VIRGIL

One of the best bucking horses of all time, this iconic gray gelding has jumped and kicked his way into rodeo record books and the hearts of fans worldwide.

Each time Virgil enters the chute at a rodeo, he commands attention. Standing 17 hands high with a thick, flowing mane, the charismatic big gray draft-cross appears calm, collected and noble as he peers over the gate and surveys his surroundings. When the flank strap tightens, and an amped cowboy settles on his back and wedges his hand into the bareback rigging, the horse channels all his dynamic power into making an explosive exit, relentlessly jumping and kicking the full eight seconds. He demands that the rider be alert and exert every ounce of his strength and soul to stay centered against 1,650 pounds of sheer fury. After the ride, he gallantly gallops around the arena, and the crowd goes wild.

A staple in the C5 Rodeo Company’s bucking horse string, established by Vern McDonald in 2010 in Lac La Biche, Alberta, Canada, Virgil has earned respect in the rodeo arena as one of the most triumphant bucking horses in history. His many accolades include being named the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Bareback Horse of the Year twice, the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association Bareback Horse of the Year three times, Bareback Horse of the Year at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo twice and four times at the Canadian Finals Rodeo. However, his most memorable feat so far was setting a world record for the highest bareback score — a 95 — in a marquee matchup between him and Rocker Steiner in June of 2022 at the Riggin Rally rodeo in Darby, Montana. He also holds the CFR bareback riding record of 92.25 points set with Kody Lamb in 2024 and a 93-point arena record in Round Five of the 2018 NFR with Clayton Biglow. The horse has racked up over 27 rides of 90 points or higher.

“The thing with Virgil is he’s a very large animal,” says four-time NFR bareback rider R.C. Landingham. “To be athletic as he is at his size is what makes him so unreal. The other thing is that he never does the same thing. He’s a very smart horse; he can feel a rider well and knows when to change things up and make them more difficult.”

Standing 6 feet, 2 inches tall, Landingham is a perfect fit for Virgil. Yet in his 15-year professional rodeo career, the bareback rider has drawn the horse only twice. He spurred the horse to a record-setting 92.5 ride at the Red Bluff Round-Up in April 2024. A few months later, the pair marked 94 points to capture the coveted Calgary Stampede bareback championship.

“He puts a lot of weight on your [riding] hand because he’s heavy falling out of the sky,” Landingham says. “He can be hard to ride, but he felt really good.”

The horse stood out to McDonald from the first time he saw him buck, and the stock contractor knew he wanted the colt to join the up-and-coming C5 string. Little did McDonald understand at the time, the horse would put C5 Rodeo on the map and become one of the greatest bareback horses ever to enter the chutes.

BIG BUCKS

A 2008 product of Dale Kling’s breeding program in Grassy Butte, North Dakota, Virgil is sired by a stout Percheron named Big John and out of a petite Appaloosa mare named Apples. McDonald acquired Big John after Virgil and continued to breed him, but none of his offspring bucked like Virgil.

Oklahoma stock contractor Maury Tate of Mo Betta Rodeo Company purchased the horse as a 2-year-old stallion in 2010 at Dale Kling’s Breeder Classic Bucking Horse Sale in Cody, Wyoming. He named the horse after his father, the late Virgil “Bub” Tate.

“The first time they bucked Virgil [at the sale], they forgot to untie the neck rope, and when they opened the gate, he was tied to the bucking chute, and it was a wreck,” Tate recalls. “They had to cut the rope off so they could run him back in [the chute] and buck him again, and he came out backward. He was the last horse to sell that day, and I gave $1,700 for him.”

Although most buyers were unimpressed by the stout horse, Tate saw potential.

“The thing I did see is, after everything he’d been through, he still wanted to buck and didn’t have on a flank,” Tate says.

Tate sent the horse to Mark Cotter in Buffalo, Wyoming, whom he credits with Virgil’s success. Cotter gelded the feisty colt and started hauling him to rodeos to settle him down. He bucked the horse in bareback and saddle bronc and appreciated his versatility and athleticism early on.

“He’s such a big horse and shouldn’t be as athletic as he is,” Cotter says. “He had every reason to be about half-clumsy.”

At the Cody Night Rodeo in Cody, Wyoming, Virgil shocked everyone with his athleticism when he finished bucking and jumped the arena fence as a grand finale.

“Every time we’d buck him, he’d jump out, so that’s why we put him in the bronc riding,” Tate explains. “We could get a hold of him.”

