About: Ted

PECOS, Texas – Organizers of the “World’s First Rodeo” are doubling the fun for fans this year. For the first time in recent memory, and possibly in the sport’s history, the West of the Pecos Rodeo will feature two announcers emceeing the event horseback during the exposition, set for 8 p.m. Wednesday, June 25-Saturday, June 28, at Buck Jackson Arena in Pecos. Garrett Yerigan will join the stage set by Pecos veteran Anthony Lucia, and the tandem will both be saddled – on separate horses, of course – as they put their expertise on display for the fans who take in the world-class rodeo. “For as long as I can remember, we’ve had a horseback announcer in Pecos,” said Clay Ryon McKinney, chairman of the volunteer committee that produces the rodeo. “I don’t know that we’ve ever had two horseback announcers.” It’s not just the uniqueness of having two emcees riding around the massive arena; there’s also the fact that both are part of an elite corps of PRCA announcers. In fact, they own the last four awards for PRCA Announcer of the Year. Yerigan won the honor in 2021-22, and Lucia has claimed the last two buckles. “The mere fact that the people of ProRodeo thought and voted for me is overwhelming,” Lucia told ProRodeo Sports News in December. “It’s an overwhelming sense of pride and gratefulness. It’s not anything but that because I’m nothing without this industry. “I’m so grateful to be a part of this industry because I genuinely love rodeo. I’m a rodeo geek. I eat it, live it, breathe it and I dream about it at night.” It seems the same can be said about Yerigan. He and Lucia not only share a friendship but also a passion for the sport. Both were raised around it. Lucia was introduced to the business early in life with a father, Tommy Lucia, being recognized as one of rodeo’s greatest entertainers. Anthony Lucia was part of his dad’s act, then got into the specialty act business himself; he even performed at the National Finals Rodeo. He has competed and worked television commentary before becoming an announcer. Yerigan’s parents were heavily involved, and he went to his first rodeo at 2 weeks old. Mom, Kathy, was a barrel racer; dad, Dale, was a bulldogger, and both excelled in the International Professional Rodeo Association. Dale Yerigan is now the IPRA’s general manager. That background comes into play when each man takes the microphone, but they’re not the only topnotch part of the West of the Pecos Rodeo. While their voices will ring across Buck Jackson Arena, veteran Benje Bendele will be complimenting that with music and effects. He has been the sound director in Pecos for years and will be inducted into the Texas Rodeo Hall of Fame this Friday. “We’re very blessed to have the talent we have as part of our rodeo,” McKinney said. “It’s about giving the fans a better experience, and I think they’re going to enjoy it when it comes together.”

ALVA, Okla. – A student’s education doesn’t end with graduation. No, a good student is always learning, always craving a chance to be better. Even as his sophomore year has wrapped, Northwestern Oklahoma State University cowboy Colter Snook added a few more lessons to his notebook over the past week at the College National Finals Rodeo. “I’ve just got to score better and need to stop being so danged afraid of the barrier,” said Snook, a team roping header from Dodge City, Kansas. “I was never once on the barrier and about half a foot off it on average.” The barrier line is a rope that crosses the heading box and offers the steer the adequate head start. Being “on the barrier” means the cowboy and his horse are timing the start at the most opportune moment. In an event where times are separated by tenths of a second, every millimeter counts. Being late could be the difference between a good time and one, well, not so good. Alas, breaking the barrier is also deficit, adding 10 seconds to a qualified time. All those factors play a mental game in a competitor’s mind. Add adrenaline and the pressure of the college finals, and there was a lot going on in the young roper’s mind, but he found success in spite of it. Roping with Cale Morris of Western Oklahoma State College, the tandem stopped the clock in 6.2 seconds to finish in a tie for second place in the opening round. They were solid in Round 2 with a 7.0-second run. Things got a little dicey after that. Despite having a no-time in the third round, their two-run cumulative time