Samantha Fulton won the first two rounds at the Badlands Circuit Finals in Minot, North Dakota, Oct. 9-11, then held on to win the breakaway average with 4.3 seconds on two head, a finals-best $9,141 and the Badlands Circuit year-end title.
The Miller, South Dakota, cowgirl came to Minot No. 2 in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) Badlands standings, $2,252 behind Josie Mousel. Her finals checks pushed her season to $24,600—$5,610 clear of Sierra Lee—while Mousel left Minot without a check.
Fulton opened the circuit finals with a 2.2 to win Round 1 for $2,612, then came back with a 2.1 to win Round 2 for the same check.
“They had some really good Corriente calves out there and the start was like three under, so it was fairly quick on those calves,” Fulton said.
Round 3 didn’t go her way.
“I just missed,” she said.
Amber Carson won Round 3 in 1.9 and finished second in the average with 4.8 on two head for $2,938. Lee was second in Round 3 with a 2.4 and third in the average. No cowgirl caught all three calves, and Fulton’s two fast runs held up for the $3,917 average check.
The Badlands season doesn’t get rolling until late June, and much of it lands around the Fourth of July. Fulton’s year started slow.
“Around the 4th of July, like Dickinson, I think was my first circuit check, which is just the week before the 4th,” she said. “And kind of over the 4th, it started picking it up a little bit, and towards the end, then it got a little bit more consistent.”
Hank
Fulton roped all week on Purr N In The Sand, known as “Hank,” the horse she’s ridden since 2022. Hank was the Badlands horse of the year last season and again this year. The 2013 sorrel gelding is by Spots Hot and out of Purr N Like Magic, by Abrakadabracre, and was bred by Kathryn L. Brown.
“He’s good at the fast setups that are kind of out in front of you,” Fulton said. “He doesn’t cut the rope super fast, but he’s really, really fast when it’s a faster start. Typically, I ride him on two-under starts, where it’s quick, but they’re kind of out in front of you, and he just is incredibly fast.”
And he’s still getting better.
“He’s gotten where he’s a lot better at the kind of faster setups where I can use a short rope and, you know, hit the line, and he still does break it pretty fast,” she said.
Fulton’s list of favorite Badlands stops starts with Mandan over the Fourth.
“I feel like that committee constantly is stepping it up,” she said. “Killdeer, they have a rodeo over the 4th and over Labor Day weekend. That committee has done so much for breakaway and they’re always wanting to do more. I love going to Deadwood just because of the scenery. They always have great calves and … just a fun setup and a fun place to hang out.”
Most Badlands rodeos don’t limit entries, and the purses keep growing—including in Watford City, North Dakota, where Fulton grew up.
“There’s a new committee in Watford City, where I’m originally from that’s put on a rodeo the last two years, and they have 10,000 added,” she said. “Belcourt, North Dakota, has 5,000. There’s quite a few big rodeos that are kind of in the off times of the year where it’s just our circuit people that get to go to.”
She credits Badlands Circuit director Nicole Bice for part of that push.
“We have a great circuit director that really supports the breakaway,” Fulton said. “She keeps us informed, answers questions and does a lot with committees behind the scenes.”
The titles send Fulton to the NFR Open in Colorado Springs next July. It’s her second trip—she won the Badlands year-end title in 2022 and roped there in 2023.
“I haven’t … ventured out much to go to many rodeos, so I think around that time of the year in July, it’ll be real fun to, you know, step out of the circuit and … just go to Colorado Springs and hang out and have a chance to rope for great money at one of the best rodeos of the year,” she said.
