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Miss Rodeo America is proud of her roots, which are rooted in Colorado ESTES PARK, Colo. – Before she was Miss Rodeo America … Before she was Miss Rodeo Colorado … Hailey Frederiksen was just a girl who grew up on a ranch along the foothills of the Rocky Mountains just on the east side of Interstate 25. She was involved in 4H for nearly a dozen years, showing sheep. She grew up making the cloverleaf pattern in barrel racing like her mother did and watching her father team rope. Caring for animals and caring for others is in her blood, and she’s passionate about rodeo. She will return to this year’s Rooftop Rodeo, set for 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 6-Monday, July 11, at Granny May Arena in Estes Park inside the Estes Park Fairgrounds. “Growing up in this Western lifestyle has taught me this work ethic, has taught me this passion,” said Frederiksen, who is originally from Platteville, Colorado, now living in Wellington, Colorado. “I couldn’t imagine living any other way.” She is the first member of her family to graduate from college, earning a bachelor’s degree in animal science with a minor in agriculture business from Colorado State University. She is in the middle of her reign, then she plans to return to school to get her master’s degree in agricultural communications. Frederiksen was crowned Miss Rodeo America during the pageant this past December Las Vegas, which took place in conjunction with the National Finals Rodeo. She is spending this year as the sport’s biggest ambassador, and in the process, she will revisit some of her favorite rodeos and locations. Having grown up just 45 miles away, Estes Park is one of those. “I am a rodeo queen dad, and I am always excited to have rodeo royalty come to the Rooftop,” said Mark Purdy, chairman of Estes Park Western Heritage Inc., a group of volunteers that works with the town of Estes Park to produce the annual rodeo. “Hailey is a delight to be around, and we are excited to welcome her back to Estes Park any time she wants to come. “For me, it’s always a special event when a Colorado lady wins Miss Rodeo America. We are excited to honor Hailey for her work and her successes.” Because of the nationwide pandemic, Frederiksen served two terms as Miss Rodeo Colorado. There were no pageants in 2020, so she served a limited role that year; she was a little busier in 2021, making her way to PRCA rodeos across the state and across the country representing her state and the sport. There is excitement that the country is coming back to more normalcy, and it helps her fulfill her duties with honor as Miss Rodeo America. “Winning the Miss Rodeo America pageant has been a dream come true and so much more,” she said. “I’ve met Miss Rodeo Americas throughout the years, and I just looked a them and could imagine that being myself. I find myself pinching myself to see if this is real. I still can’t believe it.” Her honor comes from the way she was raised and the people she’s met along her path in life. It’s what’s enabled her to be at the top of her own mountain and celebrate it in the sport she loves with the people who helped make it happen. “I believe I’ve put in the work for it,” Frederiksen said. “It’s a lot more than hair, makeup and rhinestones. We’re cowgirls. I tell young girls who want to do this, ‘Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty.’ ” Hailey Frederiksen isn’t, and it’s why she wears the tiara.

Oregon bulldogger was a late bloomer, but the sport has changed his life Most cowboys who make a living in rodeo have competed in the sport all their lives. That’s not the case for Cinch endorsee Jesse Brown, a 29-year-old steer wrestler from Baker City, a community of 4,200 souls in northeastern Oregon. He was the typical boy, playing football, baseball and basketball in his youth. The only time he was horseback was when he was helping around the family’s place. The rest of his time was spent with a ball in hand. He was an all-state football and basketball player, good enough to be a backup quarterback at Washington State University in the early 2010s. “I loved football, and I loved basketball; those were my top two sports,” Brown said. “I’ll always love football and basketball.” But there was something authentic about his calling to rodeo. “My dad rode broncs professionally, and my mom ran some barrels, but I started pretty late … my senior year of college,” he said. Even with a rodeo pedigree, Brown took his time in finding his own niche in the game. He focused on the sorts that carried his heart at the time they did. He tried his hand at college football for three years, then transferred to Montana State University to focus on his newly found rodeo career. He was even a qualifier to the College National Finals Rodeo. “I’m glad I did it the way I did,” Brown said. “I love bulldogging, and I love being able to rodeo. I see a lot of kids that are homeschooled, and rodeo is all they do. I’m glad I got to do the other sports and enjoy that. “My parents have always been super supportive and super positive about everything. They came to all my games, and they’re always wanting the best for me, promoting hard work. They didn’t necessarily know how to coach me in those sports, nor did they try. When it came to rodeo, my dad was out in the arena helping us every day.” His all-around athleticism came into play fairly quickly. One doesn’t just start bulldogging and make the college finals in the same year. In 2015 and ’16, he won the PRCA’s Permit-Holder Challenge in Las Vegas, then followed that with the 2017 Resistol Rookie of the Year title. He earned his first qualification to the National Finals Rodeo in 2020, one of 119 contestants to play the sport’s premier event in a baseball stadium, Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, home of the Texas Rangers. He returned to the NFR at its rightful home in Las Vegas this past December. “I had a different experience, because my first one was in Texas,” he said. “That was great, and I got to win the round in my first round at the NFR. Then you go to Vegas, and it’s a completely different atmosphere. That’s what you always expected it to be. “The NFR wasn’t my dream as kid, but as soon as I started this rodeo deal, it became my dream. It was what I could imagine. It’s worth it.” He finished the 2020 campaign 13th in the world standings, then he earned nearly $73,000 in 10 December nights to finish sixth on the 2021 money list with $165,000 in annual earnings. That provided him an invitation to The American, which featured the top 10 contestants in each event from last year’s standings. Brown took advantage of everything provided him and walked away from AT&T Stadium as the event’s steer wrestling champion. With that, he earned $100,000, which can be life-changing money. In a way, it just fortified with the Oregon cowboy has focused on the last several years. “I don’t think anything’s really changed for me,” Brown said. “I finished off the winter rodeos, and I’ve been practicing and getting ready for the summer. I bought a horse and put some money in the stock market. “Of course, then the stock market plummeted.” He laughed, because the market can be much like the world of rodeo – it’s a roller coaster way of making a living. Momentum swings can hit from one week to another. The highs are great, and the lows can be a struggle, but consistency wins most of the time. His only issue with his earnings at The American? “The last few years, The American has counted for the world standings,” he said. “You win $100,000, and half of that counts. I’d say $50,000 going toward the standings would be sweet right now.” As of June 6, Brown was 11th on the 2022 money list. He’s proven to be an elite steer wrestler, but he wants his level of consistency to be the standard by which he is judged. Sure, he’s nearly 30 years old, but he’s still a newcomer to rodeo compared to nearly every other bulldogger in the game. “I’ve been very lucky to have very good coaching,” Brown said. “I got in with the right guys when I started out and with the right fundamentals from the beginning, and I practiced as hard as I could with what they gave me. Then I’ve been lucky enough to ride some very good horses. “Horsepower is very important. The last three years, I’ve gotten to ride Tyson, and he’s won Horse of the Year the last two years. I’ve gone to the finals the last two years on him. I won The American on him. He’s helped my career a lot.” Tyson is owned by Canadian Curtis Cassidy, one of Brown’s traveling partners. This year’s highway posse includes another Canadian, Tanner Milan, and a Minnesotan, J.D. Struxness. All four men in the rig have a combined 15 trips to the NFR. “I think those guys are all positive, and it’s fun traveling with them,” Brown said. “When you’re having fun, it’s easier to win. “My goal is to make the NFR every year until I retire and to win multiple gold  Continue Reading »

GUNNISON, Colo. – Cody Sosebee is a big man with a big heart and a fascinating sense of humor. He’s been one of the premier clowns and entertainers in rodeo for more than a decade. He has been named the Comedy Act of the Year and has been selected to work the National Finals Rodeo, but he’s absolutely thrilled about making his way to Gunnison in July. “This is going to be my first time to Gunnison, and I’m beyond excited to go there this year,” said Sosebee, who will provide his brand of comedy to this year’s Cattlemen’s Days Rodeo, set for Thursday, July 14-Saturday, July 16, at Fred Field Western Center in Gunnison. “I’ve heard about Gunnison for years, and everything I hear about it is great. “When you have a chance to work a rodeo like that, you can’t help but get excited.” Over its 122 years of existence, Cattlemen’s Days has built an incredible reputation for having a cowboy friendly rodeo that has amazing hospitality and a fan base that is electric during all three performances. Much of the rodeo’s success is credited to the volunteer committee, which works within the community each year to produce the county’s biggest celebration. The group also works closely with its livestock producer, Stace Smith Pro Rodeo, which has been selected as PRCA Stock Contractor of the Year 11 times. Sosebee has worked with the Smith firm many times over the years, including their annual appearances at the Cheyenne (Wyoming) Frontier Days Rodeo, which will take place after the conclusion of Cattlemen’s Days. “You’re getting to walk out there with the best in the PRCA,” Sosebee said. “It’s like being asked to play pickup ball with Michael Jordan.” Working with one of the greats is one thing, but the vibrant, yet round, funnyman is in the upper echelon of elite rodeo clowns. His award for being the best comedy act in rodeo remains special to him, but it’s not the top memory for the Arkansas man. “My greatest honor has been getting chosen by the bull riders to work the NFR in 2017, which was followed up close by winning the Comedy Act of the Year in 2018,” he said. “I didn’t expect either one. I was an old guy in my career choice. Just walking down the hallway at the NFR and bumping into those bull riders, it made me feel good because they thought of me to help protect them at the biggest rodeo they’re ever going to be part of. “When I run into a top-end NFR bull rider and know he took time to vote for me, that’s something I’ll have with me the rest of my life. The money’s been spent, but getting acknowledged for your craft really humbles me.” The same can be said for working Gunnison’s rodeo. It’s a humbling honor for a champion clown.

CASPER, Wyo. – A year ago, Kaden Greenfield was a sophomore at Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton, Oregon, and had just qualified for the College National Finals Rodeo. He arrived at the Ford Wyoming Center with high hopes and came away with lessons learned. Now, as a junior at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, he hopes to utilize that schooling to his advantage as he battles for the steer wrestling national championship. “Last year when I was there, I was a little bit star struck when I first started,” said Greenfield, the son of seven-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier Shawn Greenfield. “I think going in this year will help with the nerves since I’ve been there before.” He knocked down two of three steers and finished 24th overall. Still, it was an incredible experience, one that carried over into his first year in the Central Plains Region, a circuit made up primarily from colleges in Oklahoma and Kansas. He knew attending Northwestern could give him an edge; the rodeo program is coached by eight-time NFR qualifier Stockton Graves and has been nicknamed the “Bulldogging Capital of College Rodeo.” “I’d say we were in one of the toughest regions as far as steer wrestling goes,” said Greenfield, who won the regional title. “The guys from our region that are going with me are good, too, and I’ve had to battle with them all year long. I think that will help prepare me even more.” The college finale takes place June 12-18 and will feature the top three contestants in each event – and the top two teams – from each region. It is where national champions will be crowned, and the Oregon cowboy would love to etch his name on the bulldogging crown. If he could pull that off, he would be the third Northwestern steer wrestler to have claimed a college title in the last seven years; J.D. Struxness was the first in 2016, and Bridger Anderson followed in 2019. In addition, breakaway roper Taylor Munsell also scored a national crown in 2019. Besides handling the rigors of the Central Plains’ 10-event season, Greenfield is also preparing himself by competing at PRCA rodeos around the country. He is the No. 4-ranked steer wrestler in the Resistol Rookie of the Year race with four months remaining on the ProRodeo season. “When you go to ProRodeos, you’re going against everyone: world champions, NFR qualifiers and everyone else,” he said. “You have to bring you’re ‘A Game’ to that every time, so I think that helps you prepare as much as anything else you can do. It also helps with the mindset.” He will be riding his horse, Rev, a 16-year-old sorrel gelding he’s had for five years and will rely on fellow region bulldogger Mason Couch of Southeastern Oklahoma State University as his hazer. Greenfield knows the obstacles that are in front of him, and he has no plans to go around them; it’s faster to go through them. “The college finals can be tough, because it’s in a little (building), and there are more pressure-packed situations you get into in there,” Greenfield said. “I want to go in there and take care of business but have fun doing it. That’s what it’s about.” That … and winning a national championship.

