2020 fair gave locals a shot at joy
HEMPSTEAD, Texas – The people of Waller County needed something. They’d been stuck in isolation for months, and a reprieve was in order Enter the community’s biggest event, the Waller County Fair and Rodeo. It was the perfect escape from the monotony that had come through the early months of the pandemic. “First off, we […]
Pettigrew makes the rodeo funny
DICKINSON, N.D. – There are so many fascinating aspects of a rodeo. Todd Pettigrew loves them all. Pettigrew is a rodeo clown and entertainer from Sedalia, Missouri, and he will be one of the featured pieces to the Wild Rides Rodeo Dickinson, set for 2:30 pm. Saturday, Sept. 18, at the Stark County Fairgrounds in […]
Breuer kicks off wild run with win
KILLDEER, N.D. – When Ty Breuer left his home Friday afternoon, he said goodbye to his wife, Kelli, and three children, knowing full well that he won’t see them much, if at all, for the rest of the month. He had put his name in the hat to compete at 24 rodeos in 29 days, […]
Elshere earns bronc busting title
KILLDEER, N.D. – Last December, Cole Elshere was searching for answers. He was at the National Finals Rodeo for the fourth time in his career, and he was excited to be there. Once there – at the NFR’s one-time home at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas – things did not go his way. He […]
Boquet is off and running
Humble beginnings define him, but bull rider is on a summer hot streak After his first qualification to the National Finals Rodeo, Dustin Boquet realized bull riding was the life for him. He was going to make the NFR every year. As one of the best in the game, he’d made it, and he was […]
Graves chasing circuit, world titles
DUNCAN, Okla. – Stockton Graves is no spring chicken, but he still acts like one from time to time. If he competes this December at the National Finals Rodeo for the eighth time in his career, he’ll be 10 years removed from his last qualification. During that 10-day stretch, from Dec. 2-11, he will turn […]
Horsepower is key for Fettig
Fans in Killdeer, Dickinson will get a glimpse of it in September KILLDEER, N.D. – When Alicia Fettig looks across the pasture at her herd of bucking horses, she smiles a bit and knows she’s in the right place. Only the best stock contractors in the sport of rodeo test the talents of their animal […]
Yerigan found his true calling
No job has ever been too big for Cheyenne Frontier Days announcer Five days before the opening performance of the 2021 Cheyenne (Wyoming) Frontier Days Rodeo, Garrett Yerigan took an inspiring walk around Frontier Park. He paid particular attention to the details, the angles, the lines … the history of America’s most recognized rodeo. He […]
Taylor takes to talking about rodeo
KILLDEER, N.D. – There was a time not so long ago that Randy Taylor would have arrived in western North Dakota carrying a gear bag loaded with a bareback riding rigging, chaps and tremendous talent. You see, Taylor was a ProRodeo cowboy who made his living riding bucking horses. In 1985, he was the first […]
Fettig offers rodeos close to home
KILLDEER, N.D. – On 2,000 acres of pasture on the Plains of western North Dakota, 180 bucking horses roam the grasslands. It’s all part of a spread owned by Alicia Fettig, the third generation of her family involved in the stock contracting business and the first woman in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association to be […]
Rhoads ready to entertain Killdeer
KILLDEER, N.D. – Tate Rhoads has a varied lifestyle, and all of it involves rodeo. Growing up in the sport, he was a roper. When he was 14, Rhoads took up bullfighting, where he showed his true athleticism and daring in a war with 1,600 pounds of swirling aggression. Whether it was a freestyle bullfighting […]
Boquet comes up roses in Dodge
DODGE CITY, Kan. – Dustin Boquet earned his first Dodge City Roundup Rodeo championship buckle Sunday night, but he won’t wear it. “This is a rodeo I’ve always wanted to win,” said Boquet, a bull rider from Bourge, Louisiana, who has qualified for the National Finals Rodeo twice in the last three seasons. “My dad […]
A tale of two countries
