Monthly Archives: November 2010

LAS VEGAS – The MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas has built a reputation as the place to be for top flight attractions and entertainment. The crew at Carr Pro Rodeo is developing the same distinction, from its elite animal athletes to brilliant showmanship. Together the two entities make a pretty solid team.  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – The bright lights of Las Vegas are about to get a taste of the Panhandle. The Wooden Nickel Band will entertain hundreds during the Wrangler Gold Buckle Gala on Monday, Nov. 29, at the South Point Hotel & Casino’s Grand Ballroom. The event, which kicks off the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association convention  Continue Reading »

Seth Glause is making his second trip to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, having earned his trip to the championship by finishing the regular season with a hair more than $65,000, good enough for 14th in the world standings. On Thursday night, he’ll wrap his hand to 1,800 pounds of humping, bucking, twisting muscle and  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – The yellow chutes of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo have been the starting point for some of the greatest episodes of ProRodeo history. It’s where the top bareback riders from this season stand during the fast-paced grand entry, and where they’ll try to tame the toughest bucking beasts in the sport for  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – If everything goes right, saddle bronc riders will tell you, a good ride will feel like sitting in a rocking chair. Confident. Controlled. Back and forth. For the cowboys competing at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, they’ll have their fair share of opportunities to sit in that rocking chair. But they’ll also  Continue Reading »

My beautiful wife is a proud alumna of Oklahoma Panhandle State University. When she was in school in the mid-1990s, she was the rodeo team’s secretary for then-coach Dr. R. Lynn Gardner, whom everyone called Doc. Though she didn’t compete, she is very proud to be part of a fantastic rodeo tradition at the school  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Folks in rodeo have learned to expect great animal athletes at a Carr Pro Rodeo event. They’ve also experienced the heart-pounding thrills that come with it, from exceptional rides to a show that makes fans itching for more. It’s something the Carr team brings in its production, from owner Pete Carr to  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – For cowboys chasing their dreams at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, they might find it in an aptly named bull, Black Gold. When the Carr Pro Rodeo animal goes to work, big things happen. In his career, he’s been ridden just 22 percent of the time, but when cowboys hang on for  Continue Reading »

CLAREMORE, Okla. – The humidity was just one reason the volunteers who produce the Will Rogers Stampede were sweating so much the final weekend in May 2010. They were all working pretty hard. In late November, the members of the Will Rogers Roundup Club had their hard work recognized by the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association,  Continue Reading »

Trevor Brazile is closing in on his record eighth all-around world championship. He’s simply phenomenal, and he’s fun to watch. He’s also one of two men to have qualified for the National Finals in all four roping disciplines, joining Dale Smith. This season, he competed at the Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping, where he  Continue Reading »

Tana Poppino is quite busy this week getting ready for next week. It’s time to chase the big dollars at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, and the Big Cabin, Okla., cowgirl is excited to be back in the race where go-round winners earn $17,512 each of the 10 nights in Las Vegas. But the reality  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Justin McDaniel has earned $81,850 so far this year. He did it on the backs of the some of the toughest bucking horses in ProRodeo. More importantly, he did it in just four months, having to be a short-order specialist in order to qualify for his fourth straight Wrangler National Finals Rodeo,  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – If you ask Cort Scheer about his rodeo dreams, he can give you explicit details. They’ve been part of his life all his life, from his first days in the saddle in the sandhills of Nebraska to his first Prairie Circuit saddle bronc riding championship. It’s also part of every day over  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Tyson Durfey admits he’s having the best season of his career. There’s no reason for that to change now – especially now, as he prepares for ProRodeo’s grand finale, the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, set for Dec. 2-11 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. It’s the fourth straight year  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – It took D.V. Fennell 15 years for his first qualification to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. His second trip to Sin City took just 12 months. The Neosho, Mo., bareback returns to ProRodeo’s grand finale, which features the top 15 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association contestants in each event, based on their finish  Continue Reading »

This year’s Wrangler National Finals Rodeo will be a little different for saddle bronc riding fans. Between them, Billy Etbauer and Rod Hay have 41 qualifications to ProRodeo’s finale. Neither will nod his head inside the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, which begins in less than two weeks. Etbauer, a five-time world champion, failed to  Continue Reading »

I will be doing media/publicity for four NFR contestants and Carr Pro Rodeo — there may be more coming, but that’s what I’ve agreed to right now. That means I have nine pre-NFR stories that will be sent out to the media starting next week. But I think twisTEDrodeo.com readers deserve to see them first.  Continue Reading »

Tammy White knows what it takes to win the Great Lakes Circuit’s barrel racing championship. Heck, she’s done it five straight years, all with her traveling partner, Luckys Tiny Bit, a 14-year-old bay gelding. She clinched the year-end championship after winning the first of three rounds at the Great Lakes Circuit Finals Rodeo in Louisville,  Continue Reading »

Tyson Durfey is a champion, eh. Twice in his young career, the Missouri-born tie-down roper rode away from the Canadian Finals Rodeo in Edmonton, Alberta, with the Canadian championship, 2006 and 2008. In fact, he’s the first American to win a Canadian title, followed shortly thereafter by South Dakota barrel racer Lisa Lockhart. Each of  Continue Reading »

Tie down roper Tuf Cooper clinched his first Canadian championship over the weekend, earning $27,667 at the Canadian Finals Rodeo in Edmonton, Alberta. He’s also heading back to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in two weeks No. 2 in the world standings, making his third straight trip. But he’s not the first American to win the  Continue Reading »

This was written for Carr Pro Rodeo and the Texas Stampede. Tilden Hooper craves great bucking horses. It’s why he’s a cowboy, one of the top bareback riders in the game. It’s also why he was part of the Tom Thumb Texas Stampede Nov. 12-13 at the Allen Events Center, where he proved why he’s  Continue Reading »

I wrote this piece for the Will Rogers Stampede PRCA Rodeo, which takes place every Memorial Day weekend in Claremore, Okla. I’m blessed to have the opportunity to work with that committee, just as I am with some of the best talent in ProRodeo. This is about Benje Bendele, the top sound guy in the  Continue Reading »

My wife informs me I might’ve added too many questions about Las Vegas and the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. So I’ll just ask one. Chime in with your opinions, which is what makes this information great. What is your favorite NFR memory?

It’s been 26 years since the National Finals Rodeo moved to Las Vegas. Over the years, Sin City has hosted some of the greatest happenings in the history of ProRodeo. But there was plenty of history made in previous arenas. From what city did the NFR move, and what arena(s) hosted the championship in that  Continue Reading »