One of rodeo’s greatest bucking horses is being remembered by the Calgary Stampede. Grated Coconut passed away at the age of 27 at the Stampede’s own Alberta ranch in early January. “His personality was unbelievable. He was such an athlete and so quiet. He loved to be around people,” said Ken (Goose) Rehill, Stampede Livestock Specialist. “I could walk up and he’d come to the fence to be scratched and talked to. You could do anything with him, lead him anywhere.”
According to the Calgary Herald, the striking dark bay stallion made his Canadian and National Finals Rodeo debut in 2002. The horse continued his career, racking up six world and Canadian bareback championships. The Stampede newsletter called Grated Coconut “arguably the most successful bucking horse in the history of professional rodeo to date.”
Prorodeo.com reported, “Out of his 114 total rodeo outings, 37 cowboys hit the dirt, 25 finished in first place, and 29 finished in the money. If a cowboy was lucky enough to stay aboard for eight seconds, he usually cashed in.”
One of those cowboys, six-time PRCA World Champion Bareback Rider Kaycee Field, posted a tribute to his Instagram account:
“One of the all-time greats G65 Grated Coconut passed away today. This picture is from San Juan, Capistrano in 2008. It was a fight every jump and it solidified my first trip to the NFR! I had the opportunity to compete against him 3× and the 1st time was the best. The second time it cost me $100,000 at the Calgary stampede. The third was at the Chase Hawks and it was too cold for both of us! His Pedigree runs deep and it will be fun to watch his colts come along for years to come!”
Grated Coconut ranks up there with the great racehorse and sport horses and got to live out his retirement years at stud. “He was something special, both in and out of the rodeo arena. To have such a successful career, and then go on to be the foundation stallion of the Stampede’s herd,” said Tyler Kraft, manager of the Stampede Ranch and stock contracting operations. “We will see his impact on the sport of rodeo for generations to come.”
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