About: Ted

LOVINGTON, N.M. – In the classical ballet that is professional rodeo, having the right dance partner can make all the difference. It’s a big reasons hundreds of cowboys and cowgirls make their way to southeastern New Mexico for the Lea County Fair and Rodeo, set for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 6-Saturday, Aug. 9; that also includes Lea County Xtreme Bulls, which is Tuesday, Aug. 5. A key component in that is the Lea County Fair Board’s relationship with its livestock producer, Dallas-based Pete Carr Pro Rodeo. The rapport began nearly two decades ago, and it’s been growing ever since. The culmination of that bond will be highlighted during five days of action in early August. “The quality of livestock Pete Carr provides is the best,” said Kris Allen, the fair board’s chairman. “You’re going to get high scores and see good cowboys and cowgirls. With the mixture of his livestock, you’re going to see good quality entertainment.” It’s a drawing card to the rodeo for sure. Over Carr’s years in Lovington, world champions have performed at a high level, including bareback horses Real Deal, Big Tex, Deuces Night and Dirty Jacket, the latter of which was named PRCA Bareback Horse of the Year in 2014 and 2015. Bayou Bengal was named the PRCA Bull of the Year in 2023. How good are Carr’s bucking animals? Eight-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier Brody Cress won the saddle bronc riding championship in Lea County a year ago on Dirty Jacket, now 21 years old. “That’s the first time that I’ve got to get on him,” said Cress, 29, of Hillsdale, Wyoming. “I’ve got to see him a lot. I grew up getting to watch that horse in the bareback riding at the NFR, and he’s just so memorable for that giant jump he used to have right out of the chute. It’s definitely one to be able to check off my bucket list, one that I’ve wanted to be able to get on for a long time, so I’m glad I was able to finally.” While Cress won on a celebrated bronc with a grand legacy, two other cowboys took advantage of younger bucking animals to stake their claims. Then-rookie Wacey Schalla won the Lea County Xtreme Bulls title thanks in large part to an 89.5-point ride on Carr’s Richard Slam, a black bull with a white face that was just 4 years old when he bucked at the NFR this past December. “That little Richard Slam is just a calf of Pete Carr’s, and that bull has a little something to him,” said Schalla, the top-ranked bull rider so far in 2025 with nearly $300,000 in earnings. “He don’t get rode very often. I got bucked off him (in San Angelo, Texas, in 2024), so it was dang sure good to get him rode.” Another 2024 newcomer, Resistol Bareback Riding Rookie of the Year Weston Timberman, also claimed the Lea County title in his discipline after also marking 89.5 points on a young bucker. Timberman’s was on Carr’s Secret’s Out, and the explosive bay mare was just 6 in Las Vegas, where she helped cowboys win two go-rounds – Bradlee Miller was 88.5 points to win Round 4, and Jess Pope scored 89.5 points to win the ninth night. “I knew what the caliber of horses were going to be, and everybody knows this is a big stop for a lot of guys,” said Timberman, who utilized the $8,425 payday to secure his first NFR bid. “To come out on top with these great horses and great cowboys is a great feeling.” It’s the perfect mix to bring out the best competition around. Athletes like to perform, whether they’re men and women or bucking horses and bucking bulls. But rodeo is a well-rounded affair, and part of what makes the sport special is the package presented to the fans. Ticket-buyers want to see amazing athletes while also being entertained, and that’s where the fair board’s trust in the Carr crew comes in to play. Producing an incredible event takes a team of professionals who understand the aspects that come to a rodeo of this caliber. The audiences that absorb the action in Jake McClure Arena every August have come to expect greatness. “Pete Carr and his stock are very good, and everybody around here talks about it,” said Kyle Johnston, a fair board member and chairman of the rodeo committee. “His guys are very good to work with, and they put on a very entertaining show.”

