BLACKFOOT, Idaho (KIFI) – This isn’t your typical rodeo, the Snow Roadeo ditches the horses and cowboy hats for heavy equipment and winter-themed obstacle courses.
Every year, snowplow operators in eastern Idaho win big at these competitions, putting their winter weather skills to the test.
“It’s the opportunity to sharpen our skills and have a good understanding of our equipment and its dimensions,” Jed Gregersen, one of the 2026 National Roadeo Tandem Axle winners and long-time ITD Equipment operator, said.
Every year, the Idaho Transportation Department challenges their operators in regional competitions, to find the best of the best to compete on a national scale.
“We come together for a state competition,” said Kyler Fullmer, the 2025 National Roadeo Loader winner and long-time ITD Equipment Operator. “That’s the top four candidates from each district. So there’s 24 competitors in the state competition. And then if you win that, the top four in the state competition will move on to nationals. Nationals this year there was approximately 330 competitors.”
Despite such step competition from around the U.S. Eastern Idaho is regularly on top.
“East Idaho as a district has won five out of the six last state competitions,” Fulmer said. “We’ve also won five of the state national competitions in the last six years. Coincidence? I think not.”
Every winter, snowplow operators work to clear roads of snow and ice, keeping our communities moving. And when drivers need help, these crews are often the ones who come to the rescue.
“Every time we get a phone call and we’re at home, it’s always something important,” Fullmer said. “It’s always somebody else struggling or somebody having a hard time. And it really is something to be the guy who goes and saves a person’s day.”
The National Snow Roadeo gives operators a chance to showcase their skills and put them to the test. But for these crews, it’s about more than the competition. It’s about getting better at a job that helps people every day.
“And that does help us, encourages us to do better there as incentive,” Gregersen said. “But in our real life jobs, that helps us in our skills and trying to be better and better all the time.”
For the Idaho Transportation Department, the real value goes beyond trophies or titles.
It’s about the people behind the machines, workers who take pride in serving their communities, even if they’d never brag about their hard work.
“They’re never gonna, you know, speak to egotistical of themselves at all,” Sky Buffat, the Idaho Transportation Department Public Informations Officer, said. “That’s actually one of the highlights of character of our people. It’s not someone who is overly proud that does this job and chooses to serve citizens of our state the way that our people do.”
So when the snow moves in, you can count on this crew who have worked hard on their skills and represents Eastern Idaho on the national scale.
