Monthly Archives: February 2013

ALVA, Okla. – The Domer family has long had strong ties to Kansas State University. Ryan Domer can go down a significant list of his family who have attended the Sunflower State’s land grant institution in Manhattan, Kan. Maybe that’s why he was plenty excited to see some solid success during the K-State Rodeo last weekend. Domer, a junior at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, finished second in steer wrestling after grappling his animal to the ground in 4.7 seconds, just two-tenth of a second behind winner Stephen Culling of Western Oklahoma State College. “It was only the second check I’d won in bulldogging,” said Domer of Topeka, Kan. “It was for sure one of the best runs I’ve had in bulldogging; I’ve only been doing it a year and a half.” Domer has focused primarily on tie-down roping and team roping, where he has competed most of his life as a heeler. He is in his first year of school at Northwestern after transferring from Northeastern Oklahoma, a junior college in Miami, Okla. In Alva, he joins a team made up of friends and his typical team roping partner, his brother, Collin Domer. “My mom and dad graduated from K-State, and I have two cousins, my aunt, my uncle …” Ryan Domer said. “My grandparents did a lot up there in Manhattan. My grandpa was a vet, so he went through the vet schools at K-State. “Our whole family, other than my brother and I, graduated from K-State. To do well at that rodeo really felt good.” Domer wasn’t the only Ranger who fared well in Manhattan. In fact, the team roping tandem of header Travis Cowan of Highmore, S.D., and Brice Buzzard of Garnett, Kan., won the K-State rodeo, finishing the one-round rodeo in 4.9 seconds. That was six-tenths of a second faster than the field. Other Northwestern contestants who placed were Chase Lako, who finished seventh in tie-down roping; steer wrestler Jared Thompson, who placed in a tie for eighth; barrel racers Alexis Allen (fourth), Clara Morris (fifth) and Kelsey Fanning (eighth); and goat-tiers Kodi Hansen (third) and Lauren Barnes (tied for fifth). The men’s and women’s teams compete this weekend at the Garden City (Kan.) Community College Rodeo. The men will try to improve upon their eighth-place ranking in the Central Plains Region, while the women, now ranked second, will try to move a step closer to region leader Southwestern Oklahoma State University. “It really helped me coming here because I knew a lot of people in Alva and the set-up we have here,” Ryan Domer said. “We have a bunch of good ropers here who are as good as anybody in the region. “With Stockton (Graves) being the coach, I knew he could rope calves as well as rope steers, and we all know how well he can bulldog, so I knew there were a lot of opportunities.” Now the teams need to take advantage of them.

SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo offers one of the largest prize pools in the sport. For cowboys who make their living in rodeo, it’s an important stop to their season. The brightest stars in the game make magic happen in the Alamo City each February, and this year was no different. Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifiers J.R. Vezain and Tyler Corrington proved that with impressive runs, culminated by wild rides to claim the 2013 San Antonio championships. “It’s a dream come true,” said Corrington, a saddle bronc rider from Hastings, Minn., who rode Classic Pro Rodeo’s Big Tex for 85 points to win the final go-round Saturday night, earning $12,445 on that ride alone – he finished the rodeo with $16,293. More importantly, he left San Antonio with a title everyone in the sport covets. “It’s one of the best buckles going, and it’s one of the best rodeos in the sport,” said Corrington, who pushed his 2013 earnings to $30,024, good enough for second in the world standings. “It’s one of the top rodeos for everybody to win.” It was the first trip for Big Tex under owner Pete Carr, who purchased Classic Pro Rodeo last week. The 13-year-old bay gelding is just three years removed from being named the PRCA’s Bareback Horse of the Year and has since been bucking in saddle bronc riding most of the time since. “He’s just always been a great horse,” said Corrington, who qualified for the 2011 NFR. “He’s one of the few bareback horses I knew before he became a bronc, because he was just so outstanding. We were all pretty excited when he got moved over to broncs. He’s done nothing but be awesome. “I knew ahead of time that I’d drawn pretty good, but it’s a pretty good sign when you’re sitting in the hospitality are and all your buddies are jealous of you because of what you’ve drawn.” Bareback riders felt the same way about Vezain, a 2012 NFR qualifier from Cowley, Wyo. Vezain matched moves with Carr Pro Rodeo’s Dirty Jacket for 88 points, tying two-time reigning world champion Kaycee Feild for the short-round win, yet outlasting Feild by just $1 to claim the San Antonio rodeo’s top prize. “He had a great big rare out of the chute,” Vezain said of the 9-year-old bay gelding. “He sent my feet, and everything got rolling from there. I felt like I was eating him up. “That is on the list of the top five bareback rides I have ever made.” It worked pretty well. Vezain and Feild earned $10,889 each for sharing the final-round win. That was a big percentage of the earnings for Vezain, the 2012 Canadian bareback riding champion who earned an event best $17,030 inside the AT&T Center. The money moved him to No. 3 in the PRCA world standings with $20,315. He knew even before he arrived in San Antonio he had a good chance to win the title. “The day we got the stock list for the short round, I wanted to have Dirty Jacket bad,” he said, explaining that the animals and cowboys are matched together through a random draw. “I couldn’t hardly sleep that night when I found out I’d plucked him. I knew I had a chance to be 90 points, and that’s the best feeling going into the short round. “That was a true blessing to have that big bucking horse in the short round.”