Rooftop Rodeo announcer brings a distinct flavor to his work in Estes Park ESTES PARK, Colo. – Like every young cowboy with gold-buckle dreams, Andy Seiler spent much of his youth swinging a rope. His family took notice. So did others. “My grandfather told me a long time when I had a rope in my hand that the rope was going to put me on TV one day,” said Seiler, who will return to the Rocky Mountains to call the action at Rooftop Rodeo, set for 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 6-Monday, July 11, at Granny May Arena in Estes Park inside the Estes Park Fairgrounds. His grandfather was right, just not the way Seiler had envisioned. His dream was to be one of the best cowboys in the game, a top-tier roper competing on the biggest stages of rodeo. Instead, he’s one of the elite announcers in ProRodeo and has been featured on national telecasts of RodeoHouston and the National Finals Rodeo. His voice has also been highlighted on worldwide coverage of Rooftop Rodeo through The Cowboy Channel, so he has definitely utilized that young-man’s rope to be at the epicenter of the sport he loves. “My dad team roped, primarily in the circuit, and my mom competed in high school rodeo,” said Seiler, who lives in Ocala, Florida with his wife, Lauren; son, Welles; and daughter, Rory. “My mom’s family had a cow-calf operation, and she grew up on a chicken farm. My dad didn’t get into rodeo until he tried to ride some bulls in high school. When he started dating my mom, he started roping a little bit.” That’s how this rodeo bug started for Seiler. In 2004, he won the National High School Finals Rodeo championship, then took his competitive streak to Troy (Alabama) University, where he was a three-time qualifier to the College National Finals Rodeo. He may have made it a fourth year, but he turned his attention to announcing instead. “In 2008, I did a really terrible job, and my coach told me to ask if I could announce with Boyd (Polhamus, a senior statesman among announcers),” he said. “That would be my first professional performance. I announced Thursday and Friday nights, then they said I did a good enough job to do the short round. “The next weekend, I was in Glenwood City, Wisconsin, announcing that rodeo.” In the fantasy world, he would love to say he never looked back; fantasies aren’t real. Life happens. After three years announcing rodeos and living his dream, Seiler hung up his microphone and went back to Ocala and found work that helped him pay the bills. “Then Boyd called me in 2013 and told me that they were looking for a third announcer in Houston,” said Seiler, who was selected as one of three announcers at the 2020 National Finals Rodeo. “That’s what got me back into it. I started Houston in 2014. That’s been one of those things that I think God puts in there for you. It’s your responsibility that even if this doesn’t make sense, I needed to follow His path. “It’s led to a lot of other things along the way.” That includes his association with Rooftop Rodeo, and the relationship continues to blossom year after year. “We appreciate what Andy Seiler brings to our rodeo,” said Mark Purdy, chairman of Estes Park Western Heritage Inc., a group of volunteers that works with the town of Estes Park to produce the annual rodeo. “When we changed stock contractors to Cervi Championship Rodeo in 2014, Binion (Cervi) told us he knew an up-and-coming announcer that would be a good fit for the Rooftop; as usual, he was right. “From the first year he worked our rodeo, we knew Andy would be a great fit. The way he addresses our crowd is amazing and helps make each night a great one for the people that come. He makes it special for each of them, and that, in turn, makes it special for us.” The people in Estes Park return the favor. Rooftop Rodeo is such an exceptional experience that Seiler flies his wife and children in to be part of it. It’s one of two rodeos they go to each year, with the other being a few days in Houston in March. “Rooftop Rodeo will always have a special place in my heart,” Seiler said. “They had made a change, and it was very different for them to do, but they were very endearing to me from the start. “They have always been like family to me. They don’t call people who come to the rodeo fans; they call them guests. It’s an event that people circle on their calendars. If you’re on vacation and looking for a home away from home, then Estes Park is an excellent place to be in July.”

ATLANTIC, Iowa – ProRodeo in southwest Iowa typically means warm summer weather for fans in this part of the world. That changes this year with the Atlantic ProRodeo, set for 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 3-Saturday, June 4, at the Cass County Fairgrounds in Atlantic. Thanks to Oklahoma-based McCoy Rodeo, the sport’s premier athletes will make their way for two days of competition. “When we looked into Atlantic to have a ProRodeo, I knew there was a great chance we’d find success there,” said Sara Best-McCoy, one of the co-owners of McCoy Rodeo. “I grew up there, and I know the people that live there would love to see a great rodeo. That’s just what I want us to accomplish.” Just north of Atlantic, across Interstate 80, sits the tiny hamlet of Brayton, Iowa, a community of about 100 people. That’s where Best-McCoy grew up and what she still calls home. Twelve years ago in Atlantic, she married rodeo star Cord McCoy, who has since become a reality-TV star, too. The couple has also been in the stock contracting business for several years, raising bulls that have become big names in the PBR. In fact, the McCoys’ Ridin Solo just won the Bull of the Year honors in the PBR, a title that shows the talented bucking animals that are part of the McCoy herd. It will be animals like Solo that will be performing at the Cass County Fairgrounds. “I’m excited to come home for that week of the Atlantic ProRodeo,” Best-McCoy said. “I look forward to seeing my friends and my family, but I’m also excited for them and everyone else in Atlantic to see our brand of rodeo. I’m very happy with what we’ve done, and I think everyone will enjoy it.” McCoy Rodeo is more than bucking horses and bulls, fast horses and ropers; the sport of rodeo in 2022 is about production and bringing a style of entertainment to fans beyond the competition. It’s the perfect mix of family-friendly fun and seeing great athletes in action. The McCoys know all about that. Best-McCoy grew up showing horses and working cattle on the family’s ranch in Brayton. Cord McCoy grew up in rodeo, competing from a young age and highlighted by a National Finals Rodeo qualification and six trips to the PBR World Finals as a bull rider. Now, the McCoys are raising world championship-caliber athletes. “My father was raised in southwest Iowa, and I’m married to a beautiful Iowa girl, so this has always been like a second home to me,” Cord McCoy said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun to return to my wife’s old stomping grounds, to be around family and to put on a PRCA rodeo in Atlantic.”

Event’s atmosphere and fan base are a hit among the sport’s elite cowboys GOODING, Idaho – Cowboys know one thing about their rodeo season before it even begins. “Gooding is one rodeo you don’t want to miss,” said steer wrestler Riley Duvall, a four-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier from Checotah, Oklahoma. There are thousands of contestants that compete in the PRCA, and most of them know they want to return to this southern Idaho community every summer for the Gooding Pro Rodeo, set for Thursday, Aug. 18-Saturday, Aug. 20, with a special “Beauty and the Beast” performance set for Wednesday, Aug. 17. All performances take place at 8 p.m. at Andy James Arena. “It’s great, and it’s always a good atmosphere,” said bareback rider Tanner Aus, a six-time NFR qualifier from Granite Falls, Minnesota. “The crowd’s always into it. They’re famous for giving cowboys beers if they do well in the arena. It’s pretty unique and a pretty fun spot to be.” That’s why he and so many others return every year. Gooding Pro Rodeo’s popularity is well known among the contestants who make a living competing in the sport they love. Winning is always important, but performing well is a key to that. What makes Gooding so special is that effort and ability are recognized by the fans that pack into Andy James Arena night after night. If they see a good ride or a fast run, the fans will let the cowboy know their effort is “Beer Worthy.” “I want to be beer worthy,” Aus said. “I’ve been going there quite a few years, and I haven’t been beer worth yet, but this could be my year.” A year ago, the rodeo paid out more than $160,000. The payout has increased virtually every year, nearly doubling from 2018. That’s a fair amount of attention paid to the contestants by the volunteer committee and the rodeo’s sponsors that make it happen. The “Beauty and the Beast” performance set for Wednesday, Aug. 17, will feature bull riding, bareback riding, bronc riding and breakaway roping, opening the door for wild rides and fast times; it’s a night of explosive action that sets the tone for the four days of rodeo action. “There’s no other rodeo like it,” said saddle bronc rider CoBurn Bradshaw, a four-time NFR qualifier from Beaver, Utah. “It’s awesome to just go there. It’s a different environment in Gooding, and it’s worth the trip just to be beer worthy.” Championship buckles are sought-after in rodeo; they signify excellence in the arena, but there’s something different and something just as special when a fan reaches over the fence after a ride or a run and handing over a beer. It’s what makes the Gooding Pro Rodeo so memorable among the cowboys. “Gooding’s a really good rodeo toward the end of the rodeo season that gets you ready for the fall rodeos,” said bronc rider Wyatt Casper, a two-time NFR qualifier from Miami, Texas. “Coming back to Gooding is always good, and this year means there’s another chance to be beer worthy.” The most beer worthy of all competitors are the champions each season. The 2021 titlists reads like a who’s who among ProRodeo’s brightest stars, from world champions like steer wrestler Tyler Waguespack to perennial NFR standouts like all-around cowboy Rhen Richard, saddle bronc rider Rusty Wright or bull rider Trey Benton III. “I’ve never been beer worthy, but I’ve always wanted to,” said Duvall, the fifth member of his highly decorated family to compete at the elite level of ProRodeo. “I always make it a point to go to Gooding. I love that rodeo and that committee.”

ATOKA, Okla. – Seventeen seasons ago in the PRCA, a southeastern Oklahoma cowboy utilized a big payday at the Xtreme Bulls event in Oklahoma City to catapult him to a National Finals Rodeo qualification. Fast forward to 2022. That same cowboy, Cord McCoy, is now an event producer, and he’s bringing the PRCA’s stand-alone bull riding back to southeastern Oklahoma with the Atoka Xtreme Bulls, set for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 26, at the Atoka Trail Riders Arena. It’s all part of a long Memorial Day weekend of action that also includes the Atoka Pro Rodeo presented by Choctaw Casino Stringtown, set for 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 27, and Saturday, May 28, and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 29. “Bull riding is big in this part country,” said Tuff Hardman, an Atoka cowboy who is also part of McCoy Rodeo and will serve as one of the pickup men during the four days of activities in his home town. “You’ve got Lane Frost, one of the best bull riders ever, and he’s from here in Atoka County. “People can relate to bull riding. They’re going to get to see 40 to 50 of the best bull riders in the world right here, and that’s going to be followed up by the best rodeo around.” It will make for the perfect getaway for families looking for things to do over the long holiday. From top-flight competition to family-friendly entertainment, there will be a lot to enjoy at the arena. This is the second year for the PRCA to conduct a rodeo in Atoka County. McCoy established the ProRodeo a year ago, and fans turned out despite heavy rainfall. It was so successful that two more days of rodeo are added to this year’s calendar. “It’s pretty neat to be able to compete in front of your hometown crowd,” said Hardman, who finished the 2021 season among the top 30 steer ropers in the world standings. “At that level, it’s pretty exciting to see ProRodeo here in Atoka. “I thought last year was a hit. Under the conditions we were in, it was probably one of the better rodeos I’ve been to. I enjoyed it, and I’m looking forward to it this year.” Big things happened in the muck and the mud a year ago. Cole Patterson won the steer roping title en route to his first world championship, and Jackie Crawford, a 20-time world titlist, captured the breakaway roping crown. Those associated with the rodeo are expecting even bigger things to happen this year. “I think people around here can relate to our rodeo,” Hardman said. “Everything about the Atoka ProRodeo is hometown: the stock contractor, the pickup man and a lot of the contestants. Everything McCoy Rodeo brings to Atoka is local and hometown. “I think people love that. Cord brings the best bucking bulls in the world to his hometown rodeo, so everybody gets excited about that.”

