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  • Scotch Oatcakes & Potato Soup

    Scotch Oatcakes & Potato Soup

    Scotch Oatcakes

    recipe courtesy of Agnes Loeschner, Siri Steven’s grandmother

    INGREDIENTS:
    1/2 1b. oatmeal (2 cups)
    1 cup sifted flour
    2 Tbsp. sugar
    3 oz. butter or margarine
    1 tsp. soda water
    1/4 tsp. salt
    1/2 cup milk

    DIRECTIONS:
    Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt the butter in the microwave, then mix into oatmeal. Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the butter/oatmeal mixture, then gradually add the milk. Sprinkle four onto surface then roll out until thin and cut into squares. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake for 8 minutes.

     

    Potato Soup

    Potato Soup – Courtesy of Celeste Lindell

    recipe courtesy of Andrea Wilson, “Cookin’ with Cowboys”

    INGREDIENTS:
    6 large potatoes
    1 can Campbell’s cheese soup
    (any variety)
    1 medium onion
    2 cups milk
    3 slices cooked bacon
    1 cup grated cheddar cheese

    DIRECTIONS:
    Peel and dice potatoes. Fill a pot with 6 cups of water, bring potatoes to boil. Add can of cheese soup. Add milk and chopped onion, salt and pepper to taste. Bring to boil, then lower heat and simmer about an hour. Serve topped with bacon crumbles and cheese.

  • Pacheco becomes No. 1 in PBR world standings with Tailgate Entertainment’s Last Cowboy Standing win

    Pacheco becomes No. 1 in PBR world standings with Tailgate Entertainment’s Last Cowboy Standing win

     

    LAS VEGAS – 2015 PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Rookie of the Year Kaique Pacheco took over the No. 1 spot in the PBR world standings after being crowned Tailgate Entertainment’s Last Cowboy Standing, part of Las Vegas Helldorado Days, presented by Monster Energy.

    Kaique Pacheco wins Helldorado Days Last Cowboy Standing Built Ford Tough series PBR. Photo by Andy Watson / Bull Stock Media. Photo credit must be given on all use.

    Last Cowboy Standing is part of the elite Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) and the third PBR Major of the season, which includes higher points than other regular-season PBR events and an increase in prize money.

     

    Pacheco and Eduardo Aparecido were the only two bull riders to advance to fourth round of competition. While Aparecido was bucked off of 2012 PBR World Champion Bull Asteroid (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve) in 3.93 seconds, Pacheco sealed his victory with an 88-point effort on Little Red Jacket (J.A.R.S. Bucking Bulls/Gene Owen). Watch Pacheco’s winning ride here.

     

    The reigning Rookie of the Year earned himself 920 points towards the world standings while taking home $115,500, which included a $100,000 payout, presented by Bad Boy Mowers.

     

    Two-time reigning PBR World Champion J.B Mauney and Round 1 winner Robson Palermo tied for a second-place finish, both adding 125 points to their world standings totals.

     

    Mauney also tied for the high-marked ride of the event with Pacheco, earning 89.75 points atop Moto Moto (J.A.R.S. Bucking Bulls/Gene Owen) to earn a Round 2 win. Pacheco posted 89.75 points on Wicked (J.A.R.S. Bucking Bulls/Gene Owen) to advance to Round 3. Here is Mauney’s high-marked ride. Here is Pacheco’s high-marked ride.

     

    Gage Gay picked up 110 world standings points, finishing fourth overall, and was eliminated in Round 3 after bucking off Beaver Creek Beau (Chad Berger/Clay Struve/PBR Rock Bar) in 4 seconds.

     

    Cooper Davis advanced to Round 3 before bucking off of Cochise (Jane Clark/Gene Owen) in 3.83 seconds, landing a fifth-place finish for 95 points towards the world standings.

     

    Aparecido placed sixth, after covering the rarely-ridden Stanley FatMax (Jeff Robinson Bucking Bulls) to advance him to what would be the final round of competition. FatMax has been covered just five times in 76 BFTS outs. Watch Aparecido become one of five riders to conquer the bovine here.

     

    Rounding out the Top 7 was Jorge Valdiviezo who collected 75 world standings points with his 88.5-point ride on Buffalo Jump (Wentz Bucking Bulls) in Round 1.

     

    18-year-old rookie sensation Jess Lockwood drew himself a chance to earn himself $50,000 if he covered Bad Boy Mowers Bonus Bull Air Time (Jared Allen’s Pro Bull Team) in Round 3. The World Champion Bull Contender made quick work of the young gun, tossing him in 2.66 seconds, so the $50,000 will carry over to the next PBR Major: the Nashville Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires. The Bad Boy Mowers Bonus will be $75,000 in Nashville.

     

    Air Time earned the Salem Nationalease High-Marked Bull award at Last Cowboy Standing with a bull score of 47.5 points out of 50, click here to watch him go up against Lockwood.

     

    CBS Television Network will broadcast all of the bull riding action from the final round of the Last Cowboy Standing on Sunday, May 15 at 4 p.m. ET.

     

    Las Vegas is the 16th stop on the 2016 Built Ford Tough Series schedule. The BFTS will now enter its annual summer break before the top bull riders in the world return to action August 19-20 for the Nashville Invitational, the final PBR Major of the 2016 season, at Bridgestone Arena.

     

    The BFTS is televised every week on CBS, CBS Sports Network – the home of the PBR – and networks around the world. Television ratings for PBR on CBS are up more than 33% this season compared to last year at the same time, according to Nielsen. BFTS telecasts are produced for the PBR under a multi-year agreement with David Neal Productions, a Los Angeles-based production company led by 34-time Emmy® Award winner and Peabody Award winner David Neal, who serves as executive producer.

     

    Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series
    Las Vegas Helldorado Days, PBR Last Cowboy Standing
    Las Vegas Village, Las Vegas, Nevada
    Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Round 4-Event Aggregate-Event Points)

    1. Kaique Pacheco, 79.5-85.5-89.75-88-0-342.75-920 Points.
      2. J.B. Mauney, 0-89.75-89.75-125 Points.
      (tie). Robson Palermo, 89-0-89-125 Points.
      4. Gage Gay, 87.5-87.25-174.75-110 Points.
      5. Cooper Davis, 86.25-87.5-173.75-95 Points.
      6. Eduardo Aparecido, 83.25-84.25-85.5-0-253-87.5 Points.
      7. Jorge Valdiviezo, 88.5-0-88.50-75 Points.
      8. Lachlan Richardson, 88-0-88-60 Points.
      9. Fabiano Vieira, 0-86.5-86.50-50 Points.
      10. Tyler Harr, 86.75-0-86.75-40 Points.
      11. Jess Lockwood, 84.5-84.75-169.25-25 Points.
      12. Rubens Barbosa, 86-0-86-10 Points.
      13. Joao Ricardo Vieira, 0-84.25-84.25-7.5 Points.
      14. Derek Kolbaba, 83-0-83-5 Points.
      (tie). Ryan Dirteater, 83.5-0-83.50-5 Points.
      (tie). Fraser Babbington, 84.5-0-84.50-5 Points.
      (tie). Jay Miller, 85.5-0-85.50-5 Points.
      (tie). Emilio Resende, 84.5-0-84.50-5 Points.
      Paulo Ferreira Lima, 0-0
      Shane Proctor, 0-0
      Wallace Vieira de Oliveira, 0-0
      Tanner Byrne, 0-0
      Mike Lee, 0-0
      Mason Lowe, 0-0
      Guilherme Marchi, 0-0
      Valdiron de Oliveira, 0-0
      Nevada Newman, 0-0
      Silvano Alves, 0-0
      Kasey Hayes, 0-0
      Cody Heffernan, 0-0
      Aaron Roy, 0-0
      Kurt Shephard, 0-0
      Cody Nance, 0-0
      Stormy Wing, 0-0
      Nathan Schaper, 0-0
      Luis Blanco, 0-0
      Juliano Antonio Da Silva, 0-0
      Reese Cates, 0-0
      Winston Lopez, 0-0
      Douglas Duncan, 0-0

     

    2016 Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series World Finals Standings
    (Place, Rider, Events, Wins, Top 5’s, Points, Total Winnings)

