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  • Thankful Viewpoint

    Thankful Viewpoint

    Story by Shelby Vezain

    Rushing out the door, tripping over the dog, spilling your coffee and just like that, your day is off to a bad start. Walking into the office grumbling and complaining about your spilled coffee and then you find out Susie in the next-door desk has a husband going through chemo treatments. Just like that your perspective of your situation changed. Maybe having coffee all over your brand-new blouse is not that bad.
    After sitting down at your desk looking down at your spilled coffee, what comes to mind? Thankfulness. Thankful that your husband is off working to provide for your family and not in the hospital going through medication treatments. It is in these situations where our spirit and mind shift and we have God to thank for that. God wants us to be thankful and what comes from being thankful? Joy. When we complain and grumble about different things, we have now replaced thankfulness and joy with bitterness and unhappiness.
    Twenty days into therapy and JR and I had one of those spilled coffee type of mornings. We found ourselves in a moment of feeling sorry for ourselves. I had thoughts of “this is not fair” and “I wish we were not going through this”. We were on the 4th floor and therapy was on the 1st. When we got to the elevator, there was a sign on the door that said take a detour through floor 3. Okay, no big deal. That little detour changed my life forever. The 3rd floor was the brain injury floor. We walked through that floor and by the time we got to the end, I had tears rolling down my face. I cannot believe just twenty minutes ago I was complaining about my husband not having use of his legs. While just one floor down there are some of the most amazing people that were trying to remember who their wife and kids were. Perspective changed. God did that in three short minutes. Guess what my attitude was by the time I got the 1st floor? Yup. You guessed it, THANKFUL! This was one of those times in my life, I needed to be reminded to remain humble and thankful right where we were.
    “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 We go through valleys in this life that might not always be “fair” but that does not mean we cannot be thankful. Before JR’s wreck, I would go to rodeos, and I remember myself complaining about the calves or my horse did not work great. This last summer I went to a few rodeos and every time I pulled in, I was just so thankful to be there. So thankful I could step right on my horse. I am thankful for those little measures because I see my husband daily use a wench to get on his horse and ask for help. I can honestly say I have never heard him complain. That has changed my perspective.
    Sometimes we get caught up in the scores and the horses and all of this that we forget to just be thankful that we are still getting to climb on the back of that bucking horse or back in that box. Yes, things might not always go our way, but God says to be thankful in ALL circumstances. God is a God of purpose and when we remain thankful, His love prevails. God wants us to be thankful because He loves seeing us joyful! “Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Psalm 106:1
    When you are complaining about your job, someone is out there praying that they had your job. When you are complaining about your power bill, someone is out there praying they had a house. When you are complaining about having to walk because your car broke down, someone is out there wishing they had use of their legs. It is all perspective and that is what I am the most thankful about this journey, teaching me to have gratitude in any and every situation! Nine times out of ten there is someone out there going through something much worse than you.
    “If you look back, you’ll see that every situation that God has brought you into, has either changed you, helped you grow, made you stronger, taught you a lesson, or made you a better person. Everything God does, has a purpose.” R.S.

  • On The Trail with Shelley Morgan

    On The Trail with Shelley Morgan

    “When I look back, it was God’s perfect timing on every aspect of my life,” said Shelley Morgan, the 2022 AMERICAN champion barrel racer. Winning $100,000 in Arlington, Texas, on March 6, was the most money she has won at a single event. She plans to take the money and “tithe 10% to the church and put the rest in my fuel tank.” The 49-year-old from Canton, Texas, has never craved the spotlight, but the stage she was on in Arlington was “pretty cool.” Canton is located an hour southeast of Dallas with a population of 3,805. Shelley grew up there and that is where she and Rex raised their two sons. Before competing in barrel racing full-time she taught school and coached basketball for six years.

    After winning the 2008 barrel racing title in the United Pro Rodeo Association, Shelley and Rex made the decision to buy her pro card. “I had a great horse, Short Go, and we thought we could have a run at the NFR.” Short Go and Shelley made that goal in 2009. “The first year was a huge learning curve,” she admits. “We were kind of dumb – we entered a lot, mapping out where we went according to the rodeos and their location. Short Go got off his feed and I learned about ulcers. We got all that fixed and then in 09 we were going for it all. The boys (Zach and Tanner) went everywhere with us.” Shelley describes the adventure as amazing. “To be able to do what you love and do and have your family there; what more could you ask for. I stole my husband from his job and we probably didn’t make any money, but it was great.” Rex had built his own company, Eagle Security, from the ground up and thanks to reliable help, he was able to go with Shelley and the boys.

    Shelley was 14th coming into the NFR in 2009, and finished the year 10th with $103,960. She placed in four out of ten rounds. In February of 2010, her run for another spot at the NFR came to a screeching halt. “I was at San Angelo; Lisa Lockhart and I had traveled back there from Tucson,” she explained. They turned their horses out in paddocks next to the arena and went to grab some lunch. While they were gone, Short Go kicked through the wooden panels and brought them down on top of him, breaking his back legs in half. “We sat there with him until the vet got there and put him down. I called my mom and dad (Bobby and Barbara Bridwell) who live in Canton. He loaded up his stock trailer and drove six hours to get him.” Short Go is buried outside the family’s arena.

    Without another horse, Shelley went home to start over again. “The boys had gotten to the age when they wanted to stay home and get involved in sports, so the timing was perfect,” she said. “I went to all their games and started looking for, buying, and training horses.” She competed locally and eventually found the next horse, Radar, to take down the road. “We don’t have the money to go buy big named horses,” she said. Shelley has ridden her whole life and started competing in high school, training all the horses she competed on. “We buy prospects and I train them.” The family has 220 acres including a 55-acre hay meadow. Together with her parents, they run 75 head of cattle, and Shelley has around 10 horses on the place.

    Her dad, along with other people they know, help find horses for Shelley to work with. When she found Radar, she admits she didn’t like him much. “That horse took up barrels like you wouldn’t believe and ran fast as lightning.” Shelley missed the NFR the first year aboard Radar by less than $1,000 – his feet got sore, and the duo had a hard time finishing the year strong. After that, Radar developed some bad habits, and it was back to searching once again for the perfect horse.

