Franks excited for repeat NFR
CLARENDON, Texas – Cole Franks made an impressive statement in 2021 during his inaugural season in ProRodeo: He’d claimed the collegiate all-around and bareback riding titles. He was named the Bareback Riding Resistol Rookie of the Year. He qualified for his first National Finals Rodeo and finished third in the world standings. It was a […]
Healthy Aus ready for NFR battle
GRANITE FALLS, Minn. – Any athlete can attest to injuries throughout a career and even through a season. In bareback riding, the strain and stress the body takes during an eight-second ride can make injuries stack up. Cowboys wedge their hands into a tight-fitting handhold on a rigging that is strapped tightly to a bucking […]
Shadolt eager to return to NFR
MERRIMAN, Neb. – Oftentimes there is a fine line between great and awful. Garrett Shadbolt walked that line over the summer of his 2022 ProRodeo regular season. In a two-week stretch from the end of July to the first of August, he experienced the highest of highs as a bareback rider, but it also led […]
O’Connell ready for a fun NFR
ZWINGLE, Iowa – The competitiveness that Tim O’Connell has in his soul is one reason why he’s a three-time world champion and is always a contender to add more gold buckles to his collection. It’s what drives him and makes him push himself beyond the limits. It’s why he will return to the National Finals […]
Struxness to be in NFR title fight
MILAN, Minn. – When the chance came for steer wrestler J.D. Struxness to ride one of the best steer wrestling horses in rodeo, the Minnesota cowboy didn’t hesitate. “One of the biggest keys for my year is that I got to ride Curtis Cassidy’s horse, Tyson,” said Struxness, 27, originally from Minnesota but now living […]
Casper ready to roll at the NFR
MIAMI, Texas – Wyatt Casper learned a valuable lesson through the course of ProRodeo’s 2022 regular season: Don’t try to rush back from an injury. Casper is a saddle bronc rider who makes a living riding dynamite in the form of bucking horses. In early July, he suffered a partially torn right hamstring. He tried […]
Northwestern wins home rodeo
ALVA, Okla. – Kaden Greenfield was blunt and to the point when talking about the Northwestern Oklahoma State University rodeo this past weekend. “We’ve got a good team this year,” said Greenfield, a senior steer wrestler from Lakeview, Oregon. “We’ve been placing right along, but it was great to win our first one, and it […]
Bulldogs win 3rd straight rodeo
CLARENDON, Texas – The Clarendon College men’s rodeo team is reeling off victories like the Dallas Cowboys in the 1990s. Riding the backs of its bronc busters and bareback riders, the Bulldogs have won three events in a row, most recently at Texas Tech University this past weekend. With that, Clarendon College moved to within […]
Seeing pink and raising funds
NFR bull rider Garrett Smith is the driving force behind PinkChaps.com REXBURG, Idaho – Garrett Smith has an incredible athletic talent, one that has placed him among the elite bull riders in ProRodeo. That status has afforded him a powerful platform, one he’s using to give back to others. He finished the 2022 regular season […]
Bulldogs claim 2nd straight title
CLARENDON, Texas – A quartet of Clarendon College saddle bronc riders made a big statement this past weekend at the Vernon (Texas) College rodeo. The top four men were all Clarendon College cowboys, and they were a key reason why the Bulldogs won the men’s team title at Vernon. “We had another good weekend,” said […]
Local fair sets several records
HEMPSTEAD, Texas – The Waller County Fair Association keeps track of 26 Junior Livestock and Expo Auction grand- and reserve-champion money-earning records. There were 18 of them broken this year. “We have the most awesome supporters and buyers in the state of Texas,” said Susan Shollar, a member of the Waller County Fair Board who […]
Edler uses to solid runs for title
ALVA, Okla. – A view of the Central Plains Region steer wrestling standings early in the 2022-23 season reveals what most in this part of the world have known for a long time. The top men on the tally all come from Northwestern Oklahoma State University, also known as the Bulldogging Capital of College Rodeo. […]
Cattlemen’s Days up for top rodeo
