Monthly Archives: December 2010

Whether it is weight loss or an attitude change, most people have something they want to make as their New Year’s resolution. What’s yours? I resolve to get back on the path of eating healthier and exercising more. I’d lost 25 pounds through 2010, but I’ve gained some back, and I can tell I’m not doing as well. But also I resolve to help increase exposure to our sport of rodeo, even more than I have in the past. That’s why this website was developed, but twisTEDrodeo.com is just one avenue we can use. If we spread the word, explain our passions, it can become viral: You can’t help but catch on and see what all the fuss is about. If you think of storylines, pass them along so they can be checked out and, hopefully, produced. Let’s kick of 2011 with a bang. Happy New Year.

If it’s happened in bull riding, Tuff Hedeman’s probably seen it. He’s won three bull riding world championships in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and one in the Professional Bull Riders, where he once served as the organization’s president. Now he’s president of Championship Bull Riding, another stand-alone bull riding association. The CBR is following the lines Hedeman had when he and 19 other bull riders ventured off on their own and created the PBR two decades ago. The idea, he said, is to create more opportunities for cowboys competing in the most popular fan event in rodeo. Both the PBR and CBR have done that. And while both organizations have similar roots, they go about business in very different ways. It’s why there were six CBR regulars at this year’s Wrangler National Finals Rodeo and one regular from the PBR’s premier tour, the Built Ford Tough Series. In visiting with Hedeman on Thursday, he was very proud of how well the CBR bull riders did in Las Vegas to open December. J.W. Harris, Wesley Silcox, Ardie Maier, Steve Woolsey, Clayton Williams and Cody Whitney combined to take nearly $385,000 from the NFR. Contestants who compete in the PRCA and CBR seem to enjoy the freedom they have. Hedeman points to caring for the CBR cowboys like he wanted to be treated when he was competing. Let’s hope that philosophy works wonders and becomes contageous in society.

Jeff Medders has been the television voice of rodeo for two decades. His sound is familiar and strong, a great correlation for the sport and its stars. Now as the man in charge of Geronimo Productions, Medders’ schedule gets a little more intense in 2011. You see, in addition to producing every Championship Bull Riding TV broadcast — as Geronimo has done for the last three years — Medders and his crew will put together the shows for the Seminole Hard Rock Xtreme Bulls Tour, 10 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s Wrangler Million Dollar Tour events for In Country Television and four big PRCA events for GAC — the Ram National Circuit Finals Rodeo, the Justin Boots Playoffs (Puyallup, Wash.), the Justin Boots Championship (Omaha, Neb.) and the All-American ProRodeo Finals presented by Pendleton Whisky (Waco, Texas). Working big rodeos is nothing new to Medders, who has served as the play-by-play man for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo for most of the last 20 years. “Most of what I’ve done had to do with hosting,” said Medders, who lives in Tulsa, Okla., with his wife and four children. “I wanted to build a production company, and I’d done a lot of things in the Western industry, from the AQHA to the PRCA to bull riding. I wanted to get a production company rolling, and I just wanted to do cowboy sports.” While Geronimo is a competitor to longtime NFR TV producer Winnercomm, also a Tulsa-based company, Medders has returned to work ProRodeo’s championship because of his professionalism and understanding of rodeo. It’s why he’s a major player for the CBR, and Medders said the relationship with the stand-alone bull riding organization has been important to Geronimo’s success. “The CBR is a great product, and it’s so much fun to work on,” Medders said. “Just doing this show has made my career.” That says a lot, especially considering what he has done for rodeo.

I visited today with a longtime friend and cowboy who has never been to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. It’s time my friend goes. He’d like to take his wife and another couple to the final two performances, and I think that’s a great time to experience ProRodeo’s season finale. It’s when champions will be crowned and when tens of thousands of fans will inundate Las Vegas to share their cowboy lifestyle with the world. It’s something anyone who cares about rodeo and the Western lifestyle should experience, and I suggested he and his crew try to make that trip next year. He’d like tickets to the ninth and 10th go-rounds, so anyone who has a four for the 2011 championship, send me a note. He’ll be glad you did.