    Kiss is the mount that took Shelley to the pay window at The AMERICAN, ponied into the arena by her former mount, Radar, who has turned into a rock-solid pony horse. “You can drop his reins and do something with Kiss – he doesn’t mind her wallering all over him. Kiss likes him – and that’s important – Kiss doesn’t like just everybody.” Kiss came to the Morgan’s via a connection from her brother-in-law. “He contacted me to train two three-year-old’s; both by the same sire, but different dams. When they led Kiss out of the barn and up the driveway, he said, ‘this is going to be the next world champion.’ She was this tall lanky filly with not a big hip at all. I would not have bought her – she was just sent home with me. I got on her and I thought she was going to dump me in the dirt. A Brazilian had started her, but she hadn’t been worked with in almost six months. If I had walked up to a barn, I would not have picked Kiss out.”

    Within two weeks, Shelley changed her mind. “I knew she was the most like Short Go I’d ridden yet.” Their personalities were complete opposite, though. “Short Go was quiet and laid back; Kiss is high strung, moody, and doesn’t like crowds. I love her to death, but she is night and day different. They both trained themselves; natural from start to finish.”
    The timing is perfect for Shelley and Rex to hit the road again. The boys are grown and pursuing their own lives. “Zach (25) is working with the family company – he’s amazing and allows Rex to be gone and stay gone. He’s building a house – God knew all along what needed to happen with Eagle Security,” said Shelley. Tanner (21) is working while pursuing an education in the IT field. They both help take care of the place while Shelley and Rex are on the road. Rex and Shelley are high school sweethearts, meeting when they were juniors in high school. “He was a city boy,” admits Shelley. “His family came to the country, bought a calf roping horse and a few cows and Rex tried calf roping and team roping. I was a cheer leader, and he was a football player.” They dated for four years and got married in 1992. Rex went to college but didn’t go to class.

    “I had a job, but I didn’t like school,” he said. “I’m smart, but I didn’t try. I worked for an alarm company for 6 years and decided to open my own company. I took a pay cut for the first few years until I got it up and running.” Rex could have pursued team roping, but he devoted his time to Shelley, his family, and business. “My job on the road is to drive – I drive 99.9% of the time,” said Rex. “I do all her entering and help her on the road. I don’t do a whole lot at home with the horses, but I can fix a shoe and I can map out where we’re going. “When she wins, I win; when she loses, I keep my mouth shut.” Rex also helps keep Kiss calm when she’s being a dragon. “She likes me to rub her between the ears. Sometimes I’ll lead her away from Shelley when she gets too wound up – Kiss that is, not Shelley.”

    The couple will celebrate 30 years of marriage and while on the road they spend 24/7 together. The secret to their long happy marriage is simple.
    “She does what I tell her to do.”
    “He knows I’m always right.”

    Career Highlights
    • 2021 – Entered the Wrangler NFR ranked third with $94,229 and finished the year ranked 4th with $202,202 after winning $107,973 at NFR. Finished seventh in the average in a total time of 147.19 and placed in five out of 10 rounds
    • 2020 – Won $63,308 at the Wrangler NFR after placing in five rounds. Finished the year ranked 9th with $116,383.
    • 2019 – Finished the year ranked 29th in the world with $50,283. Won California Salinas, Longview (TX) PRCA Rodeo, the Rose City Roundup (Tyler, TX), the Great Plains Stampede Rodeo (Altus, OK) and Apache (OK) Stampede. Finished second at Oakley City (UT) Independence Day Rodeo and at the Rodeo of the Ozarks (Springdale, AR)
    • 2018 – Finished with $11,224
    • 2017 – Finished with $1,438
    • 2016 – Finished with $6,513
    • 2015 – Finished with $29,106
    • 2014 – Finished 17th in the world with $69,447
    • 2013 – Finished the year ranked 95th with $10,269
    • 2012 – Finished the year ranked 35th with $30,537
    • 2011- Finished the year ranked 48th with $24,433
    • 2010 – Finished the year ranked 34th in the world with $25,937
    • 2008 – United Professional Rodeo Association Barrel Racing Champion; 2008 Cowboys Professional Rodeo Association Finals – average champion and year-end reserve champion.

    Sponsors:
    5-Star Equine Products – Best pads ever created, create great support for my horses under their saddles, they are never back sore from saddle pressure and pads’ effectiveness as well as appearance hold up like new after years of hard day to day use. So many options to choose from to fit everyone’s style and needs.
    Eagle Security Systems – amazing clear cameras (even at night) on all my horses so I never miss a moment with my special equine partners as well as can keep an eye on the ones at home when I’m gone.
    Rock & Roll Denim/Panhandle Western Wear – keep me looking sharp in and out of the arena. Most comfortable jeans I have to ride in.
    Bluebonnet Feeds and Stride Animal Health – provides quality feed and supplements that I have been running Kiss on since the beginning of her career. Always one phone call away.
    Shiloh Saddlery – the best saddle I have ever sat in since I have started riding. I didn’t know I was missing out so much until I got my Shiloh.
    The Muffler and Hitch Shop in Canton – squeezes me in and helps me with all the accessories my truck needs to haul up and down the road, the gooseneck ball, bed liner, bumper replacement and best of all, big nice extra fuel tank….. troubleshoots any problems I have with my trailer .
    Western Dove – amazing tack set, my mom always says Kiss looks like she is wearing a sparkly crown!
    Resistol – giving us some of the most amazing hats at the NFR and American.
    There are so many more others who have been so key in helping my team succeed down the road, thank each of you so much, I appreciate each and every single one of them.

