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Champions Crowned at the Inaugural Elite Rodeo Athletes (ERA) World Championship in Dallas
American Airlines Center hosts one of the most incredible all-star rodeo competitions, featuring 87 of the sport’s top athletes and, now, 143 World Championships

DALLAS (Nov. 13, 2016) – The world’s premier professional rodeo athletes and animals that represent the new Elite Rodeo Athletes (ERA) tour brought the year-long competition to a thrilling end today at the American Airlines Center, crowning 16 final event and overall champions and handing out more than $1,000,000 in cash purse prizes.

“What started out as a fresh idea between a few cowboys on how we could advance and better the sport of rodeo turned into a dream-come-true this weekend in Dallas,” said ERA interim President Bobby Mote. “We couldn’t be happier with how the ERA World Championship turned out over three days at the American Airlines Center.

“Rodeo is a big part of Texas’ great heritage and boy did the ERA deliver to our fans at the event and tuning in worldwide on FOX Sports 2 TV, SiriusXM Rural Radio and FloSports.com.”

Saluting the newly-crowned champions of the ERA’s inaugural season, Mote tipped his hat to winners Chandler Bownds (Bull Riding), Bray Armes (Steer Wrestling), Clay Tryan & Jade Corkill (Team Roping), Cort Scheer (Saddle Bronc Riding), Lisa Lockhart (Barrel Racing), Shane Hanchey (Tie-Down Roping) and Steven Dent (Bareback Riding).

Sunday’s Round 3 competition results and overall ERA World Championship results:
Bull Riding
Friday’s bull riding winner Bownds (Lubbock, Texas) put up the best number again on Sunday, posting up perfectly on a right-handed spin by the bull they call “Spotted Canyon,” and rocking a score of 86.5 at the buzzer. Bownds’ second gold belt buckle of the weekend topped Oregon’s Cannon Cravens by two points (84.5).

Said Bownds on his Sunday win and overall title: “It feels great to get this title. I had a tough bull in the second round, Bushwacked, and he bucked me off pretty quick and sored me up a bit. But I came back today got another round win on a bull who was just good right there in the gate and around to the right and lucky enough to get the round win.”
- Bull Riding Round 3 Event Results:
  - Place, Name, Hometown, Stock, Score
    
    1^st Chandler Bownds, Lubbock, TX, Spotted Canyon, 86.5
    
    2^nd Cannon Cravens, Porum, OK, Frosty Whiril, 84.5
    
    3^rd Neil Holmes, Houston, TX, Ruff Em Up Truck, 80.5
- Bull Riding Event World Standings:
  - Place, Name, Hometown, Score
    
    1^st Chandler Bownds, Lubbock, TX, 3350
    
    2^nd Cody Campbell, Summerville, OR, 3025
    
    3^rd Beau Hill, Columbia Falls, MT, 2600
Steer Wrestling
Getting out of the gate a bit slow, times in the four-second range and a couple no scores with the steers early on were disrupted by the night’s No. 1 effort when Louisiana’s Casey Martin shot out to a quick and clean 3.58 second run. Two other ERA athletes put up sub-four second efforts on the floor of the American Airlines Center, the 2^nd place of 3.76 coming from the newly crowned ERA Steer Wrestling Champion Armes.

Said Martin: “It feels great, especially since I didn’t place in the first two rounds. So to get it done and get my steer down it feels great to win the round – and run the fastest time of the rodeo. It lets me know I’ve still got it.”

Added Armes on his overall championship: “Unbelievable. It’s been a dream all year long. I’ve just worked hard at it and thanks to everybody that has always supported me. I feel very blessed.”
- Steer Wrestling Round 3 Event Results:
  - Place, Name, Hometown, Score
    
    1^st Casey Martin, Sulpher, LA, 3.58
    
    2^nd Bray Armes, Pilot Point, TX, 3.76
    
    3^rdKyle Irwin, Robertsdale, AL, 3.92
- Steer Wrestling Event World Standings:
  - Place, Name, Hometown, Score
    
    1^st Bray Armes, Pilot Point, TX, 3850
    
    2^nd Kyle Irwin, Robertsdale, AL, 3675
    
    3^rdStockton Graves, Alva, OK, 3087.5
Team Roping
Disrupting the overall team roping champions’ potential sweep of the ERA World Championship in Dallas, Turtle Powell (Stephenville, Texas) and Jhett Johnson (Casper, Wyo.) teamed up to head & heel the night’s only sub-four second time, clocking a lightning quick 3.6 seconds for the double gold ERA belt buckles. In the 2016 ERA World Championship season the largest margin of victory in the roping events – 800 points – came courtesy of the team of Tryan (Montana) and Corkill (Nevada) as the two grabbed two of three wins in Dallas to secure the overall title.

Said Powell: “Well it felt good. We struggled the first two rounds and I struggled and didn’t rope very well. We were talking about it earlier and we always win something, so it was nice to win tonight … nice to win one of those buckles.”

Added Corkhill on the overall title: It’s really cool because there are certain things that only happen once and getting to be the first one, you only have one shot at that so to get it done is something that will be special to us forever.”
- Team Roping Round 3 Event Results:
  - Place, Name, Hometown, Score
    
    1^st Powell/Johnson, Stephenville, TX/Casper, WY, 3.6
    
    2^nd Tsinigine/Motes, Fort McDowell, AZ/Weatherford, TX, 4.38
    
    3^rdProctor/Long, Pryor, OK/Coffeyville, KS, 4.4
- Team Roping Event World Standings:
  - Place, Name, Hometown, Score
    
    1^st Tryan/Corkill, Plentywood, MT/Fallon, NV, 4650
    
    2^nd Begay/O’Brien Cooper, Winslow, AZ/Gardnerville, NV, 3850
    
    3^rdDriggers/Nogueira, Albany, GA/Scottsdale, AZ, 3175
Saddle Bronc Riding

Two big scores in saddle bronc highlighted the season’s final event in the popular, high flying discipline. And in the end the overall champ (Scheer) was edged out by Iowa’s Wade Sundell, 87-point ride. Sundell, riding the horse they call “Out West,” would secure his 2^nd place overall position in the ERA season standing with the win, though was still well back of Scheer for the overall title (1,000 points). Canada’s Zeke Thurston would place 3^rd overall in the standings, the only Canadian to make the ERA’s overall podium in in the opening season.
Said Sundell: “It’s a good three days here it’s exciting to come out on top the last day and just ride against all these great guys. And it’s been an honor to beat them all (he said with a laugh).”

Scheer on his overall championship: “Unbelievable, you know? You watch all of your idols walk around with gold buckles all the time so it’ll be pretty cool to finally get to wear one.”
- Saddle Bronc Riding Round 3 Event Results:
  - Place, Name, Hometown, Stock, Score
    
    1^st Wade Sundell, Boxholm, IA, Out West, 87
    
    2^nd Cort Scheer, Elsmere, NE, Bitter Robin, 86
    
    3^rd Ty Kirkland, Lufkin, TX, Lunatic From Hell, 84.5
- Saddle Bronc Riding Event World Standings:
  - Place, Name, Hometown, Score
    
