Flint Rasmussen announces retirement from bull riding

Former Havre High teacher, and world champion rodeo entertainer/rodeo clown Flint Rasmussen is leaving the arena.

Rasmussen recently announced he’s retiring from the world of bull riding, where he’s spent decades making a name for himself as a top funnyman in the arena. Most recently, Rasmussen has been a star in the PBR.

Rasmussen, whose career started in the Montana Circuit of the NRA and ultimately, the PRCA, performed in Billings, where he resides, for the final time last weekend. He’ll finish the Unleash the Beast Season in the PBR before retiring as its top entertainer for good. He has been with the PBR since 2006.

Rasmussen will eventually move into the commentator booth for the PBR, while also continuing his strong presence in Montana.

That presence includes being the guest speaker at the AAU Little Sullivan Awards ceremony in May.

The banquet will start with a meet and greet at 5:30 p.m. and dinner is scheduled for 7 p.m.

The men’s finalists for the Little Sullivan Award are: Duncan Hamilton, Bozeman, Montana State, cross country, track and field; Robby Hauck, Missoula, Montana, football; Jacob Morgan, Billings, Mary, wrestling; and Patrick O’Connell, Kalispell, Montana, football.

The women’s finalists are: Kola Bad Bear, Billings, Montana State, basketball; Ayla Embry, Bozeman, Rocky Mountain College, volleyball; Brittanee Fisher, Billings, Montana State Billings (senior in 2022), softball; and Sophia Stiles, Malta, Florida Gulf Coast, basketball.

The Montana AAU Little Sullivan Award dates to 1955. Troy Andersen (Montana State, Dillon, football) and Ali Weisz (Olympic shooting, Belgrade) were last year’s winners.

The award is patterned after the national AAU Sullivan Award, which was first presented in 1930.

Finalists are chosen based on athleticism, community service, sportsmanship, amateurism and academics. Finalists have traditionally been from Montana.

The AAU will also be presenting its Outstanding Contributor Award, Outstanding Service Award, and the Divisional Outstanding Wrestlers awards at the banquet.

Meanwhile, Rasmussen will be wrapping up his rodeo career, at least in the barrel, at next month’s PBR World Finals in Fort Worth, Texas.

“I want to make sure people know how much I've appreciated all the years of it,” Rasmussen told 406 Sports before his final performance in the Metra last week. “I’ve been treated well in this profession and I appreciate the fans, whether I know the people or don’t.”