BRIDGEPORT, Texas – The greatest cowboys know they have earned that status by testing their skills on the greatest animals in ProRodeo.
That’s one big reason why some of the biggest names in the sport will be in Bridgeport this weekend for the Butterfield
Stage Days PRCA Rodeo, set for 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Bridgeport Riding Club Arena. Pete Carr, owner of Dallas-based Carr Pro Rodeo, has become one of the top stock contractors in the sport, and the company’s great animals will be featured on both nights of the rodeo.
“You always like going to Pete’s rodeos, because you don’t have to worry about the draw,” said Justin McDaniel, the 2008 world champion bareback rider from Porum, Okla. “You know he’ll have something for you to win on, and that’s what’s important.”
It will be champion vs. champion in Bridgeport – McDaniel has been matched with Carr’s Real Deal, the 2005 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s Bareback of the Year. The last time the two were showcased together was at the 2010 rodeo in Lovington, N.M., and it was worth 86 points, good enough for third place.
“That’s an awesome horse, one I’d like to draw all the time if I could,” said McDaniel, who has won the bareback riding average championships in two of four trips to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. “The last time I got on him was as rank as I’ve seen him, but he’s always rank.”
The McDaniel-Real Deal match-up is one of many great ones that will take place in Wise County this weekend. Last weekend, McDaniel matched moves with Carr’s Miss Hollywood for 86 points to finish in a tie for second place in Guymon, Okla. In Bridgeport, 2004 world champion bull rider Dustin Elliott has drawn The Mexican, one of a number of top-caliber bulls that’s new to the Carr bull pen.
“Pete has invested his money wisely,” Elliott said. “Watching this pen was an eye-opener. These are all really, really good bulls.”
Saddle bronc rider Weston Ireland, a former Prairie Circuit champion who leads the Oklahoma-Kansas-Nebraska region standings this year, has drawn NFR bucking horse Coffee Bean in Bridgeport, while all-around talent Seth Glause will be matched with Carr’s Trail Dust – Glause is a three-time NFR qualifier in bull riding, but he’s itching to make a move in bronc riding, too.
“I think in order to draw the best contestants to your rodeo, you need to have the kind of stock they want to get on,” Carr said. “You want to give them the chance to win no matter what horse or what bull they get on.”