33L Swamp Donkey, a 2-year-old rodeo bull, got a $250,000 payout for winning the American Bucking Bull Inc.’s $1 Million Futurity Short Go in Fort Worth, Texas, last weekend. It’s the biggest payday yet for the young bucking bull.
It also was a huge win for Jody Schott of Big Schott Rodeo, the Laramie-born Wyomingite raising championship-caliber bulls since 2021. Swamp Donkey’s success is the ultimate testament to Schott’s breeding stock that promises top rodeos across the United States.
“Getting a top-notch bull is always a hard thing to do,” Schott told Cowboy State Daily. “This victory was definitely on our goal list, and Swamp Donkey’s been a pretty consistent bull.”
Dummy Sport
Swamp Donkey was among the best bulls from the four qualifying rounds during the $1 Million Futurity Short Go. He prevailed over dozens of other bulls that qualified for the final long round in Fort Worth.
“The top 31 bulls competed at the Cowtown Coliseum,” Schott said. “Five judges scored them out of 25 points. Their scores are averaged, and that average leads to a total score.”
At 2 years old, Swamp Donkey is still too young and too small for a human rider. Instead of a human, he had a dummy to buck off his back.
Schott said judges score bulls based on their intensity, the extension of their kicks, the “rear and drop” of their front legs, and their direction change.
33L Swamp Donkey, named for his brand numbers and the slang term for a home run in baseball, showed his stuff from the moment he came out of the gate.
“Ideally, your bull turns out of the gate and stays right in the gate turning in a tight circle,” he said. “That doesn’t always happen. Bulls can have a bad day, just like people.”
Swamp Donkey decided to have his best day yet. In less than 5 seconds, the bull posted a total score of 92.88, winning the championship and a check for $250,000.
“It felt pretty good,” Schott said.
A Schott Of Good Stock
Scott breeds championship-caliber bulls, but he comes from an elite rodeo pedigree.
His father, Ed Schott, managed the Albany County Fairgrounds for many years, which gave him an early exposure to the ruckus of rodeo.
“I’ve been around rodeo for a lot of my life,” he said. “I was around the bull breeding program for the Burns Rodeo Company and worked for the Laramie River Rodeo when I was growing up.”
Schott witnessed one of the greats in action while he grew up in Laramie. Mr. T, a bull purchased by Hal and Pete Burns, was the PRCA’s Bull of the Year in 1986, won two Bull of the National Finals Rodeo titles in 1986 and 1989, and was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2024.
After graduating from the University of Wyoming with a degree in engineering, Schott pursued a career outside the rodeo grounds. But he never lost his bullish desire to return to his rodeo roots.
“I worked for the Professional Bull Riders in college, but getting away from rodeo felt like the right thing to do,” he said. “I still have a full-time job elsewhere. But I made a goal to get back in, and we’ve been pushing on pretty hard since then.”
Schott founded his company, Big Schott Rodeo, in 2021. He and his partners oversee two breeding programs in Oklahoma and Texas, which have already notched several notable achievements
“Over the last few years, we’ve had a World Champion yearly, and a reserve World Champion Futurity bull, a reserve World Champion Cowgirls bull, and a reserve World Champion junior bull,” he said. “
Schott attributed these successes to his “outstanding partners” and the outstanding bulls they’ve been able to breed and acquire.
They’ve found several bulls with the perfect mix of genetics and athleticism that have brought them to the world champions’ stage, but there’s no time to rest on their laurels.
“We’re always looking for the next bull that looks like he has all the right tools to compete at a high level,” he said. “It's something you’ve got to work at and pay attention to every single day.”
Bully For Bulls
The Professional Bull Riders World Finals is taking place this weekend at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Eight of Schott’s bulls have been selected to participate.
Meanwhile, 33L Swamp Donkey is bucking up for the American Heritage competition in Dallas next weekend. Schott said the competition is another opportunity for the bull to earn more points and money.
“American Heritage is one of our bigger competitions,” he said. “The last competition was the biggest single payout for the year, but there'll be quite a bit of money up for grabs at American Heritage.”
33L Swamp Donkey has had an excellent start to a long journey to become this year’s world champion.
The American Bucking Bull Inc.’s $1 Million Futurity Short Go was the first of many events culminating with a final competition to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, in mid-October, featuring the best-of-the-best bulls from the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Schott isn’t letting himself get too bullish about 3L Swamp Donkey’s prospects of becoming the world champion. The bull is still young and has a lot to learn, as evidenced by the journey to his recent success.
“During one of the qualifier events, he hung his back leg and kicked the gate as he came out of it,” he said. “We had him off for around a month and a half, and we’ve been able to get him back to where he's in good, sound condition. But he’s been a pretty consistent bull.”
Schott said it’s “way too early in the season” to speculate on the future for 33L Swamp Donkey. Earning $250,000 in four seconds is an outstanding achievement, but he needs a lot more points to be a serious contender for world champion.
“Points determine champions,” he said. “Hopefully, Swamp Donkey can continue having good trips and build on his average. If he keeps performing consistently, we could have the next World Champion Futurity Bull.”
Contact Andrew Rossi at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