The more the horse bucked, the harder he bucked, and he eventually stopped jumping the fence. Four-time NFR qualifier Tom McFarland won the bareback riding at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in 2013 with a 93-point score.

“That horse does everything a bareback rider wants,” McFarland said after his winning ride. “He gives you rankness, but he gives you a chance to show your stuff, too. I know next time I get on him, I’m going to be just as scared as I am right now.”

After McFarland’s ride in Houston, all eyes in the rodeo world were on Virgil, including Vern McDonald’s. He contacted Tate and paid “good money” for the horse and brought him to Alberta.

DESIRED DRAW

Tyson Cardinal, McDonald’s nephew and the C5 ranch manager, has been around the horse daily since he came to the ranch. He cares for the bucking horses, hauls them to rodeos and picks up for C5. He says Virgil has always had a lot of life, especially for such a large horse.

“He’s quite the character, and he hasn’t changed since the day we got him,” Cardinal says. “He’s very standoffish to people and will go hide in the corner of the pasture or pen if a crowd is coming to see him. But when we start gathering horses [to take to a rodeo], he’s the first in the sorting pen and the first to get on the truck. He loves his job, and he’s never had a bad trip.”

When a cowboy draws Virgil, he knows he has a good chance of scoring in the 90s and winning a round. While setting the world record with Steiner was a big deal, Cardinal reflects on another monumental moment: Kaycee Feild winning $100,000 at The American in 2022 with a 93-point ride on Virgil.

“It’s probably the best bareback ride I’ve ever seen,” Cardinal says. “Virgil stayed in his left lead and circled nicely. Kaycee is probably the best bareback rider to walk on this Earth. He stayed with him every jump and spurred him, which makes a huge difference for Virgil.”

Cardinal bucks Virgil primarily in the bareback, but occasionally he uses him in the saddle bronc. Last year, Zeke Thurston was 92 points on the horse at the Zeke Thurston Invitational Xtreme Broncs Challenge in Stettler, Alberta. It’s rewarding for Cardinal to prepare the horse behind the chutes and watch him work.

“It’s such a good feeling as the guy who takes care of the horses that whenever these guys get done with their rides, they come and thank me and shake my hand,” Cardinal says. “It means a lot to me when they say, ‘There’s no other horse like Virgil.’”

While Virgil is honest in the arena, Cardinal explains that he doesn’t have a predictable pattern like many bucking horses. Sometimes, that increases his difficulty in riding.

“He does his own thing every time,” Cardinal says. “If you can get him in the left lead, he’s pretty bucky and harder to ride. Sometimes, he’ll jump into the right lead, and it’s a little more rider-friendly.”

Virgil’s unique style and record-setting rides have carried him to 10 NFR berths and several round wins. Most recently, Jacob Lees rode Virgil to a 91-point tie with Dean Thompson in the fifth round of the 2024 NFR. He’ll travel to eight to ten rodeos this year in the hope of making his 11th NFR.

A BRONC’S BEST LIFE

At home, Virgil and the other C5 bucking horses receive top-notch care, including a pelleted feed formulated specifically for them. They are dewormed and vaccinated to ensure they stay healthy on the road. When they get home from a rodeo, they are turned out to pasture for a break. Virgil likes to find a remote corner to hang out in with his pal, Makeup Face, one of the original C5 bucking horses.

“I wish everyone could see how these animals are cared for and how much they love their job,” Cardinal says. “They have a pretty lavish life. They go to eight rodeos a year, and when they’re home, they hang out and eat in a large pasture.”

Each year, Cardinal and McDonald assess Virgil’s performance and condition. At 18 years old, he’s the senior in the string and shows signs of his age, but he still lives to buck. In January, Virgil bucked to a 91-point win with Bradlee Miller in the San Diego Rodeo. It was the horse’s second championship at the rodeo.

“His retirement has been on my mind the last few years,” Cardinal admits. “But every rodeo we take him to, he goes out and bucks 90-plus-point rides. So, I will keep him going until he wants to slow down. I want him to finish his career as the king.”

While Virgil has no retirement plans, he has a permanent place in the C5 pasture.

“If it weren’t for Virgil, we wouldn’t be where we are today,” Cardinal says. “He means a lot to us. The day we retire him will be sad. I’ll miss him whenever I round up the horses and he doesn’t come in or get on the truck. I don’t know if the world will ever see a horse like Virgil again.”