GUYMON, Okla. – There’s a certain pride that roams around the Oklahoma Panhandle, a connection to the land and the personalities. It’s a texture, like the rugged terrain that encompasses the landscape, and it revolves around the Western lifestyle. Cowboys know what it takes to survive in this climate, and they are ready to do what it takes to get the job done. That’s why seeing the Panhandle’s brightest stars on ProRodeo’s grandest stage is so important to the communities across the three counties once known as No Man’s Land. “You’ve got a lot of good people around here, and it’s an honor to represent them when we rodeo,” said saddle bronc rider Cort Scheer, a two-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier from Guymon. Scheer lists Elsmere, Neb., as his home, but he lives in Guymon, an alumnus of the Oklahoma Panhandle State University rodeo team. He was one of four cowboys who competed at the 2012 NFR with ties to Panhandle State, joining fellow bronc riders Cody Taton and two-time world champion Taos Muncy and bull rider Seth Glause. They all plan to return to their old stomping grounds the first weekend of May for the annual Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo, with performances set for 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 3; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 4; and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 5. Competition begins Monday, April 29, with non-performance competition known as slack, which begins at 8 a.m. daily and lasts through Friday, May 3. Steer roping will take place Monday-Tuesday; team roping, steer wrestling and tie-down roping will be Wednesday-Thursday; and barrel racing takes place Friday. Through the seven days of competition, hundreds of rodeo contestants will converge on Texas County, including the very best in the world. Guymon is must-see destination in ProRodeo, whether it’s 17-time world champion Trevor Brazile or many of the other gold buckle-wearing cowboys and cowgirls who make their livings on the rodeo trail. “I think I had a shot last year to win the Guymon ProRodeo,” Scheer said. “It felt good, and I ended up winning third. I’d love to win that rodeo. “I really want that belt they give to the winners.” So do the others who will be in the mix for the 2013 championship, and a good percentage of them have ties to Texas County. “To us, all these cowboys and cowgirls are still part of the Panhandle, and we’re very proud of them,” said Earl Helm, chairman of the Pioneer Days Rodeo committee. “We’re still part of them. We want them to still feel at home when they come back here. “When they ride at the NFR, we’re very proud of them. We feel like we’re with them there, too.” The contestants feel that support no matter where they ride. “Just sitting around all those great people makes you want to ride better,” Scheer said. “They taught me everything I know, and I think the best way I can say thank you is to win.”

Jimmie Cooper is out of this year’s Timed Event Championship, marking the first time in more than two and a half decades that the world champion and ProRodeo Hall of Fame cowboy will not compete in the “Ironman” event of Pro Rodeo. Cooper injured a shoulder while practicing Tuesday. He is a three-time winner of the Timed Event, earning the coveted title in 1988, 1992 and 1994. He will be replaced by Clay Smith of Broken Bow, Okla.