    1^st Cort Scheer, Elsmere, NE, 4862.5
    
    2^nd Wade Sundell, Boxholm, IA, 3875
    
    3^rdZeke Thurston, Big Valley, Alberta, Canada, 3337.
Barrel Racing
If there was a surprise underdog story of the 2016 ERA World Championship it had to be Texan and ERA Last Chance Qualifier, Kassie Mowry’s 1^st/1^st/1^st sweep of the three barrel racing events. Mowry was unstoppable, topping everything from numerous legends in the sport to a couple young girls that weigh about half as much as the senior competitors. Mowry and Sunday’s runner up, Ashley Schafer (Yoder, Wyo.), both rode their horses to sub-13 second times – Mowry’s 12.793 topping Schafer’s 12.994 by a mere two tenths of a second.
Said Mowry: “I am just beyond ecstatic. I really had no idea that he (Mowry’s horse “Firewatermakehappy”) would come out like he did – I just thought this would be a really good learning experience. I am just thrilled that he is taking it in and getting stronger even at the end … just thrilled.”
Added Lockhart on her overall title: “Oh it is amazing, and it is a sigh of relief. I knew it was going to be close. We were just too long today and I really worried about it, but I thought it is what it is and if we are, great, and if not kudos to whoever did.”
- Barrel Racing Round 3 Event Results:
  - Place, Name, Hometown, Score
    
    1^st Kassie Mowry, Dublin, TX, 12.793
    
    2^nd Ashley Schafer, Yoder, WY, 12.994
    
    3^rdCallie Duperier, Boerne, TX, 13
- Barrel Racing Event World Standings:
  - Place, Name, Hometown, Score
    
    1^st Lisa Lockhart, Oelrichs, SD, 4025
    
    2^nd Kassidy Denison, Tohatchi, NM, 3562.5
    
    3^rdKassie Mowry, Dublin, TX, 2992
Tie-Down Roping

Bit of poetic justice for the overall champ Hanchey on Sunday as the Louisianan stepped ‘er up and topped the field, putting an exclamation point on his title with a 1^st place event finish on Sunday. Saving the best for last, Hanchey would top on of the sport’s all-time greats, Cody Ohl (3^rd) and runner-up Cooper Martin with a time of 7.05 seconds.
Said Hanchey on both is Sunday win and overall title: “Well, I came into this round kind of behind the eight-ball. I knew I needed to win first or second in the round after the way it kind of unfolded. I was lucky enough to go last so I knew what I needed to do and it all kind of just fell into place, both the event win today and the overall ERA tie-down (roping) championship.”
- Tie-Down Roping Round 3 Event Results:
  - Place, Name, Hometown, Score
    
    1^st Shane Hanchey, Sulpher, LA, 7.05
    
    2^nd Cooper Martin, Alma, KS, 7.21
    
    3^rdCody Ohl, Hico, TX, 7.38*
    
    3rd Marty Yates, Stephenville, TX 7.38*
- Tie-Down Roping Event World Standings:
  - Place, Name, Hometown, Score
    
    1^st Shane Hanchey, Sulpher, LA, 3650
    
    2^nd Caleb Smidt, Bellville, TX, 3425
    
    3^rdMarty Yates, Stephenville, TX, 3325
Bareback Riding
Like the grand finale of a fireworks display, Sunday’s bareback riding competition didn’t disappoint as the fans were brought to their feet not only by the podium trio of Dent (1^st), Oregon’s Bobby Mote (2^nd) Utah’s Kaycee Feild (3^rd), but also by the final retirement run of longtime great rodeo star Ryan Gray. Dent’s 86-point run on the bucking horse they dubbed “Smack Daddy” was the weekend’s second-highest score, and easily the day’s top scoring bareback ride.

Said Dent on both his event win and overall title: “I was just trying to stay calm and get a good seat before I nodded, things just worked out well after that. And on the title, it feels great. Just competing against the best guys in the world everyday just makes you better, and I’m humbled and feel blessed to be able to beat those guys. It’s unbelievable.”
- Bareback Riding Round 2 Event Results:
  - Place, Name, Hometown, Stock, Score
    
    1^st Steven Dent, Mullen, NE, Smack Daddy, 86
    
    2^nd Bobby Mote, Culver, OR, Rodeo Beyond, 84
    
    3^rdKaycee Field, Spanish Fork, UT, Painted Brush, 83.5
- Bareback Riding Event World Standings:
  - Place, Name, Hometown, Score
    
    1^st Steven Dent, Mullen, NE, 4337.5
    
    2^nd Kaycee Field, Spanish Fork, UT, 3837.5
    
    3^rdAustin Foss, Terrebonne, OR, 3300
Mote would wrap up the much talked about 2016 ERA tour and highly successful World Championship in Dallas by saying, “This wasn’t just the end of our first ever ERA season, but the beginning of something bigger in the sport of professional rodeo. Ten or 20 years from now we’ll be looking back at this moment realizing this is where it all started.”

For more information about the 2016 ERA World Championship and the ERA Premier Tour, including the announcement of the upcoming 2017 tour dates, please visit www.erarodeo.com.

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About ERA:

Elite Rodeo Athletes (ERA) is a “League of Champions” where only the world’s best rodeo athletes and livestock compete. ERA is rodeo’s finest and provides rodeo athletes, fans and committees, and the entertainment and rodeo industry an opportunity to experience the most skilled rodeo athletes in the world. ERA is comprised of two tours – the Premier Tour, featuring 87 of the sport’s top athletes, representing 135 world championships, collectively; and the Qualifying Series, offering up-and-coming rodeo talent an opportunity to qualify for the Premier Tour and ultimately the $1 million ERA World Championship on Nov. 11-13 in Dallas, Texas. ERA will payout more than $2.4 million in 2016, including the ERA World Championship. FS2 (FOX Sports 2) will nationally televise 42 hours of ERA programming in 2016, including all 11 regular season events and the ERA World Championship. ERA will have the largest household network audience in all of professional rodeo.
November 14, 2016
Athletes and Animal Athletes Shine at Opening Night of ERA Rodeo World Championship at American Airlines Center

DALLAS (Nov. 11, 2016) – The million dollar inaugural Elite Rodeo Athletes (ERA) World Championship – America’s new professional rodeo tour, featuring 87 of the sport’s top athletes and, collectively, 135 World Championships – opened three nights of action on the American Airlines Center floor on Friday.

Top bull riders, steer wrestlers, team ropers, saddle and bareback bronc riders, barrel racers and tie-down ropers all descended upon the Big D this weekend to decide – on two million pounds of dirt packed on top of the Mavs’ & Stars’ hallowed playing surfaces – the season-long, 11 tour stops of rodeo across the western U.S. in one action-packed weekend of competition.

“A heck of night of competition – with two more to go,” said Bobby Mote, Interim President of ERA and Bareback Riding Athlete. “Dallas has such a storied history of rodeo and the ERA’s extremely pleased to bring the World Championship back to town.”

Fans poured into the American Airlines Center some 90 minutes prior to the 7 p.m. start of the competition, mingling with the athletes on the rodeo floor, snapping selfies and scoring autographs – a fan-friendly event exclusive to ERA rodeo.

Competition results:
Bull riding
Drawing the bull “Doc Mosely” out of the fourth starting spot, Lubbock’s Chandler Bownds, was able to put up an early top score – that would stick through the 15-rider field. The round one win gave Bownds enough points to move into the lead of the ERA World Championship standings.

Said Bownds: “Good bull, Doc Mosely. Started out left, went around right. Not the best get-off, but made it out safely. Felt good to be out here in front of this great crowd at the American Airlines Center.”

Place, Name, Hometown, Stock, Score
1^stChandler Bownds, Lubbock, Texas, Doc Mosley, 85
2^ndZack Oakes, Tolar, Texas, King Buck, 83.5
3^rdCannon Cravens,Porum, Okla., Delco, 79.5

Steer Wrestling
The defensive linemen of ERA’s rodeo tour, the steers didn’t stand a chance on Friday night on the floor of the American Airlines Center. Local Texan Bray Armes (Pilot Point) threw his steer the fastest, bringing the several hundred pound steer onto his back in just under four seconds (3.97). Armes would be the only contestant to crack the four-second barrier of the evening, garnering the event win.