Bronc busters reach out to 5-year-old cancer patient, receive so much more GUYMON, Okla. – Noah Patterson has a sparkling spirit and an infectious personality, one that transcends generations. He radiates joy, and he shares it easily. He’s just 5 years old. “When I first met Noah, he was very active and had a big smile on his face, and you wouldn’t have guessed what he’s gone through,” said Mitch Pollock, a saddle bronc rider from Winnemucca, Nevada, who met the boy last week shortly before the first performance of the 2022 Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo on Friday, May 6. “People say it all the time: Superheroes don’t always wear capes. That night, a superhero was a 5-year-old boy who made everybody around him feel better.” In January 2020, just a couple of months before his third birthday, Noah was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He has received chemotherapy and other treatments at the Jimmy Everest Center at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital in Oklahoma City and will return May 17 for his final treatment. It’s been a long road for Noah and his family, his mom, Morgan Garcia, said this week. “Noah has been a little warrior through this whole thing,” Garcia said. “I think he took it better than all the rest of us.” He proved it on that Friday night. It worked out that the cancer combatant was able to attend the rodeo and be part of the mutton busting competition on the rodeo’s Tough Enough to Wear Pink night, a performance to help raise awareness and funds in the fight against cancer. Garcia had set it up with Mitch Egger and Jeremy Carman, members of the Pioneer Days Rodeo committee and co-owners of Wild West Ford, which organized the sheep-riding signups. “Noah is so strong-willed, and he has the most infectious personality,” his mom said. “He’s all over the place and loves to try new things. When I asked him if he wanted to ride a sheep, he didn’t hesitate a single bit, especially with his two new buddies, Jake and Mitch, by his side.” About an hour and a half before he got on his sheep, Noah met with Pollock and another bronc rider, Jake Finlay, a national champion while competing at Oklahoma Panhandle State University. The two cowboys took their sidekick on a behind-the-chutes tour, showing the boy the ins and outs of the world of rodeo. Noah got to pet bulls and horses and see what it was like sitting in a bronc saddle. He then escorted Pollock, Finlay and his mom into Henry C. Hitch Pioneer Arena, ready for mutton busting and his time to shine. Outfitted in a perfect pink shirt, he was helped onto his wooly ride by his bronc-riding buddies. “Putting the vest on and his helmet, Jake said, ‘Don’t let go,’ ” Pollock said. “Noah said, ‘Don’t worry, guys; I’ll never give up.’ “When he said that, we just looked at each other. It made my eyes water up a little bit. It just goes to show even at that age, a little boy could make a huge impact on my life. When you think you have it bad, you look at what that little boy has gone through, and you count your blessings and turn every negative situation into a positive one.” Noah rode his sheep, then kept riding. It was a will to win in so many ways for the youngster. It was a moment that signified the fight he’s been going through for the last 27 months. In June, doctors in Oklahoma City will remove his port, and life will become more normal for his family. “It was reassuring to me that he will continue to do things, and leukemia won’t define him,” Garcia said. No, it won’t. Noah was in the moment, riding livestock as if he’d done it his entire life. He has, in a way; for two-plus years, he rode out a storm of four-hour drives to the state’s capital and being invaded by drugs to help him rid his little body of a deadly disease. Monthly lab work shows the treatment has been working, and he’s spurred his way to a big-time score. After he dismounted his sheep, he stood in line with the other mutton busters and awaited the report from announcer Ken Stonecipher, a longtime member of the rodeo committee. His ride was worth the most points, and Noah was named the night’s winner, earning a special buckle for him to wear. “Before we started into the arena for the mutton busting, Noah looked at Jakes buckle and thought it was really cool,” Pollock said. “Jake said, ‘You could win one tonight.’ When Noah opened that up, the smile on his face and how big his eyes got … it was just so dang cool. That was another emotional time where I’m glad I had my sunglasses on. They were happy tears.” “No matter what happened that night, I knew I’d already won. Maybe we were there to help Noah, but Jake and I were the lucky ones.” Shad Mayfield may feel the same way, but not because of Noah Patterson. Mayfield, the 2020 world champion tie-down roper, arrived in Guymon on Wednesday, May 4. Upon pulling up to the arena, he was met by Stonecipher, who asked if Mayfield could visit with a young fan, Jace Sutherland. “Jace’s grandma told me her grandson was getting bullied at school because he wants to be a cowboy and loves rodeo, but the kids tell him there are no Black cowboys,” Stonecipher said. “When she told me that, I invited him to slack and said, ‘We’ll dispel that thought.’ ” Mayfield comes from a mixed-race home, a Black father and a white mother. In addition to winning the world title in 2020, the 21-year-old Mayfield has qualified for the National Finals Rodeo three times and is second in this year’s world standings, just behind John Douch, another Black cowboy. “I put them  Continue Reading »

GUYMON, Okla. – Garrett Smith needed this. He’s spent much of the last two seasons on the injury list – it’s a direct result of his job as a bull rider. In the rough-and-tumble world of professional rodeo, injuries and nagging pain are about to happen. Eight-second rides are followed by hours on the road. It’s an odd mix, but rodeo is also a love affair with the game. On Sunday afternoon, Smith rode Frontier Rodeo’s Gladiator’s Hammer for 91 points to win the Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo and the $4,343 that came with it. He also collected a championship trophy belt outlined with the well-established Pioneer Days conchos. “I’ve been coming here a lot of years,” said Smith, a three-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier from Rexburg, Idaho. “I’ve had a little bit of luck, but nothing like this.” It was the second time the Idaho cowboy had been matched with the Oklahoma bull. The two tangled together at the 2021 San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo. “I fell off him at 7.8 or 7.9, and I was about to be a lot of points,” Smith said. “I knew I was going to be a lot of points then, so a rematch was awfully fun to win.” Smith first qualified for the NFR in 2016 and finished fifth in the world standings. He returned to ProRodeo’s grand finale a year later and also finished fifth. Injuries knocked him out of competition and a chance to make a run at the gold buckle in 2018, but he qualified again in 2019, finishing 10th overall. He’s eager to return, and he’ll have his chance if he continues to ride like he did in the Oklahoma Panhandle on Sunday afternoon. “A lot of injuries happened around the busiest time, around the Fourth of July,” said Smith, the 15th man in the world standings so far this season. “This year’s been really good. I’ve been a lot healthier, and now I’m just hoping to keep it all rolling.” Guymon (Okla.) Pioneer Days RodeoApril 26-May 2All-around cowboy: Caleb Smidt, $4,092 in tie-down roping and team roping Bareback riding: 1. Jess Pope, 92 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Gun Fire, $3,359; 2. Leighton Berry, 89.5, $2,575; 3. Jayco Roper, 87.5, $1,903; 4. Kyle Bloomquist, 87, $1,231; 5. Tim O’Connell, 85.5, $784; 6. (tie) Dean Thompson and Bill Tutor, 85, $504 each; 8. (tie) Clay Jorgensen and Tanner Aus, 84.5, $168 each. Team roping: First round: 1. Tate Kirchenschlager/Cole Davison, 6.4 seconds, $2,099; 2. Caleb Smidt/Jim Ross Cooper, 6.6, $1,825; 3. Clay Smith/Jade Corkill, 6.7, $1,551; 4. Dawson Graham/Dillon Graham, 6.8, $1,278; 5. (tie) Haven Meged/Trae Smith, Blake Hughes/Daniel Reed and Paul David Tierney/Tanner Braden, 6.9, $730 each; 8. Jhett TrenanyGralyn Elkins, Clay Tryan/Jake Long, Coleman Proctor/Logan Medlin and Jake Orman/Brye Crites, 7.1, $46 each. Second round: 1. Dustin Egusquiza/Travis Graves, 6.3 seconds, $2,099; 2. (tie) Bubba Buckaloo/Joseph Harrison, Shay Carroll/Evan Arnold and Andrew Ward/Buddy Hawkins, 6.6, $1,551 each; 5. Curry Kirchner/Reagan Ward, 6.8, $1,004; 6. Coy Rahlmann/Douglas Rich, 6.9, $730; 7. (tie) Derrick Begay/Paul Eaves, Chad Masters/Cory Petska and Paul David Tierney/Tanner Braden, 7.0, $213 each. Third round: 1. Shay Carroll/Evan Arnold, 5.7 seconds $2,099; 2. Andrew Ward/Buddy Hawkins, 7.3, $1,825; 3. Chad Masters/Cory Petska, $1,551; 4. Jake Clay/Billie Jack Saebens, 7.8, $1,278’ 5. Nick Sartain/AustinRogers, 8.3, $1,004; 6. (tie) Kreece Thompson/Chad Williams and Paul David Tierney, 8.6, $593; Cody Snow/Wesley Thorp, 8.8, $183. Average: 1. 1. Chad Masters/Cory Petska, 22.2 seconds on three runs; 2. Paul David Tierney/Tanner Braden, 22.5, $2,738; 3. Jake Clay/Billie Jack Saebens, 22.9, $2,327; 4. Cody Snow/Wesley Thorp, 24.0, $1,916; 5. Nick Sartain/Austin Rogers, 24.2, $1,506; 6. Kreece Thompson/Chad Williams, 26.7, $1,095; 7. Jake Orman/Brye Crites, 26.9, $684; 8. Coy Rahlmann/Douglas Rich, 27.3, $274. Steer wrestling: First round: 1. Tyler Waguespack, 3.4 seconds, $1,960; 2. Blake Mindemann, 3.5, $1,705; 3. Stockton Graves, 3.6, $1,449; 4. J.D. Struxness, 3.7, $1,193; 5. Tanner Brunner, 3.8, $937; 6. (tie) Tristan Martin and Clayton Hass, 3.9, $554; 8. Blare Romsa, 4.0, $170. Second round: 1. (tie) Payden McIntyre and Grady Payne, 3.4 seconds, $1,832 each; 3. (tie) Hunter Cure, Tristan Martin, Ringo Robinson and Jarek VanPetten, 3.9, $1,065 each; 7. (tie) Riley Duvall and Matt Reeves, 4.1, $298 each. Third round: 1. Hunter Cure, 3.2 seconds, $1,960; 2. Nick Guy, 3.7, $1,705; 3. (tie) Tristan Martin and Tanner Brunner, 3.8, $1,321 each; 5. Bridger Anderson, 4.0, $937; 6. Riley Duvall, 4.1, $681; 7. (tie) Talon Roseland and Tyler Waguespack, 4.4, $298. Average: 1. Tristan Martin, 11.6 seconds on three runs, $2,940; 2. Hunter Cure, 11.7, $2,557; 3. Grady Payne, 12.2, $2,173; 4. Tyler Waguespack, 12.5, $1,790; 5. Tanner Brunner and Bridger Anderson, 12.9, $1,214 each; 7. Riley Duvall, 13.4, $639; 6. Austin Eller, 13.8, $256. Saddle bronc riding: 1. Ross Griffin, 89 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Maple Leaf, $3,790; 2. Chase Brooks, 88, $2,906; 3. Colt Gordon, 86.5, $2,148; 4. Mitch Pollock, 85.5, $1,390; 5. Wyatt Casper, 84, $884; 6. Riggin Smith, 82.5, $631; 7. (tie) CoBurn Bradshaw, Shorty Garrett, Houston Brown and Jacob Kammerer, 82, $221 each. Tie-down roping: First round: 1. Hagen Houck, 7.9 seconds, $3,723; 2. Russell Schilling, 8.1, $3,238; 3. (tie) Hudson Wallace and Will Howell, 8.4, $2,509 each; 5. (tie) John Douch and Chance Thiessen, 8.5, $1,538 each; 7. (tie) Cash Edward Hooper and Marty Yates, 8.6, $567. Second round: 1. (tie) Jerry Adamson and Charlie Gibson, 7.6 seconds, $3,481 each; 3. (tie) Zack Jongbloed, Caleb Smidt and Cory Solomon, 7.7, $2,266 each; 6. Marty Yates, 8.1, $1,295; 7. (tie) Cooper Martin and Richard Newton, 8.2, $567 each. Third round: 1. Cooper Martin, 8.2 seconds, $3,723; 2. (tie) Richard Newton and Luke Potter, 8.4, $2,995 each; 4. Marty Yates, 8.8, $2,266; 5. Marley Berger, 9.2, $1,781; 6. Ty Harris, 9.3, $1,295; 7. Blake Deckard, 9.4, $809; 8. Kincade Henry, 9.7, $324. Average: 1. Marty Yates, 25.5 seconds on three runs, $5,585; 2. Cooper Martin, 25.8, $4,857; 3. Kincade Henry, 27.3, $4,128; 4. Ty Harris, 27.4, $3,400; 5. Will Howell, 27.8, $2,671; 6. Riley Webb, 28.2, $1,943;  Continue Reading »