K.C. JONES, Burlington, Wyo. K.C. Jones has won the Timed Event Championship just about every which way possible. When one wins five of these prestigious titles, it helps to be creative. A year ago, Jones didn’t lead from start to finish, but he was pretty close. He finished the opening round in third place, just a few seconds away from the leader. By the time the opening day of competition concluded, Jones had control of the 2012 Timed Event, and the Wyoming cowboy doesn’t like to let go of things, either. He also placed fourth and fifth in the fastest rounds competition, earning $57,000 last year. The hair’s a little grayer than the first time Jones won the Timed Event; that was in 1993. He also won gold in 1996, 1999 and 2001. Is any more special than the others? Probably not. But earning the title in this unique event has got to have a different feeling at 44 than it does at 25. Jones is a two-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier, having earned his ticket to Vegas in both tie-down roping and team roping in 1991. In the two decades since, he’s handled his business in the best way possible; that means he’s been outstanding inside the Lazy E Arena each March, and why, five titles later, he remains one of the most consistent players in the Timed Event game. Only Trevor Brazile owns more Timed Event titles, and K.C. Jones has a chance to match that this weekend. It’s going to be quite interesting watching him chase it.

RUSSELL CARDOZA, Terrebonne, Ore. Russell Cardoza watched his lead in the 2012 Timed Event Championship slip away on his seventh run. Cardoza’s 58.6-second opening go-round set the standard for a wild run to the 27th “Ironman,” but he suffered a 60-second tie-down roping run in the second round, and the bottom dropped out. But Cardoza didn’t sit in the well. In fact, he rebounded by the time the second round was complete and kept climbing out of the hole. When the race ended, Cardoza was the runner-up, finishing less than 16 seconds behind K.C. Jones. Cardoza also placed twice in the top six fastest rounds, finishing the three-day competition with $32,000. But let’s face it; we’ve come to expect that with this cowboy, who has competed at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo three times in the last four years. From the first time he walked into these hallowed halls four years ago, Cardoza has improved every March – from 11th to sixth to second. In the progression that is the Timed Event, there’s only one more rung on the ladder, and it’s one of the most coveted gold buckles an all-around cowboy can achieve.

JOSH PEEK, Pueblo, Colo. There is a distinctive hunger in everything Josh Peek does these days. For two straight seasons, the all-around hand has missed competing at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. He doesn’t want that to happen again anytime soon. When you make your living on the rodeo trail, Las Vegas is where you need to be in December. Besides, Peek has done well there before, winning the NFR’s all-around crown in 2009. In all, Peek has six qualifications to ProRodeo’s biggest event, three each in tie-down roping and steer wrestling. He also owns six championships in the Mountain States Circuit – three all-around (2003, ’07 and ’09), two tie-down roping (’07 and ’09) and a bulldogging crown (’09). But Peek excels each March inside the Lazy E. He won the title in 2010, and he’s a regular fixture among the top five finishers. In all, he’s won $102,000 at the Timed Event Championship, so he knows a thing or two about this competition. He also knows how to parlay his talents into Oklahoma cash. And when one is as talented as Josh Peek, about anything is as possible, especially when one is as hungry as is to win.

DANIEL GREEN, Oakdale, Calif. When Daniel Green backs his horse into the box inside this arena, you can expect magic. The California cowboy is a two-time winner of the Timed Event Championship. In addition to his Timed Event success, Green owns two titles from the World’s Greatest Roper, Virtually every time he leaves the Lazy E Arena, it is with a fat check. Last spring, Green scored the fastest round, posting a 54.0 in the fourth go-round, securing $10,000 in the process. In addition, he added another $10,000 by placing fourth in the average. In all, the 40-year-old all-around hand knows what it means to be among the elite in the sport. He qualified 10 times for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo and has earned 12 trips to the Ram National Circuit Finals Rodeo – of those, six have come since he quit rodeoing full time in 2004. Even though he hasn’t played at the NFR in nearly a decade, Green remains one of the top attractions in the sport. He proves it every March inside these walls.

JESS TIERNEY, Hermosa, S.D. Make no bones about it: Jess Tierney is quite proud of his name and the legacy he carries. But the oldest son of ProRodeo Hall of Famer Paul Tierney is quite simply making a name for himself in the sport. This past November, he qualified for the Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping for the second straight season, finishing seventh in the world standings. This weekend, he joins his dad and little brother, Paul David, in this prestigious field. The patriarch owns four Timed Event championships; a year ago, Jess and Paul David finished among the top eight in the average: Jess Tierney walked away from the Lazy E with $7,500 for placing fifth. It was just the beginning of what turned out to be a solid 2012. Jess won the steer roping championship in San Antonio and added titles in the all-around, steer roping and team roping at eight other rodeos. He’s planning to take a big step forward in 2013, and that should begin right here, right now. Look for big things to happen. After all, it’s in his legacy.