    1. Kaique Pacheco, 27, 3, 8, 2,362.83, $208,860.05
      2. J.B. Mauney, 20, 3, 11, 2,290, $116,546.48
      3. Fabiano Vieira, 25, 3, 8, 2,081.99, $140,768.25
      4. Joao Ricardo Vieira, 24, 1, 8, 2,047.50, $180,793.33
      5. Paulo Ferreira Lima, 32, 4, 11, 1,845, $196,231.06
      6. Eduardo Aparecido, 23, 1, 5, 1,819.16, $100,405.33
      7. Shane Proctor, 20, 2, 3, 1,811.66, $181,823.80
      8. Derek Kolbaba, 28, 6, 8, 1,595, $115,555.18
      8. Cooper Davis, 18, 0, 6, 1,595, $79,005.71
      10. Wallace Vieira de Oliveira, 35, 2, 7, 1,580, $90,570.68
      11. Ryan Dirteater, 18, 2, 5, 1,557.50, $106,346.19
      12. Tanner Byrne, 20, 2, 4, 1,507.50, $99,462.67
      13. Mike Lee, 34, 1, 8, 1,450, $82,283.14
      14. Robson Palermo, 24, 0, 6, 1,425, $63,529.61
      15. Jess Lockwood, 28, 3, 9, 1,270.83, $80,717.70
      16. Mason Lowe, 23, 3, 6, 1,210, $72,956.32
      17. Gage Gay, 23, 1, 4, 1,012.83, $58,231.67
      18. Lachlan Richardson, 33, 1, 4, 933.33, $49,755.30
      19. Guilherme Marchi, 15, 0, 5, 797.50, $38,754.68
      20. Ben Jones, 12, 0, 2, 787.50, $39,629.52
      21. Stetson Lawrence, 20, 0, 3, 773.66, $42,762.33
      22. Rubens Barbosa, 23, 0, 4, 628.33, $33,727.71
      23. Valdiron de Oliveira, 26, 0, 4, 622.50, $40,312.52
      24. Nevada Newman, 24, 1, 5, 560, $41,910.48
      25. Silvano Alves, 23, 0, 2, 549.16, $39,015.25
      26. Kasey Hayes, 19, 0, 1, 460.33, $30,841.67
      27. Jorge Valdiviezo, 15, 3, 9, 460, $33,100.52
      28. Cody Heffernan, 23, 5, 11, 406.66, $33,636.71
      29. Aaron Roy, 21, 0, 1, 367.50, $18,744.52
      30. Kurt Shephard, 32, 1, 8, 360, $27,687.89
      31. Cody Nance, 16, 1, 1, 340, $19,795.19
      32. Fraser Babbington, 24, 3, 5, 335, $29,923.92
      33. Stormy Wing, 16, 0, 1, 315, $23,656.67
      34. Tyler Harr, 23, 1, 6, 302.50, $28,211.71
      35. Nathan Schaper, 20, 1, 3, 270, $18,538.29
      36. Jay Miller, 21, 1, 2, 260, $20,085.26
      37. J.W. Harris, 4, 1, 1, 250, $16,700
      38. Justin Paton, 25, 0, 4, 247.50, $24,301.69
      39. Luis Blanco, 17, 2, 9, 230, $22,966.22
      40. Juliano Antonio Da Silva, 22, 2, 5, 212.50, $25,267.09
      41. Reese Cates, 20, 1, 2, 210, $19,642.77
      42. Emilio Resende, 26, 0, 7, 205.83, $21,818.61
      43. Winston Lopez, 13, 3, 6, 205, $20,690.06
      44. Beau Willis, 29, 1, 8, 178.33, $17,021.74
      45. Douglas Duncan, 11, 0, 0, 175, $11,780
  • ProFile: Chuck

    ProFile: Chuck

    Sometimes in life, it’s a matter of finding out what you’re good at, and then doing it.
    That was the case for a thirteen-year-old buckskin named Chuck.
    Chuck was no good at ranch work, and he didn’t really care about the tie-down roping, but when it came to steer wrestling, he loved it.
    Chuck was purchased by a Nebraska Sandhills ranch family as a weanling from the Ft. Pierre, S.D. sale barn. The family brought him to their neighbor, professional cowboy Kyle Whitaker, to break. Kyle could tell from the beginning that Chuck wasn’t an easy horse. “He was pretty rank,” he said. “He liked to buck all the time.” The horse wasn’t a bad one, but he wasn’t rider friendly, either, and Kyle knew his neighbors didn’t ride often and Chuck would require a lot of riding. So they agreed to sell him to Kyle.
    Chuck had a couple of vices. He liked to run, and he liked to kick. Kyle started him in the tie-down roping, but that didn’t work well. “The first three calves I’d run, I’d be holding him back, trying not to run over the calves.”
    And a person had to be careful around him. He kicked when someone walked around him.
    Kyle, a seven time Linderman Award winner, would have started him earlier in the steer wrestling, but he was afraid of being kicked. He finally got brave enough to try the gelding, wearing a football helmet the first time he steer wrestled on him.
    It only took a few runs for him to realize that Chuck loved steer wrestling. In 2013, he took him to a few amateur rodeos and the next summer, he tried him at a pro rodeo in Hamel, Minn. Kyle won the first round on Chuck with a time of 3.5 seconds.
    Now, nearly two years later, Chuck excels at his job. At rodeos, it’s not uncommon for steer wrestlers to share horses, and Kyle often mounts out up to four steer wrestlers on Chuck at a performance. Fellow bulldogger Nick Guy has ridden Chuck a lot in the last six months. Since the week after the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (WNFR), Nick has won $70,000 on him.  He’s won checks at the American qualifier in Rapid City, Tucson, Ariz., the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver, and San Angelo, Texas. “It seems like every time I ride him, I win,” Guy said.

    Kyle Whitaker steer wrestles on his horse Chuck at the 2016 RAM National Circuit Finals Rodeo in Kissimmee, Florida – Rodeo News

    Guy, a three-time WNFR qualifier, loves riding him. “He gives you the same trip every time,” he said. In the box, “he stands there, and doesn’t mess around.”
    Kyle, who hazes for Nick and also steer wrestles, warms Chuck up. “He’s not the funnest horse to lope and warm up,” Nick said. Kyle “rides him in one of the most severe calf roping bits you can be in, because Chuck runs. Chuck wants to go, and you have to have him bitted up. If you put a snaffle in there, he’ll just run off with you.” If the bulldoggers must ride through the arena on the way to the timed event box, Chuck might “blow through there and take out a judge, or whatever else is in his path.”   Kyle also rides Chuck to steer wrestle, and Chuck doesn’t change his ways for either cowboy. “It doesn’t seem to affect the way he works for me or Kyle,” Nick said. “It’s one thing if you mount a guy out and you’re winning a bunch of money, and the horse isn’t working for the other cowboy. Chuck still works great for Kyle, and Kyle’s winning.”
    When a steer wrestler rides another person’s horse, and wins money, he pays the horse’s owner “mount money.” The typical amount is 25% of what the cowboy earned for the run, and Nick’s been writing checks to Kyle all winter. “I’ve paid Kyle good this winter,” Nick quipped. “If you take twenty-five percent of $70,000, that’s pretty good money, that’s big money for him and for me.”
    Nick, who grew up in Wisconsin but now lives near Denver, is excited for the summer rodeo run. He and Kyle, who was one of his early mentors in pro rodeo, will travel together this summer. Kyle hazed for Nick at his first WNFR in 2010. “It’d be cool to make (the WNFR) on his horse, and for him to make it. It’s cool that it’s come full circle, and we’re traveling together, and I’m able to win on this horse.”
    And Kyle and Nick are glad that Chuck found his niche. He “wasn’t very fun to ranch on, and he’s not a real great calf (roping) horse,” Kyle said. “It was a matter of finding out what he liked to do and what he was made for.” And Chuck was made to steer wrestle.