As the clock nears midnight on Christmas Eve, we can find many things for which to be thankful. And like the children with wide eyes and wild dreams, we can hope Santa brings us our favorite goodies while we reflect on the real reason for the season with our close friends and family. If you could get whatever you wanted this Christmas, what would it be?

I’d like to talk to the folks at the PRCA who are in charge of the annual convention and trade show, because I’d like to know how this year’s attendance compares to other years. There seemed to be good numbers during some of the talking points at the convention, but the numbers inside the trade show looked to be way down. Both are important to PRCA committees and contract personnel, who tend to meet in Vegas and come to agreements for the next year. It’s where announcers, clowns, bullfighters, etc., show off their wares and where committee folks shop to try to make their annual events better. But what do you think? Were the numbers down this year? What can be done to make it better?

During the PRCA Awards Banquet, I was honored to visit with Rick Thompson. During the 10 rounds at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, I was pleased to learn more about Derek Barton. The men of Talk Rodeo earned their honor. http://www.rodeoattitude.com/spur/eventnews/bullriding/talkrodeoorg-wins-broadcast-award-19400.shtml

No matter how he tried to paint a good picture in Las Vegas, the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo had not been kind to Ardie Maier of Timber Lake, S.D. Outside those that were injured, Maier was having the worst ProRodeo championship. He’d earned a spot among the top 15 in the PRCA’s bull riding world standings, which is an incredible feat. But through the first nine rounds inside the Thomas & Mack Center, Maier had ridden just one bull and hadn’t yet secured a paycheck. That all changed in eight seconds when he rode the Beutler & Son Rodeo bull Scent Loc for 91.5 points to win the 10th go-round at the 2010 NFR. It was worth $17,512, but it was worth so much more. And while there’s some sourness lingering from a rough first nine days in Las Vegas, the taste left in his mouth is much better with that final eight-second ride.

I didn’t know A.J. Franzen, but plenty of my friends did. Franzen, of Carpenter, Wyo., died Dec. 18, in a car wreck near his home. He was 26. He was too young and leaves behind a young family – his son, Jace, and wife, Barbara, who is expecting a second child in May. I feel for those who knew him, to those who love him. To them, this is a tragedy. I pray for them, and I’m sorry.

The nice thing about friends is they like to tell stories. Jerry Norton is a world champion bullfighter, one of the last guys to be crowned in the Wrangler Freestyle Bullfights finale during the National Finals Rodeo. He’s also been one of the featured bullfighters at the annual Dodge City (Kan.) Round-Up Rodeo, and every year since the late 1990s, he has worked with another world champ, Lance Brittan of Windsor, Colo. Jerry has a few stories to tell about his fellow bullfighter, one of which involves a stolen sheep from Dave Arnold’s herd and a protective dog. More details coming, but I want to get confirmation from one of the parties first. Stay tuned.

I made a whirlwind trip to western Kansas. Was on the road for 16 hours, in my hometown for 15. It was as close to rodeoing as most folks might get, and it’s pretty far from rodeoing. For cowboys and cowgirls, 15-hour stays are rare, especially in the heat of the season when there might be two rodeos to get to in one day. Most of their time is spent behind a windshield, heading from one rodeo to another. Once at their location of choice, there’s usually enough time to get stretched and ready, get their horse prepared, and those moments of competition. Then it’s back to loading the vehicle and putting more miles on the rig. Rodeo folks deserve all the good they get. Actually, most deserve better.

The only thing more important to winning the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo average is a world championship. But how important is the average title? Of the nine ProRodeo contestants to win the 2010 world titles, four won the average – Dean Gorsuch tied Billy Bugenig with the best bulldogging cumulative time of 45.7 seconds, and they each earned $40,673. The other three, saddle bronc rider Cody Wright, tie down roper Trevor Brazile and bull rider J.W. Harris, added $44,910 to their annual earnings. Brazile, who finished second in the team roping average and won the Triple Crown by winning the heading, tie down roping and all-round titles, earned the most money of any NFR competitor, $211,509. Harris earned $158,738, and Wright pocketed $148,287. Jill Moody, who won the barrel racing average, finished fourth with $133,035. It’s a big payday for the most consistent, and it really paid off for Gorsuch, who finished with $93,774 in Las Vegas earnings, nearly half of which came from his average check.

