About: Ted

In his 15 years competing professionally, Kyle Irwin is a two-time national circuit titlist and the 2022 National Finals Rodeo average champion. The Cinch steer wrestler will compete at the NFR for the seventh time this December. (PHOTO BY LARA ST JACQUES)   A former average champ, Irwin excited for his return to the NFR Kyle Irwin’s 2025 venture to the National Finals Rodeo will be a bit different than his past few. He was in the building – the Thomas & Mack Center at Las Vegas – working and supporting his friends, fellow steer wrestlers who were battling for world championships. It was a business trip of sorts, because he served as his buddies’ hazer, helping line out the steers for them to make the best runs possible. But there was something missing: His family. Randa, Tripp, Ellie and Ike will be with him this time, his seventh qualification to the sport’s grand finale. He finished the regular season 10th in the world standings with $113,330 and is ready to battle for rodeo gold over the 10 nights of the NFR, set for Dec. 4-13. “I’m excited to have my family back there with me,” said Irwin, 35, originally from Robertsdale, Alabama, but now living in Westville, Florida. “I love seeing the excitement they have for getting to go back, because they see the work I put in to do this and the time away from them. I don’t like to call it a sacrifice, because our men and women in uniform truly sacrifice. “We get to do this, but my wife and kids miss out on me a lot, and I miss out on them a lot. My kids are watching me and seeing all the work and the practices every day into it, so they get to see that work ethic. Then guess what? Do they want to do that? It pays dividends.” Irwin will be one of nine Cinch cowboys in the NFR’s bulldogging field, joined by Will Lummus, Jesse Brown, Justin Shaffer, Rowdy Parrott, Tucker Allen, Tyler Waguespack, Stetson Jorgensen, Scott Guenthner and Bridger Anderson. That’s more than half the contingent of steer wrestlers, so there’s something special that happened through the season for the men wearing Cinch. This isn’t the first year for that, though. Waguespack owns five gold buckles, and he’s joined in the winner’s circle by Jacob Edler (2020), Tyler Pearson (2017) and Luke Branquinho (a five-time titlist) as recent Cinch world champions. Irwin has been close; he finished second in the 2014 world standings and third in 2022. That was the last time he ran a steer in Las Vegas, and much has changed in the three years since. Irwin had his best NFR ever, winning the coveted average championship and more than $150,000 over 10 December nights. He finished the year with $250,000, less than $20,000 behind the titlist, his Louisiana pal, Waguespack. “The biggest thing that’s happened since then is just maturity,” said Irwin, who began his career 15 years ago. “A friend of mine made a comment one time, ‘You’ve done a lot in the last 10 years.’ I made the finals for the first time in ’14, and that was 11 years ago. So, in 11 years, I’ve gotten married and had three children.” He and Randa are raising kids and molding young minds through their labors of love. Tripp’s the oldest, and he will be 9 in January. Ellie just turned 7, and Ike is 4. The family battled through COVID together when the pandemic shut down opportunities in rodeo; he earned less than $30,000 that year. He struggled again in 2021 when his good horse, Scooter, was retired – Irwin co-owned the former Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year with Pearson. Nothing deterred Irwin, though. He found solace this season in returning to the rig with Waguespack, traveling the country with the champ, Stetson Jorgensen and Cash Robb, that last of whom won the NFR aggregate a year ago. “I finally realized you’ve just got to do what you’ve got to do to get back,” Irwin said. “I’ve had great crews. I’ve been around great guys, but it just clicked this year. Maybe desperate times call for desperate measures, but it worked. I had told myself a few years ago that I was going to give myself three more years, and then I was going to be done. Well, it’s been four years. “So, I laughed and said, ‘That’s what I get for telling God what I’m going to do.’ I should know better, because He has the final say on everything.” It’s a good thing he stayed on the job. ProRodeo has seen a surge in financial rewards for contestants. More rodeos are increasing their purses, which means cowboys and cowgirls are able to make better livings now than ever before. As a testament, Irwin finished the 2014 campaign as the reserve world champion with $147,599. He enters this NFR with earnings that total just $34,369 less. That’s a big jump in a little more than a decade. In fact, 19 bulldoggers crossed the $100,000 threshold in earnings for 2025, but only 15 qualified to compete in the Nevada desert “It’s a good living, and we haven’t even gotten to our biggest event yet, the NFR,” he said. “It makes you look at stepping away, but then the rodeos are getting bigger and better. My kids love it, and they still want me to do it.” It’s the children that eventually lead Irwin to make the decision to hang up his spurs. “My kids are getting older, and we’ve got gymnastics, baseball and hopefully football, basketball and junior rodeo, so a guy does ask himself, ‘How long are you going to do it?’ ” Irwin said. “But with companies like Cinch and all my other sponsors, I’ve been able to make a dang good living. “Who would have ever thought that the one thing that just got me to college to get the  Continue Reading »

Louisiana bareback rider Waylon Bourgeois rides Calgary Stampede’s Cincy Whitney during the 2024 Horse Haven Roundup in Kennewick, Washington. Bourgeois has qualified to compete at the National Finals Rodeo for the first time this December after just missing the sport’s championship a season ago. (PHOTO BY ROSEANNA SALES)   CHURCH POINT, La. – Waylon Bourgeois had a fantastic 2024 ProRodeo season. He earned $123,000 riding bareback horses. It wasn’t that long ago when earning that kind of money meant a guaranteed spot among the top 15 cowboys in the world standings and a trip to the National Finals Rodeo. That wasn’t the case for Bourgeois. Instead, he finished 18th on the money list, three spots out of qualifying for that ever-important business venture to Las Vegas. Sure, there was a hint of discouragement, because every man and woman who competes in rodeo wants to battle for the world championship during the sport’s grand finale. “I’m not going to say I was disappointed in myself, because I gave it everything I got last year,” said Bourgeois, 26, of Church Point, a community of 4,000 souls in southern Louisiana. “I fell a little bit short, and that was it. I learned a bunch from it, so I wouldn’t trade that for anything.” It was also a motivating factor into his 2025 campaign. Instead of letting it defeat him, Bourgeois used that experience to drive harder and build his mind and body better. “It just made me hungrier for this year,” he said. “I learned so much from coming that close and falling short, but life isn’t fair. You can’t dwell on it. You can just make yourself better.” He has and will compete at his first NFR as the No. 12-ranked bareback rider in the standings with $137,864. He will also join his traveling partners, Texans Rocker Steiner and Cole Franks, in Las Vegas. It’s a chance for the band of bronc-bustin’ brothers to gather again, this time at the world’s richest rodeo, which features a purse of $13.5 million. Go-round winners in each event will pocket almost $37,000 for each of the 10 nights of competition in the Nevada desert, so it’s an incredible financial opportunity. “It took a lot more to make the NFR than I ever thought it was going to take,” said Bourgeois, who credits part of his success to his sponsors, Cinch, Boot Barn, Parish Rice and Burgess Brothers Bucking Horses. “I never thought about the work and the dedication that you had to put into it to get to this point. I just thought you rode good, and it was easy to make the NFR. “What I found out is you’ve got to grind it out all freaking year and just bust your ass.” It worked, and the rewards can be substantial. Rodeo’s a different type of professional sport, though. There is no guaranteed income; cowboys only earn money when they beat most of the field at any event. There are expenses, from paying for all travel costs to issuing a fee in order to compete at each stop. While the payoffs are getting better, the chance for real profit comes in Las Vegas. That’s why it’s such an important step for the Louisiana man to earn his spot in the NFR’s exclusive field. “I’m just taking it in and enjoying it,” he said. “Whenever it’s time to go to work, we’re going to work. I’ve got some goals set. I definitely want to get some round wins. Going after that average title is a big deal, but I think the big thing is taking it in, enjoying it and making memories.” This is the kind of event that is made for memories, but that’s been Bourgeois’ year in a nutshell. It’s been a whirlwind, from traveling the country by any means necessary to securing his first trip to ProRodeo’s premier championship to being part of a nationally televised documentary to marrying the love of his life. There’s more on the TV show, but the nuptials take precedence. He married his longtime girlfriend, the former Chloe Frey, on Oct. 17 in Eunice, Louisiana, not too far from where he was