KYLE LOCKETT, Visalia, Calif. Kyle Lockett is part of an exclusive fraternity. He was all alone in the 2005 pledge class for having won this event for the first time. His status became even more prestigious when Lockett earned his second Timed Event Championship title in 2011, joining the ranks of seven cowboys to have earned this coveted title multiple times. In his career, Lockett has qualified seven times for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Inside this arena, he’s won $211,500 in Timed Event money – $100,000 of which came from winning the average twice. But also that proves Lockett’s shear talent. In his career, he has been named the 1997 PRCA Resistol Team Roping Rookie of the Year. He’s won a countless number of rodeo championships since turning pro, including setting an earnings record at the 2002 PRCA tour finale in Dallas with then-partner Wade Wheatley, with whom Lockett has won several rounds at the NFR. He continues to be a major player inside this arena every March. There’s no reason for that to change this weekend.

Linderman Award winners provide a fresh flavor to Timed Event Championship mix Does a true cowboy work on the ranch or in the rodeo arena? Does he tame wild horses or rope steers? Does he care for livestock or work with ragged fencing until his hands bleed? The definition of a true cowboy is all of that and more. Ask any of the 20 contestants invited to be part of the 2013 Timed Event Championship of the World, set for March 1-3 at the Lazy E Arena. They will battle in one of the most rugged cowboy competitions ever created, roping and wrestling 25 animals in five go-rounds spread over just three days. “The Timed Event shows the best talent of a cowboy, about being a great cowboy and being able to do anything,” said Mike Outhier, an Oklahoma-born cowboy who is competing at the “Ironman” of ProRodeo for the first time in his career. “It’s pretty special if you can do everything.” Outhier has done everything for a long time. He grew up near Weatherford, Okla., with a rope in his hand. When he was old enough, he added riding bucking beasts to his resume – yeah, he’s pretty good at it, too. As a saddle bronc rider, Outhier qualified four times for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. He also competed in timed events and rode bareback horses from time to time, earning two PRCA Linderman Awards for excelling at both ends of the arena. As a youngster, he competed in all six events for boys at the International Youth Finals Rodeo. “Maybe I can let them run some broncs in there,” he said jokingly about the Lazy E competition, now in its 29th year. Outhier is among an elite field of combatants battling for the $150,000 purse, joining 17-time world champion Trevor Brazile, a six-time Timed Event Championship winner; K.C. Jones, a five-time winner and the reigning champion; ProRodeo Hall of Famers Paul Tierney and Jimmie Cooper, who own multiple TEC titles; two-time champs Kyle Lockett and Daniel Green; and Josh Peek, the 2010 winner. These are the best of the best, including reigning PRCA world champions like Chad Masters and Jade Corkill and three-time Linderman Award winner Trell Etbauer, another Oklahoma-raised cowboy who brings a lifetime of all-around talent into the mix. “It’s tough to be able to work all the events and to do it competitively,” said Etbauer, the son of two-time world champion bronc rider Robert Etbauer and nephew of five-time champ Billy Etbauer. “You’re roping against Trevor and all these other guys that have been there. If you can come out and win that thing, it would be something. It would be a lot like winning the world championship.” The gold buckle earned for the Timed Event title is one of the most coveted trophies in all of rodeo, even for guys that have made a significant living riding broncs. “I think it’s pretty special to have a bronc rider in the Timed Event Championship,” Outhier said. “Hopefully I represent them well. I plan to just fly in there under the radar and hope I catch everything. You don’t have to be fast at that thing, but you have to be smart. I’ve roped my whole life, so my goal is to catch 20 steers and throw down five more. Hopefully I can do that.” That’s the goal of all 20 combatants in rodeo’s most unique event. First place earns the lion’s share of $50,000, but there’s another $100,000 out there for the taking. It’s vitally important to have the right frame of mind when it comes tackling each discipline in all five rounds through the rugged weekend test. “I just want to treat it like the practice pen and get them all down,” said Etbauer, who won the college steer wrestling championship as a freshman at Oklahoma Panhandle State University in his hometown of Goodwell. “I like doing more than one event, so I hope it fits me pretty well. “When I junior rodeoed, I entered pretty much everything I could enter. That’s just how Daddy was. You need to work as many events as you can, and your horses need to be where you can work them in more than one event. When Daddy, Danny and Billy were in high school, they pretty much did every event, so that’s what we grew up doing, too.” It shows in Trell Etbauer’s years of excellence. Now he’ll put it to the biggest test of his lifetime against the greatest timed-event cowboys in the land.