Said Armes: “Everybody bulldogged great tonight. I just had a good start and did my job after that.”

Place, Name, Hometown, Stock, Score
1^stBray Armes, Pilot Point, Texas, 3.97 seconds
2^ndHunter Cure, Holiday, Texas, 4.16
3^rdLuke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif., 4.21

Team Roping
The duo of Clay Tryan (Plentywood, Mont.) and Jade Corkill (Fallon, Nev.) were consistent and fast – two qualities fans have come to expect in the ERA team roping. Their time of 4.05 seconds was well out in front of second place, and pushed them ahead of Derrick Begay and Clay O’Brien Cooper who were winning the championship race coming into the night.

Said Corkill: “I thought we made a good run, but I wasn’t sure if it’d be good enough for first, but I guess it was better than I thought.

Team Roping
Place, Name, Hometown, Stock, Score
1^stTryan/Corkill, Plentywood, Mont./Fallon, Nev., 4.05 seconds
2^ndDriggers/Nogueira, Albany, Ga./Scottsdale, Ariz., 4.48
3^rdBegay/Cooper, Winslow, Ariz./Gardenerville, Nev., 4.63

Saddle Bronc
Nebraska’s Cort Scheer, aboard the horse “Good Times,” put up an exciting 85.5 score that was well out in front of the rest of the competition. Scheer’s ride went nearly the length of the arena and gave the crowd a great show with his classic riding style.

Said Scheer: “The place was electric tonight. Lots of good spur runs. Definitely had a good time and pleased I was able to win here at the first ERA World Championship at the American Airlines Center.”

Place, Name, Hometown, Stock, Score
1^stCort Scheer, Elsmere, Neb., Good Times, 85.5
2^ndChad Ferley, Oelrichs, S.D., Shining Mountain, 82
3^rd Zeke Thurston, Big Valley, Alberta, Can., Show Biz, 82

Barrel Racing
Dublin’s Kassie Mowry qualified for the ERA World Championship this past Wednesday through a Last Chance Qualifier competition that took place at Fair Park in Dallas. The qualifying competition progressed the top two barrel racers, giving them a chance to compete against the best in the world. Mowry showed up as an underdog, but quickly made her mark. She drew the No. 1 starting spot and set the pace for the night with a time of 12.91 seconds. Mowry’s time would hold up as the only sub 13-second run, gaining her the win in the highly-talented field.

Said Mowry: “Everything happened just so fast. I was just trying to stay in the middle of my horse and let him do his job.”

Place, Name, Hometown, Stock, Score
1^stKassie Mowry, Dublin, Texas, 12.91
2^ndFallon Taylor, Collinsville, Texas, 13.05
3^rd Lisa Lockhart, Oelrichs, S.D., 13.06

Tie-Down Roping
Texan Caleb Smidt was the only cowboy to break the seven-second barrier on Friday, putting together an impressive run at just 6.95 seconds. The win gave him enough points to shorten Shane Hanchey’s sizable lead down to just 225 points. With two more round of competition at 650 points per round, the tie-down roping points race just got real interesting.

Said Smidt: “I had a great run, had a good calf and my horse was awesome. Definitely looking forward to tomorrow night here in Dallas.”

Tie-Down Roping
Place, Name, Hometown, Stock, Score
1^stCaleb Smidt, Bellville, Texas, 6.95
2^nd Marty Yates, Stephenville, Texas, 7.23
3^rd Cimmaron Boardman, Stephenville, Texas, 7.27

Bareback Bronc
One of the discipline’s all-time greats, Wes Stevenson (Kaufman), went for a wild one on his horse “Dairy Day,” scoring an 82.5 for the win over Kaycee Feild and Ryan Gray (who announced his retirement from the sport following this Sunday’s ERA World Championship finale).

Said Stevenson: “I felt things went well. Dairy Day comes from a great breeder and great family. Horses like that help cowboys show off really well. You know what they say, you’re only as good as the one you dance with.”

Place, Name, Hometown, Stock, Score
1^stWes Stevenson, Kaufman, Texas, Dairy Day, 82.5
2^nd Kaycee Feild, Spanish Fork, Utah, Pin Ball Girl, 81.0*
2^nd Ryan Gray, Cheney, Wash., Lunatic Clown, 81.0*
*Tie

Tickets for the three-day competition start at $31 and can be purchased online at www.Tickemaster.com, by phone at (800) 745-3000, at the American Airlines Center Box Office or Ticketmaster kiosks located inside Fiesta Foods, Macy’s, Walmart, and the Shops at Willow Bend Mall. Tickets subject to additional fees. The competition begins at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 11-12 and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 13.
For more information about the 2016 ERA World Championship and the ERA Premier Tour, visit www.erarodeo.com. Fans can catch the action live on FloSports.com’s www.FloRodeo.com.

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About ERA:
Elite Rodeo Athletes (ERA) is a “League of Champions” where only the world’s best rodeo athletes and livestock compete. ERA is rodeo’s finest and provides rodeo athletes, fans and committees, and the entertainment and rodeo industry an opportunity to experience the most skilled rodeo athletes in the world. ERA is comprised of two tours – the Premier Tour, featuring 87 of the sport’s top athletes, representing 135 world championships, collectively; and the Qualifying Series, offering up-and-coming rodeo talent an opportunity to qualify for the Premier Tour and ultimately the $1 million ERA World Championship on Nov. 11-13 in Dallas, Texas. ERA will payout more than $2.4 million in 2016, including the ERA World Championship. FS2 (FOX Sports 2) will nationally televise 42 hours of ERA programming in 2016, including all 11 regular season events and the ERA World Championship. ERA will have the largest household network audience in all of professional rodeo.

November 12, 2016
Cooper Davis becomes 16th different PBR World Champion in thrilling World Finals in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS – It took five days and six rounds after a tight, weeklong battle that went down to the final round, and Cooper Davis (Buna, Texas) emerged as the 2016 PBR (Professional Bull Riders) World Champion. Davis went 4-for-6 and won Round 5 of the Built Ford Tough World Finals with a 91-point ride on Catfish John (Dakota Rodeo-Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Miller) Sunday afternoon at T-Mobile Arena, propelling him past former world No.1 Kaique Pacheco and 2015 World Champion J.B. Mauney.

It was Davis’ first 90-point ride at a Word Finals, capping the closest championship points battle in PBR history.

Davis, a 22-year-old father, becomes the 16^th different rider to claim the coveted PBR World Champion gold buckle, along with the $1 million bonus, and the first to be crowned at T-Mobile Arena, the new home of the PBR World Finals. Davis also finished third in the World Finals event, which he won last year.

Ryan Dirteater (Hulbert, Oklahoma) won the 2016 World Finals event title after a perfect 6-for-6 week, capped by an 89.75-point trip aboard Brutus to close out a week of intense bull riding in front of the largest PBR World Finals crowd. Dirteater was the only rider to cover all six bulls he faced over the week. He earned $250,000 for the event win, pushing past $1 million in career earnings.

SweetPro’s Bruiser (D&H Cattle Co./Buck Cattle Co.) was named the 2016 World Champion Bull after a 46.25-point performance for his 7.15-second buck off of 2016 PBR Brazil Champion Dener Barbosa (Paulo de Faria, Brazil) in the Built Ford Tough Championship Round.

Chad Berger was named the 2016 Stock Contractor of the Year, the sixth time he earned top honors.

Jess Lockwood (Volborg, Montana) was named the 2016 Rookie of the Year. Lockwood did not record a ride at the World Finals but he finished the season eighth in the world standings and 885.83 points ahead of 37-year-old Wallace de Oliveira (Goiania, Brazil) in the Rookie of the Year standings.

