by Bruce Tippets
BTippets@cherryroad.com

Randlett’s Jate Frost created an electric finish lasting eight seconds to register an 88.5-point ride in the annual Marvelous Extreme Bull Madness March 11.

The score by Frost tied him to share the title with JC Mortensen before a packed house at the Western Park Indoor Arena.

“This was awesome being my hometown rodeo,” Frost said. “I was excited to come ride. It was a great bull. I did my job and it was a lot of fun. I was extremely stoked being the last guy out. It worked out perfectly.”

Frost and Mortensen won $5,544 apiece for their impressive showings.

Frost’s ride came on Bar T Rodeo’s Goofy. The bull has been to the National Finals Rodeo and is one of the elite bulls in the country.

“That is a good bull from Bar T Rodeo,” Frost said. “I knew he was going to go to the left. I was able to stick to the plan and it worked good. It seems like about four seconds into the ride I was going to fall off but I was able to hang on.”

Frost enjoyed being the last cowboy to perform out of 40 bull riders in the final performance of the two-day competition.

“You are set up to kind of win,” he said. “Everyone is excited. I did a lot of mental preparation throughout the night and just being prepared. It’s a long night waiting to ride. I try to watch my friends. I try to dial in when there are about 10 left in front of me.”

Mortensen had his 88.5-point ride on Bar T Rodeo’s Ditch March 10. There were 40 different bull riders who performed both evenings.

“I thought it was a great event put on with great stock from Bar T Rodeo,” said Mortensen. “I had drawn Ditch earlier this year and he had bucked me off. I knew it was a ranked bull. It ended up working out perfectly. I was excited when I heard the score.”

Frost is currently 33rd in the PRCA bull riding standings.

“It has been a good season so far,” Frost said. “I need to keep riding. I’m a long way from where I want to be. I have a lot more rodeos that I need to be in.”

Frost had a serious car accident in 2021 where he said he injured his entire face.

“I had to take a whole year off,” he said. “This is kind of like I’m starting over again. I spent two months in the hospital. I’m so thankful for my family being with me the whole time.”

Jate is the younger brother of Josh and Joe Frost. Josh finished second last year in the PRCA world bull riding standings. Joe is a retired former NFR bull riding qualifier.

“Josh is awesome, and my older brother Joe was a great bull rider,” Jate said. “My plan is to be better than both. I look up to them. They have helped me a lot and giving me advice on how I ride.”

Organizer Ben Lofthouse wasn’t surprised to see Frost and Mortensen have impressive rides. Mortensen is ranked No. 23 in the bull riding standings.

“Jate had an amazing performance,” Lofthouse said. “I had JC and Jate both picked to win the event. Those two boys have been riding well. They both had good bulls. I was surprised they tied. You don’t see that very often.”

Landon Houghton won the up-and-coming rising stars section of the Marvelous Extreme Bull Madness event.

“It was sure entertaining to watch those young cowboys,” said Lofthouse.

The 17-year-old from St. George was the only rider out of eight to cover a bull. Houghton scored a 79 on Bar T Rodeo’s Bad Bob.

“I think that I did pretty good because I won it,” Houghton said. “I’m blessed to be here. It was a cool bull that I was on.”

The event was proudly presented by the Colby Lofthouse Memorial Scholarship.

Colby grew up in Vernal and Belfield, North Dakota. He was in an accident in 2015 from which he was unable to recover.

In his memory, Ben and Tanja Lofthouse have hosted events to raise funds for high school students to further their education.

They presented Uintah Basin students Brixton Howcroft, Harli Williams, Aysia Massey, Tyson Romane and McKenna Addington scholarships.

Results

1. (tie) Jate Frost, on Bar T Rodeo’s Goofy, and JC Mortensen, on Bar T Rodeo’s Ditch, 88.5 points, $5,544 each; 3. (tie) Coby Johnson and Jestyn Woodward, 86.5, $2,970 each; 5. Ray Mayo, 86, $1,529; 6. Dusty Craig, 79, $1,118; 7. Dylan Grant, 76, $912; no other qualified rides. Bruce Tippets

Jate Frost holds on to his bull during the annual Marvelous Extreme Bull Madness event at Western Park Saturday.