of 13.2 seconds earned them a fourth steer in Saturday’s championship round. “In that third round, I safety’d up a little bit. I had a good shot on my second swing, and I rated my horse off and took another swing,” Snook said. “I split the horns. If I would have just cut loose with it, I probably would’ve got them both covered.” Both? Yeah, he’s referring to his final-round run, another no-time. Though Snook got a better start, he failed to secure the dally – team ropers use ropes not tied to the saddle horn like tie-down and breakaway ropers, so in order to tighten the line, they must wrap the ends of their ropes around the horn. By the time he gathered his dally, he, Morris and the steer were near the end of the tiny arena in Casper, Wyoming. “I turned (the steer) right back around, but Cale’s horse had to turn completely around,” Snook said. “Cale hit the front leg. “I just need to be sharper. If I break the barrier, it’s not the end of the world. I need to stop being afraid of it. Even if we’d broke the barrier on that third cow, it would have kept us in it.” Senior Emmett Edler of State Center, Iowa, was in the mix in two events, tie-down roping and steer wrestling, the latter of which is his specialty. Edler won the Central Plains Region’s bulldogging title and finished second in the all-around race, therefore allowing him the opportunity to compete in a second event. Though he failed to secure a time in tie-down roping, he placed in the opening round of bulldogging with a 4.7-second run. Fate stepped in quickly to halt Edler’s title hopes with a second-round no-time, but he rebounded with a 5.3 in the third round – he didn’t place among the top eight, but it was a solid way to complete his intercollegiate career. Freshman goat-tier Payton Dingman took the educational aspect of the experience to heart. She stopped the clock on all three runs, with her best being a 6.7-second affair that earned her a top-15 finish in the third round. She finished 15th overall but gathered no points. Every run and every chance in the arena, though, built her confidence heading into her sophomore campaign. “I really didn’t know what to expect going into it,” said Dingman of Pryor, Oklahoma. “I thought I had myself pretty calm about the whole situation, and it was a really great experience. Everybody there took me under their wing and just showed me all the places I need to go and where I needed to be. I learned a lot. “I think in the first round, I went through every single emotion before I tied. Whether I was calm or nervous, I tried literally everything to get myself to calm down. I didn’t make a bad run; I made a little bobble worked through it.” Her biggest hiccup came in the second round, when she posted a 7.9-second run to finish tied for 42nd out of 54 competitors. It was a bit of a speed bump, trying to do too much to be faster. “Finally, by the third round, I felt like I was just myself again,” she said. “I just slowed down, tied the goat and just wanted it to be smooth, which is what I needed to do in the first two rounds. I just had myself so worked up to be so fast. Next year I know I just need to go in there and make a smooth run.” The adage “slow is smooth; smooth is fast” comes into play because it calls for less thinking through the process and allowing athleticism and muscle memory to take over. “I feel like every point that I’ve gone through, either at college rodeos or school, I’ve definitely learned something, especially from this experience,” Dingman said. “Now, I know how to control my nerves a little bit better and not just stress out so much.”

BIG SPRING, Texas – There’s a bit of a different pace to the way Bill Tutor goes to work as a rodeo cowboy. He’s not nearly as rushed as he was just a few years ago, when he was chasing every dollar possible across North America. He might be in Howard County, Texas, one night, then in Reno, Nevada, the next, so there wasn’t much time to linger about or celebrate the moment. He had plenty of time Saturday night to talk about his bareback riding victory at the Big Spring Cowboy Reunion and Rodeo. He spurred Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Hush Money for 84 points to win $1,799 and a buckle in the first year the rodeo is doling out the wearable trophies to its champions. “I don’t know how long Pete’s had that horse, but I found some videos before I came out here, and he looked great,” said Tutor, 33, a