Aussie bronc buster owns 4 U.S. national titles and a lot of rodeo fun On U.S. soil, Jake Finlay is a four-time national champion. Funny thing is, he had to move to the United States to be such. You see, Finlay is from Goondiwindi, a community of nearly 11,000 people on the Queensland-New South Wales […]
Young takes 2 titles in Lovington
BY LUKE CREASYSpecial to TwisTed RodeoLOVINGTON, N.M. – The Lea County Fair and Rodeo provided a vital boost for all its champions, including Stockton Graves and Creek Young, who already won the Xtreme Bulls earlier week. “I couldn’t ask to do any better here,” said Young, who also won the bull riding title during at […]
Franks scores 90 points in the rain
DODGE CITY, Kan. – There is a gleam on Cole Franks’ face that may not go away for a while. The 20-year-old bareback rider has reason to be so happy. He’d just ridden Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Bar Code for 90 points to win the first round of the Dodge City Roundup Rodeo and collect $3,385. […]
Smith catches lead in Lovington
BY LUKE CREASYSpecial to TwisTed RodeoLOVINGTON, N.M. – Breakaway roper Tibba Smith hopes to pull off a hometown win as Lovington rodeo hosts breakaway roping for the first time. “I just have to sweat it through 15 more girls,” Smith said Friday night after posting a 2.3-second run in the second round of the Lea […]
Young bulldogger takes the lead
DODGE CITY, Kan. – Tyler Ravenscroft is just getting his start in ProRodeo, but he didn’t show any nervousness when it came to making steer wrestling runs at the Dodge City Roundup Rodeo. On Friday morning, he wrestled his way to a share of the lead with a 3.8-second run, then followed it during the […]
Friends share lead in Lovington
BY LUKE CREASYSpecial to TwisTed RodeoLOVINGTON, N.M. – It was the veteran bareback rider Tim O’Connell on the young up-and-coming horse Exotic Dancer, and his young up-and-coming traveling partner Jess Pope on the veteran horse Good Time Charlie that started Thursday night off right with a pair of 88-point bareback rides. “Good Time Charlie is […]
Smith, Corkill rope Dodge lead
DODGE CITY, Kan. – Jade Corkill and Clay Smith each own multiple gold buckles, but they’ve never won them together. They have a fighting chance this year, and they’re in position to snatch their first Dodge City Roundup Rodeo buckles, too. The tandem roped two steers Thursday in a cumulative time of 10.3 seconds to […]
Berry is triumphant in return
DODGE CITY, Kan. – It’s been a long seven months for bareback rider Leighton Berry. In January at Odessa, Texas, the 22-year-old cowboy was smashed in the bucking chutes and suffered torn ligaments in the mid- and lower region of his spine, between the T12 and L1 vertabrae. He followed that with surgery and rehabilitation, […]
Family Night a success for Howard
BY LUKE CREASYSpecial to TwisTed RodeoLOVINGTON, N.M. – Chance Howard’s first trip packing his son by himself made for a successful Family Night for the Sadler, Texas, cowboy at the Lea County Fair and Rodeo. He posted a 3.5-second run, which was the fastest time in the first round of steer wrestling on Wednesday morning, […]
Snedecor snags 3rd Roundup buckle
DODGE CITY, Kan. – Scott Snedecor, a four-time world champion from Fredericksburg, Texas, proved again Tuesday why he’s one of the best. The 19-time qualifier to the Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping became the first contestant at the 2021 Dodge City Roundup Rodeo to win a championship, and he did so in dominating fashion. […]
Teenager claims Xtreme Bulls title
DODGE CITY, Kan. – At 18 years of age, Mason Moody’s bull riding career is just getting started. He became eligible to be a professional bull rider in April, then purchased his PRCA permit two months later. In short order, he’s been to just five events, and he’s earned money at three of them. On […]
Rookie tops champ at X Bulls
BY LUKE CREASYSpecial to TwisTed RodeoLOVINGTON, N.M. – With the chips on the line in the final round, youthful vitality and the luck of the draw prevailed. The Lea County Rodeo kicked off Tuesday night with the Lea County Xtreme Bulls. Though 11 riders covered their first-round bulls, it came down to two riders in […]