  • Back When They Bucked with Larry Clayman

    Back When They Bucked with Larry Clayman

    Larry Clayman comes from a long line of rodeo clowns. He is third in the line of Claymans, including his daddy, Bill, and his granddaddy, Stanley, who were in the business of making rodeo fans laugh and protecting bull riders from angry bulls.
    Clayman, who was chosen as the 1973 National Finals Rodeo bullfighter, was born in 1941 and “raised up” in the Missouri Ozarks, in the southwest part of the state. He worked his first rodeo in Mansfield, Mo., with his grandad at the age of 13. For two performances, he got paid twenty bucks, and “I thought, my gosh, I’ll never see another poor day,” he laughed.
    Larry had already signed up for the Marine Corps when he was approached at an amateur rodeo in Okmulgee, Okla., by a legend in the rodeo world. World champion Jim Shoulders walked up to him, asking if he would clown rodeos for him. It “about floored” the barrelman to have the legend standing in front of him, but he had to decline, as his commitment was to the Marines came first. Shoulders told him about the rodeos held at Camp Pendleton in California, and that he should meet a Colonel who was working at Pendleton.
    When Larry got out of boot camp and was assigned to Pendleton, he got to meet Colonel Ace Bowen, the man Shoulders had told him about. That acquaintance led to Larry meeting one of old original stock contractors in California, Andy Jauregui, an immigrant Basque sheep herder-turned contractor who was also the 1931 world champion steer roper. Andy owned J Spear Rodeo Co., and hired Larry to work his first professional rodeo. His dad and granddad had only worked amateur rodeos, but after being hired by Andy, Larry never worked another amateur. It was in Bishop, Calif., and he worked alongside Slim Pickens.
    Larry clowned rodeos at Camp Pendleton, and then worked a lot of rodeos in southern California for Jauregui.
    At the  end of his four years in the Marines, he was stationed in Washington, D.C., at Marine Corps Headquarters, with top secret clearance, working for generals and colonels. He became acquainted with Howard Harris, Cowtown Rodeo, and began working his weekly rodeos in New Jersey.
    While he was in D.C., Jim Shoulders was putting on a bi-weekly rodeo in Leesburg, Va., on a polo field. Larry clowned for him, as well as for other stock contractors up and down the East Coast: Foy and Reynolds, among others, in Virginia, Florida, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Delaware, all over.  He worked for stock contractors across the country: Cotton Rosser, Harry Vold, the Alsbaughs, Keslers, Suttons, and Korkows,
    After discharge from the Marines in 1965, he went back to California. Cotton Rosser’s Flying U Rodeo Co. and Any Jauregui’s J Spear combined to make the Golden State Rodeo Co., one of the biggest in the business. He clowned and fought bulls for them, which was a great thing, he said. “They had more rodeos than anybody, and kept me busy.”
    Larry wasn’t working exclusively on the coasts. Throughout his career, which spanned three decades, he worked some of the biggest rodeos in North America: the Calgary Stampede, the National Western in Denver, Madison Square Gardens, the Cow Palace, the National High School Finals, the Indian National Finals, the College National Finals, and, in 1973, the National Finals Rodeo, which he worked with Jerry Olson
    as the funnyman and Tommy Lucia
    as barrelman.
    Back in those days, the bullfighter and rodeo clowns were one and the same; the sport hadn’t evolved to where different people do each job. Larry was proud of his roles and loved doing both of them. “I was considered a good bullfighter, and took a lot of pride in that,” he said. “I loved to fight bulls. It was fun, exciting, and a challenge. And yet I loved to make people laugh.” He credits his grandpa with that trait. “It was natural for him to make people laugh.”
    Larry was best known for his chimpanzee, Todo. He bought Todo in 1967 when he was six months old. For the next fifteen years, Todo traveled the rodeo road with Larry, making people laugh everywhere. One of his first acts was as a “doctor.” Larry would dress Todo in a white uniform with a red cross, with a red cross on his bag. Larry would be “down” from losing a shootout with the other rodeo clown, and his help would drive an “ambulance” into the arena, with Todo in it. Todo would jump out of the ambulance with his bag, stethoscope dragging on the ground, and bring the house down. He would give Larry CPR, jump on top of him, and make the monkey sound – “ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.”  Todo loved it. “He could hear the crowd roaring,” Larry said. “He got the biggest kick out of it.”


    Todo also Roman rode a team of horses, slapping one of the horses on the backside, throwing him off. As the horses made the circle around the arena, Todo would tumble across the circle and get back on.
    Todo was Larry’s main act, but he had others like a poodle named Squirrely Shirley who had “beatcha” bugs… scratch in one place and they “beatcha” to a new spot. He had a border collie act, and had trained horses that laid down, sat up, bucked him off, counted, and, while they napped together, stole the blanket off of Larry.
    One of his greatest honors was being part of a rodeo tour in Europe in 1970. It was organized by Buster Ivory, and the group, called Rodeo Far West, performed in Italy, Switzerland and France. Larry took Todo as one of his acts, and  also drove truck, hauling equipment and livestock. The tour lasted three and a half months. World champion bull rider Freckles Brown was also part of the tour, and Larry got to be good friends with him during that time.
    In 1977, Larry decided to put on a pro rodeo in Springfield, Mo, and then he began a pro rodeo in Branson, Mo., six nights a week, all summer long. Harry Vold and Jim Shoulders were hired as stock contractors, and Jerry Olson came with his dress acts and worked as the barrelman. He got so busy producing the rodeos that his clown/bullfighter career slowly phased out.
    And Todo had to be put to sleep for safety reasons in 1980. That was the final straw. “I didn’t intend to quit clowning, but it broke the straw in me a little bit,” he said. I didn’t have the umph, the fire in my belly, to go back on the road.”
    And he wanted to live a normal life. He announced a few rodeos, but began trucking as his second career. He’d driven truck as a kid, and loved being around them. At the age of 75, he’s still driving. “Everybody asks me why I don’t retire. Heck, I don’t want to. Somebody’s gotta keep America rolling,” he joked.
    Larry had a son, Stan, who died in an auto accident, and Stan has two sons, Joseph and Isaac, who live in Arkansas. Larry has three other kids: Kimberly, Matthew, and Michael, and five grandchildren. He and his wife Renee have been married twenty years.
    He remembers fondly his rodeo days, and has no regrets about his work. “I never dreamed I’d fight bulls at the (National) Finals. I never dreamed I’d have that kind of success. I loved the rodeo business and it was so good to me.” He met a lot of people, went a lot of places, and had some unbelievable experiences.
    He worked rodeos in nearly every state, he remembers, and one thing he is proud of is that he never missed a performance due to injury or illness. “I take pride in that,” he said, even though he suffered broken arms, legs, and had teeth knocked out. “You just keep working.”

  • On the Trail with Cade Svoboda

    On the Trail with Cade Svoboda

    Cade wrestling in high schoolCade Svoboda doesn’t do anything half-heartedly.   When the Nebraska High School Rodeo Association member decides to do it, he’s all in.

    Not only does he ride barebacks, steer wrestle and team rope, he also plays football, wrestles, runs track, is a member of FFA, Science Olympiad, Swing Singers, shows cattle, and is on his school’s straight A honor roll.

    The eighteen-year-old cowboy from Ord, Nebraska comes from a long line of cowboys, starting with his grandpa, Jim Svoboda, who competed in four events for years and has been a rodeo photographer for the last half-century.

    And his dad, Von, was also a rodeo athlete, riding barebacks, bulls, steer wrestling and team roping.

    Of his three rodeo events, bareback riding is his favorite, and his strength. He came into that event in a unique way. Cade started out riding bulls, winning the Nebraska State Junior High Finals and making the short go at the National Little Britches Rodeo Finals. But after he and his older brother Cole, had broken bones and a hospital stay, the bull riding was over. Cade ruptured a spleen and broke ribs, then Cole followed with a leg broken in two places, and later, an arm broken in three places, all while riding bulls. Their mom Angie said it was enough. “That was it,” Von said. “Three strikes, you’re out. No more signing releases for the bull riding,” which included both boys. So Cade went out and bought a bareback riggin’, and the first bareback horse he got on, at a high school rodeo, he placed, and that was that.

    Cade excels at school academically as well as athletically. He is the student in physics and calculus class who everybody asks for help when they’re confused. “I get it pretty quick,” he said about the work. “I usually get it right away and then I can help them.” He had a tough schedule this year, with physics and calculus classes back to back, one and a half hours each, “but it’s worth it.” He also took College English.

    His track coach and former wrestling coach, Coach Trampe (who is also his favor

    CADE SVOBODA football

    ite teacher) gave him the nickname “Wick”, short for Wikipedia. “If I ever have a question that deals with sports in Nebraska, I can ask him, and he’ll know the names of the athletes, where they’re from, everything. He’s a student of all sports. He knows the stats on everybody.”

    Of all his sports, wrestling is his favorite. He is a three-time state qualifier, and last year, placed second in Class C in the 170 lb. division. This year, he placed fourth in the 182 lb. division.

    Wrestling is where his athletic future lies. He has been asked to walk on to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s wrestling program, and with other scholarships, including some academic ones, his tuition is paid. Cade has attended Husker wrestling camps for three summers, and the coaches were impressed with what they saw. Coach Manning, the Husker

    Cade and heifer group champion in 4-H and FFA

    head coach, said he stood out. Ord High School is one of the smaller schools in the state, and yet the Huskers pursued Cade, alongside kids from Omaha and Lincoln schools. “Obviously, they like the country kids that have work ethics and physical toughness,” Von said.