two-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier from Huntsville, Texas. “That horse really bucked.” This marked Tutor’s second time to win Big Spring, and he’s had great success on Carr bucking horses over his career. He’s finished among the top 25 in the world standings seven times since turning pro 13 seasons ago, including those magical years in 2017-18 when he made back-to-back trips to the sport’s grand finale, the NFR. Life is a bit different now, but he still loves riding broncs. No, life changed a few years ago when he and his wife, Ashlyn, gave birth to their first son, Wes. They recently added to their brood, another son, Winston Roy, who was born June 6. “When I had my first little boy, I saw myself slowing down,” Tutor said. “I didn’t like to be away from home that much. I was still easing around going to some things aimlessly. This year, I thought, I needed some goals, so I set a goal on doing the best I can in the Texas Circuit, and that’s what I aim to do. “I thought about going somewhere, but I realized I’m just trying to stay in the Texas Circuit. It’s nice. I get to be home with my family every week.” They also join him on the road. In fact, Ashlyn and the boys were in Big Spring on Saturday night, so he’s living the best of both worlds. When he was still trying to hunt down world championships, the traveling was taking a toll. He was gone from his southeast Texas home for weeks, sometimes months, on end. This schedule allows him to be with his family as much as possible while still chasing his love of riding broncs. “Both boys have traveled great this week,” he said. “The bigger one can just sit in the car and talk and play well; the other one sleeps the whole time right now, but the older one has been a pretty good road warrior.” Like father like son. Big Spring Cowboy Reunion and RodeoJune 19-21All-around cowboy: Lane Webb, $2,508, tie-down roping and team roping. Bareback riding: 1. Bill Tutor, 84 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Hush Money, $1,799; 2. (tie) Payton Lackey and Brayze Schill, 81, $1,172 each; 4. Zach Hibler, 80, $654; 5. Owen Brouillette, 75, $382; 6. Monty Ray Fontenot, 69, $273. Steer wrestling: 1. Lane Webb, 10.0 seconds, $2,508; 2. Travis Staley, 10.2, $2,181; 3. (tie) Word Hudson and Ace Reese, 10.4, $1,690 each; 5. Clint Singleton, 10.8, $1,199; 6. Richard Newton, 11.8, $872; 7. Jett Barrett, 12.1, $545; 8. Cody Little, 12.4, $218. Breakaway roping: 1. Lindsey Baker, 2.2 seconds, $2,645; 2. Kimberly Luco, 2.3, $2,267; 3. Tibba Smith, 2.4, $1,889; 4. (tie) Makayla Boisjoli and Lari Dee Guy, 2.5, $1,449 each; 6. Caitlin Blackwell, 2.7, $1,008; 7. Kayelen Helton, 2.8, $756; 8. Sequin Brewer, 2.9, $504; 9. (tie) Jayme Marcrum and Keylie Tatum, 3.1, $315 each. Saddle bronc riding: 1. Sterling Crawley, 85.5 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Apache Junction, $1,884; 2. Chase Brooks, 85, $1,444; 3. Chris Williams, 83, $1,067; 4. (tie) Jacobs Crawley and Cayden McFadden, 80, $565 each; 6. (tie) Cooper Thatcher and Tom Webster, 79, $283 each; 8. Cooper Lane, 78.5, $188. Team roping: 1. Roan Oldfield/Pace Blanchard, 4.4 seconds, $2,394 each; 2. Conley Kleinhans/Kyler Kanady, 4.7, $2,082; 3. Cody Carter/Blake Bentley, 5.0, $1,770; 4. (tie) McCray Profili/McCoy Profili and Joshua Torres/Creed West, 5.1, $1,301 each; 6. Kyler Beshirs/Wyatt Mask, 5.5, $833; 7. Corey Whinnery/Robert Murphy, 5.6, $521; 8. Peyton Walters/Tyson Thompson, 5.8, $208. Barrel racing: 1. Shayna Wimberly, 15.68 seconds, $2,327; 2. Cheyenne Wimberley, 15.73, $1,978; 3. Caley Walkoviak, 15.78, $1,629; 4. Jimmie Smith, 15.89, $1,396; 5. Jacque Woolman, 15.92, $1,164; 6. Jennifer Driver, 15.93, $815; 7. (tie) Debbie Bloxom and Corley Cox, 15.94, $524 each; 9. Stacey Grimes, 15.98, $407; 10. Liz Herrin, 16.00, $349; 11. Morgan Addison, 16.02, $291; 12. (tie) Alex Lang and Bristan McCarley, 16.06, $116 each. Bull riding: No qualified rides. 