raised in the state’s coastal plains, some 65 miles north of the gulf coast. “Me and Chloe have been through a lot together,” Bourgeois said. “We met when I was a sophomore in high school and she was a junior. We dated for nine years, and we finally got married. Her family only lives about 15 minutes from me in a little town called Mowata, Louisiana. She comes from a rodeo background.” Yes, she does. In fact, her father, Winston Frey, qualified for the NFR in steer wrestling, and her uncle, Shawn Frey, was an NFR bareback rider. Now, she’ll be in Las Vegas as a newlywed with her husband, who has his own rodeo legacy on which to build. “My dad and his brothers all competed in the bareback riding,” Bourgeois said. “Some went further in their rodeo career than others. My dad competed in college and went to a couple ProRodeos here and there. He was a pickup man at a lot of rodeos. We lived in the country. I don’t know remember how many head we had, but we had cows.” Jeff Bourgeois spends most of his days as a tax assessor, and Eloise Bourgeois is a nurse. Together, they raised three boys on faith and family, and rodeo was always in the picture. Gavin was the first to come along, and Hayden followed two years later. Waylon was the baby, weighing in at more than 9 pounds at birth. The boys did what Southern boys do. Sports were a big part of their lives. Gavin played intercollegiate baseball; Hayden was a college football player; and Waylon went to McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on a rodeo scholarship after being involved in multiple sports growing up. “We were super busy as kids,” Waylon Bourgeois said. “I remember going to these  Continue Reading »

Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo committee members, from left, Carson Kane, Bailey Kane, Sherry Stonecipher and Ken Stonecipher pose with Miss Rodeo Oklahoma Cassidy Heskett after receiving the committee of the year award during the Miss Rodeo Oklahoma Hall of Fame Gala & Best of Oklahoma Awards on Saturday in Norman. (PHOTO PROVIDED)   GUYMON, Okla. – It’s been 10 years since the Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. The accolades haven’t stopped. In fact, the list of accomplishments for Oklahoma’s only Hall of Fame rodeo are adding up. The most recent came during Saturday’s Miss Rodeo Oklahoma Hall of Fame Gala & Best of Oklahoma Awards in Norman. The Guymon contingent was named the rodeo committee of the year. “Just to be nominated was a big honor for us as a committee,” said Ken Stonecipher, chairman of the volunteer group. “To win this award means a lot to us and to a lot of people in Guymon. We’re very proud to be associated with the Miss Rodeo Oklahoma Pageant and Miss Rodeo America.” Committee members have gone above and beyond. The Guymon rodeo hosts many visiting queens each year, drawing royalty from several states across the country. This past year, 14 were in Texas County for rodeo week. The year before, there were 18. “We consider our rodeo a cowboy’s rodeo, one that the guys can take a lot of pride in when they come to Guymon,” Stonecipher said. “We do a lot of unique things that celebrate the cowboy way of life out here in the Panhandle, but we also do a lot of things to show our cowgirl spirit. Our visiting queens program is one of those things, and we get a ton of support for it. “It’s a testament to our community the way people show up for these girls. They’re excited to see them, and in return, the girls are excited to be part of Pioneer Days Rodeo.” It’s true. The popularity of the visiting queen program has been bolstered by the recent winners of Miss Rodeo America, who have returned to the region to be part of the festivities. “It was so much fun,” said Emma Cameron, the 2024 Miss Rodeo America. “Ken and Sherry Stonecipher do such a great job of keeping us involved and taking us to community events as state queens. It’s a great experience.” The Stoneciphers have been associated with the rodeo for years and both are directors on the volunteer-based committee. They have also hosted visiting queens for the better part of two decades. “That’s the one (rodeo) that all the state queens look forward to every year,” Cameron said. The legacy of Pioneer Days Rodeo is reflected in its motto: Where Champions Come to Play the First Weekend in May; the 2026 event is set for May 1-3. Preparation has already begun, with volunteers working year-round to ensure the top event for contestants and spectators alike. “This is Guymon’s chance to shine on a national stage, so we are diligent about putting on a great event for the community,” Stonecipher said. “Being honored with this award tells us we’re doing something right on a statewide stage, too.”