    The coaches were also aware of another incident with Cade. Last summer, prior to the Husker wrestling camp, he broke his hand while riding a bareback horse at a Mid-States Rodeo Association rodeo. He assumed it was broken but didn’t get it x-rayed, knowing if it was, he wouldn’t be allowed to wrestle. He spent four days at the camp, wrestling one handed, with no grip, and held his own. That Friday, he went to the National High School Finals and rode bareback horses with a broken hand, his riding hand no less. His physical toughness contributed to his getting to walk on the wrestling team.  The Huskers plan to add twenty pounds to his frame, bringing him to the 197 lb. class and redshirting him.

     

    Cade Svoboda wrestling in high school

    He has qualified for state high school finals rodeo all three years and is currently leading the state rankings in the bareback riding, having maxed out in points. His goal is the all-around title and the Fort Western Whitaker Award, an award similar to the Linderman Award and given to the Nebraska high school rodeo athlete who excels in three events, including a roughstock and timed event.

    His dad says what makes Cade tick is his competitiveness. “He’s always been a real competitor,” Von said. It might be due to having an older brother to compete against, but maybe it’s genetic. Angie was a standout high school athlete who won a state track championship and who excelled academically. But the stakes are also high at the Svoboda household. “Even around home, we play a game of cards and it gets competitive. It’s kind of how our family is wired.”

    At the University of Nebraska, he will major in food science technology, which includes biochemistry, organic chemistry, and investigation of the chemistry and biology of foods. “It’s the only major on East Campus (the agricultural campus of UNL) that gives you all the prerequisites for medical school,” Von said. “He’s covering his bases to go to med school.” Cole is a junior at UNL in the same major, and he enjoys it. “It’s a damn tough degree,” Von said, but Cade is up to it. His uncle, Von’s brother J.B., who is a medical doctor, suggested that Cade stay with his food science degree instead of the medical field, as a very good job is nearly guaranteed any student who graduates with that degree. The food industry: ConAgra, Cargill, Hershey’s, and others, are the main businesses that hire food science graduates.

    Cade will graduate as valedictorian of the 2016 Ord High School class. His principal and former football coach, Mr. Hagge, speaks highly of him. “He’s a young man of character,” he said. “He’s got an incredible work ethic, and he’s a bridge builder, a leader. He’s willing to cross boundaries with students and develop relationships with everybody in school.” Cade has grown and matured throughout his last four years. “When he was a little younger,” Hagge said, “he didn’t quite have the perspective and there were times he got upset with himself or others. But what I’ve seen in the last few years is his leadership to a point where he gets it. He elevates the games of those around him, with his level of performance.”

    The Svoboda Family (from left to right) Cade, older brother Cole, father Von, mother Angie and younger sister Cora Coach Trampe said the same. “He’s a good leader. He expects a lot out of himself, and out of every other kid, too. Kids like him make kids around them better. It forces them to go to another level that maybe they didn’t want to go to, and that makes it better all around.”

    In addition to his athletics and academics, he loved playing baseball in the summer, but forgave that sport due to time constraints. He was also part of his school’s choir, 18th Street Singers, and band (where he played the tuba and drums). He is on the Quiz Bowl team.

    His unusual last name is Bohemian and is pronounced “Sa-BOH-da”. He has a younger sister, Cora, who is a junior in Ord High School. Cora is also a very personable, very involved, all sports, all A honor student, who ovbiously is following in her family footsteps of not doing anything half-heartedly.

     

  • Roper Review: Chris Anderson

    Roper Review: Chris Anderson

    Chris Anderson, his wife, Sarah, and their two children, Ike, who will be two in June, and Tinsley, who just turned two months, make their home in Fort Morgan and own and operate CA Performance Horses. “I’ve been out on my own professionally since 2008,” he said. “I qualified my first horse in the Open AQHA show in 2008.” The mare, Darling Catichi, won the Junior All Around in 2012, beating out every other five and under horse in the nation. “I would say that and making the National Circuit Finals in the steer roping (2010) are my biggest accomplishments so far with my horse training.”
    He has trained and ridden horses that made it in the top five, as well as winning Congress, and his next goal is to take his snaffle bit horse to Reno this year. “I’ve also got a really nice talented mare that a customer would like to win Super Horse at the World Show. JD Yates thinks she is good enough and if the stars are right and I do my job, we’ll have a chance. There’s a lot that’s got to go right ,but she’s a good enough mare.”
    Chris got his start in the training world with a really nice gelding. Thanks to the help of JD Yates and Jay Wadham, he was able to break into the business. “JD took me under his wing, and I showed some in the youth an amateur at college.” As a kid growing up in Merino, Colo., Chris had always wanted to rope steers and with the help of Tom Gibson and JD, he was able to learn how. “I had a fair amount of success in the Circuit Finals and made the National Finals once.”
    Of all the events that Chris competes in; team roping, calf roping, reined cow horse, and steer roping; he favors the steer roping. “I don’t get to do it as much as I used to, but I think it’s pretty unreal what a steer roping horse has to do.”
    A close second, in his opinion is cow horse work. “Those horses have to work all three events, cutter, dry work pattern, and down the fence.” He was excited to see the reined cow horse added to the high school rodeo events. “The horsemanship that goes with the cow horse stuff is so important.”
    He splits his time between training his own horses and working on outside horses. At any one time, there can be 20 outside horses in the pens that need tweaked for his growing clientele. “Not all of the horses I own are young ones in training; some are solid finished rodeo horses.” When he’s working on a horse for a customer, he has to have solid horses to help him. “If you sent me a heel horse to train, I can’t ask him to do a good job for me if the head horse we are working with is a green, goofy horse, so I have to keep a certain amount of good quality horses in my program so I can do my job. When I go to the horse shows, I have guys turning steers for me to show my horses and I have to have good solid horses to take with me for them to ride.”

    The other part of his business is rodeoing for himself. “I keep a couple really good rodeo horses and jackpot horses of my own.” The amount of money that can be won at these jackpots keeps growing, and Chris is ready to take some of that home. “Look at the World Series Finals in Vegas… you don’t have to get that much done to win $20,000.”
    He believes in spending money on a good finished roping horse. “For the average person that wants to go rope and enjoy themselves and have a good time, spend the $15,000 to buy a horse that is seasoned – that’s a cheap investment when you think about it. Look what’s out there to win. If you are a #4 header and you know how to do your job; score well and catch consistently; there is so much money out there you’re going to pay for that horse. That’s what people don’t understand – it’s not what did this horse cost, but the way I look at it, what did this horse cost me from being able to win – that’s how I look at the price of a horse.”

  • TRU Team Roping with Krece Harris

    TRU Team Roping with Krece Harris

    First I would like to express my gratitude for the privilege to write the team roping tutorials. This being the first article, I am going to explain what I refer to as the “80 / 20 rule”. For years we have heard this game is about 80% horsemanship and 20% roping. Ropers, I’m not saying it is all about your horse but stop and think about what your number one tool is!? For 20 plus years of teaching clinics I have seen it day in and day out, more dummy roping practice than riding practice. This is where I get to the heart of the article. I am a fundamentally driven person. The sport of team roping is a professional sport. This being said, we should treat it as other professional sports are treated. The fundamentals of our sport do not change, they continue to progress!  What you practice on the ground you will transfer to your horse. If you are unbalanced roping the dummy you will be out of balance in the saddle. It only makes sense because it is muscle memory. Roping the dummy should be fun and in a relaxed state but it should also be disciplined. I see more people roping the dummy with all of their weight on one foot, left hand against their chest or stomach and not squaring their shoulders to the target. My analogy or comparison to this is golf. We use the tip of our rope to catch with, just as golfers use the club head or face to hit the ball. Without equal balance in our stirrups, control of our left hand to maintain our horse position and squaring our shoulders to the target, there is no way to achieve consistency in the catch.  This is all created within our ground work. Mental discipline leads to the physical muscle memory. You should rope with equal pressure on both feet just as being in your stirrups. Your left hand should be relaxed and in front of you, not against your body and you should have your shoulders squared to your target. Just as other sports are performed and executed, core balance plays a huge role. Disciplined eyes make disciplined feet. Your eyes are your horse’s feet. Your horse goes where you look!
    I like to use steps in my teaching. If we have a game plan or purpose each time we practice, then we will achieve the goal of winning. Headers, keep it in order! Score, open up or square your shoulders and rotate your hips to your target leaving the corner, swing out and get your tip matched to your target, ride to position and make sure you complete a two-hand delivery. These are the 5 steps to practice in order. Heelers, same goes for you! Your first step is to establish a haze, then you must get to position. If you do not establish a haze, ride for position as intently as you can. Third, you must have your tip down in your swing. Follow the hip of the steer, not the head horse or head of the steer. Step five is be ready to rope!  Nothing was mentioned about the actual catch because if you are working on setting your run up through your horse in a fundamental correct order, you will achieve your goal of the catch.

