Bucking horse sale may be the answer for some owners

FREDONIA, Pa. — Some horseowners joke that they think their horse should be a bucking horse in a rodeo. Other owners feel their horse really should be a bucking horse and give up trying to correct the behavior.

If you are the second set of horse owners, you may want to head to the fifth annual Sundance Area Rodeo Stock Sale in Fredonia, Pa.

The auction is set for May 7. The first session starts at noon and the second portion will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Sundance Arena owner, Dave Martin, has been in the rodeo bull business for 40 years. He said 80 percent of the sale is expected to be rodeo bulls, and he expects between 15 and 25 rodeo contractors from across the country to attend the sale.

The sale catalog will contain between 50 and 100 bulls when completed. Some of the stock up for sale will be some Longhorn bulls Martin has raised after he purchased them in Texas.

Besides bucking bulls, horses will also be up for auction. He said the market has been very poor for horses that buck and this may prove to be the answer for some horse owners because it will provide an outlet for them.

“Anyone who has a horse that is bucking them is invited to bring them and put them through the ring,” Martin said.

He added that anyone who brings a horse to be auctioned off will be put through the arena earlier in the day and bucked with a dummy before the sale.

Martin said while the day portion of the sale will include some good riding horses, another portion of the sale will be set just for bucking horses.

In addition, other young bulls and calves with rodeo bloodlines will also be part of the sale.

Martin, who purchased Sundance Arena in the fall of 2005, said the appeal of the rodeo is growing in the region because the arena had the best crowds ever at their facility this past winter despite the snowy weather.

For more information, go to www.bullridemania.com or call Martin at 717-334-7724.