Shootin’ Stars put on quite a show at the NFR in 2018. In Round 6, the Beutler and Son Rodeo Company bull got Eli Vastbinder 91 points, and in Round 10, Sage Kimzey rode him for a high score of 93.
The following year, Shootin’ Stars had 16 outs with 2 qualified rides — Chuck Dees in Lawton for 91.5 points and Tyler Bingham in Greeley for 90 — and at the start of the 2020 season, Denton Fugate and Tyler Hessman both rode him to the buzzer in San Antonio for 89 and 91 points.
Unfortunately, not long after the winter rodeos wrapped, Shootin’ Stars passed away from a snake bite.
It came as a shock to Rhett Beutler, who joined us on ProRodeo Tonight to talk about what made Shootin’ Stars so special and look back at some of his best performances.
“He was just about as good a bull as you could have,” Rhett says. “I mean, the cowboys just loved him. ... From the time we got him, he just got better and better since we got him. The more we bucked him, the better he got.”
ELI VASTBINDER | 2018 NFR ROUND 6
SAGE KIMZEY | 2018 NFR ROUND 10