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Five-Year-Old Casper Cowboy Issac Freese Ready for CNFR Mutton Busting Debut

Ashlee Kintzler Left, Issac Freese Right. Courtesy Photo.
Ashlee Kintzler Left, Issac Freese Right. Courtesy Photo.

CASPER, Wyo. – While most 5-year-olds are spending their summer riding bicycles and playing video games, Issac Freese of Casper is preparing for his rodeo debut.

 

On Sunday, Issac will make his mutton busting debut during the opening day of the 2026 College National Finals Rodeo at the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper. It's a big stage for a first-timer, which will be streamed live on ESPN+.

 Article Continues Below

Article Continues Below

What drew Issac to give mutton busting a try? A lifelong love for horses.

 

"He is a horse fanatic. Everything horses. Horses, horses, horses," said his mother, Mindy Freese. "Every time we're driving on the interstate and he sees a horse out the window, he screams, 'There's horses, horses.' Then he has to go pet all the horses that we can see."

 

 

The preschooler, who will start kindergarten this fall, has become known among family and friends for his obsession with horses. Especially when the Freese family frequently visits Mindy's hometown of Buffalo, Wyoming.

 

"We have one horse in Buffalo that's at Buckingham Lumber," Mindy said. "Her name is Roxy. Every time we go to Buffalo, we have to go see Roxy. We have to. He can scream at her and she will run back to him. I think she knows who he is."

 

Despite his love of horses, Issac's future plans include a different career…but he can also tie his career path into horses via mounted patrol.

 

"He wants to be a police officer," Mindy said. "He's way into police officers and wants to have a horse on the side."

 

Mindy and Gordon Freese adopted Issac in 2022, and they say he has been the biggest blessing of their lives. Courtesy Photo 
Mindy and Gordon Freese adopted Issac in 2022, and they say he has been the biggest blessing of their lives. Courtesy Photo 

After talking about mutton busting for several years, Issac finally decided he was ready to take the plunge.

 

"We've been trying to get him into mutton busting for a couple of years," Mindy said. "He wants to do it and then he's like, 'No, I don't want to do it.' This year I said, 'Okay, mutton busting again,' and he screamed, 'Yes.'"

 

The family has been fully supportive and has helped prepare him by reading books and watching videos about the sport.

 

"We have books all about mutton busting that we read and we watch the videos," Mindy said. "Now he keeps screaming that he wants to do it. So he's ready now. He's ready to go."

 

When asked if he's excited to compete Sunday, Issac didn't hesitate, bout he is a man of few words.

 

"Yeah," he said.

 

Asked if he was excited to have his family watching, the answer was again simple.

 

"Yeah. Grandma and Aunt Renee are going to be there."

 

The young cowboy is also making sure he'll look the part.

 

Asked what color cowboy hat he'll be wearing, Issac proudly replied, "Tan."

 

And, of course, there will be one more essential piece of rodeo attire.

 

"I want a bandana," Issac said.

 

"We'll find a bandana," Mindy laughed.



Ashlee Kintzler (L), Issac Freese (R) at the Johnson County Range Rodeo (2025). Courtesy Photo.
Ashlee Kintzler (L), Issac Freese (R) at the Johnson County Range Rodeo (2025). Courtesy Photo.

 


One person who knows Issac's passion for horses as well as anyone is Ashlee Kintzler, owner of Moon Hitch Wagon Co. in Buffalo, Wyoming.

 

Kintzler first met Issac at a community Easter event in 2025 when he was immediately drawn to her horses.

 

"He was the only one that just came right up to us," Kintzler said. "This little kid is 3 feet high and he just comes over to these giant horses and with no fear just starts petting on them and asking all the questions and telling us how much he knows about horses."

 

That first meeting sparked a friendship that continues today.

 

"Every time he comes to town, it's, 'I gotta see the horses, I gotta see the horses,'" Kintzler said.

 

Issac has become such a regular around Moon Hitch that he jokingly refers to himself as part of the operation. Issac even got to ride on the wagon in front of a packed crowd at the Johnson County Range rodeo.

 

"He tells all of his friends and all of his teachers at school about Moon Hitch and how he is the mascot," Kintzler said. "We tease that he's on the payroll as our biggest advertiser."

 

Kintzler remembers being struck by Issac's confidence from the very beginning.

 

"You could just see his eyes locked on them [the horses]," she said. "He came right up to them with no fear," Kintzler recalled of the first time Issac saw her horses.

 

That fearlessness is something she believes will serve him well Sunday when he climbs aboard a sheep for the first time.

 

"The most standout feature about Issac is just his fearlessness," Kintzler said. "That kid is going to go do anything he wants to put his mind to. He's going to accomplish it. He just doesn't even think about it. He just goes and does."

 

Regardless of how long he stays on his sheep Sunday, Issac will have a large cheering section behind him and a memorable first experience on one of college rodeo's biggest stages.


About the Author:


Jeff Bugher is a third-generation Wyomingite living in Casper. He is a sportswriter and Wyoming Cowboys/Cowgirls enthusiast who is a member of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA ) and the National Sports Media Association (NSMA). Jeff's work has been cited by Sports Illustrated, one of the world's leading sports publications.

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