Payton Dingman hoists her goat-tying title belt alongside Northwestern Oklahoma State University alumnus Perry Dietz after Dingman won the Rangers’ rodeo over the weekend. (PHOTO PROVIDED)   ALVA, Okla. – The Northwestern Oklahoma State University rodeo team said sayonara to the Alva Dome, which has hosted the institution’s annual rodeo on the south end of town for many years. It was a grand celebration befitting the proud status of the team, and Payton Dingman has the title belt to show for it. When Northwestern hosts its rodeo next year, it will take place at the Salt Fork Event Center east of Alva. “We have this new building they’re supposed to finish in the spring, and we’re really excited to go over there,” said Dingman, a sophomore from Pryor, Oklahoma, who won the goat-tying title this past weekend at the Woods County Fairgrounds. “With it being the last rodeo in the Alva Dome, they didn’t give away buckles this year but (title) belts instead. It was super cool that every event champion got these belts.” Dingman earned hers over two rounds in the smallish indoor arena. She stopped the clock in 6.2 seconds to finish as the runner-up in the opening round, then was 6.5 to win the final round and the aggregate race. She snagged 165 points and guided the Northwestern women to a third-place finish. More importantly, she moved into the Central Plains Region lead in goat-tying. “I’m proud of Dingman for being able to step up to the plate for our program,” said Cali Griffin, the Rangers’ coach. “She has her hands full considering I asked her to be my student assistant this year and is the region director. It was also our home rodeo, where she competed in two events, but she’s a gamer. “I can trust her when I need her to step up and compete. It’s been a blast watching her grow up, and now I have the chance to watch her compete for us as a school.” Maturity is what comes with a college education. Competing at this level has its own stresses, and there is a lot that goes on with the team producing the rodeo. From gathering sponsorships to getting the arena ready, a great deal of time and energy goes into the project. “I would say it’s probably been one of the hardest weeks of the school year,” Dingman said. “There’s a lot that goes into it, and Cali wants it to be perfection and all of us to be there when we’re needed. Trying to do that, go to classes and practice makes it a tough week, but when it all pays off, it’s very rewarding.” The payoff came with making a horse change. Dingman has been riding her horse, Dolly, but she opted to borrow a horse owned by Parker McIntyre, a former Central Plains competitor who lives in the Oklahoma Panhandle. “Festus is a little bit stronger than Dolly; he gives me a little bit more send, runs a little bit faster,” Dingman said. “I’ve been visiting a lot with her and spent time out there tying with her, letting her sharpen me up, change some things in my goat-tying to make me a little faster. “At this point in my career, I feel like it’s the little things to nitpick at that have been costing me tenths of a second to win a rodeo.” Dingman led the way for the Rangers. She was joined in the winner’s circle by breakaway roper Trista Regner of Apple Valley, California, who finished third in the opening round; barrel racer Addey Lawson of Maysville, Kentucky, who was fifth in the short round and average; and three cowboys from the men’s team: Steer wrestler Sam Daly of Tryon, Nebraska, who finished fourth overall; and heelers Colter Snook of Dodge City, Kansas, and Sage Bader of Kim, Colorado. Snook finished second in the first round roping with Dexton Hoelting of Western Oklahoma State College, while Bader was sixth in the opener while roping with Mattox Moyer of Oklahoma State University. They were joined in the championship round by breakaway ropers Kinlyn Yado of Otterkein, Indiana, and Katie Ayres of Canby, Oregon; barrel racers Sadie Rempel of Nelson, Nebraska, and Savannah Greenfield of Lakeview, Oregon; steer wrestlers Riley Smith of Poteau, Oklahoma, and Emmett Edler of State Center, Iowa; and heeler Y’Leigh Yarbrough of Cheyenne, Oklahoma. The teams will have a few months off before returning to action in the spring semester. With that, Dingman is planning to capitalize on her borrowed mount for some time. “I think I’m going to be riding Festus for the rest of the year,” she said. “I was a little nervous about it because the only time I’ve gotten to tie on him was when I went out to the Panhandle a few weeks ago. We tied for several days, and I got to make some runs on him. They weren’t perfect, but I got the feeling of him.” They’re making the match work so far and will have six events to perfect it next spring.