Carr Pro Rodeo animal was named 2012 PRCA Bareback Horse of the Year DALLAS – Pete Carr, owner of Carr Pro Rodeo, said Saturday that MGM Deuces Night has died. The 8-year-old bay/paint mare was named the 2012 Bareback Horse of the Year in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. The horse suffered an episode of colic at the Elgin (Texas) Veterinary Hospital on Saturday. It occurred several days after having a procedure done to treat a broken coffin bone in the horse’s right rear foot. “Dr. (Marty) Tanner said the procedure went well and that she was doing well, and he was going to send her home Monday,” Carr said. “We’ve lost some great horses over the years, but this one stings quite a bit. “She had been so brilliant so early in her career. She was a foundation mare, and we were going to breed her for a lot of years. ” MGM Deuces Night was born on the Zinser Ranch in Claire, Mich., then purchased by bareback rider Wes Stevenson, an eight-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier. He later sold the horse to Carr, who first took the animal to the NFR in 2010. She returned to ProRodeo’s finale in 2011 and 2012. “I knew she was that good, so part of the reason I sold her to Pete is that I knew she’d have a good shot to go to the finals,” Stevenson said. “I bought her from Jim Zinser as a brood mare, but she bucked so good, I didn’t want to waste her sitting at my house. I wanted her to have a chance.” In the six times she performed in Las Vegas, she guided cowboys to three go-round titles: Kelly Timberman, 88 points, 10th round, 2010; Ryan Gray, 90, fifth round, 2011; Kaycee Feild, 87, 10th round, 2011. Feild, the two-time and reigning bareback riding world champion from Payson, Utah, said Saturday night he had earned about $100,000 on MGM Deuces Night. Feild rode the horse for 90 points at the Ram National Circuit Finals Rodeo in April 2011; he set an arena record at the 2012 RodeoHouston, matching moves with MGM Deuces Night for 93 points. In her short lifetime, the mare led cowboys to a lot of big paydays. In her first trip during a PRCA rodeo, she guided five-time NFR qualifier Chris Harris to an 88-point ride to win the West of the Pecos (Texas) Rodeo in 2010 – the two had a rematch in Pecos in 2011, with Harris winning the title again after an 87. Chase Erickson won the 2011 All American Series Finals title with an 88 on MGM Deuces Night. Third-year pro J.R. Vezain, who went on to qualify for his first NFR, won the Guymon (Okla.) Pioneer Days Rodeo last May after posting an 89 on MGM Deuces Night, out of Night Line and sired by famed stallion Night Jacket. In June, five-time NFR qualifier Steven Dent posted a 91-point ride in Pecos, marking the third straight year the bareback title at that rodeo was earned on the mare. “She was a special horse, and you could tell she loved to buck,” Carr said. “She was exceptional.”

Pete Carr, owner of Carr Pro Rodeo, said Saturday night that MGM Deuces Night has died. The 8-year-old bay/paint mare was named the 2012 Bareback Horse of the Year in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. No details of the animal’s death have been reported.

