Kirsten Vold Takes Her Final Bow With Legendary Bucking Horses at the 2025 NFR

For decades, the Vold brands have been stamped on some of the best bucking horses in rodeo. Now, as Kirsten Vold prepares to close the gates on Vold Rodeo Co. after the 2025 National Finals Rodeo, she’s looking back on a lifetime spent raising legends.

Rodeo has always been a part of Vold’s life. Her father, Harry Vold — known to cowboys as the “Duke of the Chutes” — started Vold Rodeo Co., sparking what would become her own lifelong career in stock contracting. Over the years, she’s watched the sport, and the people in it, evolve alongside her.

“At one point, they were all older than me,” Vold said. “Then, we were all the same age, and now they're all younger than me.”

Though sending her stock to the National Finals Rodeo has been one of the highlights of her career, Vold said some of her favorite moments have come from watching cowboys succeed in the arena. She’s watched cowboys go from winning the College National Finals to becoming world champions, Vold said.

“It's the greatest moments of their lives, and you get to be a part of that with so many of them,” she said. “It's a great thing to be part of people's journeys, of their accomplishments, and so many of them.”

All of these victories start at Vold’s southeast Colorado ranch, where she’s there for every colt as soon as they’re born. Being part of every stage of a horse’s life was one of the things that made her job so special, Vold said.

“It's a pretty cool feeling whenever you're there when that colt hits the ground,” Vold said. “And then, you're there whenever it's a good enough animal to be selected for the National Finals Rodeo.”

According to the 2025 NFR Stock Roster, Vold will send three horses to Vegas this year in the saddle bronc riding: Captain Hook, Breezy Fling and Talkin Smack, all horses raised by Vold.

“Breezy Fling is one of those horses where they step out the very first time and they're just special,” Vold said. “You could tell he was special from the very first time we bucked him.”

Captain Hook, voted “Rankest in the TV Pen” at last year’s NFR, will also make another appearance at the Thomas & Mack. Talkin Smack, one of the smallest horses in the pen, is set to make her NFR debut in December.

“She’s probably going to be one of the smallest horses that was selected to go,” Vold said. “I think it shows how much heart she has because she's had cowboys of all sizes, and she's taking them all to the pay window.”

The 2025 NFR will be the last with horses under the Kirsten Vold name. Though she’s taking a step back from contracting rodeos, Vold isn’t done with the bucking horse world just yet. She still owns two studs, several brood mares and her 2025 weanlings.

“I'm gonna try to raise a few colts in the future,” Vold said. “I've always wanted to do some of those bucking horse futurities and never got the chance to do it, so maybe I'll hang on to some of them long enough that I can go do a few of those before we sell.”

The doors may be closing on Vold Rodeo Co., but Kirsten Vold and her impact on the sport will certainly remain. Looking back on her decades in rodeo, she said she hopes people remember the values that guided her work.

“We tried to be honest and tried to do a good job, and that's about all you can do,” Vold said.

“And I'm very grateful I have so many friends in the industry that, whether I see them again or not, after this year, I have the memories that will keep me going for the rest of my life.”

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