    Review These Steps…
    Headers
    1. Score
    2. Open up or square to your target
    3. Swing out and match your tip your target
    4. Ride for position
    5. Deliver your loop with both hands to your target

    Heelers
    1. Establish your haze leaving the box
    2. Ride to position (always ride position even if you miss step one)
    3. Have your tip down in your swing towards the steer
    4. Follow the hip or back-end of the steer
    5. Be ready to rope (your first three jumps are usually as good as they get)

    Thank you and God Bless!

  • ProFile: John English

    ProFile: John English

    John and his son Sterlin were the 2015 USTRC Team Roping #11 Shoot Out Champions – Brenda Allen

    John English was born in Deming, New Mexico, in the southern part of the state. He had a rope is his hand as soon as he could hold one and grew up helping his dad produce ropings, shoe, and trade horses. “He taught me how to shoe horses and that’s how I made my living while I was going to college,” said the 6+ header. He made the High School Finals one year, traveling to Douglas, Wyo., and then went to Cochise College in Douglas Arizona, making the college finals three years in a row.  “I couldn’t figure out what I was going to major in and figured I was wasting my mom and dad’s money, so I came home.”
    He picked up where he left off, helping his dad. He worked for my brother inlaw selling furniture. “I  met Connie (Coffey) and moved to Belen, New Mexico, where I started out selling cars. I lasted a month, that is the only job I had that I can honestly say I hated,”  he said. “Connie’s dad and I started putting on ropings and I went back to the same life I had, roping, shoeing, and trading horses.” His life changed forever when he met Denny Gentry and went to work for him in 1992. “I was the liaison from his office to the classification office in California. I learned about production, from set up to tear down, and in general, I learned how to get along and solve problems.” He got married in 1994 and in 1996 the couple moved to California to take care of a ranch for Kiefer Sutherland. “I got to be good friends with after doubling for him in the movie The Cowboy Way. While in California, I got to rope and rodeo with 19 X NFR Qualifier Denny Watkins, what a great experience that was. Not ony did I get to head for Denny but I got to listen to all of the great stories of Denny’s career.”
    They came back in 1999 and went back to work for Denny at the USTRC. “That was right about the time of the the sell to EquiBrand, which moved the company to Texas. I didn’t want to move, so I stuck around here for six months, and ended up at Super Looper Magazine,” he explained. “Connie was selling ads for the radio and I went to meet with Robin Davis to see about getting a job for her there and Connie and I decided that I would be a better fit, so I got that job and went to work for Super Looper. I was good at it – I knew all the producers and it came natural to me – I’m pretty social and get along with people pretty well.”
    John and Connie have two sons, Sterlin is 13 and loves to rope and hopes to make it to the NFR someday; Stran is 8 and prefers baseballs to ropes. “The only think he likes to rope is goats, he’s got big dreams of being a professional baseball player.”
    Connie suffered a stroke after the birth of Stran, which left her paralyzed on her right side. “We thought we were going to lose her, but she made it through and we spent six months in rehab. We got her home and we spent two years in out-patient rehab. She’s riding and trying to rope again – something she has to learn all over again.” Raising a brand new baby and a five-year-old, plus running the house and keeping his job gave John an added appreciation for his wife.
    “In the fall of 2014, I got a call from Denny asking if I’d come to work for him. I was happy where I was, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity, I loved working for Denny and Connie before.” As the Event Coordinator, he schedules the events and takes care of the contractors. “All of the  things I learned from my time at USTRC with Denny and Super Looper Magazine had me well prepared for my job at World Series.” He travels to the local ones and every once in a while he pops in on the producers to see how the events are going. Working for Denny and Connie has allowed John to attend his son’s functions and allows him the flexibility to rope as well as produce a few ropings. “Gabe Trujillo and I are producing a few this spring and hopefully they will be successful.” John has no plans of changing what’s going on with his life. He is able to rope with his oldest boy (who he won the #11 Shoot Out with at the USTRC  National Finals last fall) and attend baseball games with his youngest and still have date night on Tuesday with his wife Connie.

  • Roper Review: Jay Hodge

    Roper Review: Jay Hodge

    At thirteen Jay Hodge was introduced to roping by a neighbor. From there, his dad bought a head horse and built a dummy for Jay to practice on. The next step was live cattle and Jay progressed with no formal training to the #7 header he is today at 37 years old.
    Jay’s growing passion for team roping earned him a spot at the Louisiana State High School Finals all four years of high school. He has been a constant competitor at the LRCA Finals for the last twelve years and enjoys competing at amateur and circuit rodeos, along with jackpots. The win that stands out to Jay is the PRCA rodeo in Winnsboro, LA several years ago. “All my friends had won that rodeo,” explains Hodge. “Plus, they give away a really nice set of trophy spurs that I really wanted.”
    Jay is a welder at Pulp Mill Services, Inc. and has been married to his wife Ashley since 2001. Their daughter Taylor Elizabeth was born last year.
    “Between working full-time and raising a family, I’ve taken a step back and now go to more jackpots. We’ve been going to some circuit rodeos and locally produced timed-event rodeos where I’ve done pretty well.”
    “My wife has always been my number one supporter,” says Jay. “Ashley has turned out countless steers for me. She keeps track of times and videos my runs. I absolutely could not do it without her.”
    Though Jay has never been to a formal roping clinic, he credits local roper Rance Gantt with helping him improve. When not working or roping the Hodges enjoy spending time at their deer camp in Arkansas.

    Jay Hodge - Courtesy of the family

    COWBOY Q&A
    How much do you practice?
    Two or three times a week. I rope the dummy every day.
    Do you make your own horses?
    The one I’m riding now, yes. He knew the basics but we’ve been through a lot in the last year. Right now you couldn’t afford to buy him.
    Who were your roping heroes?
    Jake Barnes. He can still head with the top ten in the world.
    Who do you respect most in the world?
    Jesus. My dad. My dad has always supported me in whatever I wanted to do.
    Who has been the biggest influence in your life?
    My dad. He has taught me to do what’s right, always do what you say you will, and to support your family.
    If you had a day off what would you like to do?
    I usually rope when I’m off. I enjoy spending time with my wife and daughter.
    Favorite movie?
    Lonesome Dove.
    How would you describe yourself in three words?
    Positive, goal-oriented, trustworthy.
    What makes you happy?
    Spending time with my family.
    What makes you angry?
    When things don’t go well or someone tries to do me wrong.
    If you were given 1 million dollars, how would you spend it?
    I would give 25% to my church, 25% to St. Jude, and with the other 50% I would take care of my family.
    What is your worst quality – your best?
    My worst quality is impatience. My best quality is being very loyal.