LOVINGTON, N.M. – The volunteers who help organize Lovington’s annual rodeo do everything they can to make it as special as possible for everyone involved. That sometimes calls for adjustments to be made, and it’s the case for this year’s Lea County Fair and Rodeo, set for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 6-Saturday, Aug. 9; that also includes Lea County Xtreme Bulls, which is Tuesday, Aug. 5. “We changed the women’s breakaway roping to a two-header,” said Kyle Johnston, a Lea County Fair Board member and chairman of the rodeo committee. “We’re also changed our Xtreme Bulls to a one-header.” Breakaway roping’s popularity has exploded in recent years. It first appeared in Lovington’s rodeo in 2021 and has grown since then. Over the last few years, cowgirls have made just one run. This year’s schedule will allow them to rope twice; once will be done in slack each morning, and the ladies with the fastest times will return for that evening’s performance to make their second run. The other competitors will make Run 2 later in the morning. Since it was added to the fair and rodeo in 2012, the Xtreme Bulls has been a two-ride affair. The top scores from the “long round” advanced to the championship round, and the cowboy with the best two-ride cumulative score was crowned champion. This year’s night of bull riding only will crown the champion who posted the best score out of 40 rides. “Some of the girls over the last several years have been talking about making it a two-header,” Johnston said. “We thought, ‘We’ll try it, because it’s not going to take up that much more time as far as our slack goes, so let’s give it a try.’ “As for the Xtreme Bulls, a lot of those guys are pretty beat up by that time of year, so it’s tough to consider coming to get on two rank bulls in one night when you’re already beat up. We thought by making it a one-header, we might get a few more entries from the top guys.” In both cases, the rodeo committee was looking out for the best interest of the contestants. Why? Lovington’s rodeo has always been a cowboys’ (and cowgirls’) rodeo. The region is rich with men and women who raise livestock or work in the elements. Fairgoers and rodeo fans know they have a good thing when it comes to their hometown rodeo. This is the second straight year the rodeo will feature $25,000 of “added money” in each event. Those dollars will be mingled with contestants’ entry fees to make up the overall purse. That’s attractive to the cowboys and cowgirls that make their living on the road, fighting for every penny available. Xtreme Bulls also features a large payout. There will be $37,500 in local dollars added into the mix. In all, Lea County is contributing $287,500 into this year’s payout. “With every move we make, we’re trying to get more of the top guys, pull them down here from the North,” Johnston said. “We want them to enter the rodeo, and we want them to come to Lovington, so we want to try to make everything better for them.”

Gooding Pro Rodeo teams with JAE Foundation on mental health GOODING, Idaho – The Gooding Pro Rodeo has always been about giving back. Whether it was to the community as part of the county’s annual celebration – this year marks the 100th Gooding County Fair and Rodeo – or to the contestants who battle throughout the year for rodeo’s gold, beneficiaries are always on the mind. It’s why the event is considered one of the top ProRodeos in the country. That mentality is amped up a bit for this year’s Gooding Pro Rodeo presented by Idaho Ford Dealers, set for Thursday, Aug. 14-Saturday, Aug. 16, with a special “Beauty and the Beast” performance set for Wednesday, Aug. 13. All performances take place at 8 p.m. at Andy James Arena. Volunteers will be “passing the boot” in the stands during the Thursday performance to help raise funds and awareness for Twin Falls, Idaho-based JAE Foundation. “The more we learned about the foundation, the more it felt like a great fit for our rodeo,” said Jamie Lancaster, one of the organizers of the fair and rodeo. “The JAE Foundation is 100 percent committed to mental-health awareness and suicide prevention through their outreach program.” While the boot-passing will happen Thursday, there will be ways to contribute during the other nights of the rodeo and beyond. The foundation has a retail store in Twin Falls and has donation opportunities on its website. While monetary contributions are great, just spreading the word is a valuable resource, too. “I think our first connection to the Gooding Pro Rodeo was with one of our top initiatives at the foundation, which is our high school senior initiative,” said Malan Erke, the organization’s community outreach director who is originally from Gooding. “We brought through about 4,000 high school seniors and shared our experience with them, and the Gooding community really took it seriously. “They built their own ambassador program, and it really just started to ripple.” The JAE Foundation is riding that wave and hoping to increase ways it reaches others. “In general, the conversation needs to be started, and a big part of the mental-health struggle that people have is heavily related to that cowboy mentality,” Erke said. “Clearly the rodeo community doesn’t hat the cowboy mentality, and neither does the foundation. There’s that one piece where we encourage people to be really tough, which gets masked with the idea that you can’t talk about the hard stuff. “That’s not what it’s about. You can be super tough and still talk about your feelings and your struggles that you’re going through. The reality is the way the world is right now, we need people talking. We need to start talking about this hard stuff and working on that. If any rodeo is going to pave the way and open the door for mental health, it’s going to be the Gooding Pro Rodeo for sure.” The community’s marquee event – which will feature