2008 World Champion Guilherme Marchi (Itatinga, Brazil) finished second in the World Finals event after a 5-for-6 performance capped by an 87.5-point ride on Red Rover (Curtis Mendell) in the championship round. Marchi ended his season as the sixth-ranked bull rider in the world after closing 2016 on a 12-for-16 run that began back in San Jose, California.

2016 Canadian Champion Ty Pozzobon (Merritt, British Columbia) finished fourth in the World Finals event. Pozzobon, who went 4-for-6, led the event through most of the week before being bucked off by Margy Time (D&H Cattle Co.) and SweetPro’s Long John (D&H Cattle Co.) on Sunday. Pozzobon finished 23^rd in the world standings.

2015 World Champion J.B. Mauney (Mooresville, North Carolina) rounded out the Top 5 after his 3-for-6 performance. Mauney was bucked off by Stone Sober (D&H Cattle Co./Buck Cattle Co.) in 4.42 seconds in the championship round and ended the season third in the world standings.

The Top 35 bull riders in the world will gather next in New York City’s Madison Square Garden, the most famous arena in the world, for the Monster Energy Buck Off at the Garden Jan. 6-8 to open the gate on the 2017 Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS).

Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series
2016 Built Ford Tough World Finals
T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Round 4-Round 5-Round 6-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Ryan Dirteater, 86.75-86-87-86.5-87.25-89.75-523.25-2077.91 Points.
  2. Guilherme Marchi, 0-89.5-87.25-88.75-88-87.5-441.00-1440 Points.
  3. Cooper Davis, 87.5-0-88.5-83.75-91-0-350.75-1172.5 Points.
  4. Ty Pozzobon, 84.25-89.5-88.5-86.25-0-0-348.50-710 Points.
  5. J.B. Mauney, 85.75-87-0-90.25-0-0-263.00-520 Points.
  6. Kaique Pacheco, 84.25-0-89-86.5-81-0-340.75-461.25 Points.
  7. Chase Outlaw, 89.5-0-0-87.25-85-0-261.75-395 Points.
  8. Valdiron de Oliveira, 84-85.5-85.5-0-0-86.5-341.50-347.5 Points.
  9. Stetson Lawrence, 0-0-86.25-89-85.25-0-260.50-240 Points.
  10. Joao Ricardo Vieira, 0-84.25-84.5-88.25-70-0-327.00-190 Points.
  11. Dakota Buttar, 0-0-70.5-0-88.25-0-158.75-180 Points.
  12. Marco Antonio Eguchi, 0-0-87.5-77-87.25-0-251.75-147.5 Points.
  13. Eduardo Aparecido, 85-0-0-0-87.75-0-172.75-145 Points.
  14. Rubens Barbosa, 0-89-0-0-0-0-89.00-125 Points.
  15. Wallace Vieira de Oliveira, 0-0-87.5-0-86.5-0-174.00-110 Points.
  16. Dener Barbosa, 0-87.5-82.25-84.25-0-0-254.00-95 Points.
  17. Cody Nance, 85.25-0-0-86.5-0-0-171.75-93.75 Points.
  18. Gage Gay, 0-0-0-88.25-0-0-88.25-85 Points.
  19. Fabiano Vieira, 84.5-86-0-0-0-0-170.50-71.66 Points.
  20. Paulo Ferreira Lima, 0-86-0-0-0-0-86.00-36.66 Points.
  21. Tyler Harr, 83.75-0-0-84.25-86.75-0-254.75-35 Points.
  22. Silvano Alves, 63-0-77-86.5-0-0-226.50-18.75 Points.
  23. Luis Blanco, 0-85.5-0-80.25-71.75-0-237.50-7.5 Points.
  24. Emilio Resende, 0-0-0-84-0-0-84.00
  25. Lachlan Richardson, 0-0-0-83.75-0-0-83.75
  Jess Lockwood, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
  Mike Lee, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
  Shane Proctor, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
  Tanner Byrne, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
  Derek Kolbaba, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
  Robson Palermo, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
  Mason Lowe, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
  Stormy Wing, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
  Aaron Roy, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
  Nathan Schaper, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
  Nevada Newman, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
  Kasey Hayes, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
  Jorge Valdiviezo, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
  Fraser Babbington, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
  Cody Heffernan, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
  Kurt Shephard, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
  Justin Paton, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
  Juliano Antonio Da Silva, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
  Neil Holmes, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
  Zane Cook, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
2016 Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series World Standings
(Place, Rider, Events, Wins, Top 5’s, Points, Total Winnings)
1. Cooper Davis, 42, 6, 17, 5,930.00, $1,452,707.75
  2. Kaique Pacheco, 50, 5, 19, 5,441.58, $448,801.38
  3. J.B. Mauney, 33, 5, 17, 4,822.50, $368,512.93
  4. Ryan Dirteater, 36, 4, 9, 4,547.91, $498,441.28
  5. Joao Ricardo Vieira, 48, 4, 15, 3,420.00, $304,935.06
  6. Guilherme Marchi, 31, 1, 10, 3,396.66, $321,771.20
  7. Eduardo Aparecido, 41, 2, 10, 2,941.66, $176,477.00
  8. Jess Lockwood, 47, 4, 17, 2,903.33, $177,778.68
  9. Fabiano Vieira, 43, 5, 11, 2,621.15, $188,981.75
  10. Mike Lee, 67, 2, 16, 2,301.66, $145,484.63
  11. Shane Proctor, 35, 2, 4, 2,114.16, $209,281.66
  12. Paulo Ferreira Lima, 53, 4, 12, 2,069.16, $214,270.95
  13. Wallace Vieira de Oliveira, 69, 3, 10, 2,017.50, $137,526.97
  14. Chase Outlaw, 28, 9, 14, 1,974.16, $240,370.02
  15. Tanner Byrne, 39, 2, 5, 1,845.83, $125,546.58
  16. Lachlan Richardson, 58, 5, 13, 1,728.33, $98,624.87
  17. Derek Kolbaba, 47, 7, 9, 1,727.50, $139,453.25
  18. Stetson Lawrence, 41, 0, 8, 1,663.66, $118,772.13
  19. Gage Gay, 46, 1, 7, 1,620.33, $103,677.24
  20. Robson Palermo, 43, 0, 8, 1,607.50, $86,556.79
  21. Mason Lowe, 37, 3, 7, 1,546.66, $94,149.66
  22. Silvano Alves, 39, 1, 5, 1,517.91, $104,712.14
  23. Ty Pozzobon, 32, 5, 18, 1,418.33, $139,677.03
  24. Rubens Barbosa, 40, 1, 9, 1,381.66, $78,802.83
  25. Valdiron de Oliveira, 52, 1, 8, 1,222.50, $105,541.64
  26. Cody Nance, 43, 4, 12, 1,116.25, $83,327.14
  27. Marco Antonio Eguchi, 55, 3, 12, 922.50, $80,946.85
  28. Stormy Wing, 41, 0, 6, 860.00, $64,236.89
  29. Aaron Roy, 47, 0, 5, 847.50, $57,165.38
  30. Dakota Buttar, 31, 2, 14, 752.49, $73,587.07
  31. Luis Blanco, 43, 5, 16, 740.00, $60,654.92
  32. Tyler Harr, 50, 4, 12, 735.00, $62,686.11
  33. Nathan Schaper, 46, 2, 9, 725.00, $88,128.59
  34. Nevada Newman, 41, 1, 6, 640.00, $56,458.47
  35. Kasey Hayes, 37, 1, 2, 595.33, $51,098.95
  36. Jorge Valdiviezo, 33, 3, 10, 537.50, $42,257.94
  37. Fraser Babbington, 41, 4, 10, 527.50, $50,823.44
  38. Cody Heffernan, 42, 4, 9, 514.16, $41,077.38
  39. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 43, 4, 9, 493.75, $42,822.58
  40. Kurt Shephard, 69, 0, 13, 475.00, $40,523.17
  41. Justin Paton, 48, 0, 13, 455.00, $40,805.89
  42. Brant Atwood, 50, 3, 13, 447.50, $49,380.52
  43. Dener Barbosa, 16, 2, 8, 440.00, $18,515.96
  44. Brady Sims, 47, 3, 12, 437.50, $40,452.33
  45. Emilio Resende, 41, 1, 13, 419.58, $41,691.61
About the PBR (Professional Bull Riders)

