story by Lily Weinacht
Senior Boy World Champion Saddle Bronc Rider
The 2017/2018 NLBRA season was both Parker Kramer’s rookie and final year of eligibility in the association, and it was all the time the 19-year-old from Denbigh, North Dakota, needed to make his mark in the saddle bronc riding. He learned about the Northern Plains Little Britches Rodeo Association through Steve Woggin of Wild Man Rodeo Company while looking for practice horses to get on. After winning the first two rodeos he went to, and learning he only needed to win three more to qualify for the NLBFR, Parker set out to do just that and punched his ticket for his first trip to Oklahoma.
“It was pretty impressive. The Lazy E was outstanding, and everything was run extremely smooth,” says Parker. He also visited Stockyards City and The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum while he and his parents, Shawn and Melissa, were in Oklahoma. “The horses were really nice and the perfect level for the kids getting on—nothing too salty.” For the short round, Parker drew one of the ranker horses and made the whistle just in time. “They gave me the thumbs up, and I knew I had a chance. My dad was sitting in the hotel room all week tallying up points, and I kind of knew when I got off and they marked me in the 70s that I’d probably won it.”
Prior to his NLBRA Senior Boy World Saddle Bronc Champion title, Parker won the saddle bronc riding in 2017 in the Rough Rider Rodeo Association, along with reserve champion in the North Dakota Rodeo Association, and reserve year-end champion in the North Dakota High School Rodeo Association. He rode a handful of steers as a kid, but found his passion for saddle bronc riding when he was 17. “When you get that perfect horse and everything comes together, it’s just a nice smooth motion, and really fun. It’s like a dance,” Parker explains. “My dad is the biggest role model. He’s always giving me pep talks if I get down on myself, telling me to keep my chin up and keep getting on.” Many of Parker’s relatives who rodeoed before him, including his dad, grandfather, and uncles, rode bareback horses, and his younger brother, Ben, who is a senior, rides bareback horses in the NLBRA.
“I don’t think there’s such a thing as a natural, so to speak,” says Parker. “You get out what you put in. If you want something, you have to work hard for it and get on a lot of horses. I get on as many as I can during the winter and do a few schools here and there, and try to keep as fresh as I can.” In between his time at the chutes, Parker works for his uncle building custom cattle fencing. He also enjoys spending time with friends, but it’s more likely he’s getting on the bucking machine or working cattle. “I’m trying to get a little money saved up. I’m thinking next year I might go to a college in South Dakota and rodeo and learn to shoe horses. I’ll hopefully get my PRCA permit this winter. I’d like to win the Badlands Circuit someday, and maybe even make it to the NFR in Las Vegas.”