Ten years ago, 47 cowboys finished the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association with more than $100,000 in earnings, led by Joe Beaver’s $225,396. This year, there were 82 PRCA cowboys over the $100,000 marker, led by Trevor Brazile’s $507,921. A lot has changed in the last decade, with more money available. But the cost of competing has risen just as fast. As we look to the stars of ProRodeo to carry the torch for the growth of the sport, we need to do our part in helping get rodeo more mainstream and give more fans the opportunity to see our shows. It’ll take a major effort by a lot of people, but I say we’re up for it.

After the third go-round of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, Trevor Brazile and Patrick Smith took the South Point Hotel & Casino stage for the Montana Silversmiths Go-Round Buckle Presentation. That’s when Treston Brazile took the stage for the first time during the 2010 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. He waved his hat in the air – “He learned that from his mom; that’s what she does with her hat,” Trevor said, referring to his lovely wife, Shada. – and he moved around the stage as if he were a natural. If you’ve never met Trevor Brazile, let me explain that while he’s as talented an athlete as you’ll ever meet, he’s also humble. Demonstrative displays are out of character for the 14-time world champion. But when Randy Corley mentioned Brazile’s record-breaking eighth all-around gold buckle, which he clinched after the second go-round, Brazile took Treston’s cue and waved his hat in the air, just like any 3-year-old boy, or elated world champion, would do.

Rodeos don’t need intermissions, mainly because people find some events more interesting than others. Stand-alone bull riding came about because bull riders paid special notice to how popular their event is. There are those that save their money to be inside the Lazy E Arena near Guthrie, Okla., for the annual Timed Event Championship. So what is your fancy? What rodeo event is your favorite?

I’ve never been to Arizona other than layovers in Phoenix, but I came pretty close after the eighth go-round of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. That night, Arizonans Sherry Cervi (barrel racing), Derrick Begay and Cesar de la Cruz (team roping) were at the South Point Hotel & Casino to be recognized during the Montana Silversmiths Go-Round Buckle Presentation, and so was a good portion of Arizona. I was there snapping photographs of bareback riding winner Justin McDaniel, so I wormed my way through the wave of people to get close to the stage, excusing myself and explaining I’d be out of their way right after Justin grabbed his rewards. One kind Navajo man said, “You take pictures of team roping.” I thought he was asking me if I’d be there that long, and I assured him I’d be out of way very quickly. But he repeated, “You take pictures of team roping.” I looked at him, his stern stance and his matter-of-fact manner and said, “No, I’ll get bareback riding and be gone so you can get as close to the stage as you want.” That’s when he put his hand on my shoulder and said, “No, you take pictures of team roping, or I kill you.” That’s when he started laugh, “No, I just joking; I won’t kill you.” I’m not sure if he could see the fear in my eyes, but he let me in on his little joke. And he let me snap a few photos before I scurried out of his way, thanking him profusely in the process.

There was a lot of talk about the families that were part of this year’s Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, and rightly so. You had the team roping Tryans, Travis, Clay and Brady; the tie down roping Coopers, Clint, Clif and Tuf; the bronc riding DeMosses, Heith and Cody, and Wrights, Cody and Jesse; and the steer wrestling Cassidys, Cody and Curtis. Throw in the fact that Tuf and Clif Cooper are brothers-in-law to Trevor Brazile and nephews of Stran Smith, the family ties that bind are wrapped tightly. But rodeo is family, and you can see it in many ways. Take bareback riders D.V. Fennell and Justin McDaniel, best friends and brothers in arms despite their 13 years difference in age, or bull rider Kanin Asay and bullfighter Dusty Tuckness, who grew up together. It’s that kind of stuff that makes rodeo special.