  • American Hat presents: Jackie Crawford

    American Hat presents: Jackie Crawford

    Jackie Crawford is accustomed to pressure. The 20x World Champion breakaway roper backed into the box at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and made a 2.26 second run to win The 2022 AMERICAN and $100,000. “When you’re roping at this level, once you leave the box, you don’t think – you can think before, but muscle memory has to take over. You’ve got to nail the barrier and take your first best shot.”
    Jackie has been amongst a handful of women that have blazed the way for breakaway ropers to rope for incredible amounts of money. When she saw a need for a breakaway roping event in California, she started one – California’s Richest. “I drove out there for two years to make sure it got going.” When they added breakaway roping to the rodeo in Ellensburg Rodeo in Washington, she drove there from Texas to support it. “I was trying to be a face there supporting it and thanking the committees for it,” she said. Her son, Creed, was a newborn when she started making that trek. She has given back to the sport by teaching what she knows to others, creating the next generation of successful breakaway ropers.
    One of her many sponsors is American Hat. “American Hat is one of the companies that our family is proud to be part of. It’s not just about putting a hat on,” she explains. “They’ve tried to help us as endorsers to be more successful in our business. They have invested in us and our future.” Jackie and her family have been welcomed into the American Hat family with open arms. “They are one of my favorite companies.”
    Jackie and her husband, Charly (11-time PRCA NFR qualifier Team Roping Header), make their home in Stephenville, Texas. Along with Creed, they have a step-daughter, Kaydence, and a daughter, Journey Lynne Crawford, who is celebrating her first birthday in March. Jackie roped her last calf at the NFR, just three months before Journey was born. She had a special saddle made for her, without the horn, to accommodate her growing baby. “The day I roped my last calf at NFR I quit; from December to March.” Although she missed riding and roping, she did other things. “I try to look at the positive in everything in life; I took the time to do what I don’t do when I ride.” She decorated her house and got it ready to be featured as part of cowboy cribs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhFrytGGfm8.
    The family literally lives within the barn, where the horses are. “We built everything under one roof: a three-bedroom home, the gym, an apartment, and a six stall barn. Our horses are part of our family.” In order to be as ready as she can be for an event, she has built boxes in one of the two outdoor arenas that are adjustable, so they can be changed to the setup for wherever she goes.
    Jackie juggles her time between family, roping, riding, clinics, lessons, preparing for her weekly group coaching meeting, social media, interviews, and helping around the place with the rentals and numerous other things that pop up during the day. “Having kids – honestly – it’s like trying to manage a walking circus; you figure it out and keep going forward. I can’t do the things I used to do – I don’t have the time.” She admits she has a hard time delegating. “I want to be whatever everybody needs.” She and Charly have lots of things in the works in preparation for the future. “We don’t want to look up one day and be broke down and broke.” They feel blessed to have accomplished all they have done. “To be able to have this home is a dream – it’s more than either one of us expected to have – Rodeo has given us this opportunity and to have our kids grow up with these opportunities is truly amazing.”

  • American Hat presents: Shane Hanchey

    American Hat presents: Shane Hanchey

    “The name speaks for itself,” said Shane Hanchey about American hats. “American hats and American cowboys are what the Western way of life is all about. There is more concrete getting poured and less ranching, so it makes it that much more special.”
    Shane is proud to be part of the American Hat Company brand ambassador program. “If you go down the roster, it’s the who’s who of professional rodeo.” Shane has been on the team since 2018, and loves wearing the American hat. “I am part of the positive times movement that was started by the late Keith Maddox and his legacy for positive times and American hats are the best – made right here in Bowie, Texas.
    From Sulphur, Louisiana, Shane started roping left-handed when he was very young, roping with his brother, Jason and his uncle, Butch Loft. Jason switched him to right-handed when he was five. “He said it wouldn’t be a fair advantage to be left-handed, only six guys have ever made the NFR left-handed.” Shane played a lot of sports and didn’t get serious about roping until high school. “I realized I could make a living at this.” He went through the Louisiana High School Rodeo Association, making Nationals three out of four and winning the state twice. He went to college in 2009, making the CNFR, and earned Resistol Rookie of the Year in 2009. He made his first of 12 appearances at the Wrangler National Finals in 2010. Shane won the World in 2013 and won the National Finals twice – 2013 and 2020.
    Shane has had his share of misfortune, missing two world championships by one tenth of a second. He has also lost two horses, one two weeks before the 2021 WNFR. He has never let any of adversity stop him. “I still battle with it every day – I still think about it; but in order to move on and keep my head up, I’ve got to be confident and trust what God has in store for me and He has a bigger plan than what you think you have.”
    Shane met his wife, Taylor Jacob, through rodeo. She made the WNFR in 2013 and 2015. They started dating in 2015 and got married in April of 2021. They both just won a round at San Antonio, qualifying for the finals there. They have relocated to Texas, where Shane is sharing his Louisiana culture by running a food trailer, Bo’s Boil n Geaux, specializing in crawfish boils, shrimp, gumbo, and all things Cajun. “We go from Stephenville to Weatherford, and Giddings. “Taylor and I run it – and it’s something we can do after our careers in rodeo. I usually lay low from March until June, and this works out perfectly.” Shane is now technically a chef, and his love of Cajun food is what got him started on this path. “I love everything about Louisiana from the people to the food and I wanted to bring that to the people in Texas.”
    The first thing that comes to his mind about future goals are more world titles. “That is obviously the first thing, but after that, we want the food trailer to be successful. We hope to have kids and I’d like to be retired from rodeo by the time I’m 40. Then I want to ride off into the sunset with no regrets.”

  • Profile: Johnny Salvo & Clay Acuna

    Profile: Johnny Salvo & Clay Acuna

    [ If ever there was a match made in heaven, it was between Johnny Salvo and Clay Acuna during the World Series of Team Roping Finale XV in Las Vegas this last December. The pair grew up together in New Mexico junior rodeo, but life eventually led them both to team roping and, for several years in a row now, the World Series finale. ]

     

    As a first-generation rodeo competitor, Johnny Salvo is no stranger to forging new paths in life. His dad, Bobby, taught him this lesson early and often.
    “My dad grew up working on farms and just always liked cattle,” Salvo said. “He owned a construction company and was pretty successful at that, which allowed him to buy a ranch and fulfill his dream of raising cattle.”
    At the tender age of 5, Salvo and his two older brothers – Dominic and Dylan – were moved to a ranch just outside of Horse Springs, New Mexico. Salvo describes it as the middle of nowhere, but perhaps the desolation was a driving force behind his desire to become a successful roper.
    Much like Salvo, Acuna was raised around the very lifestyle that rodeo was born out of. With veterinarians as parents, Acuna was never short of horses or cattle at home. He first met Salvo through junior rodeos behind the calf roping chutes.
    “My dad roped, so I grew up around it essentially,” Acuna said. “When I got to college in Las Cruces (New Mexico State University), I started team roping more.”

