2024 HDD Rodeo – Drillers, HDD Companies Ride Into Missouri for Biggest HDD Event of 2024

They came. They drilled. A 2024 HDD Rodeo champion was crowned. What a week!

Drill crews, exhibitors, sponsors, industry experts and attendees convened in Independence, Missouri, Sept. 25-27, for the 2024 HDD Rodeo — the first Rodeo the industry has experienced in more than 20 years. There was amazing competition, top-notch seminar sessions, terrific networking and HDD conversations — and the weather was also a fantastic component.

In all, 10 drillings crews from all over the United States participated in this industry-favorite reboot. And the top crews came away with more than the $270,000 in cash and prizes that were on the line. Ward Trenching of LeGrange, Wyoming — the father-son drilling team of Joe and Brody Ward — earned the top spot with a combined drilling time of 35:43, including exiting directly into the target hole.

In all, 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.

“What a fantastic week of HDD,” says Benjamin Media president Rob Krzys. “The drillers came to the competition focused and excited. The atmosphere that brought together all sides of the HDD sector was electric. We started off the event with a day of education and then everything culminated with the drilling and our new champion crowned. Just an incredible sense of community and pride that rolled through this event.”

Competing in Independence, Missouri

The 2024 HDD Rodeo was presented by Benjamin Media Inc. and hosted by Mark One Electric, which provided both the seminar and drilling competition venues. Kansas City-based Mark One Electric provides construction services from design/build and pre-construction to underground, data/comm and specialty systems. During its tenure, Mark One has grown to more than 200 employees and is the specialty contractor of choice for the Kansas City construction community.

The competition took place at Mark One Electric’s site in Independence, Missouri, about 20 minutes from downtown Kansas City. The HDD Rodeo competition combined skill, accuracy and speed, pitting drilling crew against drilling crew to vie for the best overall time (which included bonus time for inaccuracy.

Crews took their best shot at completing a 230-ft bore and judged on line and grade at three points, one of which is a random draw, and the time it took to complete the shot. No pullback took place.

The top six crews received combination of cash and HDD-related prizes, donated from HDD companies around the industry — totaling more than $270,000.

“These crews were amazing and took each component of the competition seriously and showed the ultimate in professionalism throughout,” Krzys says. “We had judges crawling on the ground to ensure they were getting accurate measurements for each spot.”

As noted above, all the cash and prizes were donated by the industry’s leading companies, contributions that Rodeo officials appreciate and thank them for.

Our thanks to all the companies that donated technology and/or cash to the Rodeo prize haul, as well as all of our sponsoring companies and organizations” Krzys says. “We could not have done the Rodeo without you. Love your commitment to HDD and driving the industry forward to bigger heights!”

HDD Rodeo Seminar Sessions

The HDD Rodeo got started with an impressive lineup of educational sessions, held on Sept. 25 at Mark One Electric’s Kansas City headquarters. Industry experts shared their knowledge on an array of topics for drilling crews, engineers, system owners and other industry stakeholders, looking to learn more about today’s HDD practices, applications and equipment.

“So many attendees took advantage of this opportunity to learn from the elite HDD experts, as well as questions,” Krzys says. “Learning never stops in any industry. HDD education is critical to the application’s continued growth and success.”

HDD Rodeo at Utility Expo

Put the Rodeo on your 2025 Calendar: Oct. 7-9!

Benjamin Media spearheaded and brought to life the original HDD Rodeo in December 1998, at a time when HDD was coming to the forefront of the trenchless industry. Held in Grapevine, Texas, the mood, atmosphere and energetic response of the drilling community took this event to incredible heights during its initial run. As the economy slowed, the Rodeo was placed on hold — until 2024.

“HDD is in such a strong position in 2024 and positioned to do great things for the years to come. HDD Rodeo events, such as this premier event, showcase just what this industry is about,” Krzys says. “As I said before the Rodeo got under way, all of this is a testament to the strength, energy and excitement of the HDD market that so many companies want to be a part of this. The momentum and enthusiasm coming off this first event was off the charts.”

So much so that you won’t have to wait until 2026 for the next Rodeo — how exciting is that? Working with AEM, BMI will present a scaled-down version of the 2024 Rodeo at the 2025 Utility Expo in Louisville, Kentucky, October 7-9. All six top crews from the 2024 HDD Rodeo are invited to compete once again for the title of top drill crew, before the huge and diverse utility construction audience of the Utility Expo.

“We are pumped to showcase the HDD Rodeo before the enormous Utility Expo audience, sharing with them what we already know: that the HDD Rodeo is an exciting, competitive and dynamic HDD event,” Krzys says. “HDD has climbed its way back to a strong place within the construction industry with the application becoming the go-to and accepted application for new installation. This is the right time to put this application on the construction stage to showcase its capabilities, as well as the capabilities of the contractors who perform HDD every single day.”

What a fantastic event to kick off this new era of the HDD Rodeo!

Top HDD Crew Finishes

Ward Trenching, 35:43
Tru-Tek Drilling, 53:26
IUOE, 53:43
Radell Underground, 54:59
LJ Inc., 57:49
Absolute Underground, 66:46

Competing HDD Crews

HDD Rodeo Sponsors

Our thanks to the Diamond and Platinum Sponsors — Barbco, Core & Main and Digital Control Inc. (DCI) — as well as our additional Sponsors: Ring-O-Matic, Superior Pipeline Services, TuffRod, Truvac, Buckhorn Pumps Inc., American Mfg. HDD Products, HDD Broker and FS3 Inc.

HDD Rodeo Sponsoring Organizations

Our appreciation to the following Sponsoring Organizations: Distribution Contractors Association (DCA), North American Society for Trenchless Technology (NASTT), National Utility Contractors Association (NUCA), Pipe Line Contractors Association (PLCA), Power & Communications Contractors Association (PCCA), Horizontal Directional Drilling Association (HDDA) and Pipe Line Contractors Association of Canada (PLCAC).

HDD Rodeo Prize Sponsors

Adtech Motors, AEM-Utility Expo, American Mfg. HDD Products, Barbco, Benjamin Media, Buckhorn Pumps Inc., CETCO, Digital Control Inc., Ecostrat Inc., Equappment Inc., Infinity, Melfred Borzall, Ring-O-Matic, Subsite, Tuffrod and Underground Magnetics.

Exhibitors

Sharon M. Bueno is editor of Trenchless Technology.