hundreds of contestants battling over four days in the Magic Valley – has been on the leading edge of vibrant experiences. From having multiple livestock producers to having two of the top bullfighters in the game to introducing a second emcee with Garrett Yerigan joining Steve Kenyon in the announcers’ stand, the Gooding Pro Rodeo has created an atmosphere that everybody talks about. With nightly audiences that are as entertaining as the action, it’s the perfect setting for a festival of this nature, which is why teaming with the foundation is important. “Mental health and suicide are serious issues in rural Idaho and in the rodeo world,” Lancaster said. “Our staff was given a chance to go through the Boot Check experience at Jae’s Place and learn about Jae Bob Bing’s story. When we left, we all agreed that this was a cause that we needed to support any way we could.” Bing was born in South Korea in 1988 and adopted by a family that lives in Pinedale, Wyoming. His parents owned a Western store there, and their son spent his young life fishing, camping, riding horses, competing in sports and sharing his time with friends. He went virtually everywhere in cowboy boots. When he died by suicide in 2016, many of his friends and family attended the funeral also wearing boots. One of those was Jason Vickrey, who now lives in Twin Falls and is the founder of the JAE Foundation. With each pair of boots given through Jae’s Place, Vickrey and his wife, Paige, have strengthened their promise to others who may need a supportive ear. “We’ve got to open the door around mental health for everybody,” Erke said. “At the foundation, we’re going to go about as fast and as hard as we can to open that door, but we can’t get to every single person if that door doesn’t get opened by their people. If somebody comes through the foundation, the challenge is when they leave that we encourage them to go open the door for people in their lives. “We have some strategies for success, and they fit a rodeo theme, too. We tell people to rope people in. You’ve got to tell your friends and family about the foundation, the conversations you’ve had and maybe the impact it’s had in your journey. Then you’ve got to get in the saddle, spend some time talking about mental health; you’ve got to take the reins. Every step we take is a step in the right direction for a conversation around mental health if we open that door.” The communication doesn’t have to be Earth-shattering. Speaking about mental health can be as easily done as over a cup of coffee at the breakfast joint or just being a good friend to someone who needs to talk about their feelings, their emotions. “If we just love our people a little bit harder and open that door on mental health,” Erke said, “there’s some big stuff on the other side of that.”

LOVINGTON, N.M. – Fairgoers in southeastern New Mexico have grown accustomed to a homegrown festivity. The Lea County Fair and Rodeo features nine days of entertainment, from Friday, Aug. 1-Saturday. Aug. 9. It’s an opportunity for local residents to enjoy all the activities, including the concerts, carnival, rodeo, livestock shows, other exhibits and plenty of vendors. A key feature in that is making it a celebration, one that has drawn acclaim throughout the region. Folks from across west Texas and New Mexico flock to this community of about 12,000 souls to be part of the bash, and they’re looking to be entertained. The Lea County Fair Board has taken the steps to ensure that happens, with daily performances from Timberwork’s Lumberjack Shows. “The county has hired them as one of our small stage acts during the nine days of the fair,” said Wyatt Duncan, the fairgrounds’ director. “They will be set up in our old concert area for spectators to watch.” Timberwork’s boasts of extensive work over the years in lumberjack entertainment, which it describes as fast growing in popularity. The company, which features four touring groups performing at more than 50 venues annually, has been on scene at other fairs, sports shows, corporate gatherings and special events. “Our lumberjacks have been (featured) on national television,” the company’s website states, pointing out that the loggers have been shown on ESPN’s Great Outdoor Games, STIHL’s Timbersport Series and ABC’s Wild World of Sports. With the popularity of axe-throwing businesses worldwide, the call to athleticism involved in lumberjacking skills has grown. Members of the team will be involved in that aspect of the games, but they will also be log-chopping, chainsaw-carving and log-rolling. Each of those disciplines has been shown on television. The shows will allow audiences to have an up-close view of what people have been doing for centuries. The term, lumberjack, came about nearly 200 years ago and identified individuals who helped clear the land from timber. In doing so, lumberjacks also created other opportunities with the wood, from helping form buildings to developing paper products. While there are lumberjack competitions that feature the athletes’ talents, the showcase during this year’s exposition is a show with full entertainment value. It coincides with many of the other acts that have been part of the activities in Lovington over the years, like the annual Fiddler’s Contest, which is celebrating its 64th consecutive year at 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 9.  “The thing I like about our specialty shows and the Fiddler’s Contest is the chance for some people who are just enjoying a day at the fair to take in something unique to us,” said Kris Allen, chairman of the Lea County Fair Board. “We don’t have a lot of trees in this part of the country, so to see the lumberjacks doing their thing is pretty entertaining. Of course, we’re just a year away from celebrating the 65th year of the Fiddler’s Contest, and I know a lot of people love coming to that every year.”