GUYMON, Okla. – Sometimes a history lesson provides the perfect opportunity. Take Jess Pope, the No. 1 bareback rider in ProRodeo, who found out earlier this week that he was matched with Frontier Rodeo’s Gun Fire, a bucking buckskin mare has been considered one of the best bucking horses in the sport. Pope had a little history on his side. Last July, he rode the powerful bucker for 89.5 points to share the victory in Spanish Fork, Utah. “That was the lowest score they had on her last year,” Pope said with a wide grin. He followed that with a 92 to win the 10th round of the 2021 National Finals Rodeo to clinch his second straight average title. The Waverly, Kansas, cowboy knew what to expect when he arrived in Guymon on Saturday for his third shot at the horse in less than a year. “She’s as good as you can get,” Pope said. “She is the best hors going in my opinion, and I was tickled to have her by my name in the draw.” The result was another 92-point ride, this time to take the bareback riding lead at the Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo. “This is a great rodeo to win,” he said, hoping his score will hold up through Sunday’s final performance. “It pays a lot of money, and it’s a great way to start your summer run off. “It’s a good warmup, and it’s a great place to get on great bucking horses.” Yes, it is. Gun Fire was in the mix for the PRCA Bareback Horse of the Year last season, and Pope expects the powerful mare to be at the top again when voting takes place later this year. He’s hoping this one will give him that commemorative trophy belt awarded to Guymon titlists. “This is definitely a bucket-list rodeo,” Pope said. “Every rodeo I go to I plan to win, but Guymon would be something a little bit more special. Guymon Pioneer Days has a cowboy aspect to it. It’s out here where they do cowboy (stuff), and that’s what I’m about.” Guymon (Okla.) Pioneer Days RodeoApril 26-May 2Bareback riding leaders: 1. Jess Pope, 92 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Gun Fire; 2. Leighton Berry, 89.5; 3. Jayco Roper, 87.5; 4. Kyle Bloomquist, 87; 5. Tim O’Connell, 85.5; 6. (tie) Dean Thompson and Bill Tutor, 85; 8. (tie) Clay Jorgensen and Tanner Aus, 84.5. Team roping: Third round leaders: 1. Shay Carroll/Evan Arnold, 5.7 seconds; 2. Nick Sartain/AustinRogers, 8.3; 3. Kreece Thompson/Chad Williams, 9.7; 4. Tyler Wojciechowski/Blake Walker, 9.7; 5. Jake Orman/Brye Crites, 11.9; 6. (tie) Coleman Proctor/Logan Medlin and Chase Wiley/Brock Hanson, 12.2; 8. Nelson Wyatt/Tyler Worley, 12.6. Average leaders: 1. Nick Sartain/Austin Rogers, 24.2 seconds on three runs; 2. Kreece Thompson/Chad Williams, 26.7; 3. Jake Orman/Brye Crites, 26.9; 4. Chase Wiley/Brock Hanson, 27.8; 5. Tyler Wojciechowski/Blake Walker, 28.3; 6. Nelson Wyatt/Tyler Worley, 29.4; 7. Pedro Egurrola/J.C. Flake, 30.9; 8. Coleman Proctor/Logan Medlin, 34.9. Steer wrestling: Third round leaders: 1. Nick Guy, 3.7 seconds; 2. (tie) Tristan Martin and Tanner Brunner, 3.8; 4. Bridger Anderson, 4.0; 5. Riley Duvall, 4.1; 6. (tie) Talon Roseland and Tyler Waguespack, 4.4, 8. (tie) Tory Johnson and Austin Eller, 4.5. Average leaders: 1. Tristan Martin, 11.6 seconds on three runs; 2. Tyler Waguespack, 12.5; 3. Tanner Brunner and Bridger Anderson, 12.9; 5. Riley Duvall, 13.4; 6. Austin Eller, 13.8; 7. Talon Roseland, 14.1; 8. Tory Jonson, 14.7. Saddle bronc riding leaders: 1. Ross Griffin, 89 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Maple Leaf; 2. Chase Brooks, 88; 3. Mitch Pollock, 85.5; 4. Wyatt Casper, 84; 5. (tie) CoBurn Bradshaw, Shorty Garrett and Jacob Kammerer, 82; 8. Allen Boore, 80. Tie-down roping: Third round leaders: 1. Richard Newton, 8.4 seconds; 2. Marty Yates, 8.8; 3. Marley Berger, 9.2; 4. Ty Harris, 9.3; 5. Kincade Henry, 9.7; 6. Chance Thiessen, 9.8; 7. Shane Hanchey, 10.1; 8. Riley Webb, 10.4. Average leaders: 1. Marty Yates, 25.5 seconds on three runs; 2. Kincade Henry, 27,3; 3. Ty Harris, 27.4; 4. Riley Webb, 10.4; 5. Richard Newton, 28.8; 6. Haven Meged, 28.9; 7. J.T. Adamson, 29.7; 8. Cash Hooper, 30.3. Barrel racing: Second round leaders: 1. Leslie Smalygo, 16.85 seconds; 2. (tie) Hailey Kinsel and Tarryn Lee, 17.03; 4. Elizabeth Schmid, 17.12; 5. Katelyn Scott, 17.28; 6. Cayla Small, 17.35; 7. (tie) Emily Mangione and Jimmie Smith, 17.36; 9. (tie) Paige Jones and Josey Grovers, 17.42. Average leaders: 1. Hailey Kinsel, 34.22 seconds on two runs; 2. Tarryn Lee, 34.57; 3. (tie) Elizabeth Schmid, Leslie Smalygo and Paige Jones, 34.81; 6. Jimmie Smith, 34.90; 7. Cayla Small, 34,96; 8. Shannon McReynolds, 35.02; 9. Katelyn Scott, 35.03; 10. Loni Lester, 35.03.   Bull riding leaders: 1. Shawn Bennett Jr., 87 points on Magic Poison; 2. (tie) Riley Barg and Kole Bowman, 78; 4. Trey Holston, 76; no other qualified rides.

GUYMON, Okla. – Tristan Martin has good reason to be confident. He’s coming off his best season in the PRCA, and he’s off to a hot start in 2022. It all added up to a phenomenal three days at the Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo. He placed in the first two go-rounds Wednesday and Thursday and has already pocketed more than $1,600. He put an exclamation point Friday night with a 3.8-second run to take the third-round and aggregate leads with three performances remaining at Oklahoma’s Richest Rodeo. “That steer had a pretty good track record; they were 4.0 on him and missed him one time,” Martin said of the animal he was matched with via the random draw. “I knew if I got my start and got my hands on him, I’d do my job and it would all be over with.” In addition to having a successful week – with a great opportunity to capitalize even more at the conclusion of the rodeo – he’s enjoying the trip with his wife, Josee, and their 4-month-old baby boy, Boudreaux David. Guymon was a good stopping point for the cowboy from Sulphur, Louisiana, and he and his little family travel for a branding at her family’s place in Wyoming. “We’re having a good time,” he said. “I’ve placed at this rodeo, but I’ve always wanted to win Guymon. The (trophy) belt, I think, is pretty iconic, with the Guymon conchos. Hopefully it’s mine this year.” He understands importance of having a unique trophy like the belt. Many rodeos offer buckles for their champions, but Guymon provides another wearable souvenir. “I’d really like to get a belt from here and a gold buckle this year,” he said of the world champion’s hardware. Martin started competing in ProRodeo five seasons ago and has worked his way up the money list. He earned his first qualification to the National Finals Rodeo this past season, where he won the third round and finished third in the NFR aggregate race. He pocketed nearly $110,000 over 10 days in Las Vegas and finished fifth in the world standings. So far this year, he’s earned just shy of $50,000 and is third in the world standings. That’s likely to change if his place in Guymon holds up. “I did good in high school and college and progressed in the pros,” said Martin, 26. “I had to work at it a little more, go to the gym. I feel like I’m at the top of my game, and it feels great.” Guymon (Okla.) Pioneer Days RodeoApril 26-May 2Bareback riding leaders: 1. Dean Thompson, 85 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Center Line; 2. Keenan Reed Hayes, 83; 3. Kyle Charley, 76.5; 4. Andy Gingerich, 76; 5. A.J. Ruth, 74; 6. Derrik Thompson, 66; no other qualified scores. Team roping: Third round leaders: 1. Shay Carroll/Evan Arnold, 5.7 seconds; 2. Coleman Proctor/Logan Medlin, 12.2; 3. Kellan Johnson/Carson Johnson, 16.4; 4. Bodie Mattson/Bryan Lemmon, 18.1; 5. Caleb Smidt/Jim Ross cooper, 22.1; no other qualified runs. Average leaders: 1. Coleman Proctor/Logan Medlin, 34.9 seconds on three runs; 2. Kellan Johnson/Carson Johnson, 36.0; 3. Bodie Mattson/Bryan Lemmon, 45.9; 4. Shay Carroll/Evan Arnold, 12.3 seconds on two runs; 5. Paul David Tierney/Tanner Braden, 13.9; 6. Jhett Trenary/Gralyn Elkins, 14.4; 7. Tate Kirchenschlager/Cole Davison, 14.6; 8. (tie) Coy Rahlmann/Douglas Rich and Chad Masters/Cory Petska, 14.7. Steer wrestling: Third round leaders: 1. Tristan Martin, 3.8 seconds; 2. Tory Johnson, 4.5; 3. Emmettt Edler, 4.6; 5. Adam Musil, 4.7; 6. Ryan Nettle, 15.0; 7. Gage Hesse, 15.7; no other qualified runs. Average leaders: 1. Tristan Martin, 11.6 seconds on three runs; 2. Tory Jonson, 14.7; 3. Blake Mindemann, 14.9; 4. Adam Musil, 16.9; 5. Emmett Edler, 17.6; 6. Gage Hasse, 25.0; 7. Ryan Nettle, 25.2; 8. Grady Payne, 7.7 seconds on two runs. Saddle bronc riding leaders: 1. Mitch Pollock, 85.5 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Lil Sugar; 2. Wyatt Casper, 84; 3. CoBurn Bradshaw, 82; 4. Tyrel Larsen 78.5; 5. Brady Hill, 78; 6. (tie) Cash Wilson and Kade Bruno, 77; 8. Damian Brennan, 76.5. Tie-down roping: Third round leaders: 1. Jake Booze, 11.9 seconds; 2. Nolan Richie, 13.7; 3. Cory Solomon, 14.7; 4. Reese Riemer, 15.8; 5. Caleb Smidt, 18.2; 6. Humpty Whayne Jr., 19.2; no other qualified runs. Average leaders: 1. Nolan Richie, 32.8 seconds on three runs; 2. Cory Solomon, 33.1; 3. Caleb Smidt, 35.4; 4. Jake Booze, 36.4; 5. Reese Riemer, 42.6; 6. Humpty Whayne Jr., 44.0; 7. Marty Yates, 16.7 seconds on two runs; 8. Will Howell, 17.5. Barrel racing: First round: First round: 1. Wenda Johnson, 16.94 seconds, $2,171; 2. Hailey Kinsel, 17.19, $1,861; 3. (tie) Nicole Driggers and Shelley Morgan, 17.30, $1,448 each; 5. Taycie Matthews, 17.32, $1,034; 6. (tie) Ivy Hurst and Tracy Nowlin, 17.33, $724 each; 8. Kyle Scribner, 17.35, $414; 9. Rachael Werkmen, 17.36, $310; 10. (tie) Paige Jones and Tami Semas, 17.39, $103 each. Second round leaders: 1. Leslie Smalygo, 16.85 seconds; 2. Hailey Kinsel, 17.03; 3. Elizabeth Schmid, 17.12; 4. Katelyn Scott, 17.28; 5. Cayla Small, 17.35; 6. Emily Mangione, 17.36; 7. (tie) Paige Jones and Josey Grovers, 17.42; 9. Cheyenne Wimberley, 17.44; 10. Shanna Simmons, 17.55. Average leaders: 1. Hailey Kinsel, 34.22 seconds on two runs; 2. (tie) Elizabeth Schmid, Leslie Smalygo and Paige Jones, 34.81; 5. Cayla Small, 34,96; 6. Katelyn Scott, 35.03; 7. Josey Groves, 35.30; 8. Kendall Kennedy, 35.35; 9. Sidney Forrest, 35.36; 10. Shali Lord, 35.53. Bull riding leaders: 1. Shawn Bennett Jr., 87 points on Magic Poison; 2. Riley Barg, 78; 3. Trey Holston, 76; no other qualified rides.

Cinch saddle bronc rider makes time to spend with his family in Texas On Easter Sunday as Cooper and Cheyenne Casper were hunting eggs, their dad was 1,600 miles away from home handling his business. He certainly wanted to celebrate the holiday with his family, but Cinch saddle bronc rider Wyatt Casper had a wild horse to ride at the Red Bluff (California) Round-Up. He had placed his association saddle on a big, black Calgary Stampede horse named Yo Yo Marble and turned his attention to the powerful Canadian bucking machine. Once he nodded his head, Casper matched every jump and kick from the animal with a classic spur ride. The result was 88 points, enough to win the ProRodeo Hall of Fame event and add big bucks to his bank account. He may have missed hunting eggs and or going to church, but he better provided for his family and gave Casper a chance to not have to miss more family time in the months ahead. “I feel like family time at home is pretty important,” said Casper, 25, of Miami, Texas. “Just take Red Bluff and Clovis (California): I was at Red Bluff on (April) 17th, and I ended up flying home so I could help (wife) Lesley at a barrel race and flew back to Clovis to ride on the 22nd. “That’s a pretty good example of what I do to make sure I get home.” As of April 25, he had pocketed $61,000 and was fifth in the world standings. That offered a bit of cushion for the cowboy, who was raised in the tiny Oklahoma Panhandle community of Balko before moving an hour or so south into Texas. He’s earned National Finals Rodeo qualifications each of the past two seasons and has proven his place among ProRodeo’s elite. He knows being away from his wife and kids is just part of the job, but he doesn’t mind extending himself to make sure all the Caspers are together when possible. “This year’s been really good; I’m pretty tickled with it,” he said. “I feel like I’m starting to figure out a little bit on how to rodeo and when to rodeo. I’m trying not to rodeo my butt off right now. I want to take it easy and be at home with my family and maybe take a different route on rodeoing this year. “I’m usually pretty high on my rodeo count when I get toward the end of the year, so maybe I’ll skip some rodeos I normally go to and spend that time at home.” It’s definitely a give-and-take. He doesn’t want to miss out on opportunities in rodeo, yet he doesn’t want to miss out on watching his children grow. FaceTime is amazing, and technology allows for more visual contact, but it can’t beat a hug or tucking the little ones in at night. “I wouldn’t say I miss a whole lot of stuff with the kids yet,” Casper said. “I feel like when they get into sports and school, I might miss some pretty important stuff. This is a subject my wife and I talk about a lot. When the day comes that I feel comfortable enough pushing back on the bronc riding for me to do something here at the house, I’m probably going to do that. “I had a pretty good upbringing with my parents being at all my sports events, so I want to teach my kids how to play football and rope and be able to go to all their junior rodeos.” It was a sense of family that drew John and Amy Casper to the Panhandle region in the first place. Originally from Minnesota, they moved to Balko two decades ago to help set up Wyatt and his brothers, Ty and Clay. Family friend Ralph Taton was living in Beaver, Oklahoma, and he suggested the family move south if they wanted the boys to have a future in rodeo. It worked out pretty well. Wyatt was 4 years old when the family made its way to the Sooner State, and that’s pretty much all he’s known. Too young to remember much about his first few years, he’s content to have grown up in warmer temperatures. When he was set to graduate high school, Casper found Clarendon (Texas) College. “I was pretty late on looking at colleges, and Clarendon was the first one I looked at,” he said. “Cody Heck was the coach at the time. They sold me on the indoor practice facility and the welding program. I was really glad to be able to go there. Bret (Franks) took over coaching my second year, and he had been a really good assistant coach for my first year.” Franks is a three-time NFR qualifier in saddle bronc riding, so that mentorship remains valuable. “It was a great time for me,” Casper said. “It was exactly where I needed to be.” He proved that in June 2016, when he became the first Clarendon cowboy to win the national championship, doing so during the bronc riding at the College National Finals Rodeo. He was followed by bronc rider Riggin Smith in 2019 and bareback rider and all-around champion Cole Franks in 2021; last year’s team also won the men’s title, the first in school history. “It’s pretty cool what they’ve accomplished since I’ve been there,” Casper said. In 2020, Casper set his family up for success by winning The American, collecting $603,000 in the process. While only $50,000 counted toward the PRCA world standings, it propelled him to his first NFR, where he finished second in the world standings. That financial windfall allows him the opportunity to travel home a bit more than others, but he’s doing pretty well fiscally riding broncs year after year. Over the last two and a half seasons, Casper has earned nearly $1.1 million riding bucking horses. When he’s not doing that, there are plenty of things to do around his family’s home.  Continue Reading »