    Young Man’s Game
    “My brothers wanted to rope calves and my dad was buying bits from Greg Dutton at the time,” Salvo said. “In my opinion Greg is the best calf horse trainer there is. I was little when he started teaching my brothers, but he started me on the dummy.”
    Salvo’s breadth as a roper is illustrated by his past success in the tie-down roping and his ability to swap ends. He won the calf roping at the CNFR in 2008 and 2011 and made the Turquoise Circuit Finals in both calf and team roping in years past.
    Both Salvo and Acuna dabbled in calf roping with the PRCA and found their fair share of success in the event. But as life often does, the ropers were taken in different directions.
    “I blew out my knee and I haven’t been able to rope calves since, so now I’m just an old team roper,” Acuna joked. “Calf roping is a fit, young man’s sport and you have to work at it a bunch. When you have a full-time job it’s a lot easier to go team rope.”
    Acuna eventually found himself in Stephenville, Texas, arguably the team roping capital of the world. With several hundred miles from Salvo’s front door to Acuna’s, it would be easy for the dynamics of their roping partnership to be ravished by time.
    They were given a unique opportunity to prove that wasn’t the case when both of their partners were unable to rope in the number 13 in Vegas.
    Perfectly Orchestrated
    “I originally qualified with Hayden Moore, but they raised both his number and mine,” Salvo said. “I’ve known Clay forever. He qualified with Bodie Baize but then they raised his number. I was actually already going to direct enter with Clay if I didn’t qualify, but everything lined up for us.”
    Neither roper had seen the timed event box together for several years, but their individual practice clearly paid off.
    “My girlfriend, Catherine Hisel, turned a lot of steers for me in the practice pen before we left,” Salvo explained. “Clay and I roped together once the day before the first round of the finale.”
    Salvo left for Vegas a few days early to run extra steers in Wickenburg, Arizona. He found himself hitting a dry spell before running his first steer in the finale.
    “I didn’t win a dime out there [Arizona],” Salvo said. “Oren Matthews let me practice on some of his jackpot steers when we got to Vegas, and I think that really helped. It was nice to not be roping for money and just relax a bit.”
    When asked about his practice for the finale, Acuna quoted Proverbs 27: 17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Acuna sharpens his skills with some of the top professional ropers in the world who also live in Stephenville.
    “If you’re the best guy in the pen, you’re probably not getting the most out of your practice,” Acuna said. “I get to rope with guys who are leaps and bounds better than I am almost daily, and they help me out a whole bunch.”

    Horsepower
    A borrowed horse and trailer were part of the recipe for success for Salvo and Acuna.
    After selling his trailer, Salvo couldn’t find the right one to replace it before heading north. The rodeo family came in clutch when Lee Kiehne hooked his trailer up to Salvo’s truck. Acuna experienced the same type of generosity, but with the other kind of horsepower.
    “I had never ridden this horse until the day before the roping,” Acuna said. “Bodie Baize was the one who taught me to team rope, and he was the one I qualified for Vegas with until his number got moved. In Vegas I rode Ice Nation, who belongs to Bodie’s brother Bobby.”
    As a header, Acuna depends on his horse as much as any other but in Vegas the 12-year-old gelding truly made all the difference.
    “I’m not a big time reacher. I can’t make a fast run like that, so I have to use my horse more,” Acuna said. “The first steer I roped on him was the burn steer in the 13 and came back as the number two high call.”
    Living on a ranch almost two hours from school opened the door to horses and roping for Salvo. Both have become his way of life as he trains and sells roping, ranch and trail horses.
    “I really enjoy the horses, it’s just how I’ve always been,” Salvo said. “When we first moved to the ranch, my dad got me a Shetland pony and I begged him to let me move cattle on him. He finally did and I’ve been horseback ever since.”
    Most of Salvo’s calf horses were made by his roping mentor Greg Dutton. Many of the horses he’s ridden in recent years come from Todd Hedrick all the way up in Michigan, including the heel horse Salvo won on in Vegas.
    Salvo won an additional $10,000 while in Vegas heading on home-grown gelding he calls Mister. Although a smaller paycheck, it’s a special accomplishment for this horseman.
    “Every time Todd has a horse he thinks I’ll like, I send him a check and he sends me a horse,” Salvo said. “He really knows what he’s doing and he’s an honest guy. He sent me Spade when he was 2 and I just babied him around because I liked him so much.”
    For several years Salvo roped the donkey on Spade, which created both a breakaway and head horse. One day Salvo looked up and Spade was his only heel horse, so he started loading him up for seasoning.
    “He was green and is probably just now getting made into the horse that I want him to be,” Salvo explained of the gelding. “He’s a good horse with a really great mind.”

    Round and Round
    When it was all said and done, Salvo and Acuna agree that the first-round steer was their toughest. With a lot of try, the steer left Acuna in the box and Salvo did a double take on his dallies.
    A quick-footed horse helped position Acuna to make a quality handle for Salvo coming up behind him. A trip on the corner for Spade slowed up Salvo’s dally, but the duo still clocked an 8-second run.
    “We were 6 on our second steer after I necked him quick and Johnny T’d him off,” Acuna said. “Our third steer was in the other arena, and he looked really soft. And he was.”
    Acuna said he scored for what felt like forever and credits his mount with making the most of three very different runs. He would’ve ran through the barrier on the short-round steer if he was on almost any other horse he’s ridden in the past.
    “That steer was a little stronger than the rest and I actually had my thumb in the dally,” Acuna said. “We were roping for 200 grand, and I decided for that kind of money, they could have my thumb.”
    Before the run even started Salvo had decided he was going to take one swing over the steer’s back and throw. This was the highest call back Salvo’s ever been in a World Series finale.
    “As fifth high call, we were close enough to smell blood and I just wanted to make the most of the opportunity that we had in that,” Salvo said. “Everyone who roped after us either missed or roped a leg, and we certainly didn’t expect that to happen, especially here.”
    Acuna only lost a small chunk of his thumb in that final dally and split $200,000 with Salvo.
    “The World Series makes it where a nobody like me can rope, and win, $100,000,” Acuna said. “It was just our day. I’m no better of a header than anybody else there. It was the grace of God and just one of those things were everything worked out for us.”

  • On the Trail with Briar Teague

    On the Trail with Briar Teague

    Briar Teague, from Rattan, Okla., makes his living with a rope. He is headed back to the Lazy E to defend his 2021 Cinch Jr. Ironman Championship. The 20-year-old is approaching the upcoming event as he approaches any event. “I’ve always had a natural way of not getting nervous. I don’t know if it’s from roping my whole life, but I know with each run I’ve just got to catch them – I do what I can with what I draw.”

