Magic touch

2025 Pendleton Whisky’s Let ‘er Buck Bucking Stock of the Year – Sankey Pro Rodeo & Phenom Genetic’s Magic Touch

The stars had to align for Magic Touch to become the 2025 Bucking Bull of the Year. The story starts before he was even born. 

Back in 2019, Wade Sankey was looking for someone that could improve what they had to offer in the bucking bull department. The Sankey’s had their own breeding program for bucking horses that had developed some of the best in the business. In fact, starting with Skitso Skoal in 1997, they won the Saddle Bronc Horse of the Year award five times. Their current superstar, The Black Tie, is the most recent having earned the title in 2022 and finishing as the reserve in 2024. 

Wade Sankey is the second generation to manage the rodeo business. He went to school at Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming, and rode some of those bucking horses himself. One of the guys on the rodeo team with him was Shane Proctor who was competing in bareback riding, saddle bronc riding and bull riding. Shane went on to win the bull riding world title in 2011 in the PRCA and become one of the best in the PBR. Wade called Shane, told him they wanted to improve their bull herd. Shane said call Matt Scharping, Phenom Genetics. 

 “Sankey Pro Rodeo is trying to produce the best possible product for the people that hire us,” Wade explained. “In order to make our entire product better we knew we needed to upgrade our bulls. There is no better way to do that than to get somebody that does that for their full-time job.” 

Wade had never heard of Matt Scharping or Phenom Genetics, but trusting the advice of a good friend, he made the call. Likewise, Matt didn’t know much about Sankey Pro Rodeo. 

Matt’s own career had been through many twists and turns. His family has been involved in agriculture in his home state of Minnesota for years. He was driving race cars and selling tools in Michigan. He knew he wanted to get back to the farm and was missing interactions with animals. He decided to buy his daughter a horse and while doing research came across a website for bucking bulls. 

He saw that as an opportunity to be around animals and fuel his competitive nature. He spent hours researching and bought his first heifer, a daughter of the 2004 Bucking Bull of the NFR, Reindeer Dippin from Flying U Rodeo. Matt didn’t have a place to keep the heifer, so he sent her to Ravenscroft’s and started building his herd. That herd was the beginning of Phenom Genetics. 

While taking bulls to PBR events, Matt had his summers free. He had just bought a race car thinking he’d get back to the track during the summer. Then he got the call from Wade. 

“He told me it sounded good and said, ‘Let me have a week before I tell you yes or no.’ He called me back that night and told me I’m in.” Wade said. 

Matt started making plans for a new adventure in rodeo. The original heifers he bought were the foundation. Minnesota’s weather isn’t always great for bucking bulls so after his calf crop is weaned, he takes the young bulls to Stephenville, Texas, to the Ace of Spades Ranch. 

Two years ago, Matt made that trip. He saw a big red bald-faced bull and asked what his story was. That bull was Magic Touch, who was raised by McGuire Cattle Company. Matt watched videos of the bull, felt like there was a ton of potential and made a deal. 

He took the bull back to Minnesota, made some changes in his feed and environment and the bull was getting better and better. They took him to some rodeos in 2024. Hayes Weight rode him at Utah Days of ’47 for 91 points and a round win. And he bucked off everyone else. 

This year, the bull has been out 12 times at rodeos and taken riders to a win at five of those with big scores. He’s had success in the PBR too. 

“The coolest thing about Magic Touch is, he just really doesn’t care what’s going on,” Matt said. “He’s just going to do his thing every time. He’s super calm. He’s easy to be around. But then he goes out and bucks extremely hard. He’s very rider friendly, but you can’t stub your toe on him. Bull riders know if they draw him, if they go and do their job, they’re going to win.” 

If Magic Touch has a downfall, it’s his appetite. The bull is kept by himself, not because he doesn’t get along with others, it’s more about him stealing their food. 

“He gets hangry,” Matt said. “We have to keep him separate to keep him in the right shape. It’s crucial to the way he bucks. We need to control his nutrition.”

Matt has worked with his veterinarian to develop a ration specifically for bucking bulls. That high-protein diet is put into concentrated feed pellets that he trucks from Minnesota to Montana so he has plenty of feed for the summer rodeo run. 

Magic Touch’s pension for feed was nearly his undoing in 2024. They bucked him at the Pendleton Roundup in Oregon and when he saw the green grass of the arena, he did not have his usual trip. This year they only used him there at the Xtreme Bulls where Ky Hamilton rode him for 91.5 points. 

Magic Touch has qualities that set him apart from the rest, according to Matt. His consistency and mentality. He doesn’t care if he gets ridden. It doesn’t affect his confidence or desire to go do it again. He just loves to play the game. 

“I think he’s a proud animal,” Matt said. “It’s interesting to watch him and how he responds to different things. He drew perfect this year. Everywhere we went, he drew the best guys. That’s nearly impossible to do. Tristan Hutchings won the St. Paul (Oregon) Rodeo on him. Then he had him again in Filer (Idaho) and got bucked off.” 

Matt doesn’t buy many bulls. He depends on his own breeding program. This one caught his eye and he went off course and invested in him. Then he learned the bull’s characteristics, found what he liked and the best way for Magic Touch to perform at a high level. The luck of the draw went their way and now the top bull riders in the PRCA have selected Magic Touch as the best of the year and he’s headed to Las Vegas with three of his buddies to buck in the famed yellow chutes of the Thomas & Mack Center. 

Matt will be able to watch him and see how he responds to the electric environment in Las Vegas and it will be exciting for the fans. And while Matt is grateful for the bull’s success and honors, he is quick to talk about all the people involved that made it happen. 

This is the first Bucking Bull of the Year Award for the Sankey’s. The partnership that they have with Matt is making their business better and it’s turned Matt into a rodeo fan. 

“I love the bucking horses,” Matt said. “I just love animals and see how unique they each are and I like learning what their different personalities are.  Wade and I handle our respective groups of animals very similar. And so, it’s fun.”  

A phone call to Shane Proctor, a partnership and a chance purchase of a big red bull set the path for Magic Touch and when the five-year-old bucks at his first NFR in December, it will be with a world champion title by his name.