Roughrider Rancher of the Year Award goes to former bareback riding world champion

Jackie Jahfetson, The Dickinson Press, N.D.
·3 min read

Jun. 28—DICKINSON — North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame inductee Wayne Herman has been selected as the 2022 Rancher of the Year by the Roughrider Commission.

Originally from Golden Valley, Herman started in the PRCA, making multiple appearances in the National Finals Rodeo and later, inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. He still keeps rodeo and ranching close to his heart.

From Friday through Saturday, Herman was honored before a packed grandstands during the Roughrider Days PRCA rodeo at the Stark County Fairgrounds with his newest honor.

The 58-year-old ranches Black Angus cattle near Halliday in Dunn County, on the same place that his wife's great-great-grandfather homesteaded in the early 1900s — before Halliday became a town.

"It's quite an honor. I'm happy to receive it," Herman said. "I just really appreciate everything the Roughrider Commission has done for the Dickinson area and that rodeo all over the years. It's a pretty nice award and I appreciate it."

As the

1992 world champion

bareback rider, Herman got his start to the rodeo way of life at an early age.

"It's who I am. I grew up on a ranch by Golden Valley, North Dakota, about 40 miles east of Killdeer. We grew up horseback, roping calves and riding calves and going to kids rodeos all around here," Herman said, recalling, "At that time, there's a lot of of kids rodeos from Dodge, Halliday, Killdeer, Beulah, Richardton, Hebron, Glen Ullin. Within just a real short distance, there's a lot of them and my folks took me to a lot of kids rodeos and started doing that."

In the 1990s, Herman dominated the bareback riding circuit across the United States, winning nearly every North American bareback riding championship. He qualified for the NFR 11 times, received six top-five finishes and earned more than $850,000 in his rodeo career. In 1991, he won the NFR average title and was the world runner-up.

Following an injury, Herman decided it was time to hang up his rigging in 1998 and retire from bareback riding.

However, Herman didn't step away from the rodeo arena altogether; he was very much involved in rodeo schools, teaching young cowboys how to ride safely. He taught at both Dickinson State University and

Korkow Rodeo School

for approximately 30 years.

In 2014, he was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame as well as the

North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame

.

Over the years, Herman has worn several hats from carrying the title of world champion bareback rider, managing grain elevators to running an oil field trucking business.

Today, Herman and his family still operate Herman Energy Service, running frack water transfers and providing third party labor to the oil patch.

Along with the oil field operations, Herman still enjoys being a cowboy, ranching on his wife's great-great-grandfather's homestead.

"Ranching and the rodeo kind of go right together," he said. "It's cattle and horses. Skills that you use on the ranch primarily is what most rodeo events are tied to or derived from."

The Rancher of the Year Award is given to an individual who has been involved in rodeo and ranching, Roughrider Commission Secretary Lori Vernon said, adding that Herman "very much fits the bill."

"I think he's real deserving of it. I'm glad they selected him. He represented Dickinson, especially North Dakota, really well back in the years when he was bronc riding. It's nice now that we reciprocate and recognize him for the work that he did in that arena while being a rancher... at the same time," Vernon said, noting, "He was a good choice for the award."