The world’s premier bull riding organization began as a dream of 20 bull riders 23 years ago and is now a global sports phenomenon. On its elite Built Ford Tough Series, the PBR features the Top 35 bull riders in the world and the top bulls in the business. The televised Built Ford Tough Series, the BlueDEF Tour, the Touring Pro Division and the PBR’s international circuits in Australia, Brazil, Canada and Mexico have paid more than $150 million in earnings to its athletes. Twenty-eight men have earned more than $1 million, including two-time PBR World Champion J.B. Mauney who, with his 2015 PBR World Championship, became bull riding’s first $6 million man and the richest athlete in Western sports history at $6.7 million in career earnings. In May 2015, PBR was acquired by WME | IMG, the global leader in entertainment, sports and fashion. For more information on the PBR, go to PBR.com, or follow on Facebook at Facebook.com/PBR, Twitter at Twitter.com/PBR, and YouTube at YouTube.com/PBR.
November 7, 2016
Colby Gilbert

Colby Gilbert has one more year of school at the University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada to become an Registered Nurse. She picked the field because of the flexibility. “You can go anywhere and do anything and there are also so many fields that intrigued me. I really enjoy kids, so I like maternity and pediatrics.” Although she loves the nursing world, the 21-year-old loves barrel racing more, and has secured a spot in the Canadian Finals Rodeo coming in November.

She grew up rodeoing through her mom and dad, competing in the amateur ranks and the semipro association, making the finals five times. “Mom is a futurity trainer, and my dad was a steer wrestler, he pro rodeoed, but it was mostly my mom that got me into it.” Andrea Udal raised Colby as a single parent and to keep things financially together, she carefully picked horses, trained them, and sold them to continue to improve on the bloodlines.

“I sold all of our horses so we could buy more and reinvest,” said Andrea. “She made the Finals on three different horses and won the amateur Finals on a six year old futurity horse. There’s not a day goes by that I’m not proud of her.” Andrea has since remarried and now has two young sons. ““They are the funniest things ever,” said Colby, of her two little brothers, Parker and Haye. “They keep me entertained.”

Colby is grateful for her mom’s investments of time and training with the horses. “I fell in love with every single one of them, but my mom has been good for me in that every time we gave one up, we got a better one. It made me more versatile getting on so many. I don’t think I’ve made any Finals on the same horse. I enjoy being successful on different horses – for me that’s a huge accomplishment. She does the great job of training the futurity horses and I’m the jockey that takes them from there. We are great team and hopefully will be for a long time.”

This is Colby’s first year competing on the pro level and thanks to her equine partners, she made it to the Finals. She is riding two different horses from Fulton Performance Horses. “They are outstanding. Their natural ability is like nothing I’ve ever experienced.” She started the year on a 6-year-old mare, Streakin Ta Corona, and finished the year on a stud, French Streaktorodeo. “When I got him, they had roped on him, and I derbied him as a six year old. He went to his first rodeo last year. He makes is so easy. He’s so easy minded and easy going. He loves his job and so gritty. I think he’s one in a million.” Both horses are owned by Corny and Maria Wiebe, and Colby’s mom trained the mare and won high point at the Canadian futurity on her. “We’ve become family,” said Colby of the relationship between her and the Wiebes.

She managed to get to 45 rodeos in spite of her work towards her nursing degree. “It’s been really time consuming, I guess I’m good at prioritizing,” she said. The Canadian Finals Rodeo falls during a week in November that school is out. She will finish her degree in December, work on her practicum until April then she is done. “I’ll come down south with my WPRA card. So look out, here comes Colby and French Streaktorodeo.” She loves nursing and the people that she can help and be around, but her first true love is barrel racing. “I always wanted to be a barrel racer.” And now, thanks to two great horses, she gets to go to her first Canadian Finals Rodeo, as the Resistol Barrel Racing Rookie of the Year.

Cutline for the family photo

It was 2014 CCA Finals. I won rookie of the year and the CCA Finals Ladies Barrel Racing championship and my sister Hallie Anderson (half sister) won Junior Girls Season Leader, Horse of the Year as well as the Finals Championship as well! Very exciting and memorable year for all of us!

November 1, 2016
ProFile: Lerin Thomas

story by Skylar Wright

Lerin Thomas, 21, has her eyes set on the bright lights of Las Vegas to sing the National Anthem during the National Finals Rodeo set for Dec. 1 through Dec. 10.
Growing up in Newkirk, Okla., Lerin started singing when she was 9 years old and learned by listening to others. The young talent never took singing lessons but knew she wanted to learn the National Anthem.
“I would listen to it over and over and I got to where I could add my own flair to it after many hours of practice,” she said.
While Lerin did not rodeo much herself, she said her dad, Jim Thomas, is the one who got her interested in the sport. She attended her first rodeo with her dad at 6 weeks old and has loved it ever since.
The NFR’s National Anthem contest consists of an open category and a youth category. The first round of voting was Sept. 1-14. The contest committee then announced the top six contestants, with the next round of voting set for Sept. 26 through Oct. 6.
“The contest isn’t something a lot of people know about unless you follow the NFR Facebook page or you are involved in rodeo personally and I would like to change that,” Lerin said. “It is an amazing opportunity and I would love to get more people involved each year.”
This is Lerin’s second time to go through the contest process. In 2015, she made it to the top ten but came up short in the next round of voting to continue on.
This year is a different story. She is packing her bags and preparing to sing on rodeo’s biggest stage.
There are three winners of the open category out of 130 total entries and one youth.
“I have always wanted to sing at the NFR, it has been my goal since I started singing at 9 years old so when I got that call saying I had won, I was overwhelmed with excitement,” Lerin said.
She will sing in front of thousands at the Thomas and Mack Center but that does not seem to bother her nerves. She has sung for different professional events numerous times and loves the feeling it brings to her.
“We are all so different as people but for those 2 minutes of the National Anthem, we share a connection and I love that feeling,” she said.
Aside from singing, she is an Oklahoma State University strategic communications senior.
“OSU has been the best time of my life,” she said. “I’ve made so many friends and I’ve been introduced to many new things. Being apart of the OSU cowboy family means a lot to me.”
She said she would like to work for the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association doing social media work and public relations.
Recently Lerin has had the opportunity to be apart of the backstage crews that help put on a rodeo. She is the social media director and founder for the 101 Wild West PRCA rodeo board. With that, She put together her first social media team for the 2016 Woodward Elks rodeo and plans to continue that each year.
With her spare time she likes to volunteer for the Miss Rodeo Oklahoma Pageant. “I’m passionate about rodeo and being a small part of something people love so much makes it all worth while,” she said.
She would like to thank all of her friends and family that have supported this dream and for those who voted for her.