I’m listening to Steve Kenyon’s call of the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo on ProRodeo Live. If you’re not, you should click on that link and catch what’s happening. I may not be able to post every event, but I’ll try tonight. J.R. Vezain rode Carr Pro Rodeo’s Dirty Jacket, and two-time reigning world champion Kaycee Feild rode Kesler’s Street Dance, both scoring 88 points on Saturday night. Vezain was named San Antonio champ by just $1. Jessy Davis, MT. Outa Sight, CR – 82 Jason Havens, OR. Brother, JK – 81 Bobby Mote, OR. Fancy Free, CL – 85 JR Vezain, WY. Dirty Jacket, CR – 88 Austin Foss, OR. Scarlett’s Web, CL – 87 Matt Lait, CAN. PTSD Power Play, AN – 80 Caine Riddle, TX. Stampede Warrior, CA – 83 Ryan Gray, WA. Good Time Charlie, CL – 79 Tim O’Connell. IA Special Delivery, CA – BO Kaycee Feild, UT. Street Dance, GK – 88

PAUL DAVID TIERNEY, Oral, S.D. One does not grow up in the shadows of one of ProRodeo’s top all-around cowboys without learning a thing or two. Paul David Tierney is the youngest son of two-time PRCA World Champion Paul Tierney, a four-time winner of the Timed Event Championship. It’s quite possible the biggest lesson the younger Tierney learned from Dad was how to win. In fact, Paul and Paul David roped together to win the team roping championship last season. In addition, Paul David earned 12 other titles, including a clean sweep in Sturgis, S.D., where he won the team roping, tie-down roping and all-around titles in 2012. Roping with Cody Doescher, the pair earned championships in Garden City, Kan.; Hermiston, Ore.; Isanti, Minn.; Gillette, Wyo.; Burlington, Colo.; and Spooner, Wis. Now Paul David joins his father and older brother, Jess, as invitees into this exclusive field. That’s proof that this bloodline runs deep and that Paul David Tierney is carrying on the family’s legacy quite well. Now he’d like to win this championship, which would just add more gold to the Tierney lore.

CLAYTON HASS, Terrell, Texas There are a lot of adjectives to describe Clayton Hass. Steer wrestler. Team roper. Tie-down roper. They’re all fitting, but so is horse trainer. You see, Hass is a cowboy in every form of the word. In the world of rodeo, he’s a multitasker, a man who can handle several aspects of the business in winning form. He’s proven it over the course over the last 22 years, since he first backed a horse into the timed-event box. He was 7 years old. Last season, Hass battled through the rigors of the unique five go-rounds of the Timed Event Championship. From there, he utilized that momentum into 12 event titles – all but one came in his home state of Texas, and that one was the bulldogging crown in Hamel, Minn. Overall, Hass finished the campaign 19th in the final all-around standings, 29th in steer wrestling. More importantly, the three-event cowboy has a chance to win all-around crowns at just about every rodeo in which he competes, which leads us to this weekend. Hass has established himself as one of the top timed-event cowboys in Texas; now he has a chance to prove it on a national stage.

CHAD MASTERS, Clarksville, Tenn. The price of gold is quite valuable, and nobody knows that any better than the nine contestants who won ProRodeo’s world championships in 2012. Count Chad Masters in that list. The Clarksville, Tenn., cowboy won his second PRCA gold buckle, finishing the season with $196,099. He put the bow on the world title wrapping by winning the average championship at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo with partner Clay O’Brien Cooper, a seven-time world champ himself. Masters has qualified for the NFR nine times in the last 10 years and earned his first world championship in 2007. In a career that began 12 seasons ago, he has earned more than $1.4 million. That’s pretty handy, especially for one of the greatest headers in the game. But Masters is a pretty salty all-around hand. He’s proved that over the years inside the Lazy E Arena. Just last March, he finished eighth in the average, pocketing $3,000 in the process. He’d like to earn more cash this weekend, which is why he’s re-invested his 2012 Timed Event earnings into his 2013 entry fee. He’d love to see that investment returned, with compound interest, of course.

PAUL TIERNEY, Oral, S.D. Which statistic do you want first? Is it Paul Tierney’s tie-down roping world championship, which he won in 1979? Is it his all-around gold buckle, which he earned in 1980, ending the six-year reign atop the rodeo world by Oklahoman Tom Ferguson? Is it his induction into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, which occurred in 2008? Is it his first Timed Event Championship title, which he earned in 1987? Or was it the three others, which came in 1991, 1997 and 2000? Any of the above is pretty phenomenal, but so is Paul Tierney. He’s been part of this field every year since the Timed Event Championship began in 1985 and is one of the most celebrated cowboys to have ever roped, tied and bulldogged inside the Lazy E Arena. Tierney has set a number of Timed Event standards, now in his fourth decade competing in this prestigious event. Now he’s doing so at the age of 60, the oldest contestant in this field, which includes Tierney’s two sons, Jess and Paul David. It’s just one more statistic in the pedigree that is Paul Tierney.

