The Rasmussen Bobcat rodeo dynasty

Just a few hours before the start of the MSU Spring Rodeo and his daughter’s last rodeo in front of the home crowd, one of rodeo’s greatest entertainers, Flint Rasmussmen sat down in Brick Breeden Fieldhouse and reflected on his family’s relationship with MSU. 

“You look at these banners up here, there’s a strong tradition of rodeo at this university and that is not forgotten at all with boosters and alums and President Cruzado and Leon Costello,” Flint Ramussen said. “They are all in. It makes me proud that my girls are here.”

Flint Rasmussen is best known for being the exclusive entertainer for the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) since 2005. Some people know him for his eight consecutive Clown of the Year awards while working for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, as well as ‘Coors Man in the Can’ seven times.  

Others may know him from his inductions in three separate rodeo hall of fames, including Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon Hall of Fame in 2011, the Saint Paul Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2019.  One thing people may be less likely to know is the Rasmussen family’s deep connection with MSU.

“My parents are Bobcats. The girls’ mom, my former wife, was a rodeo team member here.  I come from a family of Bobcats.” Flint Rasmussen said.  “I did not go to Montana State, I went to Western Montana, but the whole time we were still Bobcats.” The family became even more of a Bobcat household when his daughters, Shelby and Paige, both joined the rodeo team.

From a young age, Shelby and Paige were exposed to the rodeo lifestyle through Flint Rasmussen’s job, though he credits their mother, Katie Grasky, for nurturing their skills in the arena.

“As early as junior high, Shelby, she really could ride a horse nice,” Flint Rasmussen said.  “We could see her climbing and growing to where she could go rodeo somewhere in college.”  

The younger daughter, Paige, also began to show an interest in rodeo.  “Paige, she committed to it a little later and she’s got a different skill set.  She’s really fast. They each have their own thing they are really great at,” Flint Rasmussen said. “Early in high school we knew they would be somewhere doing this, and this [MSU] was, of course, part of the conversation.”

Shelby and Paige both committed to rodeo for MSU and have played key roles for the organization.  In 2021, they helped the women’s rodeo team to a national title.  Shelby has since graduated and has joined Head Coach Kyle Whitaker’s staff as an assistant coach, and Paige is a senior graduating in the spring with a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

“Shelby is so amazing for this program. She has transformed our women’s team. She’s transformed our practices and the culture on our team,” Paige Rasmussen said. “To be able to see her step from my teammate to my coach, she just has grown so much and I’m so excited to see what she does next.”

One strong aspect of team culture that has been on display is the way the rodeo community has rallied around Caleb Berquist.  Berquist, a recent grad and rodeo star at MSU, was in an accident while working on his ranch in eastern Washington that left him with serious injuries to his knee and spine.  

A GoFundMe set up for Berquist quickly surpassed the $50,000 goal and is now at over $86,000, and he continues to make progress in his recovery.

The team held a benefit before and during the rodeos, and profits went toward his recovery. 

As for Paige, her dad speculates she may take a step back from rodeo after graduation.  “She’s got a two month internship at MIT this summer.  She’ll probably put rodeo on hold for a while, it’ll be fun to see where she goes,” he said.

However, Paige has a few more collegiate rodeos before its time to look towards the future.  Before the rodeo began, Flint Rasmussen said “I kind of want her to come out for four days and kick everybody’s ass. That’s what I want her to do.”  As the rodeo slowed down at the end of the championship events on Sunday, it became clear that Flint got his wish and that the rest of the MSU Rodeo team had followed suit.

MSU’s recent home rodeo was actually two rodeos, with the first one on Thursday and Friday and the second following on Saturday and Sunday.  UM Western, MSU Northern, Miles Community College, UM, and Dawson Community College all came to Bozeman for the competition. 

Both the men’s and the women’s teams came out on top and captured their respective team titles after rodeo number one. The women’s team had a sweep of the three individual events.  Jessica Stevens won the goat tying, Haven Wolstein won the breakaway roping and Shai McDonald won the barrel racing.  

Those strong finishes, along with good performances in the long go of goat tying and barrel racing from Paige Rasmussen and Molly Salmond, respectively, propelled the women’s team to the team title.  Salmond and Wolstein shared the title of all-around cowgirl.

For the men’s team, Caleb Meeks won the long go of the saddle bronc riding and the duo of Jaden Whitman and Bode Spring finished first in the long go of the team roping event. Top three performances from Jace Bustad and Levi Delamarter in tie down roping, Cody Faulkner and Caleb Meeks in saddle bronc riding and a first place finish for Hayden Taylor in team roping helped the men’s team edge out UM Western for the team title.

Rodeo number two began with long go events on Saturday, and then was followed with a short go of each event on Championship Sunday. The women’s team captured the team title for the second time in 48 hours, while the men’s team finished second behind University of Montana Western.

For the men’s team, an injury to Cody Faulkner on Saturday derailed their attempt to capture the team title in the second rodeo.  However, strong showings from Mike Nannini, Bode Spring, and Jace Bustad, coupled with Caleb Meeks winning the saddle bronc riding, allowed the men’s team to finish second. 

After winning the saddle bronc event, Meeks said “It’s great to be able to come out in front of a packed crowd in the field house.  We put on a good show and had a good rodeo.”

On the women’s side, they once again won each individual event. Meghan McGinley won breakaway roping, Alexis McDonald the barrel racing, and Paige Ramussen the goat tying. These performances secured the team title for the women, and Rasmussen won the all-around cowgirl honors.

“I’m so proud to be a Bobcat, always. I love the energy in this building and being able to put on this vest,” Paige Rassmussen said. “To be able to accomplish my goal of winning all-around, especially since it's my last one, makes it that much more special.”