The 2025 Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo yielded two champions; Taylor Engesser of Spearfish won the average championship in Minot with 6.4 seconds on three head, worth $9,732, while Sloan Anderson of Whitehorse earned the year-end title with $21,010 in total circuit earnings.
Both cowgirls will advance to the 2026 NFR Open in Colorado Springs to represent the Badlands.
Average Champion Taylor Engesser: Faith, Focus and “Booger”
For Engesser, this season was all about returning to her roots. After a tough 2024 spent on the road with a young horse, she made a conscious choice to stay closer to home and focus on her circuit goals.
“Last year I was out on the road on a young horse and probably should have just stayed home,” Engesser said. “So my goal this year was to make the circuit finals—that was the ultimate goal.”
Engesser’s plan paid off in a big way at the 2025 Badlands Circuit Finals. She turned in runs of 1,8, 2.8 and 1.8 seconds for a total of 6.4 seconds on three head, earning $9,732 and clinching the average title against a stacked field.
Her success came aboard her 6-year-old gelding Booger, a horse she’s developed herself since purchasing him from Bailey Young two years ago.
“Booger was started really well, but the green stuff—like starting sharp off your hand and [leaving flat]—just took time,” Engesser said. “This year, I decided not to travel nurse and instead took outside horses. I had a rope in my hand all the time and was riding six or eight horses a day. That made a huge difference.”
Engesser, who entered Minot sitting outside the year-end lead, knew she needed a strong average showing to have a shot at making it to Colorado Springs.
“I was the last one who could still be No. 1 with the money to be made at the finals,” she said. “So I knew the average was the way to go—while still going at the rounds.”
Her faith and family kept her grounded throughout the weekend.
“I didn’t feel a lot of pressure because I knew it was going to be in God’s timing,” Engesser said. “I want to thank our Lord and Savior for the opportunity to do what we do, and my family and my boyfriend, Travis Munroe—they believed in me even more than I did.”
Year-End Champion Sloan Anderson: Consistency and a Generational Win
Whitehorse, South Dakota, cowgirl Sloan Anderson entered the Badlands Circuit Finals ranked No. 3 in the year-end standings, but after a stellar weekend that included a round win and consistent runs across the board, she moved to No. 1 in the final standings and captured the Badlands Circuit year-end championship with $21,010 earned on the season.
“First round, Taylor was 1.8, and I was like, ‘This is awesome, nobody is letting up,’” Anderson said. “I was 2.2 in the second round and won it, and in Round 3, I went right after Taylor and she was 1.8 again. It was outstanding. I was so glad because it allowed me to just go out there and go for it.”
Anderson relied on her 12-year-old mare Little Bit, a horse she’s owned since she was a yearling and trained alongside family mentors Ryan and Tom Ferguson.
“I’ve known since we brought her home that she was going to be my next one,” Anderson said. “She’s resilient, and I’ve never been outrun on her.”
A fourth-generation rancher who runs Black Angus cattle with her family, Anderson has deep roots in the Badlands Circuit. Winning the year-end buckle carried a special family connection—her father, Lyle Anderson, won a Badlands bronc riding title in 1988.
“When I started 4-H rodeoing, I wore his buckle,” Anderson said with a laugh. “After this win, I joked that now he can wear mine.”
Her focus on consistency and mental strength throughout the season kept her in the money at nearly every stop.
“I don’t have to win every rodeo, but if I can be in the money, it’ll all work out,” Anderson said. “Staying consistent was my main goal.”
Looking ahead, Anderson plans to represent the Badlands at the 2026 NFR Open and make a fall run down to the WPRA Finals to earn winter rodeo qualifications.
“It was very special to win this,” Anderson said. “The last few years have been a struggle for me mentally [at rodeos], but this one felt right—it’s what I’ve been working toward.”
