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TwisTed Rodeo

Monthly Archives: October 2010

A musical trivia

Written on October 31, 2010 at 12:00 am, by

Chris LeDoux not only was a great entertainer, he was a real cowboy. If you listen to his music, you can hear it. His tales were spun about the rodeo trail, likely written on the rodeo trail. I met the man in the late 1990s at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson. I was covering  Continue Reading »

Lowe and behold

Written on October 31, 2010 at 12:00 am, by

Three-time world champion bareback rider grew up going to the American Royal Rodeo, and Saturday night he earned a share of the rodeo’s title. http://www.kansascity.com/2010/10/30/2372848/gardner-native-wins-share-of-bareback.html

Jhetting on the rodeo trail

Written on October 30, 2010 at 12:00 am, by

Jhett Johnson is one of the best heelers in team roping, a four-time qualifier to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. He’s also a friend. On Friday night before the American Royal Rodeo in Kansas City, we got to visit for a few minutes before he and his partner, Turtle Powell, made their second run inside  Continue Reading »

Roping across a Mote

Written on October 30, 2010 at 12:00 am, by

Bobby Mote will compete in bareback riding on the final night of the American Royal Rodeo, but he was roping for big money Friday. http://www.kansascity.com/2010/10/29/2370864/champion-bareback-rider-looking.html

Filling a Boyd

Written on October 29, 2010 at 12:00 am, by

This is a story I wrote as one of the previews for the Dayton (Iowa) Championship Rodeo, which took place over Labor Day weekend. Boyd Polhamus is working with Randy Corley in announcing the American Royal Rodeo in Kansas City, and in about a month, they will work together at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.  Continue Reading »

Bronc riding trivia

Written on October 29, 2010 at 12:00 am, by

The saddle bronc riding Etbauer brothers own seven world championships between them. Billy Etbauer owns five, and Robert Etbauer owns two. Which Etbauer won the family’s first world championship, and what year did it happen?

Bang for the bucks

Written on October 29, 2010 at 12:00 am, by

The final two performances of the American Royal Rodeo take place Friday and Saturday night in Kansas City. While there was plenty of action last weekend, there’s no letting up over the final two nights. There are still plenty of top names in the business that will be showcasing their talents inside Kemper Arena. Some  Continue Reading »

Regional warriors

Written on October 28, 2010 at 12:00 am, by

During the three performances over three days in Park City, Kan., the top competitors primarily from Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska will battle for the top prize in the region at the Dodge Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo. This will be the first I’ve missed in a number of years, but I’ll keep an eye on the  Continue Reading »

She’s just Barrie exciting

Written on October 27, 2010 at 12:00 am, by

This is a busy time for team ropers who have qualified for the USTRC World Finals in Oklahoma City. Many will rope numerous times over this week, and those watching will get see all sorts of action in the handicapped format. I first saw Barrie in 2001 during the USTRC Finals. She was easy to  Continue Reading »

A little clarification is needed

Written on October 26, 2010 at 12:00 am, by

In doing my daily research on rodeo, I came across a piece by Dorothy Marie Kucera on allvoices.com, a website that enables writers to blog about anything (special thanks to Kelli Wright at MichaelGaffney.com for finding it originally). In her post, Dorothy writes about Sunday’s NBC telecast of the final day of the PBR World  Continue Reading »

UPDATE: It’s trivia time

Written on October 25, 2010 at 12:00 am, by

UPDATES (Comments include hints to the answer): So can you name the only person to have qualified for season-ending championship for seven — yes, SEVEN — associations? Post a comment and let me know your answers. Name the contestant and the associations.