ALVA, Okla. – Tucker Huffman will graduate from Northwestern Oklahoma State University this coming Saturday, but he’s already received a pretty nice present. Actually, he gifted it to himself this past weekend. Huffman, a senior from Mutual, Oklahoma, posted the fastest tie-down roping run of the Doc Gardner Memorial Rodeo presented by Oklahoma Panhandle State University at Hitch Arena in Guymon, Oklahoma. He roped and tied his calf in 9.2 seconds to win the championship round Saturday afternoon and move up to second place in the aggregate with a two-run cumulative time of 20.7 seconds. “It was a good feeling to know I went out on a high note and competed how you want to,” Huffman said. “I really wanted to make the college finals this last year, but I needed to have that kind of rodeo all year instead of just the last one if I was going to do that.” That’s just part of it. The Central Plains Region is tough in all events, which makes it so difficult to win on a consistent level. Of all the events, Northwestern had just one contestant, steer wrestler Kaden Greenfield of Lakeview, Oregon, come away with a regional title. He finished second in the long round but was unable to compete in the short round; he was part of the Rookie Roundup, which conducted its final go-round at the same time Saturday as the last performance in Guymon. Greenfield won the championship at the rodeo in Fort Worth, Texas, and his first-round run in the Oklahoma Panhandle helped him clinch the regional title. “Our region is super tough across the board,” Huffman said. “There are so many guys that can compete that you can’t slack off any if you want to be at the top.” While the season was disappointing, the Oklahoma cowboy didn’t let that bother him when it came time to nod his head in the large, outdoor arena. All tie-down ropers ran fresh calves in the first round, meaning the cattle had never been through a rodeo pen and chute system before they were released into competition. The better calves were used in the final go-round. “When we got down to the final round, I was just going for it all,” he said. “It was the last one, so you might as well. I didn’t have anything to lose. Stockton and I were talking right before my short-round calf, and I was the first guy out. I told Stockton, ‘I’ll just run him like he’s fresh again,’ and it seemed to work out.” Two other Rangers tie-down ropers joined Huffman in the championship round: Kade Chace of Cherokee, Oklahoma, finished fourth in the first round with a 10.1 second run, and Kerry Duvall of Farmington, California, was fifth in 10.4. Chace was unable to secure a catch in the short round, but Duvall stopped the clock in 11.5 seconds to finish fifth again; his two-run aggregate of 21.9 was good enough for third overall. The team ropers were led by header Stran Morris of Woodward, Oklahoma, who won the first round, finished third in the final round and second overall while roping with Jordan Lovins of Western Oklahoma State College. The Northwestern teams of Jaden Trimble of Coffeyville, Kansas, and Brandon Hittle of Topeka, Kansas, placed in the short round and finished in a tie for fourth, while T.W. Carson of Gate, Oklahoma, and Cole Koppitz of Alva finished third in the opening round. With that, the 10-event Central Plains Region season is over. It is the first time in two years that the Rangers were able to compete in all 10 rodeos; the 2020 season was canceled because of the pandemic, and the 2021 campaign had at least one cancelation. That gave the Northwestern cowboys and cowgirls more opportunities, and that’s all they had asked for. “I decided to come to Northwestern because of the atmosphere,” Huffman said. “I had a lot of friends that went to school there that said they really liked it. I get to rope all the time. Where I live, there are probably seven arenas within five miles of my place. “Everybody’s really friendly and lets you rope, and everybody’s always helping each other to get better.” After graduation, he will return home to Mutual to handle his business as a cattleman. He’ll rodeo some through the summer, then plans to try his hand at PRCA rodeos starting in the 2023 season. He realizes that he has something special in Thomasita, a 12-year-old mare that helped him find success in Guymon. “She’s the best horse I’ve ever swung a leg over,” Huffman said. “This is the second year I’ve been riding her, and she’s a big part of any success I get. She’s a bit jittery in the box, but she’s always on go and always stops hard and puts me in position I need to be in. “If you don’t have a good horse, you can’t make a good run in calf roping.”

A lifetime of struggles has placed bull rider in position for greatness When Laramie Mosley suffered a fractured neck last September and was forced to miss the rest of his promising season, it would have been easy for any competitor to get down in the dumps. Mosley has been through worse, so his frustration didn’t last as long as it may have for other men. He knows what it means to be bounced around a bit. He knows what it means to have suffered great loss. Missing out on his first qualification to the National Finals Rodeo sucked, but he didn’t sulk for long. He used it as motivation. “It emotionally wrecked me for a long time,” said Mosley, who finished the year 18th in the world standings while on injured reserve. “I didn’t know if I was going to be able to overcome that. After three months into it, I figured I could sit back and sulk and quit, or I could do what I’ve done the rest of my life and get out of the mud and come back firing.” If he was going to take time away from the game he loved, he was going to figure out a way to make things better. It’s the way he’s handled things his whole life, and he’s dealt with a lot for a 26-year-old man. Born in Corsicana, Texas, he never really knew that as his home. He was 6 months old when his parents took a job managing a feedlot in Walsh, a community on the Plains in eastern Colorado. They moved to Saint Francis, Kansas, for a few years, then back to Walsh, all while in the feed-yard business, a prospering operation in cattle country. His folks divorced when he was 12, and his mother died two years later. He moved in with his father some and lived with other families until his aunt, Trish Parrish, moved him to Sublette in southwest Kansas. He finished out his last three years of high school and found a true kinship with a man named Larry Phillips, who also served as a mentor. Growing up near the pasturelands and wheat fields of western Kansas and eastern Colorado provided the nutrients for growth, just a bit different than many. He learned about life and sports and found a passion for riding bulls, and he had people like Parrish and Phillips who helped develop a passion for good. “My mom and real dad … they always worked hard, but when I got with Larry, it was a whole new level of work,” said Mosley, 26, a Cinch endorsee now living in Palestine, Texas. “I learned how to work cows and ride a horse good. I always had work wherever I wanted to go. Now, if I need something or want something, I’m not scared to ask somebody if they want help. I managed a feed yard for Larry Phillips, so I actually know what it takes to do all that. I’m not afraid to work, and I got that by how I grew up.” He graduated from Sublette High School in 2014, then found his way to the rodeo teams at Pratt (Kansas) Community College and Oklahoma Panhandle State University. Two years after wearing the cap and gown in Sublette, his father died. Just out of his teens, he had been through more than most people experience in a lifetime. It didn’t define Laramie Mosley, but it did help him figure out who the man was that he wants to be. “I feel like it was more motivation than anything,” he said. “I knew right at the point when I was in high school that I grew up a little bit. I could dwell on the past and my life, or I could let it be motivation. “Maybe somebody would want to be like me, and I could be an example. If I can go from losing both my parents and still be successful and being a role model to somebody, then I’m going to do it. I could have gone the other way. I could be a drunk or on drugs or in jail, but I didn’t want that, and I didn’t want there to be any sort of doubt that I was going to be better than that.” Fast forward to September 2021. He was ninth in the PRCA’s bull riding world standings and was hoping to close out his season with his first NFR qualification. He was bucked off in Lewiston, Idaho and suffered a spinal fracture in three cervical vertebrae. Doctors fused his C5-C7 – his C6 was crushed. The truth is he was fortunate it wasn’t worse. He didn’t return to action until the first of March, and while he struggled at first, he was able to continue to push through. Over the first weekend in April, he scored 90 points, which held on for the first-round victory at the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo. He finished second overall and pocketed more than $13,000. “Going into San Angelo, it had been pretty rough,” Mosley said. “I had just been getting beat up. I had a bull that everybody was talking about how tough he was, how he hadn’t been ridden. I thought if it didn’t work out here, I might have to find something else to do. “I’m not one to give up, but it was rough. Then I was 90 on that bull, and I felt like I could do this. Financially it was a blessing. I dang sure needed it for the world standings and my bank account. I had a different feeling that day.” He found renewed confidence, and he hopes to build upon it. “There’s no better feeling when you’re in time with one of those rank bulls,” he said. “It’s pretty much effortless.” Laramie Mosley knows how to ride the rank ones. He’s scored at least 90 points several times in his life, including last May when he won the  Continue Reading »

Milligan returns to top form in a Big Time way with new horsepower There were points in the 2021 ProRodeo season that Cinch endorsee Tyler Milligan was just miserable. After two straight National Finals Rodeo qualifications in 2019-20, good fortune seemed to be avoiding the handy tie-down roper. Some of it was mental, he admitted; some of it was just circumstantial. There are tremendous challenges that come while competing among the very best in the game. “Last year was definitely one of the lowest of my roping career,” said Milligan, 25, from the rugged ranching community of Pawhuska in the Oklahoma Osage country. “I didn’t have a horse. I was mounting out (on others’ horses). I didn’t have any confidence. I just struggled.” There were several things that played into it, but one held the most significance. In November 2020, just as he was preparing to compete at his second straight NFR, his horse, Big Time, died after a bout with colic. Milligan was a bit lost. Big Time was the two-time PRCA Tie-Down Roping Horse of the Year and had guided Milligan to the 2017 Resistol Rookie of the Year award. He also placed the roper – now living in Stephenville, Texas – in solid positioning for three straight years. In addition to his two NFRs, Milligan just missed the championship in 2018, finishing 18th on the money list; only the top 15 on the money list at the end of the regular season advance to Las Vegas. While Big Time helped Milligan to two go-round wins in 2019, the standout sorrel gelding wasn’t around for his run at the 2020 NFR at its one-time home in Arlington, Texas. Milligan still placed in three go-rounds and finished in the money in the 10-run aggregate race, but it wasn’t the same. He knew things needed to change, but he wasn’t sure how to make it happen. He’d been looking for the right fit in a partner that could deliver the goods and finally found one in Tequila, another red rocket he acquired in mid-March. “I got a new horse, and that’s been the difference,” Milligan said. “He fits me. He is the closest fit since Big Time. I got him during Austin (Texas). I actually just got him. I tried him, then rode him and won the first round in Austin on him, so I bought him and took him to Houston.” It was a Texas three-step for Mulligan and Tequila, which he bought from fellow tie-down roper Ryan Thibodeaux. From that time forward, the two collected nearly $4,000 in Austin, finished second at RodeoHouston ($27,750) and shared the win in San Angelo ($17,364). As of April 25, Milligan had defined his own rags-to-richest story, moving from 46th on the money list at the end of the 2021 to fourth in the world standings this season. In just a few months, he has more than doubled his income from a year ago and still has five months remaining in the 2020 regular season. “Just getting a horse that I could trust and get along with changed everything,” he said of Tequila, a 17-year-old sorrel gelding. “The biggest thing is mainly the confidence of having one I know I get along with. That helps your confidence a whole bunch. “He’s probably got a couple more years in him. I’ve got to ride him at the right places. I’m always looking for horses. You’ve got to be mounted to beat these guys, because everybody ropes so good.” Being well-mounted is something Milligan has known about since he was a youngster. He was raised on a ranch between Pawhuska and Bartlesville – basically, he was primarily north of Tulsa, the state’s second-largest city – and definitely among the rangelands in the Osage Nation. Homeschooled on the ranch, he helped around the place doing whatever needed to be done. “It was 20 miles to town on dirt roads, so we didn’t go to town a whole lot,” he said. “Living out there, I liked to rope, and my parents helped me out; they definitely did really good by me. If I put the work in practicing, they would take me to every junior rodeo. We went through junior rodeoing and kept on going.” While his dad handled things round the ranch and kept an eye on his talented son, Steve Milligan had never really competed in rodeo. Mom, Tammy, didn’t either, though she enjoys riding horses and even making runs on a barrel racing pattern. Tyler is the first of his family to do so. His mom – a dermatologist – was the hardest on him, he said, and even got him out of his comfort zone while competing in rodeo as a youngster. “My mom made me tie goats all the time,” Milligan said, still sounding a bit embarrassed by it. “Looking back on it, I’m fortunate because it taught me some things I still use now, but I hated doing it when I was a kid.” He still has his folks, who are now divorced, but he doesn’t see either of them as much now that he’s living in Texas. Tammy is the type that prays for her son, while Steve will be the one who would drop what he’s doing to help Tyler if the occasion were to come up. Milligan also has a family on the road, as rodeo cowboys do, in traveling partner Hunter Herrin, an 11-time NFR qualifier. “Hunter knows what’s going on and helps in so many different ways,” Milligan said. “I always try to go with somebody who knows more than I do. When I first went out on the road, I went with Trent Creager, Caddo Lewallen and Timber Moore. I’m still trying to figure out what to do. “I try to learn as much as I can, because before long I’m going to have to do it myself.” As with every man who has saddled a horse for competition, he has gold buckle  Continue Reading »