Summer Kosel takes advantage of a very fast track inside Andy James Arena. Kosel, a 2023 National Finals Rodeo qualifier, was one of seven ladies to better the previous barrel racing arena record during the 2025 Gooding Pro Rodeo presented by Idaho Ford Dealers. She stopped the clock in 16.66 seconds to win the rodeo. (PHOTO BY LARA ST JACQUES)   Gooding Pro Rodeo earns fifth Justin Best Footing honor in six years GOODING, Idaho – Barrel racing is an event made from a combination of speed, power and equine athleticism, and there’s no better place for the best in the business than Gooding. For the fifth time in the last six years, the Gooding Pro Rodeo presented by Idaho Ford Dealers has earned the WPRA’s Justin Best Footing Award for the Wilderness Circuit, a series of regional rodeos in southern Idaho, Nevada and Utah. “It makes me feel good when the girls pull in here and say, ‘I’m bringing a horse that’s been in rehab, and I need good ground to run him,’ and that’s why they came to Gooding,” said Danny Thomason, the ground supervisor who works meticulously to ensure solid footing. “When I hear things like that, it makes me feel good.” Andy James Arena is well known for being a fast track. Arena records had been tied or broken each year from 2021-’24. Five-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier Dona Kay Rule set the mark with a 16.76-second run in 2023, and that time was matched last year by eventual world champion Kassie Mowry, a six-time finalist. That time was surpassed seven times in 2025, with South Dakotan Summer Kosel taking the gold with a 16.66-second run. In addition, it took a 16.99-second run to even place in Gooding; that time was shared by two cowgirls. “The last two years, we paid 31 places out, and all but one were sub-17-second runs,” said Don Gill, manager of the Gooding County Fair and Rodeo. “Danny does a hell of a job.” The ladies agree. “The purse was so good,” said Kosel, a 2023 NFR qualifier from Glenham, South Dakota. “The ground was very good, and it was great hospitality.” The ground was in such good shape, the cowgirl adjusted what she’d been doing with her prized speedster. Kosel recognized that she’d been a bit tentative with Apollo prior to her arrival, so she switched things up. “I always say a prayer over him, and then I told him, ‘Buddy, we’re just going to send it, and you just do what you do,’ ” said Kosel, who pocketed $6,740 for the win. “I sent him full blown, and he’s so honest that when I sit down or do my little squeezes with my legs, he’ll come around and come back to me. “The second (barrel) felt a little bit wild. I almost sent him a little bit too far past it, but he was firing so hard that he just kept running. I was actually third from last in slack, and there were right around 70 of us in slack. They had run 16.7s, so we knew the ground was good.” The Justin Best Footing Award is not only an incredible honor, but it’s built a sense of pride in both Thomason and Gill. Both are expected to be on hand next month when the rodeo committee is honored by the WPRA during a luncheon that takes place in conjunction with the NFR. “A barrel racer has to trust you to get fast times,” Thomason said. “If they come in slow-loping, they don’t trust you, and they’re not going to get a fast time. I’ve been on both ends of it. I’ve seen my horses go down and other people’s horses go down. That’s the biggest reason I’m always worried about the ground, because I want to take care of these great horses and want everybody happy.” While quality footing is vital in barrel racing, good ground is beneficial for all the other events. The equine athletes need to be comfortable with the flooring beneath them, whether they’re rounding the cloverleaf pattern in 16.66 seconds, helping a cowboy to a 3.4-second bulldogging run or being part of a 90-point bronc ride. “T.J. Korkow complements me every year on the ground for his bucking horses,” Thomason said, referring to the co-owner of Korkow Rodeos, one of three stock contractors in Gooding. “I’ve had calf ropers say something to me every year about it. “Good ground is good for everybody.”