  • Back When They Bucked with HL Todd

    Back When They Bucked with HL Todd

    HL Todd was larger than life.  Whether it was riding his famous horse Rufus as he steer roped, hosting cowboys at his home in Burlington, Colo., or chewing on one of his signature cigars, he stood out in people’s minds.
    The Colorado cowboy, who will celebrate his 79th birthday this year, qualified for the National Steer Roping Finals four times and took numerous victory laps at such rodeos as Pendleton, Cheyenne, and everywhere in between.
    He grew up the son of John and Bernice Todd, hardworking farmers in northwest Kansas who were good people but had no use for rodeo. “They didn’t like nothing about it,” HL remembers. “It was like pulling teeth, when you loaded up to go to one.”
    Their middle child of three, born in 1937, began roping at the neighbor’s. Elmer and Albert Garrett had a roping pen, and that’s where HL got his start. He was sixteen or seventeen years old, and he was looking for something different than farming. “I’d be out there, (in the field) in August, in the dust and it’d be hot and I’d be sleepy, and I was going to figure out some way to make a living without running this tractor,” he recalls.
    He roped in high school a bit, then in college at Kansas State University, he competed in the calf roping and steer wrestling.
    After college graduation, HL moved to Burlington, Colo., where he worked for an insurance company for ten years. In the early 1970s, he got into the feedlot business, with a 10,000 head operation. After ten years in the cattle business, he went broke and went back to the insurance company, living in Kansas City and Oklahoma City before moving to a ranch near Chickasha, Okla.
    He roped steers on weekends and when he could get away from work. He won rounds and placed at rodeos across the country: Cheyenne Frontier Days, Walla Walla, Wash., Miles City, Mont., Pendleton, Ore., Ponca City, Okla., everywhere he went.
    And he and his wife Rita’s place became a stopping spot for fellow cowboys. Their home north of Burlington included an indoor arena. It was on the way for those cowboys from Texas as they headed north for the summer run. “A lot of those steer ropers and calf ropers would come and stay with us,” Rita said. “They were coming from south Texas, and Burlington was over a day’s drive. They’d camp there, go to county fairs, and then go on to Cheyenne and Pendleton.”
    Some of the names legendary to the sport of rodeo stayed with the Todds. James Allen, the father of eighteen-time world champion Guy Allen, came with his kids. Sonny Davis, Olin Young, Roy Cooper, Dick Yates, Jimmy Brazile, and more sat at the kitchen table with the Todds. They stayed in their campers or living quarters, and Rita cooked supper for them. Beef was plentiful, in the feedlot business. Cowboys often brought their families along, and HL and Rita’s two daughters, Kim and Kelly, loved it. Their home was a gathering place. “The kids loved it,” Rita said, “and I did, too. It was fun.”

    Clark McEntire, the father of country music superstar Reba McEntire, roped steers in the same era as HL did, and he often stayed at the house with his four kids. After roping all day, Rita would fix a big cook-out, and the McEntire kids, mainly Pake and Reba, would pull out their guitars to sing and entertain. “Mom jokingly said they had to sing for their supper,” Kim remembers.
    Jeff Todd, HL’s nephew and a team roper, remembers the big personality his uncle had in his rodeo days. “He was just always a figure that was larger than life,” he said. People comment to him that they always wanted to be like HL when they grew up. “He was the guy who, everything he did, was first class. He wasn’t flamboyant, but he always had nice horses and took good pride in his stuff.”
    He didn’t always catch, but if he did, he won, Jeff remembers. “That was his mojo. He had that winner’s knack. He might completely miss one in the first round, and then win the next round. He was always a go-round threat.”
    HL rode good horses and his best-known horse might be one he raised, a roan gelding named Rufus, who was the AQHA’s 1995 Steer Roping Horse of the Year at the age of nineteen. Rufus was also ridden by HL’s son-in-law, Jimmy Hodge, who made the National Finals Steer Roping three times. The horse was the envy of every cowboy in the arena. One time, at Cheyenne after slack, as HL went to put horses away, one of his granddaughters said to her grandpa, “I want to ride Rufus.” Tee Woolman, overhearing her, said, “Yeah, and so does everybody else around here.”
    HL qualified for the National Finals Steer Roping in 1973, 1975, 1976, and 1982, and continued to rope professionally till he was in his sixties. He won a go-round at Cheyenne at the age of 52, and went on to rope in the National Senior Pro Rodeo Association. He quit competing about seven years ago.
    HL mentored young cowboys, including the 1978 Tie-Down Roping Champion Dave Brock, and another steer roper, Rod Pratt. As a youngster, Pratt and his family neighbored the Todds, and Rod worked for HL, rebuilding his arena. “One thing led to another,” Rod remembers, “and he taught me how to rope.”
    Rod remembers HL with the big cigar in his mouth. “He always chewed on a cigar,” he said. “He’d light it twice, and it’d go out, and then he’d chew on it.” But when he spoke, it was time to listen. “He was pretty quiet and laid back, and you could tell when he spoke seriously, you needed to listen.”
    Pratt qualified for the National Finals Steer Roping eight times, winning the average in 1987. He rode one of HL’s horses for the last five rounds in 1987, and placed in every round. “If I needed something, he always helped me,” he said.
    HL worked hard to be a good roper, Rod said. “He was a good athlete. He had to work at it, but he wanted to, so that’s the driving factor right there. The ‘want to’ makes you do a lot of things well.”
    In addition to teaching him how to rope steers, HL taught Rod some life lessons, like how to enjoy the moment. “It didn’t matter where you were, he enjoyed life. Wherever he was, he enjoyed being there. He never did let life get him down.”
    HL and Rita enjoy retirement in Johnson City, Texas.  Their older daughter Kelly married Mark Dykes and they have two daughters and a son, and their younger daughter, Kim, married Jimmy Hodge, and the couple has twin daughters.

  • On the Trail with Timber Allenbrand

    On the Trail with Timber Allenbrand

    For Timber Allenbrand, the sport of rodeo has been ideal preparation for a successful future.

    She has been competing in the sport, and leading with several association service positions, in the Kansas High School Rodeo Association in her young, yet accomplished life so far.

    Timber’s mother Trisha barrel raced some in her thirties, but Timber quickly picked up the sport of rodeo as the first person in her family to pursue it as a career.

    Trisha had bought a barrel horse when she wanted to try her hand at the sport and still had the horse by the time Timber could climb into the saddle.

    “She just took to it. Since she was little tiny I had her on the back of a horse, and by the time she was 3 she was doing the lead class out there she and I, and that’s really how we got started,” Trisha describes of her daughter’s beginnings into rodeo.

    “I was fortunate enough to get involved with close friends who were involved in rodeo, so I was exposed more to what rodeo was really about, and those people have been very influential in our lives and have been so gracious to include Timber and teach her things,” Trisha says. From the lead line class, Timber took the reins herself with help from her mother and her rodeo family.

    The KHSRA cowgirl went through the ranks of the Kansas Junior High School Association, all the way to nationals in Gallup, N.M. every year, was a Reserve World Champion her 7th grade year and won a National Championship in 8th grade.

    Through the years she’s also served as an event director, held offices like that of Secretary in the KHSRA last year. Now Timber is the student president of KHSRA.

     

    “It’s really built my network for my future, and you don’t find the people that you do in rodeo anywhere else. The family circle is amazing,” Timber says and adds of the responsibilities of her role as president. “I love setting up community service activities for the contestants of Kansas High School Rodeo. It’s been a lot of fun to do that.”

    One of Timber’s fondest memories was seeing the kids from a nonprofit initiative called Real Men, Real Leaders benefit. The kids were given contestant jackets and cowboy hats and were able to come watch one of the KHSRA rodeos.

    “It just makes my heart happy to see everybody that doesn’t get the opportunity to do what we do be able to watch and have the joy through another perspective,” Timber explains.

    In the arena, Timber’s competitive focus is on the All-Around. She competes in five events, barrels, goat tying, breakaway roping, pole bending and cutting.

    “I just have learned from many people along the way, and [I’m] very blessed to have everybody that’s came along to help me get where I am,” Timber says.

    She especially credits her mother for her endless support.

    “My mom is a big impact in my life. She travels with me and works long hours. We have a team. She is the one out there working chutes late at night and holding the goat and being my coach, best friend and everything you do to be a single mom, but we have many people that help us out, so that’s awesome,” Timber says, adding that her Aunt Vicki is a big help as well, by caring for their home and animals when she’s out chasing her rodeo dreams.

    Trisha too has benefitted from sharing this rodeo experience with her daughter on the road.

    “I don’t know of many other things that let you go down the road with your kids and spend that much time together most weekends of the year, and live life and overcome obstacles, work through things and have the typical mother-daughter ups and downs as well, but at the same time not trade it for the world,” Trisha credits.

    Trisha has two businesses, and she and Timber have developed a system to work together to accomplish the tasks that need done as the mother and daughter travel for Timber to pursue her goals.
    “We just work together, a team, whether it’s feeding the horses or exercising [horses], cleaning the barn, doing the laundry, cleaning the house, or taking care of school work, it is just, from the minute we get up to the minute we go to bed, a team effort, because we knew that, and we knew what she wanted to be,” Trisha describes.
    Trisha’s career allows her flexibility when it comes to helping Timber with horses or practice. Timber may be roping and tying goats at 7 a.m., or doing school obligations after hours in the evenings, but the aspiring cowgirl makes it work.
    Outside of the arena, Trisha’s career in business has inspired Timber too. Timber plans to go on to college rodeo and major in marketing and business.
    “Business, I’m very interested in, and marketing as technology grows is very important,” she says.