    Briar has been on a horse since he was born. His dad, Philip, started roping when he was 27. His four sons, Briar, Clancy (18), Cutter (16), and Tryan (13), spent their childhood riding horses, roping, and raising cattle, including show cattle during their time in FFA. The family runs around 450 pairs on a few thousand acres outside of the small town of Ratton. There is one stoplight in the entire county. He graduated with a class of 20. Briar won his first buckle at the age of 3, winning the dummy roping at a USTRC roping his dad was competing at. He started competing in a youth rodeo, the OYRA, when he was 8 and a year later was competing at the USTRC ropings with his dad. He started with team roping (both ends) and breakaway roping, moving into calf roping, saddle bronc riding, and steer wrestling during his time with the Oklahoma Junior High and High School Rodeo Associations. He rode saddle broncs all four years of high school, making the National High School Finals (2017-2019) in that event as well as calf roping his senior year and team roping his sophomore, junior, and senior year. Riding saddle bronc riding started with encouragement from Wade Sundell, 8x WNFR qualifier in the saddle bronc riding. and a good friend. He didn’t pursue riding broncs after high school. “It helped me ride a bucking horse so that was good.”

    He started bulldogging his junior year, competing his last year in high school. Briar went to Tyler Pearson’s school and had never jumped a steer before. They did all the dummy work, and that afternoon, they jumped two steers and he threw both clean. They had a two head jackpot that he won as well. At the beginning, Briar used one horse, his dad’s heel horse, Casino, for all events. That horse gave his all to all the boys. As Briar got older, the family was able to buy other horses and today there are 30 horses on the place with specific jobs in the arena. Hard work and dedication paid off for Briar. He won the All Around title for the Oklahoma High School Rodeo Association in 2019 and 2020. Along with rodeo, Briar found success in FFA, showing cattle and pigs. He earned the State Farmers degree while in FFA. He played baseball as well as basketball.

    “We did this as a family,” said his mother, Misty. All six of them would into a living quarter trailer and spend weekends on the rodeo road. Having four boys kept Misty on her toes. “It’s probably better than raising four girls,” laughed Misty, a physical therapist who went from fulltime to part time so she could take care of four boys. “They are energetic and full of life. It took all of us – it was fun times and lots of work but well worth it.”

    “I’ve always tried to teach the boys that if you want something, you’ve got to work for it,” said Philip. “You can’t be afraid to reach your goals – you can’t sit back and play it safe all the time.” All four boys rope aggressively. “You don’t get anywhere running them three quarters of the way down the arena – that goes for roping as well as life – you’ve got to take your shots. I raised those boys to be confident – don’t let anyone tell you can’t do it and keep pushing forward.”

     

    Briar is a freshman at Western Oklahoma State College in Altus, Okla. He competes in Central Plains region where he is sitting in the top five in all the events, with the goal to make it to the college finals. After college, he plans to rodeo for a while and then come home and work for his dad. Most of his classes are online, and he spends several months in Arizona in the winter, roping every day. “This is my main source of income right now,” said the #7+header an #8 heeler. “I trade a few horses now and then, but that’s it.” He works his classes into his ropings. “If I miss a roping for class, it’s not a big deal there’s another one the next day.” He will be in Oklahoma the middle of February for his first Spring college rodeo and begin getting ready for the Junior Ironman March 10-12 at the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Okla.

    Preparation takes on many facets including heading to Tyler Pearson’s (5x NFR qualifier, 2017 World Champion steer wrestler) to find a horse to take to the event, and practice. Horses for calf roping and team roping will come from Briar’s herd. “I train a few of the ones I own – and ride a few colts. We have 8-10 colts at the house. We’ve raised a few and bought a few from online sales,” he explains about his horsepower. “I look for what fits me – size – bigger, I want something I can do both ends on. I’m not real good at breaking them, so I want something I can rope on.”

    “There’s a lot of God given talent but there’s a lot of hard work that goes into this,” admits Briar. “Plus the tremendous help I’ve gotten from so many different people. I hope my brothers will be able to look up to me and try to do the things I do just as good or even better than me.”

    “I work harder than most people and I’ve had a very supportive family to give me the resources to do what I love. I do it every day – you’ve got to get good at it eventually or you’d give up.”

  • Love Conquers All

    Love Conquers All

    story by Shelby Vezain

     

    Love-the intense feeling or deep affection for someone or something. Growing up, I remember saying “I love you” to all my friends and family. Now a days, we throw it around like confetti, which is a great, but do we really know what love is? I can finally say after going through a few different situations in life, I think I have a pretty good idea what it means.
    1 John 4:19 “We love because He first loved us.” I love how powerful this verse is; to me it is saying that we only get to love one another because God first loved us. He chooses to love us and to let us love one another. Not only does He let us, but He encourages us many times to love each other. John 15:12 “My command is this: love each other as I have loved you” Wait? I am supposed to love everyone around me like Jesus loved; even Billy who never waves at me and Susie who cuts me off in the grocery store? Yes! LOVE conquers all things!
    Some may disagree but I do think there are different stages of love throughout life. There is that first love stage when you want to be around that person or thing all the time. You find yourself staring and always thinking about it. When you get a new pickup or trailer, you look out the window and stare at it for the first two weeks, trying to convince yourself that it is really “yours”. Imagine if we loved God like that! Always staring at all His work on this earth and trying to convince ourselves that He really does love us unconditionally.
    When JR and I first got engaged, I used to love to travel around to the rodeos and cheer him on. I think it was called the “honeymoon phase” or something like that. It was an easy love. I got to dress up, go sit in the stands and video my new fiancé. I was quite good at this kind of love, but honestly who wouldn’t be. To love someone or something when everything is going your way is a bit more doable. When the bills are paid, the cows breed up good and the kids are getting good grades, everyone loves everyone. Well, for the most part. It is when life throws us a curve ball that we must dig down and find that love.
    September 22nd, 2018, a cool fall morning, picking up the house, listening to a podcast; I remember the day like it was yesterday. Such a normal day besides the fact that we had just found out that there was a new little love that was going to be joining our family in nine months. JR had flown out to some rodeos for this last weekend in the official rodeo season. He was sitting 14th in the world and just wanted to secure his spot to his 6th NFR. I find myself wondering why he went that last weekend. Maybe it was because I had told him I was pregnant, and he was trying to provide for his growing family or maybe he knew he had to win a few more dollars to secure his spot. I do not know, and I never will but one thing I do know is since that September night, I have seen my love sink and grow all in one season of life.
    In 1912, the beloved ship, the Titanic hit an iceberg and split into three pieces. It took only a short five minutes for it to sink to the bottom of the ocean. On September 22nd, when the doctor told me my husband had broken his back and had no feeling from the waist down, my heart sank, just like the Titanic. Yes, my heart sank that day, but the beauty of it all was my love for JR grew.
    Walking into that hospital room and seeing my husband laying there hiding his tears, hit a different heart string. It was such a moment in time when all we had was each other, the foundation of faith we had built in God, and the love we had for each other. Nothing else. Nothing else mattered in that moment. It was the very first time in my twenty-four years that I felt like I had no control over anything.
    During a rodeo when we keep breaking the barrier or missing our horses out, what do we do? We go back to the basics. The basics of the event that we truly know with our whole heart. We need a little refresher on why we started roping or riding in the first place. That little light goes off, “yup! this is fun. Now I remember why I started doing this event.” When tragic hit, I found myself going back to the basics of love. The vows JR & I wrote to one another- “…through sickness and in health, through the good times and the-not-so-good times.” We had only been married for four years but I took those words very seriously. I wanted my love to shine through to JR through this “not-so-good-time”. I wanted everything I did to be done in love. 1 Corinthians 16:14 “Everything should be done in love”
    Love isn’t about how many likes we get on our Instagram pictures. Love isn’t who can buy the most expensive gifts for one another. Love isn’t about who can physically do more for one another. Love is a raw and real feeling that when you aren’t at your best your partner is still right next to you willing to lend a helping hand however he or she can. Truly loving someone is loving them through the highest of highs; hugging them and celebrating with them when they succeed. Loving someone through the lowest of lows; crying with them and trying to keep their head up on the toughest of days. Loving is not always easy, but at the end of the day it is always worth it. So, my question for all of you is do you truly know what love is? Life can take us through some amazing terrain and on the other hand, some tough valleys and I feel that it is our job to find the growth in each one.
    “Three things will last forever-faith, hope, and love-and the greatest of these is love” 1 Corinthians 13:13