DUNCAN, Okla. –In this part of southern Oklahoma, the sport of rodeo is more than a past time and a night out with family and friends. It’s a lifestyle for many in Stephens County, and nobody needs to look any further than the community of Comanche, just nine miles down the road from the Stephens County Expo Center in Duncan, which will be home to the Duncan Pro Rodeo presented by the Chisholm Trail Casino. Just over the last couple of decades, Comanche has produced four National Finals Rodeo qualifiers, two of whom have earned world championships in that time: Janae Ward Massey, the 2003 barrel racing titlist, and Ryan Jarrett, the 2005 all-around winner. Others who have played on the sports biggest stage in recent years were Colt Gordon and Kylie Ward Weast, one of the champ’s little sisters. It’s that kind of passion that brings some of the best in rodeo back to southern Oklahoma to compete at the Duncan Pro Rodeo, which takes place at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 6-Saturday, May 7. Tickets can be purchased at Crutcher’s Western Wear in Duncan or online at McCoyRodeo.com. McCoy Rodeo has also added a specialized third performance with the Duncan WRCA Ranch Rodeo, set for 5 p.m. Thursday, May 5. It will feature 10 teams and serve as a qualifying event for the Working Ranch Cowboys Association & Foundation’s Finals. “I grew up rodeoing with a lot of people from around Duncan, so I know how much rodeo means to the people there,” said Cord McCoy, who operates the Oklahoma-based livestock production firm McCoy Rodeo with his wife, Sara, and Joe Waln, a third-generation stock contractor. “Back when I was rodeoing, I made sure to enter the Duncan rodeo every year I could. “Competing at that rodeo was a big deal to me, and we are working to make it a big deal again.” After years away, McCoy brought the PRCA-sanctioned rodeo back a year ago, and he’s excited to return. He understands what people in Stephens County think about when it comes to rodeo and the Western lifestyle. Take the Ward sisters, Massey and Weast. They are part of the third generation of NFR qualifiers: grandmother Florence Youree; great aunt Sherry Johnson; and mother Renee Ward. Jarrett is a 14-time NFR qualifier, earning most of his trips to the big show in tie-down roping. Gordon earned his first bid to Las Vegas as a saddle bronc rider in 2019. He finished outside the top 15 each of the past two years, but things can change mighty fast in ProRodeo. Take Cody Ballard of Tumut, South Wales, Australia, who dominated saddle bronc riding in Duncan a year ago and rode the wave to the Prairie Circuit year-end and average titles, which he clinched during the regional finals last October at the Stephens County Expo Center. While bareback rider Mark Kreder of Collinsville, Oklahoma, didn’t win the circuit, the money he won in Duncan last May helped propel him to another qualification to the Chisholm Trail Ram Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo. He finished fourth in the average and third in the final circuit standings. “Last year when I saw that Cord had these rodeos, I knew I wanted to be part of it,” Kreder said. “It was a great rodeo. The production was great, and the horses bucked great.” That’s just what rodeo cowboys and fans will realize quickly when the Duncan Pro Rodeo returns to town.

GUYMON, Okla. – If there were any positives for Hailey Frederiksen that came with the pandemic, it was a chance to revisit some of her favorite stops as Miss Rodeo Colorado. She held her position through 2020 and 2021 before earning the ultimate prize, being named the 2022 Miss Rodeo America during the pageant held in conjunction with the National Finals Rodeo this past December. That allowed her two years of trips to some special events, and one of those was the Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo. For several years, the volunteer committee that produces the annual event has hosted visiting queens and made them feel right at home. Frederiksen has been part of the pageantry each of the last two years and will return for this year’s rodeo, set for 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 6; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 7; and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 8, at Henry C. Hitch Pioneer Arena. “When us girls travel out of state, there’s so much those committees and the people in those communities do to organize,” Frederiksen said. “For me, Guymon is on top of that list for its true hospitality. They have so many things for us girls to do. They have all of our meals planned out for us, and they’re all paid for to make sure all of us are taken care of.” Most of all, it’s the family atmosphere that draws her and others to Guymon every year. There have been years with more than a dozen visiting queens in Texas County, touring the schools, meeting rodeo fans and promoting rodeo to the community. “The Stoneciphers graciously host us at their home,” she said of Ken and Sherry, both of whom are directors with the committee who have had the queens stay at their residence for many years. “Miss Becky Robinson was the director for us and did so much. “When I saw Guymon wasn’t on my original schedule, I knew I had to do something to remedy that. It wasn’t just about coming back to the rodeo; it was about me coming back to Guymon as Miss Rodeo America. I couldn’t be more honored. It’s been a while since they’ve had Miss Rodeo America at their rodeo, so I hope to make it worthwhile to them.” The last time was in 2015 when former Miss Rodeo Oklahoma Lauren Heaton returned to her roots and held court at Hitch Arena. The return of Miss Rodeo America comes because of one young woman’s passion for the people that helped her realize her aspirations, and many live in the Oklahoma Panhandle. “Oklahoma has a special place in my heart,” Frederiksen said. “When COVID hit at the beginning of my reign as Miss Rodeo Colorado, Oklahoma still went on with rodeos and didn’t cancel much. We all talk about people opening their homes to us, being kind and generous. Everyone in Guymon was absolutely that to us girls.” Because of the pandemic, there were no new state pageants, and the Miss Rodeo America pageant was canceled in 2020; all members of rodeo royalty kept their titles for a second year. South Dakotan Jordan Tierney held the Miss Rodeo American tiara twice as long as most others before passing it along to Frederiksen. “Winning the Miss Rodeo America pageant has been a dream come true and so much more,” she said. “I’ve met Miss Rodeo Americas throughout the years, and I just looked a them and could imagine that being myself. I find myself pinching myself to see if this is real. I still can’t believe it.” There’s a beauty in Frederiksen’s voice to go along with the God-given beauty she carries. There is a passion for teaching others about the Western way of life and about her experiences growing up along the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in northern Colorado. Being a rodeo queen is more than a pretty face; it takes good horsemanship, grace and knowledge of rodeo and the Western lifestyle. “I believe I’ve put in the work for it,” Frederiksen said. “It’s a lot more than hair, makeup and rhinestones. We’re cowgirls. I tell young girls who want to do this, ‘Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty.’ “Growing up in the Western lifestyle has taught me this work ethic, has taught me this passion. I couldn’t imagine living any other way.” Therein lies a big reason Miss Rodeo America wanted to return to Guymon for Oklahoma’s richest rodeo. She identifies with the people that make a living in the Panhandle’s rugged terrain. It’s almost like home.

Resistol happy to be part of inaugural Cowboy Channel Rookie Roundup Cash Wilson knew when he decided to compete in ProRodeo this year that he was going to be in a fight to reach some of his goals. “It’s a really good rookie class,” said Wilson, 21, of Wall, South Dakota. “There are so many guys with great talent, especially in bronc riding. Lucas (Macza) is in the top 15 in the world, and I’m not far behind him.” No, he’s not. Wilson is coming off a solid permit season in 2021. In order to become full-fledged members of the PRCA, competitors must earn at least $1,000 on their permits. Wilson pocketed nearly $25,000 last year while also attending college and competing in intercollegiate rodeo. So far this season, he’s snagged more than $23,000 while still attending college and competing at that level. He hopes to collect considerably more during the inaugural Cowboy Channel Rookie Roundup presented by Resistol, which takes place at 2 p.m. Friday, April 29, and Saturday, April 30, at Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas. All contestants will compete in the opening round on that Friday, with the top eight in each event returning for Saturday’s semifinals. The tournament-style format will then weed the number down to the top four competing for the roundup’s title. “My goal is to make the National Finals Rodeo this year and to win the Resistol Rookie of the Year,” said Wilson, a junior at Tarleton State University in nearby Stephenville, Texas. “The Rookie Roundup is a great opportunity to put some good money in your pocket. I think they’re adding about $10,000 in each event, so that money can help you keep going through the rest of the summer.” The two-day event also allows each contestant the opportunity to make more runs or ride more bucking animals, gaining valuable experience. Macza leads the bronc riding rookie standings with nearly $30,000, which is good enough for 15th in the world standings. Wilson and his traveling partners – Damian Brennan and Brody Wells – aren’t far behind. Brennan is 2nd in the rookie race, while Wilson is third and Wells sixth. The top 15 cowboys and cowgirls in each event based on the Resistol Rookie of the Year standings have been invited to be part of the competition. The winners are selected based on earnings through end of the year, which concludes after the NFR. Resistol has been associated with the award since its inception in 1977 “We are so honored to support this program for the Resistol Rookies of the Year,” said Ricky Bolin, Resistol’s general manager. “This new event will continue to educate and elevate them as they begin their journeys toward a professional career in rodeo. The youth are the future of our sport, and we love seeing this program go.” The Resistol Rookie of the Year program has served as a catapult for many of rodeo’s greatest champions. Before he earned his 26 world championships, Trevor Brazile was named the 1996 Resistol Rookie of the Year in steer roping. Others that have carried their rookie titles over into Montana Silversmiths gold buckles read like a who’s who of ProRodeo’s greatest stars: Joe Beaver, Ty Murray, Luke Branquinho, Ryder Wright, Sage Kimzey, Stetson Wright and Caleb Smidt, just to name a few. The money earned in the Rookie Roundup will count toward the rookie standings but will not count toward NFR qualifications. That means the winners of each event will likely move up in their own races for the Resistol Rookie of the Year awards, yet they will not be able to move up in the world standings. “There will still be a lot of opportunities to get better and get more exposure,” said Wilson, who will also be competing at the Tarleton State rodeo that weekend. “It’s also nice that we’ll get to ride in a pretty cool place in the Fort Worth Stockyards.” The Resistol Rookies of the Year are celebrated each year with a luncheon that takes place in conjunction with the NFR in Las Vegas. Resistol, which is one of the original sponsors and still the official hat of the PRCA, presents a custom personalized 30X Resistol felt hat and trophy Hat Pac carrying case; a fully-tooled Cactus Saddle; a Resistol-branded Yeti cooler; and a Resistol PRCA Rookie leather trophy jacket. Beyond that, it’s an honor that winners can reflect on for the rest of their careers. The most recent class of Resistol Rookies of the Year is already making a name for itself. Of the 10 winners in 2021, bareback rider Cole Franks and bull rider Creek Young earned qualifications to the NFR. They were joined by steer wrestler Marc Joiner, header John Gaona, heeler Caleb Hendrix, saddle bronc rider K’s Thomson, tie-down roper Beau Cooper, barrel racer Kylee Scribner, breakaway roper Madison Outhier and Slade Wood, who won both the steer roping and all-around titles. “Ever since I started rodeoing, winning the Resistol Rookie of the Year was one of the big goals for me,” said Franks, whose father, Bret, was a three-time NFR qualifier in saddle bronc riding. “Growing up around rodeo, you hear about the guys that have won it, and it made me strive for that goal, too “You only get one shot at it. There are only so many people that have that title, so you are in a very select group of people. It’s a great title to have under your belt, and you’ll carry that with you no matter where you go.”

