3,917.

Porch rode JD Desires Sum Spot, “Little Joe,” a 13-year-old gelding by C Spot Cut and out of Bet On The Cat who is by Bet On Me 498.

“I got him a couple years back, and honestly, I never had anything that was all that good to ride,” Porch said. “When I got him, he dang sure changed my roping game and has allowed me to win in these bigger setups. He’s dang sure been a game changer to my caliber of roping, that’s for sure.”

Porch went from Minot to the Indian National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, where his luck has run the other way. Little Joe is spending the week at the vet, and Porch’s backup horse came up lame.

“We’ve got to find a third option,” Porch said. “My luck has went backwards, I think.”

Porch rodeoed on his rookie card in 2026, finishing sixth in the rookie standings. The NFR Open qualification in 2027 gives him a reason to enter up next summer.

“To have this much money won early on, and once Little Joe gets out of the vet this week he’ll be good to go,” Porch said. “I’m hoping to get another horse found and maybe try to get out there a little bit this summer. So getting to the NFR Open for a chance to win that amount of money sure will be helpful.”