  • Back When They Bucked with Lavonna “Shorty” Koger ( Shorty’s Caboy Hattery )

    Back When They Bucked with Lavonna “Shorty” Koger ( Shorty’s Caboy Hattery )

    “Something about me never wanted to work for somebody else,” says Lavonna “Shorty” Koger. The owner of world-famous Shorty’s Caboy Hattery in Oklahoma City, she forged the path of becoming one of the best-loved Western hatters in the country—one of few women to do so.

    Before Shorty’s skilled hands knew how to sew sweatbands, shape crowns, and sand brims, they held the reins to her barrel horse and even slipped into a bull rope. She was born in 1945 in an area of Osage County, Oklahoma, called Gray Horse, roughly 20 miles outside of Fairfax, Oklahoma. The ranches and blue-stemmed grass permanently shaped her love of Western lifestyle. “There weren’t even fences out there. The cattle just roamed and it was wonderful,” Shorty recalls. “I came along seven years after my siblings and I was the shortest of the bunch, so they pinned Shorty on me when I was a baby. On Saturdays, our biggest treat was going to Fairfax for Mom and Dad to buy groceries. I saw Ben Johnson and Randolph Scott (Western film actors) dressed in cowboy shirts, wild rags, and their britches tucked into their boots, and I thought, ‘I want to look like them someday.’”

    In 1956, her parents, Ivan and Vilora Koger, moved Shorty to Moore, Oklahoma, where Ivan transferred for his job with an oil company. “It was like moving me to New York City. We did rent a place in the country, but it was still a big town to me.” Shorty had a horse, however, and traveled with friends to compete in all-girl rodeos through the 1960s and into the early ‘70s. “I ran barrels and rode a few bulls, and I steer undecorated. In 1968, I had a bad accident helping someone build an arena and about cut my left arm off, so that ended my bull riding career for sure.” Shorty continued to raise horses and run barrels, dreaming of making the NFR. She had the horse to take her that far, Baldy, but when he cut his tendon, that dream ended. “I couldn’t get with another horse, so I gave it up in the ‘80s.”

    While she was rodeoing, Shorty also worked for Cattleman’s Western Company in the Stockyards. “I had a camper on my truck to go to barrel racings. Texans at the time couldn’t get Coors beer and Wranglers, so I sold those and that’s how I made my entry fees. I’d also load up my camper and sell halters to ranchers.” Shorty eventually went on the road as the only woman salesman in the Oklahoma area for a time, selling for belt, boot, hat, and clothing companies. It wasn’t until her brother sent several of their dad’s hats to be renovated and they came back ruined that Shorty found the niche where she’d stick. “My brother said, “As much as you love hats, you should go into a hat cleaning business.’ A light bulb went off for me and I started investigating that business, and learned the people wouldn’t tell you anything that was helpful at all.”

    However, Shorty accompanied a friend who was picking up a custom hat in Oklahoma City, and met another Shorty, this one a gentleman named Shorty Barnett, the owner of Shorty’s Hattery. “God works in mysterious ways if you just listen,” she says. Looking around his store and visiting about hats renewed Shorty’s determination to get into the business. After several more fruitless phone calls to other hat renovation businesses, she returned to Shorty’s Hattery. She learned that Barnett wanted to sell his business, but already had a buyer. “Of course, my heart just fell,” she recalls. “He said they were coming to pay Monday at 10, and I asked if they didn’t come if I could have it. I was there at 9:30. I paced his building and at one minute after 10, I handed him a check.”

    It was 1990 and Shorty owned a business she knew hardly anything about. Barnett agreed to teach her, but they hit a snag since Shorty was left-handed. “But his mother was left-handed, and she showed me how to renovate hats. There’s sewing involved and all sorts of things which I flunked in school, but I got the hang of it.” Shorty worked out of a small building near the original store so the customers would carry over, then moved to the Historic Stockyards in 1991 to be closer to her cowboy clientele. She rented out part of the 1,900 square foot building to a boot maker and worked for several years renovating hats. Yet the itch to build one of her own kept growing, and she bought a blocking machine, which starts the entire hat building process. “I thought, ‘If I can renovate a hat, surely I can build one.’ I again called Shorty’s mom and dad, and they told me over the phone how to build one. There were a lot I had to throw in the trash because they were so pathetic looking, but I just kept trying and trying to get it right. It took about 10–15 years to get it right, but we’re about the best there is now.”