October 28, 2016
ProFile: Layne Ward

Bull rider Layne Ward won the NIRA’s Southwest Region in 2015 competing in just five rodeos – half of a college rodeo season. This year, he’s sitting second in the region with plans to defend his title and represent Odessa College a second time at the CNFR. “This year is going good – I won the first rodeo of the season and placed in the second,” says the 22 year old from Almo, Idaho. He attended Utah State University for a semester in 2014 but competed in a full season of rodeo. When he arrived at Odessa College, he needed 24 previous credits before he was eligible for a second season of college rodeo, giving him just the spring of 2015 to qualify for the CNFR, which he accomplished by winning three rodeos and placing second in another. “College finals was rough – I’d separated my shoulder the week before in an accident and then went to two pro rodeos before the CNFR, so it was a hard week. But the experience was great and it’s a really fun rodeo to be a part of – it makes me hungry to do good this year and get back there!”
Odessa College came onto Layne’s radar when several of his friends, including a cousin, chose to attend school there. “C.J. Aragon, our rodeo coach, recruited my cousin, and I thought it would be pretty awesome to rodeo here,” Layne recalls. “C.J. put a scholarship together for me, and this is my second year here now. I love it here – the college and their rodeo program are great, and so is C.J. He’s always encouraging me, and any time I’m down, he’ll give me a boost. If I’m ever going through a rough time and have to ask myself why I’m doing this (rodeo), I’m reminded that I’m doing it to win titles, but I mainly want to push myself to see how great I can be. If I’m not at that point, then I need to keep working, and my coach and my parents do a great job of keeping me going. It’s always good to have those outside sources, but if you don’t have the internal drive to push yourself each day, it can be pretty tough.”
Growing up on a ranch in southeast Idaho gave Layne the foundation for the self-motivation and hard work bull riding requires. His parents, Steve and Tonya Ward, took him to gymkhanas where he rode sheep and calves before he competed in a year of junior high rodeo, while his brother and two sisters also compete. “I stick to the thrill side of things – I’m usually the one up for doing the scariest stuff,” Layne says with a laugh. “I try to take anything to the next level, whether it’s boating or riding my dirt bike.” In high school, he competed in amateur rodeos in the area, but after graduating, made a difficult choice to pause his rodeo career and serve a two year LDS mission in Mesa, Arizona. “Right as you graduate high school, it’s an important time in a rodeo career as you transition and practice for the college and pro level. It was a tough decision and I had to leave everything – I couldn’t ride bulls or horses or go to a rodeo for two years, but I don’t think I’d be as good as I am today if I hadn’t gone on that mission. I was able to heal up and work out, and let my body grow. But it was also a mental break that helped me forget about rodeo for a while and serve other people. It helped me grow up and mature, and put a lot of things into perspective.”
Returning to the chutes two years later wasn’t as challenging as Layne expected, but he admits it was still rough. “It was frustrating to re-learn some things, but I’d also forgotten some bad habits, and once it clicked, I knew how it should feel again,” he says. “Rodeo down here in Texas is a different level. It’s not better than anywhere else, but everybody here is ready to do well and help everyone else do the same. They step up the game and make rodeo what it is.”
Layne filled his PRCA permit this year and plans to ride on his card starting with the 2017 season. He’ll graduate in the spring with degrees in business administration and general studies. “I couldn’t have done a lot of this without the help of my sponsor, Brahma Lending and Leasing,” he finishes. “I’d like to win the college region here again and win the CNFR. I want to rodeo as hard as I can and see how far I go, but the aim is to make the NFR and win a gold buckle. I plan on going all the way!”

October 28, 2016
ProFile: Alex Phelps

Alex Phelps steer wrestling at SWOSU – Dale Hirschman

Alex Phelps – Bravane Shandon Alexander Phelps – is the National Student President of the NIRA. “It is voted on by the board,” said the 22-year-old from Ulysses, Kansas. “I think it’s a good opportunity for me to be part of something larger than me so I can go and promote college rodeo.” Alex recognizes that college rodeo is a stepping stone to the PRCA. “College rodeo has been good to me and I’ve enjoyed my time so far.” His goal as both National President and Central Plains Regional Director is to help educate elementary school kids about rodeo. “One of our jobs as regional directors is to talk to third and fourth graders – it was funded by a grant under Western Heritage Program.” Alex also received the 2016 Walt Garrison Scholarship Award, honoring one student director a year.
Alex’s mom passed away when he was 8 and he and his brother and sister were raised by his grandparents, Don and Peggy Phelps. “My grandpa farmed and worked in feed yards and he used to rodeo and rope and I’ve roped since I was little. Team roping is what I’ve done the longest, but I started roping calves when I was in junior high, added steer wrestling in high school.” Alex stepped in front of his first bull when he was in seventh grade. “I tried riding a bull, but it didn’t go my way and Wacey Munsell is a close family friend, so he asked me if I wanted to start fighting bulls and I did.” Alex has cattle sense from growing up doing real cowboy work for his neighbors. He also got to attend Rex Dunn’s last school. He watches videos and studies the action and timing. Now he fights bulls at six of the college rodeos and worked 8 pro rodeos last year. None of what he has accomplished would be possible without the help and support of his family. “I wouldn’t be here without them.”
He competes in all three events at the college rodeos, making time management a priority; especially when he’s up in the short round. “There’s only one event between team roping and bull riding, so it’s hard to get the horse taken care of and hustle around to get changed.” As the Regional Director, he is also responsible for the banners at every rodeo. “I’m the first one there and the last to leave. I’m there to hang the banners and take them down. Time is money – that’s what they say in rodeo production.”
He spends five hours a day in the practice pen, working on his events. “We rope a lot, and that’s one thing I try to stay sharp on. But we chute dog a lot too.” He works on consistency in all of his events. “I do my best to have a short memory, so if I have a bad day, I work on that the next day, and then I go from there.” He is heading towards a degree in marketing and loves his classes. “My plan is to get my degrees and have that as a backup plan. I want to rodeo, fight bulls, and auctioneer and see if I can make that work. I’ve sold everything from horses to pigs to tack.”
Alex recently lost his little sister and has put life in perspective. “Life is short, you can’t take anything for granted and you need to tell the ones you love that you love them. Be kind to one another because you don’t know what the other person is going through. Things can change in an instant, so be happy and let others know that you love them.”

October 28, 2016
Roper Review: Blake Teixeira

Blake Teixeira grew up in a ranching family near Salinas, California, where he spent much of his youth with his grandpa who roped and raised horses. As a youngster he roped with his family at local jackpots in lieu of Junior Rodeo. In high school he qualified for the National High School Finals and earned a scholarship at Tarleton University in Stephenville, Texas.
During his four years at Tarleton, Blake qualified for the college finals with heeler, York Gill, where they won three of four rounds and set an arena record.
Teixeira recalls going to his first jackpot in the Stephenville area and seeing many of the world champions he had watched on television.
“In the beginning it was very surreal. I’m at a jackpot and there are the Tryans, Speed Williams, Clay O’Brien Cooper, etc. Over time I got to rope with them and know them on a personal level.”
In fact, during his college years Blake took every opportunity to work for and with some of the best ropers in the world. He moved in with Jake and Jimmie Cooper during his sophomore year. At various times he worked for Randon Adams and Shawn Darnell. He helped both Ryan Motes and Michael Jones during their preparation for the NFR.
After graduating from college Blake drove for Chad Masters and Jade Corkill one summer and laughs, “It’s funny how much you can learn when you’re not entered.”
Afterwards, he helped Speed Williams for a couple of years. Blake says that’s where he saw first hand how professionals practice and prepare.
“While at Speed’s I learned a lot. I learned how to ride my horse better and basically learned how to win,” explains Teixeira. “It was then I realized how much it really took to rope at that level.”
When his grandfather passed away, Blake moved home to California to help his family. He took a break from rodeo after his head horses were injured. During that time he got his license and started selling insurance.
Now he has some good horses going, this year he’s been riding a nice black mare owned by Deforest Performance Horses that Chant Deforest rides at the rodeos, “Chant and I both rode the Black this spring and three of us rode her at Pendleton this year. I won third in the first round and Chant placed in the second round on her.” He is currently riding and winning on a bay mare, named Fanny, owned by York Cattle and Performance Horses.
“She has been awesome. I rode her at the rodeos all summer and at the BFI. She’s what I was riding to win the ACTRA Finals Open yesterday.”
Blake is thankful for the experience and exposure he’s had to the best ropers in the world. He credits that experience to the success he enjoys today. He also lost 75 lbs. this year, making a significant difference in the way he feels and rides his head horse.
“I used to really fight to get in front of my horse,” laughs Teixeira. “After losing the weight, I would almost crawl out too far.”
Now, at 31 years old, Teixeira is enjoying a healthy balance between work and roping. This fall he is roping with B. J. Campbell and the team has plans for some 2017 rodeos.
“I’ve been very fortunate to meet people who helped me and taught me. I’m thankful to my sponsors: Best Ever Pads, Fast Back Ropes, Remington Construction, Elko, NV, Great Basin Orthopedics, Yeti, Hansen Western Gear and Les Schwab tires. I’m immensely grateful to my girlfriend, Brooke Kieckbusch, and our families for their support.”