DODGE CITY, Kan. – A couple of decades ago, Justin Rumford was engrossed in the tourism that is part of this western Kansas community. Tens of thousands of visitors arrive in Dodge City to relive history, the television series “Gunsmoke” and take a peek at what life was like for the early settlers and cowboys who tamed the Old West. That’s why Boot Hill Museum is around and why its spot next to downtown is the perfect setting. “I was ‘Dirty Bill’ on the stage coach at the Boot Hill Museum,” Rumford said of his character, the man who drove the vehicle for tourists. “We’d go three or four blocks around there, then I’d park the stage. They’d all go over and eat at Applebee’s, then go to the night show with Miss Kitty. “I had a good time at the Boot Hill Museum.” He will recognize a bit of his own past as the featured entertainer at the Dodge City Roundup Rodeo, set for 7:45 p.m. Wednesday, July 30-Sunday, Aug. 3, at Roundup Arena; Dodge City Xtreme Bulls is set for 7:45 p.m. Tuesday, July 29. A 10-time PRCA Clown of the Year, Rumford provides a brilliant rodeo history with his showmanship, and he is eager to return to Ford County. “I’ve been there twice, once in 2014, and then I came back in 2020,” he said, noting that the latter took place during the COVID pandemic. “That was a little rough, because there weren’t a lot of people there. I’m pretty excited about coming back with a full crowd.” He should be. Roundup Rodeo is home to excited crowds filled with energized spectators eager to see the athletic action in the arena and to giggle at Rumford’s antics. He’s a natural fit to the biggest event annual in the state. Raised in Abbyville in central Kansas in the Rumford Rodeo family, he’s been around the game all his life. The family also owned the team of horses used during the summertime rides at the museum, which is how he had the opportunity to be the tourists’ guide. “I’m going to take my kids back to the museum and tell them how cool I used to be,” Rumford said with a laugh. He’s a comedian and has been one for most of the last four decades. Even when he was riding broncs or driving trucks or wrestling steers or flanking bucking animals or rescuing cowboys as a pickup man, Rumford was sharing his insights and personality with others. It was an easy transition 15 years ago when he opted to become a rodeo clown. Whether he’s at a rodeo in west Texas or eastern Oregon, though, he’s proud of his roots. Now living in Ponca City, Oklahoma, with wife Ashley and their triplets, Bandy, Livi and Lola, he makes sure everyone knows where he came from. He’ll likely be wearing a Jayhawks T-shirt or a Chiefs jersey while bragging about his home state. That makes his return to Roundup even more exciting. “When you look at rodeo history in Kansas and how big it is, it’s in Dodge City,” said Rumford, a standout athlete at Fairfield High School. “Even though the days of the Wild West are over, they’re not over in Dodge City. It is the Wild West. When you tell somebody from back East about Dodge City, they think of cowboys, horses and rodeos. “That’s our heritage, and it’s something to market: ‘Come to Dodge City and see the cowboys.’ ” And the rodeo clowns.