JIMMIE COOPER, Monument, N.M. Jimmie Cooper’s rise to the top of professional rodeo was considerably quicker than most that play the game. After filling his permit at the first rodeo in which he competed, Cooper was named the PRCA’s overall, tie-down and steer wrestling rookie of the year in 1980. A year later, he roped calves and wrestled steers at the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City, which propelled the New Mexico talent to the 1981 all-around world championship. He’s one of a handful of cowboys to have qualified for the NFR in three events – he roped calves from 1980-86, wrestled steers from 1980-83 and team roping from 1984-86. He won the NFR bulldogging average in 1983. Cooper was still in the prime of his rodeo career when he stopped competing full time, instead deciding to spend quality time at home with his wife, Shryl, and their three children, Jill and twins Jim Ross and Jake – the twins, by the way, were the 2004 team roping rookies of the year. Now a three-time champion of this event, he continues to be a fan favorite at the Timed Event Championship, even at 56 years of age.

Top-level stock contractor setting new standard in rodeo livestock and production DALLAS – Pete Carr has purchased Classic Pro Rodeo, unhinging the perfect storm that will set a new standard for stock contractors in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. With the acquisition, Carr will merge Classic Pro Rodeo with his own Carr Pro Rodeo to create one of the most powerful livestock firms in the sport. “I look at this as a way for us to better take care of the rodeo committees and the sport of rodeo in general,” said Carr, who purchased Classic from Scotty Lovelace. “We’ve been in rodeo all our adult lives, and I think Scotty and I share a strong passion for building toward the future of the sport.” Since joining the PRCA, Classic has had livestock perform at each Wrangler National Finals Rodeo since 1997, and Lovelace was named the 2003 Stock Contractor of the Year. Carr Pro Rodeo was established in 2005 and quickly has become one of the elite producers in the sport. Now the company will boast of more than 70 animals that have competed at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. “When you put that kind of animal talent together, I think that says a lot about what people are going to see,” Lovelace said. The combination will bring together 31 animals that bucked at last year’s NFR, including three that have been named PRCA Bareback Horse of the Year: Real Deal in 2005, Big Tex in 2010 and MGM Deuces Night in 2012.Big Tex also joins Grass Dancer in other notable performances: Each of the animals was part of one of the four world-record 94-point rides – Ryan Gray on Grass Dancer in Eagle, Colo., in July 2009, and Tilden Hooper on Big Tex in Silver City, N.M., in June 2010. “Scotty has been producing rodeos for 22 years, and most of that time has been in the PRCA,” Carr said. “He will continue to work with me and help me with the operations. He has a lot of experience and knowledge, and that’s just going to make everything we do that much better.” The acquisition will create an elite production team, which will care for some of the greatest animals in the sport. It means working rodeos at indoor coliseums in the fall and winter, then adjusting to bigger outdoor arenas through the spring and summer. It is important to have the crew to handle those steps and work behind the scenes; it helps that those people care for livestock. This isn’t the first time Lovelace and Carr have teamed; prior to getting into the livestock business, they traveled together while riding bareback horses all across the country. They also have partnered on several animals and were former owners of the Harper & Morgan firm. In 2013, Carr’s combined schedule includes producing 33 rodeos in 13 states; the company will have livestock performing at many of the largest events in the industry. In the coming weeks, the new firm will produce Texas events in Bay City, Marshall, Nacogdoches and Jacksonville, while also branching out to Southaven, Miss., and Silver City, N.M. – all have been part of Classic’s schedule; they will join events like Oklahoma’s Richest Rodeo in Guymon; New Mexico’s only tour stop in Lovington; the Navajo Nation’s Fourth of July PRCA Rodeo in Window Rock, Ariz.; the top rodeo in the Mountain States Circuit in Eagle, Colo.; and the Texas Stampede in Allen. “I’m excited about the new opportunities that are ahead for the company,” Carr said. “I want committees to know we have a lot to offer them. We’re going to have unprecedented resources for all the rodeos, which will benefit everyone involved: committees, sponsors, contestants and spectators.”

