National champs earn coveted titles
GUTHRIE, Okla. – If saddle bronc rider Jacobs Crawley lacked any confidence prior to his appearance at the Ram National Circuit Finals Rodeo, he’s leaving with a truckload. Crawley, a three-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier from Stephenville, Texas, rode two broncs Saturday night during the final performance of RNCFR and walked away from the […]
Wright at the top of his game
GUTHRIE, Okla. – In all his years of competing in professional rodeo, saddle bronc rider Cody Wright had never been to the storied Lazy E Arena before this week’s Ram National Circuit Finals Rodeo. He may have found a second home. On Friday night, Wright rodeo Korkow Rodeo’s Painted Chip for 83 points to take […]
Mote in position for another title
GUTHRIE, Okla. – Bobby Mote is starting to like the way the format works at the Ram National Circuit Finals Rodeo. Mote, a four-time world champion bareback rider from Culver, Ore., has won two of the last three national championships, including the 2012 RNCFR title. On Saturday afternoon, he an 86-point ride on Pickett ProRodeo’s […]
Peek wins Round 1 at RNCFR
GUTHRIE, Okla. – A strong work ethic pays off for the world’s greatest athletes. Tie-down roper Josh Peek fits nicely in that category. The pains of labor gave birth to grand success Thursday during the second performance of the Ram National Circuit Finals Rodeo at the Lazy E Arena. Peek, a six-time Wrangler National Finals […]
Gunderson gunning for national title
GUTHRIE, Okla. – Joe Gunderson can taste one of ProRodeo’s most prestigious titles. Now in his seventh trip to the Ram National Circuit Finals Rodeo, Gunderson is ready put a defining statement to a pretty stellar rodeo career by adding the coveted national championship. “It would be awesome to win this thing,” said Gunderson, a […]
Ricky Huddleston 1957-2014
My first day in Las Vegas for the 2001 National Finals Rodeo was frantic. My editor at The Oklahoman had booked me on a flight that took me from Oklahoma City to Kansas City, then on to Vegas. I arrived at my hotel, quickly unpacked, then took a cab to the Thomas & Mack Center […]
Don’t try to profit off a tragedy
Every news agency I’ve ever been associated with has done some sort of self-promotion. Call it marketing. Call it space or time filler. Call it an editorial right to pats one’s self on the back, but it’s been part of presenting news in a competitive market for decades. Metro TV stations are quite possibly the […]
FHSU readies for annual rodeo
HAYS, Kan. – When Bronc Rumford took the job as rodeo coach at Fort Hays State University, he understood the priorities that come with it. “College is all about education, and our rodeo club and our rodeo team is about motivating kids to get an education,” said Rumford, a Fort Hays State alumnus who has […]
Lazy E offers new home to RNCFR
ProRodeo’s National Championship will be played in storied arena for the first time GUTHRIE, Okla. – ProRodeo’s National Championship has a new home. The Ram National Circuit Finals Rodeo is scheduled for 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 10; 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 11; and 1 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 12, at the […]
Rangers freshman wins roping title
ALVA, Okla. – Like any freshman, Mason Bowen has learned a lot in the first few months of his college career. The Northwestern Oklahoma State University cowboy proved this past weekend that his rodeo education is paying off. He won the tie-down roping championship at the Southeastern Oklahoma State University rodeo in Durant. “He’s young, […]
Benefit scheduled for bullfighter Pierce
From the CBR FORT WORTH, Texas – When James Pierce was diagnosed with kidney cancer, members of his bull riding and rodeo family responded with love and prayers. They are taking it a step farther with at the Whybenormal Benefit, set for the afternoon of Sunday, April 13, at the Longhorn Saloon in Fort Worth. […]
Locals set stage for Bridgeport rodeo
BRIDGEPORT, Texas – Rodeo excellence and Texas cowboys seem to go hand-in-hand. That bodes quite well for the Karl Klement Butterfield Stage Days Rodeo set for 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 9, and Saturday, May 10, at Sunset Retreat Arena, formerly the Bridgeport Riding Club Arena. Many of the sport’s greatest stars live within a 45-mile […]
Can Tierney go two-for-two?