COWBOY Q&A

How much do you practice?
Every day.
Do you make your own horses?
Some.
Who were your roping heroes?
Speed Williams, Dan Green, Wade Wheatly.
Who do you respect most in the world?
My grandpa.
Who has been the biggest influence in your life?
My grandpa.
If you had a day off what would you like to do?
Play golf and go fishing with my girlfriend.
Favorite movie?
Tombstone
What’s the last thing you read?
The Score Takes Care of Itself by Bill Walsh.
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Easy going, honest, determined.
What makes you happy?
Seeing other people happy.
What makes you angry?
When the 49’ers lose.
If you were given 1 million dollars, how would you spend it?
Buy a ring, a house, a head horse and invest the rest.
What is your worst quality – your best?
Worst quality is procrastinating. Best quality is willing to help anyone if I can.
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
Married with kids and a home. I would still rope but would like to be a rodeo coach at a good school or give lessons. I enjoy helping people get better at their roping.

October 28, 2016
Biscuits & Gravy Breakfast Casserole & Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies

Biscuits & Gravy Breakfast Casserole

recipe courtesy of Dalton Boyden, Wasatch Rodeo Club from “One Big Family on the Rodeo Trail Cookbook”

ingredients:
1 lb. cooked sausage, bacon or ham
1 pkg. of buttermilk biscuits
8 eggs, scrambled

1 pkg country gravy mix, prepare as directed on package
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13×9 pan. Open biscuits and cut each one into quarters. Layer the bottom of the pan with the biscuits. Sprinkle the sausage, bacon or ham over the biscuits. Pour the eggs over the biscuits and meat. Pour the prepared gravy over the rest of the pan, sprinkle with the cheese. Cover and cook 30-45 minutes or until the eggs are cooked through and the cheese is melted.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies

recipe courtesy of Spikers Rodeo Club from “One Big Family on the Rodeo Trail Cookbook”

ingredients:
1/2 c. pumpkin puree
2 egg whites
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1 egg
1 Tbsp. vegetable or canola oil
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
2/3 c. brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

DIRECTIONS: Preheat over to 350 degrees. Line a 7×11 pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl combine pumpkin, eggs and oil until smooth. Set aside. In a separate medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, spices, salt and brown sugar. Add that to the wet ingredients and mix. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until it passes the toothpick test. Cool before cutting.

October 28, 2016
On the Trail with Ivy Conrado

Ivy Conrado has figured out what it takes to make 18 hour drives. “I listen to audio books, music, and call people all the time.” To stay awake, she drinks lots of water and doesn’t eat much. “Then you have to go to the bathroom and you can’t go to sleep,” said the 22-year-old who will run into the Thomas & Mack for the first time in December. Ivy comes from two generations of rodeo. “I grew up going to amateur rodeos, but I’m the first one in the family to make it to the NFR.”

Ivy started riding when she was three on a little pony named Snip. “I rode her all the time while my parents were riding futurity colts.” Both her parents, Cody Doig and Kelly Conrado, are horse trainers. They divorced when Ivy was five and she spent the school year with her mom in North Carolina and the summers with her dad in South Dakota. “My brother, Chance, lived with whoever he wasn’t in trouble with and Paige and I lived with mom.” Both parents moved back to Colorado when Ivy was 12.

She hasn’t always been horseback though. She was involved in a terrible horse accident at the Ft. Smith futurity when she was five. It took more than a year for her to get back on a horse, and the horse she got on was Tibbie’s mom. Little Fancy Granny (Racie) was raised and trained by Ivy and the duo took Barrel Racing Champion for the Colorado State Junior High Rodeo when she was 14. She never made the trip to the National Junior High Finals because it fell at the same time as the Junior Olympics for volleyball.

“I picked volleyball,” she said. “I quit riding in high school and focused on volleyball.” She played club volleyball and said it was the best experience of her life. “I played for some of the greatest coaches – it was a great experience. If I had to go back and do it again, I would.” The club she played on was a high level club and to get invited in took talent and work.

“Ivy is not tall, 5’5”, but she’s so gritty,” said Cody, who spent six years hauling her daughter to practices and tournaments. “The girls – who were mostly 6’ tall –told her she’d never make it playing for Front Range because she’s so short.” From October through July, the schedule was grueling. “I would go to work, pick Ivy up from school, and drive an hour and a half to South Denver to practice. She’d have a couple months off, then back to it.”
Ivy concurred. “Her schedule revolved around me – if we didn’t have tournaments all over the state on the weekends, we would have two practices a day.” The results of her dedication and hard work were several Division 1 scholarship offers for college. Ivy made another huge decision – to get back into competing.
“My dad was very thick into the horses and that’s where I ended up – at Dad’s house.” She started working with the colts and doing chores – feeding up to 75 head and cleaning stalls for her dad while Paige was rodeoing. “I loved futurities and taking eight horses, having the colts and the three years olds.” And along came Tiddie.
“Ivy and Paige had been riding and winning with Racie, and we did an embryo transfer on the mare,” explained Kelly. “I liked the Dash to Fame line, but it wasn’t reality to breed to because of the stud fees, so I’m opted for his son, Eddie Stinson, who I’d seen run on the track.” Chad Harddt owned the horse at the time, and he was willing to work with Kelly on getting the stud fees paid. “Then I worked with Royal Vista to get the embryo transfer done – it took a while to pay off the embryo transfer. We were eating at Wendys on the dollar menu and paying with quarters to get her here. She was the first foal out of the crop of Eddie Sins, first one of the crop and she’s been an excellent athlete from the beginning.”
CFour Tibbie Stinson – Tibbie – won 7 futurities with Kelly and has now taken Ivy to the fourth position going into the NFR. “When you’re running barrels you have to have a great horse,” said Ivy. “The amazing kind to make a living at it. It is up to you to keep it going, but you’ve got to have a good horse. I’ve got the good one.” The 7-year-old mare has proven herself again by winning the Barrel Horse of the Year, a distinguished award given by the AQHA and the WPRA.
The partnership between Tibbie and Ivy took time. “Getting on a horse that was a proven performer with my dad and hitting maybe $60,000 worth of barrels in our first year together was disheartening,” shared Ivy. “I’m not a quitter – those kinds of things make me want to be better. I went with Tibbie until I figured out a good routine for us. Rodeo is so different from jackpotting or futurities – you have to be able to adapt.” Ivy and Tibbie spent hours together, and with the continued encouragement and support of her dad, Ivy feels the team is ready for the Thomas & Mack. “Dad is a huge tool in my success because he is always there if I’m unsure – which is often. The goal is to stay in tune and in center with your horse which never happens perfectly every time.”