ALVA, Okla. – Kaden Greenfield is having a strong Central Plains Region season for the Northwestern Oklahoma State University rodeo team. He’s the No. 1 man in the steer wrestling standings with one rodeo remaining in the campaign, set for this coming weekend in Guymon, Oklahoma. He further cemented his place at the top this past weekend with a second-place finish at the Fort Hays State University rodeo in Hays, Kansas. “It went pretty good,” said Greenfield, a junior from Lakeview, Oregon. “In the short round, I had a steer that some people had some trouble with, so I just went out there and made a good run on him, and I knew I could place. I didn’t know where I’d place, but I knew it would be good enough.” Yes, it was. After his 6.1-second run in the opening round, good enough for fourth place, Greenfield knocked down his championship-round steer in 6.2 seconds. That was good enough for second place in the round, and he moved up to second in the two-run aggregate. In all, he collected 130 points and built to his regional lead. Most importantly, he gained enough points that he will advance to the College National Finals Rodeo in June; only the top three contestants in each event in the regional standings advance to the college finals, and the Oregon cowboy is assured of a top-three finish. “There have been some weekends where it has been real good,” said Greenfield, the son of Shawn, a seven-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier. “There also have been weekends where it hasn’t gone good at all. I guess the key has been keeping a good attitude and knowing we have another one.” Riding his 16-year-old sorrel gelding he calls Rev, Greenfield has had found enough success to return to Casper, Wyoming. As a sophomore at Blue Mountain Community College in his home state of Oregon, he finished 24th a year ago. Rev is a big reason why. “I’ve had him since I was a sophomore in high school (five years),” said Greenfield, who won the bulldogging crown at Oklahoma State University in October. “He’s just an honest horse; he gives me the same trip every time. He just stays the same.” Having a strong equine partner is vital in rodeo, especially for timed-event contestants. For the Rangers, tie-down ropers Tyler Scheevel of Lester Prairie, Minnesota, and Brandon Hittle of Topeka, Kansas, earned points. Scheevel earned a spot in the championship round, where his 12.1-second run was good enough for fourth in the round and fifth overall. Hittle was 10.2 to finish second in the opening round. Barrel racer Samantha Chambers of Calhan, Colorado, finished third in the long round, but a tipped barrel in the short round took her out of the average. Chambers entered the weekend sixth in the standings and will need some things to go her way this next weekend if she were to earn a spot in the college finals. Meanwhile, Greenfield hopes to end his season with a bang. “I don’t want any questions about whether I’m going to stay in first or not,” he said. “I’m going to do everything I can to win the region. During my first two years, I didn’t win the region. It would be cool to come down to this region and win it.”

SAN ANGELO, Texas – Big rides equal big scores in ProRodeo, and a couple of cowboys proved that during Saturday’s Cinch Chute-Out at the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo. The event features a unique format in which 10 contestants in each event compete in the opening round. The top three then advance to the chute-out portion of the championship night. It’s there that the titlists were crowned and the money was paid out. Cole Reiner kicked off the chute-out with a 90.5-point ride on Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Top Flight to win bareback riding and the $7,500 top prize issued to the winners of each event. He then waited out Cole Franks’ 88-point ride on Pickett’s Night Gazer and Tim O’Connell’s 87.5-point ride on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Dirty Jacket to make sure his ride held up. Reiner matched moves well with Top Flight, an 18-year-old bay athlete that was named the 2020 Bareback Horse of the Year. It was a classic display of a bareback rider’s spur stroke from the neck of the horse back to the handle of his rigging, all while in rhythm with the horse’s bucking motion. Just a few minutes later, saddle bronc rider Brody Cress followed with a 90 on Larry Culpepper, a big bay roan gelding that the Carr firm acquired this past December. Possibly the most competitive event in the chute-out was tie-down roping, which featured three world champions: Shane Hanchey (2013), Haven Meged (2019) and Shad Mayfield (2020). Meged kicked off the contest with a 7.7-second run, which would have been the fastest of the opening round. Instead, he watched Mayfield speed past in 6.9 seconds, but Hanchey topped that just seconds later by just a 10th of a second. Reigning world champions Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira pulled off a similar feat in team roping. After Coleman Proctor and Logan Medlin jumped out to an early lead with their 4.4-second run, Driggers and Nogueira then beat that time by a 10th of a second to claim the biggest prize. Tyler Waguespack, the three-time and reigning world champion steer wrestler, stopped the clock in 3.7 seconds to claim that title. Bull rider Josh Frost, fresh off his National Finals Rodeo aggregate title in December, had to test his skills on three bulls, but he made it pay off. In the first round, his bull, Black Bart, slipped to the ground, sending Frost to a second bull. The Utah cowboy then rode Carr’s Hammer Head for 75 points to slip into the Chute-Out round. As the first man to go, Frost held on to the side of Carr’s Curley Bill for about two seconds, earning an 87.5-point ride. The other two bull riders, Earnie Courson Jr. and Ky Hamilton, did not stay on their bulls for the qualifying eight seconds, and Frost walked away with the title. While the six traditional men’s events went off in a 10-man format with three in the final round, the women’s barrel racing was an invitational, with just four cowgirls in the mix. Reigning world champion Jordon Briggs posted a 14.19-second run to win the title. Of the eight winners of Saturday’s Cinch Chute-Out, five own world championship. Driggers, Nogueira, Waguespack and Briggs all claimed gold buckles in 2021; it was Nogueira’s second (he won the 2016 all-around title) and Waguespack’s third, but the cream rose to the top inside Foster Communications Coliseum. San Angelo Stock Show and RodeoCinch Chute-OutApril 16Bareback riding: 1. Cole Reiner, 90.5 points on Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Top Flight, $7,500; 2. Cole Franks, 88, $3,000; 3. Tim O’Connell, 87.5, $2,000. Steer wrestling: 1. Tyler Waguespack, 3.7 seconds, $7,500; 2. Tristan Martin, 4.2, $3,000; 2. J.D. Struxness, 5.5, $2,000. Team roping: 1. Kaleb Driggers/Junior Nogueira, 4.3 seconds, $7,500 each; 2. Coleman Proctor/Logan Medlin, 4.4, $3,000; no other qualified runs. Saddle bronc riding: 1. Brody Cress, 90 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Larry Culpepper, $7,500; 2. Layton Green, 84.5, $3,000; no other qualified rides. Tie-down roping: 1. Shane Hanchey, 6.8 seconds, $7,500; 2. Shad Mayfield, 6.9, $3,000; 3. Haven Meged, 7.7, $2,000. Barrel racing: 1. Jordon Briggs, 14.19 seconds, $3,000; 2. Sherry Cervi, 14.34, $2,250; 3. Loni Lester, 14.54, $1,500; 4. Jana Bean, 14.68, $750. Bull riding: 1. Josh Frost, 87.5 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Curley Bill, $7,500; no other qualified rides.

SAN ANGELO, Texas – Forgive Keenan Hayes for kicking himself. The young cowboy had a decision to make last fall, and he chose to continue to compete in his tryout campaign in professional rodeo for a second straight year. After winning both rounds and the aggregate championship at the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo, he pushed his 2022 earnings to nearly $40,000. Most young men would have taken their earnings from their first permit year and given themselves at moving up the world standings, but Hayes isn’t eligible for that. He’s eligible to battle for permit-holder earnings and points, and that’s it. He was really kicking himself after finding out he pocketed $16,506 in San Angelo. “I entered my circuit finals on my permit and won money at the circuit finals,” said Hayes of Hayden, Colorado, who collected $6,200 at the Mountain States Circuit Finals last October, and that money counts toward the 2022 standings. “At the time, I figured if I bought my card, I’d have to lose the money I’d won. “Now, I’m kicking myself for not buying my card.” He looked like a seasoned pro inside Foster Communications Coliseum. He won the first round with an 86-point ride on Hampton Pro Rodeo’s Rising Tide. That took place nearly two weeks ago. He returned Friday with incredible earnings already in his pocket, then dominated the championship round with a 90-point ride on Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Night Crawler.   In his wake, he left behind five cowboys with National Finals Rodeo credentials, including three-time world champion, nine-time qualifier Caleb Bennett, six-time finalist Tanner Aus and a couple of bronc busters that have been to ProRodeo’s grand finale once in their careers. “It’s the biggest rodeo I’ve ever won,” Hayes said. “It couldn’t have come at a better time. I had some truck problems this week, so after this, we’ll have the cost of that covered.” The reality of rodeo life is young contestants can compete on a permit, then they can purchase their PRCA cards after earning at least $1,000 in a year. Hayes had that option, but he took what he thought was the best approach; there are several talented, young bareback riders out there, and he wanted a bit more seasoning. He looks like he’s well done. “At this point, I’ll just keep after it and maybe set a new record for money won on a permit and see what happens next year,” he said. “It’s just awesome the kind of money they are paying at this rodeo. I’m stoked that I had a chance to compete for it. I’m super blessed it ended up in my favor.” Even to those in rodeo, it seems as though Hayes has come out of nowhere. That’s just not the case. He’s refined his craft in the Rocky Mountains and now has a chance to prove it. “Casey Colletti put on a rodeo school in Craig (Colorado),” Hayes said of the NFR qualifier. “He taught me the basics, and I took it from there. From then on, it has raised my riding level.” He’s riding pretty high in west Texas this weekend. San Angelo Stock Show and RodeoApril 1-15Bareback riding: First round: 1. Keenan Reed Hayes, 86 points on Hampton Pro Rodeo’s Rising Tide, $7,428; 2. (tie) Tanner Aus and Tim O’Connell, 85, $4,952 each; 4. (tie) Bronc Marriott and Luke Barlow Thrash, 84.5, $2,228; 6. (tie) Seth Hardwick, Jayco Roper, Tim Murphy, Caleb Bennett and Bradlee Miller, 84, $594 each. Final round: 1. Keenan Hayes, 90 points on Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Night Crawler, $1,650; 2. Tim O’Connell, 89.5, $1,250; 3. Tanner Aus, 88.5, $900; 4. Caleb Bennett, 87, $600; 5. Bronc Marriott, 86, $350; 6. Jayco Roper, 84.5, $250. Average: 1. Keenan Hayes, 176 points on two rides, $7,428; 2. Tim O’Connell, 174.5, $5,695; 3. Tanner Aus, 173.5, $4,209; 4. Caleb Bennett, 717, $2,724; 5. Bronc Marriott, 170.5, $1733; 6. Jayco Roper, 168.5, $1,238; 7. Luke Thrash, 168, $990; 8. Seth Hardwick, 167.5, $743. Steer wrestling: First round: 1. Cade Goodman, 3.5 seconds, $6,236; 2. (tie) Talon Roseland, Bryn Roy, Trell Etbauer, Gus Franzen and Gavin Soileau, 3.8, $3.796 each; 7. (tie) Dakota Eldridge, Brandon Harrison, Justin Shaffer and Tyler Waguespack, 3.9, $475 each. Second round: 1. Chance Howard, 3.3 seconds, $6,236; 2. (tie) Stetson Jorgensen and Walt Arnold, 3.5, $5,016 each; 4. (tie) Tyler Pearson and Kyle Irwin, 3.6, $3,389 each; 6. (tie) Dakota Eldridge, Rowdy Parrott and Dirk Tavenner, 3.7, $1,356 each. Final round: 1. Dakota Eldridge, 3.5 seconds, $1,622; 2. (tie) Payden McIntyre, Tyler Waguespack and Stetson Jorgensen, 4.1, $1,199 each; 5. Dirk Tavenner, 4.3, $776; 6. Rowdy Parrott, 4.7, $564; 7. Walt Arnold, 5.0, $353; 8. Landris White, 5.9, $141. Average: 1. Dakota Eldridge, 11.1 seconds on three runs, $9,354; 2 Stetson Jjorgensen, 11.7, $8,134; 3. Tyler Waguespack, 11.9, $6,914; 4. Payden McIntyre, 12.2, $5,694; 5. Dirk Tavenner, 12.5, $4,474; 6. Rowdy Parrott, 12.6, $3,253; 7. Walt Arnold, 12.7, $2,033; 8. Kyle Irwin, 14.2, $813. Team roping: First round: 1. Dustin Egusquiza/Travis Graves, 3.5 seconds, $5,206; 2. Cody Snow/Wesley Thorp, 3.7, $4,527; 3. Kaleb Driggers/Junior Nogueira, 3.8, $3,848; 4. (tie) J.C. Yeahquo/L.J. Yeahquo and Lightning Aguilera/Coleby Payne, 3.9, $2,830 each; 6. Caleb Smidt/Sergio Gonzales, 4.1, $1,811; 7. (tie) Aaron Tsinigine/Paul Eaves and Dawson Graham/Dillon Graham, 4.2, $792 each. Second round: 1. Nelson Wyatt/Tyler Worley, 3.5 seconds, $5,206; 2. Tyler Wade/Trey Yates, 3.6, $4,527; 3. Cory Kidd/Lane Mitchell and Chace Thompson/Tyson Thompson, 3.8, $3,509 each; 5. Clay Smith/Jade Corkill, 3.9, $2,490; 6. (tie) Clint Summers/Ross Ashford, Erich Rogers/Paden Bray and Chet Weitz/Jace Davis, 4.1, $1,132 each. Final round: 1. Derrick Begay/Colter Todd, 3.9 seconds, $1,436; 2. Nelson Wyatt/Tyler Worley, 4.1, $1,188; 3. Lightning Aguilera/Coleby Payne, 4.4, $941; 4. Kolton Schmidt/Wyatt Cox, 4.7, $593; 5. Aaron Tsinigine/Paul Eaves, 5.8, $446; 6. Tanner James/Phoenix Everano, 10.0, $248. Average: 1. Derrick Begay/Colter Todd, 12.8 seconds on three runs, $7,810; 2. Lightning Aguilera/Coleby Payne, 13.6, $6,791; 3. Kolton Schmidt/Wyatt Cox, 14.1, $5,772; 4. Aaron Tsinigine/Paul Eaves, 14.6, $4,754;  Continue Reading »