The last time Paul David Tierney performed inside the Lazy E Arena, he won the prestigious Timed Event Championship of the World. He became just the 12th man in the 30-year history of the event, which identifies the greatest all-around timed-event cowboys in the world. He joins his father, Paul, who owns four TEC titles, […]
Champs lead 2014 hall class
From the PRCA World Champion Cowboys Pete Grubb, Wayne Herman, Glen O’Neill and Byron Walker, along with two-time World Champion Bullfighter Miles Hare and Big Bend Rodeo’s Spring Fling – one of just two horses to be honored as both a bareback and saddle bronc horse of the year – head the 2014 induction class […]
McCoys spint to runner-up finish
The sixth leg of “The Amazing Race” turned into a sprint for The Cowboys, Jet and Cord McCoy. The brothers from southeastern Oklahoma are one of seven teams remaining in the race around the world for $1 million in the CBS-TV reality series now in its 24th season. They maneuvered through Sri Lanka on the […]
Brothers have bronc connection
GUTHRIE, Okla. – It wasn’t that long ago that the best known bronc riding brothers were the Etbauers. These days, though, there is a multitude of elite bronc riding brothers: the Wrights from Utah, the DeMosses from Louisiana and the Crawleys from Texas. Combined they own 36 qualifications to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo and […]
Carr taking top stock to Guymon
GUYMON, Okla. – Pete Carr has been the primary stock contractor for the Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo for several years. Over time, he’s become the talk of the town. “Fans tell us all the time what they like about our rodeo, and one of the big things is the great livestock,” said Earl Helm, chairman […]
Change the message from hate
EDITOR’S NOTE: Fred Phelps died last week, and though it isn’t a story on rodeo, this opinion piece is one I’d like to tell, so here goes: I met Fred Phelps in 1990 in the small Citizen-Patriot office in tiny Atwood, Kan., as the man best known for being a hate enthusiast was making his […]
McCoys place third, advance in race
Being a cowboy means tackling any task necessary to handle any job before him. That philosophy came in quite handy for Jet and Cord McCoy during the fifth leg of “The Amazing Race” All-Star Edition, which was broadcast Sunday, May 23, on CBS-TV. The ranch-raised brothers from the southeastern Oklahoma community of Tupelo overcame traveling […]
Carr rodeo is like a family affair
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – When Pete Carr established his rodeo company years ago, he knew he needed a great team of talented people to help him along the way. What Carr found was a family atmosphere, one very similar to the rodeo lifestyle itself. Crew members work, travel and celebrate together during the 30-plus rodeo season. […]
Team ropers have to battle Barnes
GUTHRIE, Okla. – It’s been a few years since Jake Barnes last won a team roping world championship. It’s OK. He owns seven heading gold buckles, the last of which came two decades ago. He is still one of the greatest ropers on the rodeo trail. Proof of that is in the 25 qualifications to […]
McCoys rolling on ‘Amazing Race’
In his initial appearance on “The Amazing Race” four years ago, Cord McCoy created a catch phrase that took the reality TV show’s audience by storm. His “Oh, my gravy” commentary may have been trumped during Sunday night’s fourth episode of Season 24, when the youngest of the two brothers on the show uttered a […]
Schneeberger eager for national title
GUTHRIE, Okla. – The first time Jerome Schneeberger qualified for the Ram National Circuit Finals Rodeo, he was a 21-year-old young gun fresh off his inaugural appearance at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Much has changed since 1998, but the Ponca City, Okla., cowboy remains one of the greatest tie-down ropers in the Prairie Circuit, […]
Champs eager to defend Guymon titles
GUYMON, Okla. – Forgive Tyler Smith if he is a little greedy when he arrives in the Oklahoma Panhandle in a month and a half. Smith, a two-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo bull rider from Fruita, Colo., owns two Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo trophy belts; he’d like to win a third during the 2014 edition, […]