Chad Berger is a Professional Bull Riders legend. The Mandan, North Dakota native has been named 12-time PBR Stock Contractor of the Year with his company, Chad Berger Bucking Bulls.

For Chad, this business is a family thing with his wife and three kids all involved. But his passion for bulls all started with his dad, Joe.

“I’m fifth generation, in Mandan,” Berger said. “My dad was a cattle buyer, rancher, rode broncs when he was a young kid - passed that on to us kids and he bought cattle. He had a bucking bull business. He started raising bucking bulls in 1966 and at that time it was unheard of. People just got bulls out of the swamps or out of bushes and bucked them. My dad bred ‘em to buck. And that was his plan when no one even dreamt of doing that. “

After incorporating in 2003, Berger, a long-time Cat customer, took home his first award in 2007 and has earned the title an astounding nine consecutive years. The award is voted on by PBR’s top bull riders.

“It means a lot because it’s not just me getting recognized,” said Berger. “It’s all the people behind the scenes like my family that are all working in the business… my drivers and all the guys who take care of the bulls. And to win that award, that award is for everybody – not just Chad Berger Bucking Bulls – anybody that had anything to do with it. And to beat all the best guys in the world, and to say that you have the best bulls in the world, that means a whole lot to me too.”

Berger is the proud owner of a Cat® 930M Ag Handler – a special, high lift version of the machine which gives his team the productivity and versatility they need. His dealer salesman, Tom Wald of Butler Machinery, says the high lift has been important, as Bucking Bulls had recently purchased a bigger feeder wagon and needed the extra reach to load it. Wald also says the limited slips and the locked differentials have also been critical.

“When they’re in cleaning pens, it gets a little bit muddy, it gets a little bit slippery out there in the wintertime,” said Wald. “So, you have to have that option on these machines to be able to be productive – not just standing there spinning all day long and getting nothing done. And the quietness is huge - to be able to pull into these pens and not have something make a bunch of noise and scare the cattle, it all just has to work together.”

Berger credits support from Tom and the service department at Butler as the reason he keeps coming back.

“The reason I have a Caterpillar - it’s because of the service,” Berger said. “Tom’s johnny on the spot if I need something. They come out from Butler in Bismarck. They service it for us. If there’s something wrong with it, they’re right there fixing it. We can’t run this thing one day without that wheel loader. It’s that important to this operation and to get all that with it is a big bonus and the reason I’m using a Cat.”

Find out more about how Cat and Chad work together on our sponsorships page.