2024 HDD Rodeo – Drill Crews (Photo Gallery)
After a 20-year hiatus Benjamin Media Inc. (the publisher of Trenchless Technology magazine) revived the HDD Rodeo.
Drill crews, exhibitors, sponsors, industry experts and attendees convened in Independence, Missouri, Sept. 25-27, for the 2024 HDD Rodeo. Kansas City-based Mark One Electric provided the seminar, exhibition and drilling competition venues.
In all, 10 drillings crews from all over the United States participated in the HDD Rodeo. And the top crews came away with more than the $270,000 in cash and prizes that were on the line. Five crews exited through the target hole, netting them 5 minutes off their drilling time, with four other crews hitting the target circle — it was a superb two days of drilling witnessed by exhibitors, judges and attendees.
Competing HDD Crews
Top HDD Rodeo Crew Finishes
The drilling competitions took place Sept. 26 and 27 with Ward Trenching, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, claiming the top spot and taking home more than $75,000 in cash and prizes. Led by the dynamic father-son duo of Joe and Brody Ward, the team used an Astec 3238 drill paired with an Underground Magnetics Mag 9 locator. They delivered an impressive performance, completing the 230-ft bore with precision in just 35:43.
They bested fierce competition, including the second-place team from Tru-Tek Drilling, of Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania, who finished at 53:26, and the third-place team representing the IUOE-PLCA National Pipeline Training Fund, closing out at 53:33.
Rounding out the Top 6 were Radell Underground Inc., of Pittsburg, Kansas, with a time of 54:59; LJ Inc., of Swartz Creek, Michigan, with a time of 57:49; and Absolute Underground LLC, of Bismarck, North Dakota, with a time of 66:46.
