Many Americans consider rodeo to be a way of life, and behind the scenes are the ranchers who raise the bulls.
Chad Berger and his family have established a legacy of raising bucking bulls here, off Highway 6, where he works alongside his wife, Sarah, and other family members to manage over 200 bulls.
Although working with bulls and rodeoing is something he has always done, he was able to turn his passion into his career when he saw an opportunity to actually make some money with bucking bulls after quitting riding them.
The champion bulls are buried amid the rows of trees on Berger’s ranch, where they are raised and ultimately put to rest. “You know, I always tell people where I’m from wherever I travel.
Being a Berger, I’m sixth generation. I never left the St. Anthony-Mandan region where I was born and raised. And it makes me proud that I always tell people that I was born here and that I will die here,” Berger remarked.
Additionally, he takes pride in the way he rears and breeds his bulls. “I can assure you that these animals receive better care than any person’s dog,” Berger remarked. The bulls spend the winter in Oklahoma and are fed a diet rich in protein.
They also adore what they do. These bulls run in when we open the trailer gate because they want to see the big spectacle, Berger remarked. Berger launched his business in 2003 and worked hard to grow it during the following years.
“I wasn’t a title winner at first. I used to go with a few bulls in a small 30-foot trailer when I first started going. And we just kept moving forward and improving, and many individuals started to invest in us after they realized we were doing things correctly, Berger added. Despite his achievements, he is aware that more needs to be done.
“We just try to keep getting better at what we do. There’s no rest if you want to stay at the top, you have to keep grinding every day,” said Berger. It’s inherited from the family. In addition to being a stock contractor, his father bred bulls.
Berger says he intends to carry on his family’s tradition of doing what he does for a very long time. He has raised some of the finest bulls in history, including “Little Yellow Jacket,” and has received the PBR Stock Contractor of the Year award numerous times over his career.
Little Yellow Jacket was admitted into the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2006, and Berger was honored there in 2018.