BIG SPRING, Texas – Lindsey Baker first started competing inside the Surge Energy Rodeo Bowl as a college student at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales. Now living in Alpine, Texas, she’s returned for the Big Spring Cowboy Reunion and Rodeo. “I’ve always wanted to do good in the Rodeo Bowl, so this is exciting for me,” said Baker, who stopped the clock in 2.2 seconds during Friday’s second performance to take the breakaway roping lead with one night remaining in this year’s festival. “I didn’t really have a game plan because (the calves) are walking fresh. I just go with my gut whenever we rode in the box.” “Walking fresh” refers to cattle that have never been run through a rodeo arena’s chute system. The calves in Big Spring came right out of a pasture, so this was their first experience at a rodeo. Like humans, animals tend to have tendencies – whether they’re calves, steers or bucking horses – once they get an understanding of the game. New to the sport, these calves have yet to develop a pattern. That offers a new challenge for the contestants. The 10 ladies in Friday’s field had a little bit of assistance in the form of Lari Dee Guy, a nine-time WPRA world champion who has been widely recognized as one of the pioneers of breakaway roping’s resurgence in recent years. “Lari Dee was down there helping all the girls out, and I got a good idea of how I wanted to do it since I was the last one out,” Baker said. “Everything just worked out. Lari Dee really helped me out, and I had a good calf for that run.” It all must come together for any cowboy or cowgirl. Breakaway roping is the fastest event in rodeo, because the ladies must rope the calves around the neck first, then the clock stops when their rope breaks away from the string-tied knot on the saddle horn. The action electrified Friday night. “With walking-fresh calves, it’s all muscle memory,” Baker said. “If the shot’s there, you have to take it, because you don’t know if that calf’s going to just take off and get around you or if he’s going to stop and pull up because he feels that something is coming behind him. “It’s all reaction, and it’s fine, because you’ve just got to go with what feels right.” Rodeo isn’t her sole focus, though. She and her husband operate a ranch about 200 miles southwest of Big Spring, and they have other business ventures that need their attention. Rodeo is more of a hobby, but she’d love to have success and see what happens. Of course, she something special in G, a 21-year-old sorrel gelding that guided her to the top spot. “I call him G, because it’s actually short for Goober, but I’ve never called him Goober because I didn’t think he was a goober,” she said. “He’s been everywhere, all over the country. He is, by far, one of the strongest horses I’ve ever rode. When you need a horse to really get after one, I know I can rely on him. “I would love to make the (Texas) Circuit Finals. I didn’t have that on my list of goals for this year, but if things work out and God has a plan for you, you’ve just got to go with it.” Big Spring Cowboy Reunion and RodeoJune 19-21Bareback riding: 1. Brayze Schill, 81 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Colorado Bay; 2. Zach Hibler, 80; 3. Owen Brouilette, 75; 4. Monty Ray Fontenot, 69; 5. Rhett Hadley Kelley, 66; 5. Payton Blackmon, 65. Steer wrestling: 1. Bray Armes, 4.0 seconds; 2. Cimarron Thompson, 4.1; 3. Cody Harmon, 4.9; 4. Ty Cochrane, 5.1; 5. Boyd Sawyer, 5.3; 6. Casey Collins, 6.1. Tie-down roping: 1. Lane Webb, 10.0 seconds; 2. Travis Staley, 10.2; 3. (tie) Word Hudson and Ace Reese, 10.4; 5. Jett Barrett, 12.1; 6. Cody Little, 12.4; 7. Cory Rowland, 13.5; 8. Dean Holyan, 15.5. Breakaway roping: 1. Lindsay Baker, 2.2 seconds; 2. Kimberly Luco, 2.3; 3. Tibba Smith, 2.4; 4. (tie) Lari Dee Guy and Makayla Boisjoli, 2.5; 6. Caitlin Blackwell, 2.7; 7. Kayelen Helton, 2.8; 8. Sequin Brewer, 2.9; 9. (tie) Jayme Marcrum and Keyleigh Tatum, 3.1; 11. Emma Waldrop, 3.3; 12. Lauren Hopkins, 3.5. Saddle bronc riding: 1. Sterling Crawley, 85.5 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Apache Junction; 2. Chase Brooks, 85; 3. Jacobs Crawley, 80; 4. Cooper Thatcher, 79; 5. Brody Cress, 78; 6. Cooper Lane, 78; 7. Wyatt LaVergne, 76; 8. Heston Harrison, 75. Team roping: 1. Roan Oldfield/Pace Blanchard, 4.4 seconds; 2. McCray Profili/McCoy Profili, 5.1; 3. Kyler Beshirs/Wyatt Mask, 5.5; 4. Lane Webb/Jake South, 6.5; 5. Payden Emmett/Jorge Pina Lopez, 9.4; 6. Jeff Kanady/Caden Beatty, 10.9; 7. Cody Little/Tom Epperson, 11.7; 8. Jim Breck Bean/Jasper Klein, 12.0. Barrel racing: 1. Shayna Wimberly, 15.68 seconds; 2. Cheyenne Wimberley, 15.73; 3. Jimmie Smith, 15.89; 4. (tie) Debbie Bloxom and Corley Cox, 15.94; 6. Stacey Grimes, 15.98; 7. Liz Herrin, 16,00; 8. Morgan Addison, 16.02; 9. (tie) Bristan McCarley and Alex Lang, 16.06; 11. Jordan Kirkes, 16.08; 12. Jo Fisher, 16.11.  Bull riding: No qualified rides. 

