Behind every successful athlete is high quality nutrition and a proper diet, and animal athletes are no exception. For champion barrel racer Molly Otto of Grand Forks, North Dakota, and her horses, beet pulp is a key ingredient to a winning performance.
Beet pulp is the fibrous portion of the sugarbeet, left after the sugar and liquid has been removed. This byproduct of sugarbeet processing is then mechanically pressed, dried, and pelletized into a 5/16” (8mm) diameter pellet. The fiber in beet pulp is highly digestible, making it a good non-starch energy source for cattle and horses.
“My horses and I are on the road all the time,” Otto said. “Beet pulp is a great source of energy for them and does not cause founder or foot issues.”
Being a successful barrel racer was a lifelong dream for Otto, who got her first horse when she was 15 years old.
“I didn’t grow up on a farm with horses, but I always wanted one and took riding lessons from Krista Montgomery in Manvel, ND. She and her husband Shawn are beet growers, and their barn is right by their fields,” she said. “My parents bought me my first horse, a nine-year-old gelding, when I was a freshman in high school. Then, after I saved up enough money, I purchased a weanling, which is a horse under one year old, from Krista and Shawn. I broke and trained that horse myself.”
After graduating from high school, Otto attended North Dakota State University (NDSU) where she joined the collegiate rodeo team and started competing in barrel races.
“I bought another horse for $1,500 at a sale and trained her for barrels with the help of my NDSU rodeo coaches, Tate and Shannon Eck,” she said. “She was a Quarter Horse with some Thoroughbred. Her registered name was Eyema Rare Bug, but I called her ‘Fierce’ and she taught me how to win.”
Barrel racing implements the “4D” system, a format where all riders compete in the same race but are then categorized into four different divisions based on their time. The fastest time wins the 1D, or first division, followed by the 2D, or second division, which is a set time increment slower and so on, essentially creating a tiered payout system where riders of varying skill levels can compete and win prize money within their respective divisions. The time splits between divisions are typically set as half-second increments, meaning the 2D is half a second slower than the 1D, the 3D is a full second slower, and the 4D is two seconds slower than the fastest time.
Aspiring professional barrel racers enter lower-level rodeo events and compete at sanctioned rodeos, typically as a beginner. After earning a certain amount of money, they may purchase a membership with a rodeo association such as the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WRPA). These new members are referred to as “permit holders” and must compete with a permit until they earn enough money to upgrade to a full “card” membership, which allows them to enter more prestigious competitions. Obtaining a card essentially signifies advancement to a professional level of competition, according to Otto.
“I bought my WPRA permit in 2011 and my card in 2012, and Fierce made it happen,” she said.
It was the start of a successful career for Otto, who in 2020 won the Badlands Circuit Rising Star of the Year award and was named WPRA Futurity 1D World Champion.
In addition to competing, Otto also trains futurity barrel horses.
“A futurity horse is an animal that is four or five years old and in its very first year of competing,” she said. “My rodeo season starts October 1 and ends on September 31st of the following year, and the barrel futurity horse season starts on November 15th.”
Otto’s competition schedule takes her throughout the Midwest and then to Texas from January through March.
“I compete in the big rodeos in Texas and board my horses there because it would risk their health to constantly travel back and forth from home,” she said. “I also bring along the other horses I am working with.”
Otto first started using beet pulp in her horses’ diet after seeing how it greatly improved the condition of her broodmare.
“She was underfed when I bought her from Texas and the amount of weight she put on in a short amount of time from eating beet pulp in her diet was crazy,” said Otto. “After that, I tried it with my competition horses and fed them a pellet made with beet pulp, alfalfa, and flaxseed oil, to supplement their regular steady diet of hay.”
Otto also soaks beet pulp in water before feeding it to her horses, which prevents dehydration.
“Not only does it keep them hydrated in winter, but it maintains weight, provides extra calories and energy to keep them warm, and ferments in their hind gut which provides a good atmosphere for beneficial bacteria to flourish,” she said. “Beet pulp also improves their stamina and maintains muscle tone, which helps to prevent injury.”
Unbeetable Feeds, a new brand Midwest Agri started in 2022, sponsors Otto and sells beet pulp-based products at Tractor Supply stores and Chewy, an online retailer providing pet products and services, according to company President Bryan Edwardson.
“Midwest Agri-Commodities Company, headquartered in San Rafael, California, is comprised of four American sugarbeet cooperatives and is a major global supplier of sugarbeet pulp and liquids. After 25 years of selling these products to other horse feed manufacturers, the company decided to make its own brand called ‘Unbeetable Feeds,’” he said.
Animal nutrition is a lifelong passion for Edwardson who grew up looking after livestock on his family’s northeast Kansas farm. He is also a lifelong rodeo fan.
“Beet pulp has many benefits for cattle as well as horses. It provides a consistent high-quality diet for dairy cattle and the final, finishing touches on show cattle,” Edwardson said. “The fiber in beet pulp makes them look nice and full. You can walk down aisles at any major livestock show and see bags of Unbeetable Feeds in every stall.”
Preparing animal athletes for their events takes time and long-term commitment. However, Unbeetable Feeds’ blended feeds save time and expense by combining valuable nutrients into a single product.
“People were taking up to 10 ingredients and mixing them together twice a day to feed their horses,” said Edwardson. “We came up with a great, consistent product that has a complete formulation of vitamins, minerals and amino acids. It’s a high energy product we just launched with alfalfa but no grain, which is not good for horse stomachs.”
Faith, family, and good feed are a winning combination for Otto, her husband Andrew, and their children: sons Sterling, 18, and Rowdy, 15, and daughter Blaisy, 8, and something they want to share with others.
“God gives us a platform and our job is to use that for Him,” said Otto. “My horses and I are on the Cowboy Channel in front of the whole world. I want to inspire others and show them they can do anything through Christ and use their talents to honor Him.”
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