    Shorty ventured out to cattle shows and 4-H and FFA shows during the day to sell several hats, then went back to her store and worked at night building more. She brought on a part-time employee, and today has two salesmen and eight people helping her build hats in the store. By 2014, Shorty had outgrown her store and moved to a 5,000 square foot building still in the Historic Stockyards, which they’ve nearly outgrown as well. “I couldn’t have done it without my brother and sisters. They helped me with the money, and I couldn’t have done it without their guidance.”
    In the early 2000s, both Shorty and her sister Shirley were diagnosed with breast cancer, and sadly, Shirley passed away in 2004. “Right after I buried my sister, I had to go in and have a double mastectomy, but by doing that, I didn’t have to have chemo. Shirley didn’t have insurance, so I decided I wanted to do something to help people with cancer who didn’t have insurance, not knowing it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. I made a pink hat and cute cancer hat pins.” When Tracie Anderson, an exhibitor from the AQHA World Show, came in to the Hattery to pick up a custom hat in 2006, she saw Shorty’s memorial fund for Shirley. It so happened that Tracie was the Clinical Operations Director for the OU Cancer Institute at the time. Together with Cheryl (Magoteaux) Cody, the three women formed Rein In Cancer. The organization first funded the Shirley Bowman Nutrition Center at the Charles and Peggy Stephenson Cancer Center in Oklahoma City. Today, Rein In Cancer, run entirely by volunteers, has raised over one million dollars, and also helps pay the medical bills of cancer patients who are involved in the horse industry. “The horse people get all the credit,” says Shorty. “You don’t know what people are like until you try to do a fundraiser and see everyone digging in their pockets to give.”

    Much of Shorty’s work took off when she started selling hats at horse shows and rodeos. She set up her first booth at the AQHA World Show in 1993, and today Shorty’s Caboy Hattery is the official hat of the AQHA, NRHA, NCEA, and NRCHA. Shorty also sponsors the NLBRA, the IFR, Chris Neal’s Rising Stars event and a BBR race. “I love all the rodeos, and I decided I wanted to help them, and I appreciate them doing business with me. I’m also a sponsor of the IFYR and The American now,” she said. “I love my business and all my employees; some of them have been with me 25 years now.”

    At 76, Shorty is in her store daily unless she and her partner, Bobbie Gough, are traveling to one of the 200 shows all over the country they take their booth to each year. “We’re blessed with doing so well at these shows, but it’s going to take a while to build the inventory back up,” says Shorty, who is dealing with delays getting her straw and felt hat materials. It takes four days to build a hat from start to finish, involving nearly 20 steps. The Hattery uses several machines—made in the 1920s or earlier—for blocking, ironing, and some of the sewing, but all other steps are done by hand. From crisp reiner and cutting shapes that emanate professionalism in the show arena, to custom hats in a myriad of colors, hatbands, stitching, and even tooling, each one is a work of art that Shorty loves. “They’re all my favorite. Everyone that wears my hats, I consider them a star. It’s such great pleasure when they put it on and it fits great.”

    “I hope to go on doing it until I’m gone—I have no intention of retiring.”
    Shorty’s exceptional craftsmanship and her work with Rein In Cancer was recognized by the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame and she was inducted in 2021. “I’m just so grateful that happened, and honored and blessed beyond means. This business has been a godsend. I give God all the glory because He’s the one who’s gotten me there today, and I’m very grateful.”

  • 5 Star Featured Athlete: Josie Conner

    5 Star Featured Athlete: Josie Conner

    One of the best parts of life for Josie Conner is spending time with her mom and dad, Jade and Wendi Conner.
    The eighteen-year-old cowgirl, a breakaway roper, is homeschooled so she can travel to rodeos and jackpots.
    She uses 5 Star Equine products and loves them. She loves the saddle pads, how they fit, and how the pressure is distributed evenly across her horses’ backs. When she takes them off, there are no dry spots, which tells her they fit evenly. “The hairs are never wrinkled when I take the pad off, which means the saddle hasn’t rolled; it’s stayed in one place.”

    She also uses 5 Star’s Patriot Sports support boot in part because they have the perfect amount of thickness. “They give great support while also being lightweight,” Josie said. “They are customizable to the horse’s legs, and I can get them as tight or as loose as I want. They last longer than any other boot I’ve used.”

    The third 5 Star product Josie uses is the 5 Star mohair roper cinches. “I love them because they are 100 percent mohair, soft and comfortable for the horses,” she said. “What I really like is they don’t have any leather where I would strap my tie-down strap. The girts with leather where the tie-down strap pulls on them tend to roll up and pinch the horse. These don’t pinch or irritate in any way.”
    A homeschool student, she will graduate this May. Homeschooling works well for her. “I’m really on top of my schooling. I try to get as much done as I can at home so when I’m on the road I don’t have to worry about it, and it’s done. School is my first priority.”

    Last year was one of her best years in rodeo. She won the Jr NFR, the Jr Patriot, and the World Championship Junior Rodeo in Guthrie. This year, she’s secured her spot in The American with an exemption in the sixteen-man round.
    The horses carrying her to the winner’s circle are a sorrel blaze face named Tonka, and a sorrel chestnut named Bingo. Tonka was purchased by the Conners in 2019.

    He’s very good at his job, Josie said. “He leaves the corner and reads my hand well in the breakaway. He lets me float; if I go early, I can pull without him stopping.” Tonka has good timing and a lot of try as well. “He gives me his heart every time.”

    Her backup horse is Bingo, who was purchased by the family last year. Bingo likes to run, and if it’s a slow calf may not read the calf as well. “On faster calves, I like to run Bingo,” she said. Both horses are equally talented. “When I don’t want to put the runs on Tonka, I ride Bingo.”

    This fall, Josie will attend McNeese State University, working towards a business or marketing degree. She hasn’t decided if she will rodeo collegiately yet. “There are so many options: pro rodeos, amateurs, ropings and collegiate. I’ll look at my schedule and see what fits in best.”

    Her parents travel with her, and that’s the best part of life. “We do everything together. It’s really cool.”
    The family lives near Iowa, Louisiana.

  • The time is right for Egusquiza

    The time is right for Egusquiza

    Resistol header is ready to cash in this next weekend at American

    Over the last few years that he’s competed at The American via an exemption, Resistol cowboy Dustin Equsquiza has yet to cash in at the lucrative rodeo.