BIG SPRING, Texas – With two little ones eager to start competing in rodeo, it was only natural that Bray Armes turned his attention to them. A three-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier who just missed out on making it a fourth straight time in 2015, Armes and his wife, Neelley, met through the sport. They passed down their passions to Breely and Drake, and the two youngsters have taken to it well. The kids have found success along the way, and the intensity to their competitive nature has aged with them as they’ve grown. That’s why Dad is back on the rodeo trail. He returned to his ol’ stompin’ grounds during Thursday’s opening night of the Big Spring Cowboy Reunion and Rodeo, where he posted a 4.0-second run to take the early steer wrestling lead. “Drake is trying to tell me I need to go (to the NFR) one more time because it blew his mind that I’d never won a go-round buckle, even though I won something way better,” said Bray Armes, 43, a Howard College graduate now living in Stephenville, Texas. “I won the NFR average, but I’d been there three times and never won a round. So, he said I’ve got to go back. “I told him, ‘No, I’ve got to finish raising you first.’ We’ll see what God has in store for us, and whatever His plan is, we’ll see.” Armes posted the best 10-round cumulative time at the 2013 championship to earn the prestigious title. For many, it’s the second-most title that rodeo competitors want to win; to beat the other top 14 in the world standings is quite a feat. While Drake, 16, is too young to compete in ProRodeo, Bray isn’t the only member of his family in the field in Big Spring. Neelley and Breely are competing in breakaway roping, so rodeo is definitely a family affair. Don’t be surprised to see Drake following in his daddy’s footsteps in a year and a half when he turns 18. He’ll have a good example. While Bray Armes owns the lead, he nitpicked at his run. He rushed a bit, he said, and tried to throw the steer too quickly. Instead of getting ahold of the steer’s nose on the transition, Armes missed but was able to power the animal over. “You don’t ever want to off-horn one, but when you feel like you’re a little behind in timing, you’ve just got one chance to do what you can,” he said. “I’m trying to win first every time.” That’s the mentality that has proven to be so successful over his career, and he’s not changing now, even though it’s been several years since he hit the rodeo trail. He’s stayed in good shape and credits part of that to taking years off the practice of wrestling livestock and the tens of thousands of miles ProRodeo cowboys travel per year in order to make the NFR. Oh, and never mind that his most entrusted teammate is Neelley, who not only competes herself but serves as the hazer – the person who rides on the other side of the steer to keep it lined out for the bulldogger – for her husband and others. “Neelly is as good a hazer as I’ve ever had,” Bray Armes said. “I know she’s going to give it everything she’s got every time. I’ve been blessed with a lot of good hazers, and she hazes just as good as any of them.” He’s back at it, proving that talent and fortitude can carry athletes even through the years. He loves the competition, but rodeo is about a lot more than that. While in town, he was able to share time with many people he’s known for two decades. He still cherishes the time he spent in this west Texas town. “I started bulldogging the summer before my senior year (in high school), and then I got hurt playing football, so I didn’t hardly bulldog much,” he said. “Greg Kernick was the rodeo coach here, and he was about the only coach that recruited me. That’s why I came here. “It’s been a blessing ever since. There are a lot of great people right here.” Big Spring Cowboy Reunion and RodeoJune 19-21Bareback riding: 1. Zach Hibler, 80 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Rodeo Colors; 2. Monty Ray Fontenot, 69; 3. Rhett Hadley Kelley, 66; no other qualified rides. Steer wrestling: 1. Bray Armes, 4.0 seconds; 2. Cimarron Thompson, 4.1; 3. Casey Collins, 6.1; 4. Wyatt Fields, 6.8; 5. Colton Swearingen, 14.6; no other qualified runs. Tie-down roping: 1. Ace Reese, 10.4 seconds; 2. Jett Barrett, 12.1; 3. (tie) Ryan Thibodeaux and Weldon Watson, 22.4 each; no other qualified runs. Breakaway roping: Results not yet available; they will be updated when possible. Saddle bronc riding: 1. Sterling Crawley, 85.5 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Apache Junction; 2. Chase Brooks, 85; 3. Jacobs Crawley, 80; 4. Brody Cress, 78; 5. Wyatt LaVergne, 76; 6. Carson Neal, 67. Team roping: 1. Roan Oldfield/Pace Blanchard, 4.4 seconds; 2. McCray Profili/McCoy Profili, 5.1; 3. Payden Emmett/Jorge Pina Lopez, 9.4; 4. Jim Breck Bean/Jasper Klein, 12.0; 5. Mason Rust/JD McGuire, 20.0; no other qualified runs. Barrel racing: 1. Cheyenne Wimberley, 15.73 seconds; 2. Corley Cox, 15.94; 3. Morgan Addison, 16.02; 4. Kirstin Carlson, 16.58; 5. Madison Bean, 20.92; 6. Gracen Harman, 26.04. Bull riding: No qualified rides.