What most folks don’t realize about those of us covering the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo is that we get involved in the work and miss most of the action. The NFR media room isn’t conducive to the coverage, because it’s as far away from the action as you could be while still being inside the Thomas & Mack Center. There are TVs in the media room, and each offers a different viewpoint of the game, but you don’t really get to experience the emotions and the noise that is generated inside that bowl. So now that I’m home, I’m able to watch the replay of the NFR, with special thanks to my wife, who set the DVR for me. It’s fun being a fan of those phenomenal athletes, and getting to enjoy the fantastic atmosphere that is the Thomas & Mack Center, all from a comfy recliner.

After his fifth-round winning ride on Kesler Rodeo’s Street Dance, Will Lowe walked on the South Point Hotel & Casino stage for the Montana Silversmiths Go-Round Buckle Presentation with his 18-month-old son, Garrett. Garrett is the dancer in the family, and when the music played, Garrett danced. Daddy will was proud, but he prodded his young son further: Will asked his child to spit into any open container. On stage. In front of hundreds of people. It seems when Will’s home from the rodeo trail, he likes to chew tobacco around the house. Inquisitive Garrett got the idea to drink from Daddy’s spittoon, but Will put a stop to that and, instead, started teaching the youngster to spit instead of drink. So Garrett, on most occasions, can spit into an open container on command. Later that night, as Trevor Brazile talked about the roping criticism he receives from his 3-year-old son, Treston, Flint Rasmussen noted the difference between timed-event fathers and roughstock dads. “Timeys teach their kids the importance of two wraps and a huey in calf roping, and roughies teach their kids to spit and dance.” True enough.

Flint Rasmussen is one of the best funnymen in rodeo-related sports. He has a nice contract with the Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series, but he regularly works Vegas in some regard during the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. He has a talk-show type program during the day, and he teams with Randy Corley every night for the Montana Silversmiths Go-Round Buckle Presentation at the South Point Hotel & Casino. But there were times he was more straight man to the comical contestants who had earned the right to share the South Point stage each night. There will be great stories coming on twisTEDrodeo.com about the funny sights and sounds that came out of this year’s NFR, so keep checking back. In the interim, let me share this tale with you: Treston Brazile is 3 years old and has learned over all those years the ins and outs of good roping. His dad, Trevor, owns 14 world championships, eight in the all-around, three in tie down roping, two in steer roping and one in team roping-heading. Yeah, he knows a thing or two about roping. So when Trevor posted a 6.9-second run to share the fifth-round victory with Cody Ohl, Treston was waiting with wise words for his father: “I told you TWO wraps and a huey,” Treston said, referring to the half-hitch that goes into tying three legs together in tie down roping. When Trevor mentioned that he’d won the go-round, Treston looked sternly at his father’s face with two fingers extended and said, “Two wraps, always.”

Sherry Cervi learned last Friday night she had clinched the 2010 WPRA barrel racing world championship. That was about 21 hours before the final go-round of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Nobody in the field could catch her. But a champion is as a champion does. That gold buckle was no reason for the Arizona cowgirl to rest on her laurels, so when given the chance last Saturday night, she went for it, racing her outstanding mare, Stingray, around the cloverleaf pattern with one thing on her mind. “I wanted to win first, and I was trying to win first,” she said. For the first time all week, Cervi and Stingray knocked over a barrel. It was the final turn of the 10-night championship, and the five-second penalty took the three-time world champion out of the round money. She finished just $106 shy of crossing the $300,000 mark in 2010 earnings. But she was trying to win the round.

Overall the judges at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo did an outstanding job. But … They failed in the sixth round of the championship, if not more. And that failure almost became a factor in deciding the 2010 world champions. The evening started with Wes Stevenson’s 88.5-point ride on Classic Pro Rodeo’s Wise Guy. That was way to many points for the ride. Yes, Stevenson did his part, and he should be marked very high. But Wise Guy failed to meet the criteria needed for such a high score. It was electric, and the crowd got into it. But it wasn’t worth 88.5 points. The second happened in saddle bronc riding, when Cody Wright was given a questionable reride. Then on his second ride of the night, Wright was marked 88.5 points on Beutler & Son Rodeo’s Sand Man. But Sand Man didn’t do what was needed to be scored his half of 88.5 points. The go-round win of $17,512 should’ve gone to Wade Sundell, who rode Burch Rodeo’s Holy Hoppin Hell for 86 points. The point differencial in that round alone would’ve given the average championship to Sundell instead of Wright, who would’ve still won the world championship based on the final go-round. But there’s plenty of room for argument, and the ProRodeo officials who over-marked Cody Wright and Wes Stevenson are the reasons why. Officials have a basic criteria for judging each event. Sometimes they need to go back to their basics in making the calls.