    Beyond rodeo, Timber likes to work with young horses and develop their athleticism. “I love to train on young horses and work with them and grow them, their mind and try to find their best abilities,” she says.

    Trisha agrees this work suits her daughter. “We tease her about being a horse whisperer, because she truly has a relationship with [the horses]. She loves working with them and finding out what makes them work and bringing out the best in them, and that’s her sincere passion. She’s fundamentally learned so many things that I believe that’s part of why she’s successful in the competitive [arena].”

    Trisha goes on to credit rodeo with helping allow Timber to grow into the young woman she has become. “Rodeo has given her the ability to see the world from many different lifestyles, perspectives, attitudes, beliefs, and it’s let her realize it takes a lot of hard work, but it takes a lot of people relationships to make your world complete,” Trisha explains and adds that Timber has become able to see people for who they are, and that she tries to pay it forward with all of the help she’s been given from the rodeo community. “I think [rodeo] has just given her this whole way to see life and appreciate it and be part of something bigger, and it’s taken lots of miles and lots of wonderful people that have allowed her, and us, to have this kind of life together.”

    Timber likes to have a plan when it comes to big steps in life, but overall, prefers to go with the flow day to day, and these days, she’s soaking up all that her last year in the KHSRA has to offer. “Senior year has been great to me. I’ve had a blast, and I’m excited for the future.”

    Trisha is confident in her daughter’s ability to succeed.

    “She’s a very insightful person, and I have full faith that she has great things ahead of her, a lot to experience and a lot to give back for what she has been able to experience so far in her life as well. She will continue living God’s plan for her purpose.”

    Timber has signed on with the rodeo team Tarleton State University in Texas. She has been accepted into the Tarleton Honors College program as well.

    And it’s clear no matter where that road takes her, Timber will go prepared because of her involvement in rodeo and the Kansas High School Rodeo Association.

  • O’Connell claims RNCFR bareback title

    O’Connell claims RNCFR bareback title

    KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Tim O’Connell doesn’t have to chase a Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association national championship anymore.

    The standout bareback rider checked that goal off his list when he won the RAM National Circuit Finals Rodeo Sunday at the Silver Spurs Arena.

    “I’ve never made it out of the semifinals here before, so to come in here to the finals and win it against four great competitors and four great bucking horses is amazing,” said O’Connell, who was making his second trip to the RNCFR. “The good Lord just blessed me.”

    O’Connell clinched the national title with an 84-point ride on Korkow Rodeo’s Feather Fluffer in the finals. O’Connell advanced into the finals by placing fourth in the semis with a 77-point ride on Painted Pony Championship Rodeo’s Universal Mamma Don’t No.

    “Winning the RNCFR is the next biggest thing you can do in ProRodeo,” said O’Connell, 24. “My ultimate goal this year is to walk out of the 10th round of the NFR (Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Polaris RANGER) with a gold buckle on my belt, but I’m happy to strap this one on that says national champion. Half the guys here at the RNCFR were at the NFR last year and the other half are on their way. The RNCFR is a big-time rodeo.”

    For his performance in Kissimmee, O’Connell left town with a $24,915 check. He also was pleased that he was able to get redemption against Feather Fluffer.

    “I had been on Feather Fluffer before in Ellensburg (Wash.) last year, but I had a broken left (riding) hand and she kind of owned me,” O’Connell said. “She made me look stupid. I was hoping I would get a chance to get on her again under different circumstances and things worked out great for me today. That horse is so awesome. She gives a guy everything he absolutely needs. She kicks, she blows up and it was just so much fun to get to do what I love and I’m so blessed to be a national champ.”

    O’Connell has qualified for the past two NFRs, finishing a career-best fourth last season. He was third in the April 4 WEATHER GUARD® PRCA World Standings with $43,608.

    O’Connell certainly wasn’t alone in celebrating. Team ropers – header Jake Orman and heeler Tyler Domingue – won the most money of any of the RNCFR event winners, collecting $26,601 each. They qualified out of the Texas Circuit to make their RNCFR debut.

    Orman and Domingue did rope together last season, but Domingue hasn’t been roping on the PRCA circuit this season.

    “We practiced one time before we came down here and this is just awesome,” Orman said. “This is the most money I’ve ever won. It is pretty cool.”

    Domingue, who has been best friends with Orman for the last six years, also was basking in the win.

    “It’s a great feeling to be a national champ, that’s for sure,” Domingue said. “Jake and I have always roped good together, but we took a break this winter and when we made it here I was excited I got to rope with him. To win here just makes things that much more special.”

    Josh Peek, who has had immense success the last couple of years at the RNCFR, won the all-around title for the second year in a row. He left Kissimmee with $30,160 in checks from steer wrestling and tie-down roping. A year ago at the RNCFR at the Silver Spurs Arena, he won $18,171.

    “It feels great to repeat as the all-around champion,” Peek said. “I have a great support system and it’s awesome to have this kind of success again.”

    The other champions at the Silver Spurs Arena were steer wrestler Josh Boka, saddle bronc rider Rusty Wright, tie-down roper Clint Kindred, barrel racer Ivy Conrado and bull rider Parker Breding.

    Texas won the team title with $134,408, just edging out the Prairie Circuit which won $124,447. It was the third win in four years for Texas and the Lone Star State now has a record 13 titles in the event’s 30-year history.

    Event winners each received a $20,000 voucher toward the purchase of a new RAM Truck and a Polaris RANGER utility vehicle in addition to their winnings.

    Highlights from the RNCFR will be televised on CBS Sports Net; see ProRodeo.com/TV for the telecast schedule.

     

    RNCFR

    Kissimmee, Fla., April 7-10

     

    All-around cowboy: Josh Peek, $30,160, steer wrestling and tie-down roping.

    Bareback riding: First round: 1. (tie) Chase Erickson, on United Pro Rodeo’s Little Dougy, and R.C. Landingham, on Big Rafter Rodeo’s Logan’s Crossing, Mason Clements, on Stace Smith Pro Rodeos’ Miss Dunny, Tim O’Connell, on Korkow Rodeo’s Bambino Vold, 83.5 points, $4,121 each; 5. Ty Breuer, 80.5, $1,311; 6. Jake Brown, 80, $937. Second round: 1. Tim O’Connell, 87 points on Harry Vold Rodeo’s Painted Coast, $6,182; 2. Jake Brown, 85, $4,683; 3. (tie) Tanner Aus and Clayton Biglow, 82.5, $2,810 each; 5. Evan Jayne, 81.5, $1,311; 6. R.C. Landingham, 81, $937. Average: 1. Tim O’Connell, 170.5 points on two head, $6,182; 2. Jake Brown, 165, $4,683; 3. R.C. Landingham, 164.5, $3,372; 4. Chase Erickson, 164, $2,248; 5. Ty Breuer, 159.5, $1,311; 3. Clayton Biglow, 158.5, $937. Semifinals: 1. Frank Morton, 85 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s YoYo, $7,493; 2. (tie) Chase Lambert and Evan Jayne, 80, $4,683 each; 4. (tie) Tanner Aus and Tim O’Connell, 77, $937 each. Finals: 1. Tim O’Connell, 84 points on Korkow Rodeo’s Feather Fluffer, $7,493; 2. Evan Jayne, 80, $5,620; 3. Frank Morton, 77, $3,747; 4. Chase Erickson, 74, $1,873.

    Steer wrestling: First round: 1. Sterling Lambert, 4.6 seconds, $6,182; 2. Riley Duvall, 4.8, $4,683; 3. (tie) Cody Pratt and Jule Hazen, 4.9, $2,810 each; 5. Shayde Etherton, 5.3, $1,311; 6. (tie) Colt Floyd and Blaine Jones, 5.6, $468 each. Second round: 1. Josh Peek, 4.0 seconds, $6,182; 2. Riley Duvall, 4.2, $4,683; 3. Jon Ragatz, 4.6, $3,311; 4. Josh Boka, 4.7, $2,248; 5. Ty Erickson, 4.8, $1,311; 6. Juan Alcazar Jr., 5.0, $937. Average: 1. Riley Duvall, 9.0 seconds on two head, $6,182; 2. Josh Peek, 9.6, $4,683; 3. Sterling Lambert, 9.9, $3,311; 4. Josh Boka, 10.3, $2,248; 5. Jule Hazen, 10.8, $1,311; 6. Cody Pratt, 11.8, $937. Semifinals: 1. Sterling Lambert, 4.2 seconds, $7,493; 2. Josh Peek, 4.3, $5,620; 3. Josh Boka, 4.4, $3,747; 4. Kyle Whitaker, 4.8, $1,873. Finals: 1. Josh Boka, 4.5 seconds, $7,493; 2. Kyle Whitaker, $5,620; 3. Josh Peek, 5.1, $3,747; 4. Sterling Lambert, 5.2, $1,873.