My friend Clem

Written on October 25, 2010 at 12:00 am, by

Two summers ago, the rodeo world said goodbye to a legend in the sport, Clem McSpadden. The former general manager of the National Finals Rodeo, McSpadden was one of the greatest voices in the sport. He died in July 2008. This past May, I was invited by his widow, Donna, to visit Clem’s office in  Continue Reading »

Out of this world

Written on October 25, 2010 at 12:00 am, by

Brazilian Renato Nunes parlayed a great season and a fantastic run at this week’s world finals in Las Vegas to earn the 2010 Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough world champion. In the process, he became the third Brazilian in five years to win the title — Guilherme Marchi won the 2008 championship, and Adriano  Continue Reading »

Speaking of world champs

Written on October 24, 2010 at 12:00 am, by

It was a great rodeo Saturday night at Kemper Arena. Here’s the story I wrote for the Kansas City Star. http://www.kansascity.com/2010/10/23/2346787/oklahoman-wins-bronc-riding-at.html

The world unites

Written on October 24, 2010 at 12:00 am, by

The third performance of the American Royal Rodeo was a pretty fair showcase of world champions. – Saddle bronc riders Taos Muncy and Billy Etbauer – Tie-down roper Monty Lewis – Steer wrestlers Dean Gorsuch, Jason Miller and Luke Branquinho. All faired very well Saturday night. Gorsuch led the parade of champions with a 4.0-second steer wrestling  Continue Reading »

A likely fantastic finish

Written on October 23, 2010 at 12:00 am, by

The 2010 PBR world championship is going to come down to the final three go-rounds of the long season. On Friday night, Brazilian Renato Nunes scored 89.25 on the bull Closet Gangster to win the third round and collect another $25,000. More importantly, it moved him to No. 2 in the Built Ford Tough Series  Continue Reading »

Covering the rodeo

Written on October 23, 2010 at 12:00 am, by

Night Two coverage of the American Royal PRCA Rodeo. http://www.kansascity.com/2010/10/22/2344800/rider-from-south-dakota-has-best.html

An all-around fixer

Written on October 23, 2010 at 12:00 am, by

Shaun Stroh had just finished riding Friday at the American Royal PRCA Rodeo, spurring for an 85 for the night’s best score in saddle bronc riding, yet he wasn’t done. On the cement floor of a makeshift locker room near small restrooms, Stroh sat in his bronc saddle and shuffled his feet, all the while  Continue Reading »

Start of the season

Written on October 22, 2010 at 12:00 am, by

At one time, the SandHills Stock Show and Rodeo and the National Western Livestock Show and Rodeo were the first big events of the new season. Both take place in early January. But that’s changed with this year’s American Royal. Here’s a link to the Friday, Oct. 22, story in The Kansas City Star. http://www.kansascity.com/2010/10/21/2341523/riddle-and-dent-jump-into-lead.html

Points vs. money

Written on October 22, 2010 at 12:00 am, by

There are many differences between the PBR and a traditional rodeo, but as the world finals takes place this week in Las Vegas, the points system employed by the PBR is the focus as it prepares to crown its world champion. In rodeo, dollars equal points, so the contestant in each event who has earned the  Continue Reading »

Caine is able

Written on October 22, 2010 at 12:00 am, by

Caine Riddle has been around rodeo all his life. It’s just natural His daddy is Rusty Riddle, who rode bareback horses on the biggest stage in ProRodeo, the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. His momma is the former Dollie Beutler, whose family has been in the stock contracting business since 1929. I’ve seen him as a  Continue Reading »

Dustin the field

Written on October 21, 2010 at 12:00 am, by

Dustin Elliott won the opening go-round of the Professional Bull Riders World Finals on Wednesday night by scoring an 89.25 on the Boyd/Floyd Bull Co. bull Hee Bee Gee Bee. It was a great start to the postseason for the North Platte, Neb., cowboy, who moved his 2010 PBR earnings to $75,643. It also moved  Continue Reading »

American Royal advance via Kansas City Star

Written on October 21, 2010 at 12:00 am, by

The link will take you to a story I wrote that appears in today’s Kansas City Star: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/10/20/2336912/american-royal-rodeo-will-feature.html

A different breed of stock contractor

Written on October 21, 2010 at 12:00 am, by

Since he became a member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association five years ago, Pete Carr has made a name for himself as an innovative stock contractor. He took it up a notch in 2010. Carr Pro Rodeo established a significant name in its inaugural year, when Real Deal was named PRCA Bareback Riding Horse  Continue Reading »