The Ram Top Gun award was established for the 2010 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo to reward the contestant who did the best over 10 days at ProRodeo’s championship. But maybe the Ram folks (formerly the Dodge folks) should consider a name change and call it the Tough Gun award, given to one tough-luck contestant who failed to cash in at the NFR. Here’s why I think that: First off, the people up for the Top Gun award earned enough money over the course of the NFR to buy their own vehicles. For heaven’s sake, Trevor Brazile earned the title by winning $211,509 at the NFR and added $28,000 at the Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping. As always is the case, the man walking away with the new Ram pickup is less in need of it than, say, Ryan Gray (injured) or Dustin Flundra, both of whom earned the right to play on the biggest stage of the sport but didn’t earn a stinkin’ dime. Put their names in a hat and draw for the Ram Tough Gun award winner. Because Trevor, J.W. Harris ($158,738), Cody Wright, ($148,287) and all the others who finished in the top 10 of the Ram Top Gun award did well enough to buy their own. Give it to the contestants who could really use it.

LAS VEGAS – His right hand is swollen with torn ligaments, black and blue. His left wrist might be fractured, and his upper back and neck just plain hurt. Such is the result in a nasty, 10-round heavyweight fistfight under the bright lights of Las Vegas. For every punch, every kick, every whollop D.V. Fennell received, he countered with all his might. A kick to the back of Fennell’s head was met with a sharp scraping from the neck, over the shoulders and along the back. Punch one, counter two. So how does a 165-pound Missouri cowboy qualify for a heavyweight bout? He attached himself to 1,200 pounds of muscle for 10 straight nights as one of the elite bareback bronc riders in ProRodeo, one of the top 120 contestants in the sport who qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. His reward was a chance at $17,512 each night, the prize given to each go-round winner. The challenge was trying to match moves with the best bucking beasts in the business. “It definitely feels like I’ve been in an alley fight, and I got my tail whipped,” said Fennell, 37, of Neosho, Mo. “I’ve got plenty of bruises to show for it.” Fennell entered ProRodeo’s championship event No. 15 in the world standings with $64,485 in regular-season earnings. His hope was to find a financial windfall in the Nevada desert, just as he did a season ago when he won more than $60,000 over 10 nights in Las Vegas. But that didn’t happen either. He placed in two go-rounds and added $3,766 to his 2010 earnings. “The thing about the finals is that you’ve got to ride well and have some luck,” said Fennell, who was born in Utah and raised in southeastern Oklahoma. “I didn’t have any luck. That’s just rodeo. If you can’t deal with that, you’re not much of a cowboy.” But Fennell is all cowboy, and he proved it as much at this year’s NFR. By the second go-round, he had suffered a pinched nerve in his upper back, and he felt the tingling all the way down his left arm, his free arm. He also landed awkwardly on his left wrist, which may have led to a fracture that has yet to be diagnosed. Through each ache, Fennell kept countering the muscular bucking flesh. It’s the mentality he’s held to for a couple dozen years, since the first time he placed his hand into that rigging and nodded his head to begin the first ride. “I’ll take some time off, heal up,” he said. “I’ve got to get the results of the MRI on my neck to see that everything’s OK. But I think everything will be fine, and I figure I’ll be back at it by San Antonio.” The San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo begins in early February, so there won’t be much time on the sideline for Fennell, who attended Vernon (Texas) College and Southwestern Oklahoma State University. But there’s a reason for that. “Shoot, this is what I love to do,” Fennell said. “I’m ready to get in the middle of that fistfight again.”