SAN ANGELO, Texas – Peggy Harris had her seat inside Foster Communications Coliseum. Her grandson, Ty, likely looked for her there before he competed during Thursday’s 10th performance of the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo. Though her seat was vacant, her presence was still felt, and he roped himself into the lead of his hometown rodeo heading into Friday’s championship round. “This is the first time I’ve roped at the San Angelo rodeo without her,” Ty Harris said, noting that his grandmother died last June. “If there was one thing I wished is my granny sitting right there,” he told announcer Boyd Polhamus as he pointed in the direction of the seat, “but she’s got the best seat in the world.” Ty Harris roped and tied his calf in 7.7 seconds to move into aggregate lead with the best two-run cumulative time of 15.6 seconds. That puts him top position as he prepares for Friday’s short go-round, which will feature only the top 12 contestants in each event based on the 10 preliminary performances that concluded Thursday. “I like to say that people who really have pressure are the ones battling cancer or have something they’re really struggling with,” said Harris, a three-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier. “The truth is, I get more nervous roping at this arena than I get roping anywhere else.” Pressure tests an athlete’s will and fortitude. It’s one thing to ride a horse and rope a calf, but it’s quite another when the weight of an entire community rests on one’s shoulders before they even nod their head in competition. The last time Harris was in this position was two seasons ago, and he entered the championship night in 11th place. Being the man with a target on his back is considerably different. He’s focused and ready for the shot at claiming one of the most cherished titles in ProRodeo. “If I were to win this rodeo, it would be a top three accomplishment for me ever,” he said. “Making my first NFR was huge, but winning this rodeo would be everything.” He’s just 23, so he’ll have plenty of chances to do so, but there’s always something lurking in the back of a competitor’s mind when he enters a coliseum he has been in since he was very young. While Foster Communications Coliseum is home to Harris, it’s become quite comfortable to bareback rider Caleb Bennett, a two-time champion who punched his short-round ticket with an 84-point ride on Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Put It Away on Thursday. “It has been a honey hole for me,” said Bennett, 33, a nine-time NFR qualifier from Corvallis, Montana. “Obviously the big thing is you have the opportunity to draw good ones in San Angelo. I seem to draw the right horse that fits me and make it work.” Only four points – 86 to 82 – separates the top bareback rider in the first round, Keenan Reed Hayes, from 12th man entering Friday’s championship.   “That shows how good the guys are and how consistent the bucking horses are,” said Bennett, who won San Angelo in 2019 and 2021. “Everybody’s got a chance to win this title. That’s one of the cool things about this rodeo is that Pete Carr brings in all these other contractors, which gives us the opportunity to get on more good bucking horses. “San Angelo’s cool, because the people are always into it. It’s a hell of a rodeo. The crowd loves it … eats it up. When the crowd gets into it like they do here, it just helps me feed off them and helps me do my job better.” Maybe that’s why the competition is so sharp for the best cowboys in the game. San Angelo Stock Show and RodeoApril 1-15Bareback riding leaders: 1. Keenan Reed Hayes, 86 points on Hampton Pro Rodeo’s Rising Tide, $7,428; 2. (tie) Tanner Aus and Tim O’Connell, 85, $4,952 each; 4. (tie) Bronc Marriott and Luke Barlow Thrash, 84.5, $2,228; 6. (tie) Seth Hardwick, Jayco Roper, Tim Murphy, Caleb Bennett and Bradlee Miller, 84, $594 each; 11. (tie) Chad Rutherford and Gavin French, 82. Steer wrestling: First round leaders: 1. Cade Goodman, 3.5 seconds, $6,236; 2. (tie) Talon Roseland, Bryn Roy, Trell Etbauer, Gus Franzen and Gavin Soileau, 3.8, $3.796 each; 7. (tie) Dakota Eldridge, Brandon Harrison, Justin Shaffer and Tyler Waguespack, 3.9, $475 each. Second round leaders: 1. Chance Howard, 3.3 seconds, $6,236; 2. (tie) Stetson Jorgensen and Walt Arnold, 3.5, $5,016 each; 4. (tie) Tyler Pearson and Kyle Irwin, 3.6, $3,389 each; 6. (tie) Dakota Eldridge, Rowdy Parrott and Dirk Tavenner, 3.7, $1,356 each. Average leaders: 1. (tie) Dakota Eldridge and Stetson Jorgensen, 7.6 seconds on two runs; 3. Walt Arnold, 7.7; 4. Clayton Hass, 7.9; 5. (tie) Tyler Pearson and Payden McIntyre, 8.1; 7. Dirk Tavenner, 8.2; 8. Tory Johnson, 8.3; 9. (tie) Landris White and Winston McGraw, 8.4; 11. Gus Franzen, 8.5; 12. Brandon Harrison, 8.6. Team roping: First round leaders: 1. Dustin Egusquiza/Travis Graves, 3.5 seconds, $5,206; 2. Cody Snow/Wesley Thorp, 3.7, $4,527; 3. Kaleb Driggers/Junior Nogueira, 3.8, $3,848; 4. (tie) J.C. Yeahquo/L.J. Yeahquo and Lightning Aguilera/Coleby Payne, 3.9, $2,830 each; 6. Caleb Smidt/Sergio Gonzales, 4.1, $1,811; 7. (tie) Aaron Tsinigine/Paul Eaves and Dawson Graham/Dillon Graham, 4.2, $792 each. Second round leaders: 1. Nelson Wyatt/Tyler Worley, 3.5 seconds, $5,206; 2. Tyler Wade/Trey Yates, 3.6, $4,527; 3. Cory Kidd/Lane Mitchell and Chace Thompson/Tyson Thompson, 3.8, $3,509 each; 5. Clay Smith/Jade Corkill, 3.9, $2,490; 6. (tie) Clint Summers/Ross Ashford, Erich Rogers/Paden Bray and Chet Weitz/Jace Davis, 4.1, $1,132 each. Average leaders: 1. Aaron Tsinigine/Paul Eaves, 8.8 seconds on two runs; 2. Derrick Begay/Colter Todd, 8.9; 3. Lightning Aguilera/Coleby Payne, 9.2; 4. Kolton Schmidt/Wyatt Cox, 9.4; 5. Tanner James/Phoenix Everano, 9.5; 6. Wyatt Imus/Caleb Anderson, 9.6; 7. Andrew Livingston/Seth Smithson, 9.8; 8. Payden Emmett/Lucas Falconer, 10.2; 9. (tie) Kolby Krieger/Boogie Ray and Cinch Moody/Rich Skelton, 10.4; 11. Nelson Wyatt/Tyler Worley, 12.5; 12. J.C. Yeahquo/L.J. Yeahquo, 12.6. Saddle bronc riding leaders:  Continue Reading »

SAN ANGELO, Texas – Twenty months ago, Kase Bacque left his home in south central Louisiana with a plan for college and a dream for rodeo. He’s living both at the same time. As a sophomore at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, he leads the Southern Region tie-down roping standings. If he can hold on to at least a top-three spot at the end of the 10-event season that concludes later this month, he will advance to the College National Finals Rodeo. He’s also hoping to end his first season in the PRCA as the top newcomer, and he made a significant claim for such Wednesday night during the ninth performance of the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo. Bacque roped and tied his calf in 7.7 seconds to move into third place in the opening round. That’s worth some serious Texas cash for the Opelousas, Louisiana, cowboy. “I’d really like to win the Resistol Rookie of the Year award, because it’s a big deal,” he said. “A lot of guys that do that go on to do a lot of great things in their rodeo careers.” It’s true. In tie-down roping alone, men like Shane Hanchey, Tuf Cooper, Caleb Smidt, Cody Ohl, Fred Whitfield and Joe Beaver have all parlayed their rookie titles into world championships – they account for 30 total gold buckles. Bacque would love add at least one more, but first things first. He’s just halfway to doing what he wants in San Angelo. He’ll rope his second calf Thursday night after the rodeo performance concludes. If his two-run cumulative time is among the top 12, he will advance to Friday’s championship round with an opportunity for a big win early in his young career. “I drew really good, but I got a good start on a really good calf,” he said of Wednesday’s run. “Once I got her roped and on the ground, I just needed to make the best run I could make.” He sounds like a veteran, but he’s been coached that way. By attending Sam Houston State, he has the opportunity to be around one of the greatest to have ever played the game. “I decided to go to school there because I got a good offer to go rodeo, and I like the rodeo program,” Bacque said. “The education program is great, especially the ag education. “Plus, I get to live right next to Joe Beaver, the eight-time world champion, and I get to rope with him a lot.” Bacque is getting his money’s worth and then some with that level of roping education. Beaver won five world championships roping calves and added three more gold buckles in the all-around race. He was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame 22 years ago. “In the practice pen, he can really lift your confidence,” Bacque said. “He can get in your head and tell you to go fast but still be consistent. He works that mental game. I think Joe’s biggest deal is to be solid and do your job. He’s so good at the mental aspect of it. “Joe helps inside and outside the arena. He’s a good role model for me.” And it seems the student is getting all A’s in his roping classes, too. Bacque is 13th in the rookie standings but will move up after the first round is paid out. Beaver was the first tie-down roper in PRCA history to have ever won a rookie title and a world championship in the same season; he did that in 1985. The only person to have done it since was Haven Meged in 2019. All Bacque has to do is look at the record books, and he’ll have plenty of inspiration to keep chasing his rodeo dreams. “This is one of the bigger rodeos I’ve been part of where it’s like a first step into my rookie year,” he said. “I’ve done good at a few others, like the last few years at the Huntsville Pro Rodeo, which is kind of my hometown rodeo while I’m in school. I won it last year and finished second this year.” If he keeps it up, Bacque and the 13-year-old sorrel gelding he just acquired last summer might walk away from west Texas with the coveted San Angelo championship, too. San Angelo Stock Show and RodeoApril 1-15Bareback riding leaders: 1. Keenan Reed Hayes, 86 points on Hampton Pro Rodeo’s Rising Tide; 2. (tie) Tanner Aus and Tim O’Connell, 85; 4. (tie) Bronc Marriott and Luke Barlow Thrash, 84.5; 6. (tie) Seth Hardwick, Jayco Roper and Bradlee Miller, 84; 9. (tie) Chad Rutherford and Gavin French, 82; 11. R.C. Landingham, 81.5; 12. (tie) Clayton Biglow and Wyatt Denny, 81. Steer wrestling: First round leaders: 1. Cade Goodman, 3.5 seconds; 2. (tie) Talon Roseland, Bryn Roy, Trell Etbauer and Gavin Soileau, 3.8; 6. (tie) Dakota Eldridge, Brandon Harrison, Justin Shaffer and Tyler Waguespack, 3.9. Second round leaders: 1. Chance Howard, 3.3 seconds; 2. (tie) Stetson Jorgensen and Walt Arnold, 3.5; 4. Tyler Pearson, 3.6; 5. (tie) Dakota Eldridge and Dirk Tavenner, 3.7; 8. (tie) Cameron Morman, Payden McIntyre, Jesse Brown and Clayton Hass, 3.9. Average leaders: 1. (tie) Dakota Eldridge and Stetson Jorgensen, 7.6 seconds on two runs; 3. Walt Arnold, 7.7; 4. Clayton Hass, 7.9; 5. (tie) Tyler Pearson and Payden McIntyre, 8.1; 7. Dirk Tavenner, 8.2; 8. Tory Johnson, 8.3; 9. (tie) Landris White and Winston McGraw, 8.4; 11. Brandon Harrison, 8.6; 12. Cade Goodman, 8.9. Team roping: First round leaders: 1. Dustin Egusquiza/Travis Graves, 3.5 seconds, $5,206; 2. Cody Snow/Wesley Thorp, 3.7, $4,527; 3. Kaleb Driggers/Junior Nogueira, 3.8, $3,848; 4. (tie) J.C. Yeahquo/L.J. Yeahquo and Lightning Aguilera/Coleby Payne, 3.9, $2,830 each; 6. Caleb Smidt/Sergio Gonzales, 4.1, $1,811; 7. (tie) Aaron Tsinigine/Paul Eaves and Dawson Graham/Dillon Graham, 4.2, $792 each. Second round leaders: 1. Nelson Wyatt/Tyler Worley, 3.5 seconds; 2. Tyler Wade/Trey Yates, 3.6; 3. Cory Kidd/Lane Mitchell and Chace Thompson/Tyson Thompson, 3.8; 5. Clay Smith/Jade Corkill, 3.9; 6.  Continue Reading »