GUNNISON, Colo. – This community in the middle of the Rocky Mountains is a true rodeo town, and the evidence is proven each July during its Cattlemen’s Days celebration. The people in this town of more than 6,600 love their annual rodeo, and so do the cowboys that compete for a living. Further evidence was […]
Clarendon men win home rodeo
CLARENDON, Texas – Led by a couple of event victories and several other top placings, the Clarendon College men’s rodeo team won its home event this past weekend. “We had a lot of people step up and do good for us, and that’s what it takes to win in our region,” Clarendon College rodeo coach […]
Final 2 rounds seal Munsell’s title
DUNCAN, Okla. – Taylor Munsell came into the Chisholm Trail RAM Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo a bit behind the eight-ball. She trailed breakaway roping year-end leader Addie Weil by $1,700 and needed to make up some ground over the final three nights of the region season. She was slowed opening night when Munsell was saddled […]
Lawrence nearing circuit title
DUNCAN, Okla. – In his first appearance at the Chisholm Trail RAM Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo, Austin Lawrence is closing in on his first year-end championship in the region. He didn’t make the fastest run of the night during Friday’s second round at the Stephens County Arena in Duncan, but he did enough to move […]
Ward, Hawkins clinch circuit titles
DUNCAN, Okla. – Andrew Ward and Buddy Hawkins are full-time team ropers and part-time mathematicians. They held the regional lead heading into this weekend’s Chisholm Trail RAM Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo, about $7,000 ahead of the field. That’s significant in the circuit’s standings but it didn’t clinch the season championship, so the tandem went to […]
Finale to host rodeo’s top stars
DUNCAN, Okla. – The greatest cowboys and cowgirls always seem to be in the field of ProRodeo’s biggest championships. That is true, whether it’s the National Finals Rodeo, the sport’s grand finale that takes place in December, and the Chisholm Trail RAM Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo, set for 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday at the Stephens County […]
Edler running for circuit title
DUNCAN, Okla. – Cowboys that make a living on the rodeo trail know the end of the rainbow resides in Las Vegas. It’s home of the National Finals Rodeo, which offers a $14 million payout. It’s where world champions will be crowned, but the road to the Nevada desert is long, winding and filled with […]
Fox gets a bit wolfy in Durant win
ALVA, Okla. – When Cameron Fox decided to further his education at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, he did so to become a better steer wrestler. He’s not only a student in the classroom but also a student of the game, and he’s taking all his lessons to heart. This past weekend, he put all that […]
Franks stays hot, wins Hempstead
HEMPSTEAD, Texas – A week ago, Cole Franks closed out his 2022 regular season by winning the bareback riding title in Stephenville, Texas, on a Pete Carr Pro Rodeo bucking horse. He repeated his fortune a bit Saturday night by riding Carr’s Painted River for 86.5 points to win the first event of the 2023 […]
Bull rider Boquet returns to action
HEMPSTEAD, Texas – It’s been more than a year since Dustin Boquet felt normal. He suffered three injuries in eight months and opted to sit out the remainder of the 2022 season. His first rodeo back in competition was Friday’s second performance of the Waller County Fair and Rodeo. It wasn’t just his first jump […]
Ravenscroft sets a 3.2 standard
HEMPSTEAD, Texas – Tyler Ravenscroft had one goal in mind when he made the 300-mile drive from Durant, Oklahoma, to the Waller County Fair and Rodeo. He wanted to qualify to return to this part of the country next spring to compete at RodeoHouston, one of the biggest regular-season events in professional rodeo. He gave […]
Day’s mind is right for circuit finals
DUNCAN, Okla. – Yance Day’s life has changed considerably since he first started riding bareback horses. It’s about to change again. Day and his girlfriend are due to have a baby girl in November. He’ll need to keep padding his pocketbook in anticipation for her arrival, and he’ll have his chance to do so at […]