    Team roping: First round: 1. Jake Orman/Tyler Domingue, 5.3 seconds, $6,182 each; 2. Billy Bob Brown/Garrett Jess, 6.3, $4,683; 3. J.B. Lord/Levi Lord, 6.5, $3,372; 4. Andrew Ward/Tyler Worley, 6.6, $2,248; 5. (tie) Tyler Wade/Kinney Harrell, Barak Freeman/Asher Freeman and Eric Fabian/Shawn Quinn, 6.9, $749 each. Second round: 1. Coleman Proctor/Jake Long, 4.8 seconds. $6,182 each; 2. Matt Sherwood/Quinn Kesler, 5.1, $4,683; 3. Spencer Mitchell/Russell Cardoza, 5.3, $3,372; 4. Jade Stoddard/Ike Folsom, 5.5, $2,247; 5. Shawn Bessette/Sid Sporer, 6.1, $1,311; 6. Billy Brown/Garrett Jess, 6.2, $937. Average leaders: 1. (tie) Billy Brown/Garrett Jess and Jake Orman/Tyler Domingue, 12.5 seconds on two head, $5,433 each; 3. Shawn Bessette/Sid Sporer, 13.4, $4,683; 4. Ryan VonAhn/J.W. Beck, 13.5, $2,247; 5. Jade Stoddard/Ike Folsom, $1,311; 6. Coleman Proctor/Jake Long, 15.1, $937. Semifinals: 1. Jake Orman/Tyler Domingue, 6.5 seconds, $7,493 each; 2. Shawn Bessette/Sid Sporer, 7.3, $5,620; 3. Billy Brown/Garrett Jess, 7.4, $3,747; 4. Colman Proctor/Jake Long, 11.3, $1,873. Finals: 1. Jake Orman/Tyler Domingue, 4.4 seconds, $7,493 each; 2. Coleman Proctor/Jake Long, 5.0, $5,620; 3. Shawn Bessette/Sid Sporer, 5.8, $3,747; no other qualified runs.

    Saddle bronc riding: First round: 1. Jacobs Crawley, 84 points on Sutton Rodeo’s Prom Night, $6,182; 2. Allen Boore, 82, $4,683; 3. J.J. Elshere, 81, $3,372; 4. (tie) Sam Spreadborough, Heith DeMoss and Rusty Wright, 80.5, $1,499 each. Second round: 1. Joaquin Real, 83 points on Pete Carr’s Classic Pro Rodeo’s Another Gray, $6,182; 2. (tie) Curtis Garton and J.J. Elshere, 82, $4,028; 4. Allen Boore, 81.5, $2,248; 5. Rusty Wright, 81, $1,311; 6. (tie) Doug Aldridge and Sam Spreadborough, 79.5, $468 each. Average leaders: 1. Allen Boore, 163.5 points on two head, $6,182; 2. J.J. Elshere, 163, $4,683; 3. Rusty Wright, 161.5, $3,372; 4. Curtis Garton, 161, $2,247; 5. Sam Spreadborough, 160, $1,311; 6. Jacobs Crawley, 159, $937. Semifinals: 1. Rusty Wright, 84 points on Rafter H Rodeo’s Spade, $7,493; 2. Jesse James Kirby, 83, $5,620; 3. Jacobs Crawley, 80.5, $3,747; 4. Sam Spreadborough, 79.5, $1,873. Finals: 1. Rusty Wright, 85.5 points on Brookman-Hyland Rodeo’s Kid Rock, $7,493; 2. Jacobs Crawley, 84, $5,620; 3. Sam Spreadborough, 79.5, $3,747; no other qualified rides.

    Tie-down roping: First round: 1. Sterling Smith, 7.8 seconds, $6,182; 2. Josh Peek, 7.9, $4,683; 3. Cole Bailey, 8.7, $3,372; 4. Taylor Santos, 8.9, $2,248; 5. Timber Moore, 9.8, $1,311; 6. Brice Ingo, 10.0, $937. Second round: 1. Clint Kindred, 8.2 seconds, $6,182; 2. J.D. Kibbe, 8.4, $4,683; 3. Blake Ash, 8.8, $3,372; 4. Cy Eames, 9.0, $2,248; 5. (tie) Timber Moore, Blake Hirdes, Sterling Smith and Josh Peek, 9.2, $562 each. Average leaders: 1. Sterling Smith, 17.0 seconds on two head, $6,182; 2. Josh Peek, 17.1, $4,683; 3. Cole Bailey, 18.8, $3,272; 4. Timber Moore, 19.0, $2,248; 5. Clint Kindred, 19.2, $1,311; 6. Blake Hirdes, 19.4, $937. Semifinals: 1. Cole Bailey, 7.8 seconds, $7,493; 2. Taylor Santos, 8.2, $5,620; 3. Clint Kindred, 8.4, $3,747; 4. Blake Hirdes, 9.5, $1,873. Finals: 1. Clint Kindred, 7.9 seconds, $7,493; 2. Blake Hirdes, 8.3, $5,620; 3. Taylor Santos, 9.9, $3,747; no other qualified runs.

    Barrel racing: First round: 1. Sherry Cervi, 15.58 seconds, $6,182; 2. Emily Miller, 15.86, $4,683; 3. Sarah Kieckhefer, 15.90, $3,372; 4. Kelly Tovar, 15.92, $3,372; 5. Calyssa Thomas, 15.94, $1,311; 6. Ivy Conrado, 15.95, $937. Second round: 1. Emily Miller, 15.71 seconds, $6,182; 2. Ivy Conrado, 15.77, $4,683; 3. Natalie Foutch, 15.84, $3,372; 4. Sherry Cervi, 15.86, $2,248; 5. (tie) Callahan Crossley and Andrea Busby, 15.91, $1,124 each. Average leaders: 1. Sherry Cervi, 31.44 seconds on two head, $6,182; 2. Emily Miller, 31.57, $4,683; 3. Ivy Conrado, 31.72, $3,372; 4. Sarah Kieckhefer, 31.96, $2,248; 5. (tie) Callahan Crossley and Kristine Knauf, 31.97, $1,124 each. Semifinals: 1.Callahan Crossley, 15.81 seconds, $7,493; 2. Pamela Capper, 15.95, $5,620; 3. Ivy Conrado, 16.02, $3,747; 4. Sarah Kieckhefer, 16.06, $1,873. Finals: 1. Ivy Conrado, 15.47 seconds, $7,493; 2. Callahan Crossley, 15.76, $3,747; 3. Sarah Kieckhefer, 15.90, $3,737; 4. Pamela Capper, 16.07, $1,873.

    Bull riding: First round: 1. Jake Gowdy, 81 points on Painted Pony Championship Rodeo’s Gentleman Jack, $6,182; 2. Cody Rostockyj, 80.5, $4,683; 3. Lon Danley, 75.5, $3,372; no other qualified rides. Second round: 1. Parker Breding, 86 points on Painted Pony Championship Rodeo’s Sour Mash, $6,182; 2. Jake Gowdy, 79.5, $4,683; 3. Lane Selz, 76, $3,372; no other qualified rides. Average leaders: 1. Jake Gowdy, 160.5 points on two head, $6,182; 2. Parker Breding, 86 points on one head, $4,683; 3. Cody Rostockyj, 80, $3,372; 4. Lane Selz, 76, $2,248; 5. Lon Danley, 75, $1,311; no other qualified rides. Semifinals: No qualified rides. Finals: 1. Parke Breding, 87.5 points on Brookman-Hyland Rodeo’s Little Chubby, $7,493; no other qualified rides.

    Total payoff: $704,353. Stock contractors: Lancaster & Jones Pro Rodeo, Painted Pony Championship Rodeo, United Pro Rodeo, Brookman-Hyland Rodeo, Big Rafter Rodeo, Klein Brothers Pro Rodeo, Harry Vold Rodeo, Korkow Rodeos, Hi Lo ProRodeo, Rafter H Rodeo Livestock, Silver Spurs Club, Sutton Rodeos, Three Hills Rodeo, Silver Creek Rodeo, Pickett Rodeo and Stace Smith Pro Rodeos, Pete Carr Pro Rodeo.

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