10/21/2026
In 1929, three brothers trailed ten horses to a county fair rodeo in Clinton, Oklahoma. Ninety-plus years later, their grandnephew’s company became the first stock contractor ever to win all three top bucking stock awards at the National Finals Rodeo in a single year.
Bennie Beutler was born April 4, 1949, in Elk City, Oklahoma. His grandfather Elra and father Jiggs were longtime stock contractors, so it was no surprise he followed them. The family business goes back to 1929, when brothers Elra, Lynn, and Jake took ten horses to the Custer County Fair Rodeo in Clinton, Oklahoma. Bennie grew up working with his father and grandfather on their ranch north of Elk City.
Then, after his elders died in the 1980s, Bennie teamed up with E.K. Ga***rd II to form Beutler & Ga***rd Rodeo Company. In 2001, he and his son Rhett began a partnership that brought back the firm’s original name, Beutler & Son.
Then the stock started winning. Beutler & Son has won seven PRCA Bucking Stock of the Year awards, including ba****ck horse Copenhagen Comotion, honored from 1998 through 2000. In 2022, the company became the first stock contractor to win all three top Bucking Stock of the NFR awards in the same year. Bennie was named PRCA Stock Contractor of the Year in 1997 and won the PRCA Remuda Award in 2007.
Then he took his place in the sport’s leadership. Bennie served on the PRCA Board of Directors from 1989 through 2005, including three years as chairman. Since 1982, he has been the assistant general manager of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, after time as NFR chute boss and the stock contractors’ representative on the NFR Committee. He stocks 25 to 30 rodeos a year in seven states, including the Tucson Rodeo, the Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo in Austin, and the Buffalo Bill Rodeo in North Platte. He and his father were instrumental in building the rodeo program at Southwestern Oklahoma State University from its start in 1973.
He’s explained his approach to his horses simply. The Beutlers don’t start bucking their stock until they’re at least four years old, since a horse keeps growing until six. “They like what they do,” Bennie said. “They’re bred to buck.”
Then the family gave back. The Beutlers became the first rodeo livestock company to donate their entire historical collection, assembled by Lynn Beutler, to the National Rodeo Hall of Fame. It includes logbooks, photographs, and correspondence that tell rodeo history from the stock contractor’s side of the fence. Seven Beutlers are now in the National Rodeo Hall of Fame: Elra, Jake, Lynn, Jiggs, Bennie, Dolly Beutler Riddle, and Vickie Beutler Shireman.
Inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2010, the Bull Riding Hall of Fame in 2019, and the National Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2023. He lives in Elk City, Oklahoma, where many of his family members were born and still live, and he runs the business with his son Rhett and the next generation of Beutlers.
Ten horses trailed to a county fair. A three-award year at the Finals. Bennie Beutler carries a name that has been in rodeo since 1929.
Bennie Beutler 🤠🐴🏆