JoJo LeMOND, Andrews, Texas JoJo LeMond might just be the smallest man in the field of 20 outstanding competitors. That’s OK, because there’s no way to precisely measure the size of a cowboy’s heart, and LeMond’s is bigger and brighter than nearly any man his size. Given the challenges faced by the smaller cowboy, LeMond realizes steer wrestling is his Achilles heel. But you won’t see the Texan back down. He’ll reach into every resource possible to try to solidify a qualifying time each run. Two springs ago, LeMond finished among the top eight in the average, so he knows what it’s like to score a little Timed Event pay in this arena. In addition, he owns both owns records in both heading and heeling – he scored a 4.9-second heeling run in 2009, then posted a 4.5 in heading a year later. LeMond knows what it means to be fast. He’s qualified three times for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, each time as a header. And because he’s done well in this event, LeMond has found another avenue by which he can win money on the ProRodeo trail – last spring, he won the steer roping and all-around titles in Huntsville, Texas. Now if he’s just as comfortable this weekend, it should be a whale of a show.

LANDON McCLAUGHERTY, Tilden, Texas There were no magic seeds that served in the Timed Event Championship pumpkin for Landon McClaugherty last March. Maybe the sophomore jinx took over for the rookie magic that appeared in 2011. After a phenomenal start to his TEC career, in which he finished the 25 head in a cumulative time in 366.3 seconds, the Texan struggled a year ago. But that’s the challenge each of the 20 men in this prestigious field face throughout the weekend. Now it’s time to rebound, which is just what McClaugherty did for the remainder of the 2012 ProRodeo campaign. In fact, he won 17 event titles, including all-around crowns at 10 rodeos, most notably the Wrangler Million Dollar Tour event in Lovington, N.M. He doubled up by adding tie-down roping titles in Corpus Christi, Texas, and Vinita, Okla., while also winning team roping in Los Fresnos, Texas, and Bellville, Texas. And even though there were no steer roping titles, McClaugherty won plenty of money in the event; he qualified for the second time in his career for the Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping. It’s all more proof that he’s a very talented all-around cowboy, and he plans to tell the world about it by the time this weekend is through.

TREVOR BRAZILE, Decatur, Texas There are many numbers associated with Trevor Brazile’s magnificent career. Seventeen – as in the number of world championship gold buckles; 10 – as in the number of all-around world championships; six – as in the number of Timed Event Championship titles. When you add it all up, the math is quite simple: Trevor Brazile is the greatest timed-event hands in ProRodeo history and, quite possibly, one of the greatest cowboys to have ever played the game. He’d love to add to those figures this weekend. But with that kind of history, he’s also got the biggest target on his back. Why not? He’s the only man in rodeo’s history to have surpassed the $4 million mark in PRCA earnings. He’s done so while focusing his attention on three events: team roping, tie-down roping and steer roping. He’s earned world championships in all three events – three each in steer roping and tie-down roping and one heading gold buckle. In fact, he joins Dale Smith as the two men in PRCA history to have qualified for the National Finals in all four roping disciplines. Do the math for yourself, but cherish the moment of watching the greatest cowboy in the game compete before you.

JADE CORKILL, Fallon, Nev. Last December, Jade Corkill marked his arrival in ProRodeo’s history in dramatic fashion. Roping with Georgia header Kaleb Driggers, Corkill won at least a share of two go-rounds, placing in four others, at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. In all, each cowboy earned $84,660 in Las Vegas. That propelled Corkill to the No. 1 spot in the world standings and earned the Nevada heeler that elusive gold buckle. In an ironic twist, Corkill shares the team roping gold with Chad Masters; the tandem teamed together at three of Corkill’s five NFR qualifications. But the title also serves as terrific validation for Corkill, who roped a wooden steer in his living room when he was just a year old; he won his first check roping at age 6. A year ago, Corkill earned nine event titles, including the all-around championship in Hayward, Calif. As a high schooler, he won the Nevada High School Rodeo Association titles in both team roping and tie-down roping in 2005. A year later, he was named the PRCA Resistol Heeling Rookie of the Year. Now he’s putting all his cards on the table, but that’s nothing new for folks from Nevada.