This was their first full year going hard down the road. Kelly got in the rig at Ft. Worth and went with Ivy for most of the year, helping with Tibbie. They are partners on the horse and the winnings. “Ivy is a really focused young person. We work really well together as a team,” he said. “She is very respectful of my experience and is very coachable. She strives to continue to be the best and looks at this as her job, which I appreciate. She doesn’t take any of it lightly. She’s been a real pleasure to work with. It’s been a lifetime goal and we’ve been able to work towards it together and that’s something I will always value.”

Ivy has used her dad’s lifetime of experience to help her this year. “He’s really good at entering, so he does that. If I feel very very strongly about something, he listens. I get to make the decision on how many runs we make.”

Ivy plans to keep right on rodeoing. “I want to see what Tibbie can accomplish. She’s so sound for a barrel horse and I get to be on for the ride.” After that, she plans to either train or find another horse and keep winning. “I like to win, first place is my favorite. I want to be the best I can be in this industry and have a healthy life.”

October 28, 2016
Back When They Bucked with Jack Roddy

Jack Roddy was born in San Francisco on Oct. 3 1937 to parents who had come from Ireland. His father was 18 when he arrived in San Francisco and he bought a 12 stool beer and wine joint. From that small beginning, he ended up owning the longest bar in the world (7 bartenders in one shift, and when they opened the Golden Gate Bridge, they rode 56 horses in the bar at one time), as well as a rodeo arena located in south San Francisco. His dad met his first world champion, Charlie Maggini in 1929 and 1930. He bought a riding stable and rodeo grounds in Colma, Calif., and that’s where Jack grew up, riding and roping with his father’s friends in the rodeo business.
“I was two when I watched my first rodeo and that’s all I wanted to be. We bought the ranch in San Jose, and I started riding calves and competing. I won my first buckle at 8 showing bridle horses. I was 14 years old when I won my first All Around.” By the age of 15, Jack started competing in the RCA, winning the wild horse race at an RCA rodeo. “In those days you could rodeo on a high school card, I always wanted to be a pro – Bill Linderman signed my card.”
Jack worked every event, and went to Cal Poly, where he was the 1959 CNFR All Around and Steer Wrestling Champion. He won four events at the Pendleton Roundup grounds, at a college rodeo – bareback, saddle bronc, bull riding, and steer wrestling.
After Cal Poly, he stayed there, and got an Associates of Arts in Cal Poly. “We were the Notre Dame of rodeo, producing more champions than any other college.” Years later, when Cal Poly needed $100,000 to keep the rodeo team going, Jack got on the phone and helped produce a two day function that raised more than twice what the college needed to continue the program.
He punched his first ticket to the NFR in 1962 in two events, team roping with John Bill Rodriquez, and steer wrestling. “All my life I wanted to be cowboy, but I was around my idols at the NFR, it was a tremendous honor.” He made six more appearances at the NFR. In 1966, he won the world championship in steer wrestling, setting a record for total earnings in the event. He also won the average that year. He followed up with another championship in 1968.
He remembers the last bareback horse he got on. “I was leading the world in the bull dogging and up top in the All Around, September came and I had only placed in the bulldogging. My home town had a rodeo and I got up in the bareback – all the top bareback riders were there. I drew Cheyenne, a big pinto…more money won on that horse … if you made a mistake he’d throw you out of the arena. I spurred him and I marked a 179 – he fit me to a tee. That’s the last bareback horse I rode.”
He retired from rodeo in 1971. “I love rodeo, but knew I had to do other things,” he said. Jack had been recruited by Bill Linderman to serve on the PRCA board in 1962, and continued to serve on and off for 16 years.
Jack made another run at the rodeo arena when he joined the National Senior Pro Rodeo. “In those days I weighed 240; I always tried to do things in pairs, so I told my wife I was going to try to win the bull dogging. It took me five times to get to the top of the ridge and I got in shape, and went on the senior tour in 1991, won it and did it again the following year. I threw my last steer in 4 flat with a crippled foot and never did it again.” He competed in 12 senior rodeos in one year. “The first year we had the Finals in Reno, and it took three years to get it back,” he said. “We got Bob Tallman to announce and by the third year it was packed and I got out of it.”
He hasn’t roped in a year. “I got bucked off five years ago and I punctured a lung and broke ribs. So now my wife does all the riding. I’ve been there, done that, and now I enjoy watching others – A wise man knows when to get off the stage, Will Rogers.”
He and his wife, Donna, still run cattle on their ranch in Brentwood, California. “I ran cattle all my life, we had rodeo steers that we supplied to rodeos. For the last 14 years, we have run cattle that come from Hawaii. Since they can’t raise corn or grain over they, they wean the calves and put them on containers and ship them to our place.”
He has seen a lot of change in rodeo. “When I won the Finals in Oklahoma City, I took home $1,700 – if it was today it would have been close to a couple hundred thousand. In Los Angeles, in the round one, fourth, third fifth, won $616 and the champion won $1,305. How many cowboys said I’ll never have another poor day.
“Everything I got to this day I can contribute to the rodeo business – not in the arena, but the people I’ve met and the doors that have opened,” he said. “Always wear a nice cowboy hat and be proud of who you are. I didn’t win many world championships, but I never failed to sign autographs and it opened doors.”
“I filled my bucket list time and again and enjoyed it.”
Jack Roddy was the recipient of the Ben Johnson Memorial Award at the 2016 Rodeo Historical Society Hall of Fame Induction at the National Cowboy & Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. “Gordon Davis started with Cecil and I carried it on,” said Jack. Ben Johnson was very important for rodeo; Gordon Davis, Cecil Jones and Jack Roddy were instrumental in establishing this award. This is chosen by the men who have received it earlier

October 28, 2016
No Excuses Just Results

I really like that saying, to the point that I had a four foot by eight foot sign of it in the practice arena.
I think that with many of todays’ students it has become much easier to make excuses. If students don’t succeed in the arena there is someone or something to blame. If they don’t succeed in the classroom there is someone or something to blame. Very rarely is the blame put where it should be, on the individual who is making the excuses.
The main problem I see is that it is easy to make excuses and not accept responsibility for your performance. It is much more effort to go to study hall for two hours every day. It is much more difficult to spent time on the spur board while everyone else is watching Netflix. It takes more dedication to spend time in the weight room every day. It takes commitment to show up and work in the practice pen every day.
Or you can use an excuse. You make the choice; you live with your results.
Coaches and teachers have heard them all. They can be rather creative and amusing at times, but the bottom line is they are still excuses. Excuses have become an easy escape for those who do not want to put out the effort, commitment or dedication to their work. As a result of their lack of effort, commitment and dedication they will find blame for why they failed.
Don’t want these types around, don’t need them around.
Make sure that you do not use excuses. Find a way to prepare yourself so that you will not need to use them. Don’t be the person who only practices the day before the rodeo then makes excuses for a poor performance. Don’t say that you don’t practice much because you start to tie slower. Make sure you are not just studying the night before the test. With a little effort, commitment and dedication you can prepare yourself to have good results, and have no need for excuses.
The most successful students and athletes that I have been around very rarely used excuses. They didn’t need to because they took responsibility for their performance in the class room and in the arena. They found the time to take care of the things that mattered most to them. Some were great students, the Academic All-American types. Others have gone on to compete at the WNFR. They didn’t make excuses, they simply produced results.
Be proud of your results. Know that you did the work and preparation to be successful. When you get away from using excuses and accept responsibility you are ready to do great things in and out of the arena.

October 28, 2016

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