    He is a header by trade, a man that ropes the horns and turns the steers for a heeler in team roping. It’s a competitive industry, and he’s pretty good at it. In 2016, he earned the Resistol Heading Rookie of the Year award for being the best first-year man in the game. A year later, he was playing on ProRodeo’s biggest stage, the National Finals Rodeo, for the first time.

    Since then, he’s returned to the NFR three more times and had his best finish in 2021. Roping with fellow Resistol cowboy Travis Graves, the tandem placed in three rounds, winning at least a share of two of them. They tied for first in the seventh round, then won the 10th round outright. They earned just shy of $80,000 in 10 days.

    Most importantly, they concluded the year No. 3 in the world standings. Now, it’s time they step it up a bit, and doing well at The American later this week could go a long way to supporting that claim.

    “The American is something everybody looks forward to,” said Egusquiza, 26, of Marianna, Florida. “It’s the biggest-paying single rodeo besides the NFR, and everybody wants to win it. It’s definitely on people’s minds, and it brings a lot of attention to the sport.”

    The main factor is the payout, which is $3 million this year. The winners of each event will take home $100,000, but there’s more to it. Ten contestants in each event have exempt status, meaning they earned their way to The American by how well they finished the previous season. That’s where Egusquiza sits, and those contestants are only eligible for the $100,000 first-place prize

    The remaining six contestants competing in the first round – set for Friday, March 4, at Cowtown Coliseum in the historic Fort Worth (Texas) Stockyards – will come through a series of qualifying events that culminates in the semifinals. Each qualifier that advances to the opening round will be eligible for the side pot, which is typically $1 million.

    Since no qualifier won The American in his/her specific event in 2021, the money rolled over to this year and has increased the side pot to $2 million. The best times and scores from Friday will advance to the final day of rodeo, Sunday, March 6, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

    “It is really unbelievable the amount of money somebody can win there,” Egusquiza said. “It’s disappointing we don’t get to rope for a million dollars, but $100,000 would be great.

    “There’s nothing else like competing in that stadium. Houston has a pretty big stadium, but the stadium there in Arlington is crazy. You’ve never seen a rodeo like it.”

    Egusquiza is one of six Resistol headers who have received the automatic invitation to The American. He will be joined by:

     

    ERICH ROGERS, 35, Round Rock, Arizona: Roping with young heeler Paden Bray, Erich Rogers put his name on the big lights in Arlington twice last year, winning the NFR average title in December 2020 while the finale was at Globe Life Field, then the two won The American last March. Now an 11-time NFR qualifier, Rogers also owns the 2017 heading world championship. Last year, he finished second in the world standings. He and Bray placed in four NFR rounds and finished second in the average, leaving Las Vegas with $108,000.

     

    CLAY SMITH, 30, Broken Bow, Oklahoma: Clay Smith didn’t walk lightly onto the ProRodeo scene; he burst onto it like a superstar. He’s already qualified for seven straight trips to the NFR, and he won gold buckles in 2018 and ’19. Now roping with three-time champ Jade Corkill, Smith finished last season fourth in the world standings. At the NFR, he and Corkill placed in five rounds, including the eighth-round victory, and placed finished in the all-important aggregate. The nearly $111,000 they earned in 10 days has provided them momentum in 2022.

     

    RHEN RICHARD, 32, Roosevelt, Utah: He’s a header now, but Rhen Richard hasn’t always been. In fact, he was the 2008 Resistol Heeling Rookie of the Year. More than anything, though, he’s just a talented all-around cowboy. In 2018, he qualified for the NFR has a header and a tie-down roper. He returned to the finale in 2019 in just tie-down roping, and last year, roping with Jeremy Buhler, Richard placed in six rounds at the NFR, winning on Night 3. The two placed third in the average, pocketed nearly $137,000, and Richard finished fifth in the world standings.

     

    TYLER WADE, 29, Terrell, Texas: Tyler Wade wasn’t a newcomer when he first qualified for the NFR in 2016. No, he was in his fifth season in ProRodeo, but he wasn’t far from finishing among the top 15. In fact, he had finished 17th twice and 21st before making a run at the gold buckle and has added three more trips to Las Vegas since. That’s what many would have expected out of the 2012 Resistol Heading Rookie of the Year. At the 2021 NFR this past December, Wade and fellow Resistol cowboy Trey Yates won the first round and placed on two more nights. Wade finished ninth in the final standings.

     

    CODY SNOW, 25, Los Olivos, California: In December 2019, Cody Snow and his partner, fellow Resistol cowboy Wesley Thorp, had an NFR to remember. They each won $162,000. Thorp won the heeling gold buckle; Snow finished as the runner-up to the heading champ. Snow is now a six-time NFR qualifier. At the championship three months ago, he and Thorp shared the ninth-round victory, then placed on two other nights to earn just shy of $71,000. Snow finished the year as the No. 10 header in the world standings.

     

    -30-

     

  • Champions crowned at 125th edition of Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo

    Champions crowned at 125th edition of Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo

    FORT WORTH, Texas (Feb. 5, 2022) — The Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo came a rousing conclusion on Saturday night with the final performance of the ProRodeo Tournament.

    New arena records were posted in four of the eight, beginning with the bareback riding. That championship went to the winningest bareback rider in Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) history, Kaycee Feild from Genola, Utah. Feild rode Macza Pro Rodeo’s OLS Tubs Stevie Nicks for 93 points. That one ride netted him $20,000 and brought his total earnings in Fort Worth this year to $26,360. This is the fourth time that the reigning world champion has won this legendary rodeo. The win puts him well on his way to his 14th Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) qualification where he could win his seventh gold buckle that goes to the world’s best.

    Another reigning world champion, saddle bronc rider Stetson Wright, got the win with a record-setting ride of 91.5-points. His father, Cody Wright had held the record previously at 91 points. That was set in the Will Rogers Coliseum in 2011 and got the elder Wright the win. Stetson Wright is the third member of his famous saddle bronc riding family to earn the buckle here. His father won it three times, and his uncle Jake Wright got the championship in 2017. Stetson also rides bulls and is a three-time all-around world champion. He earned $25,880 in Dickies Arena.

    Wenda Johnson of Pawhuska, Oklahoma has set the barrel racing on fire here this week. It started in her qualification rounds when she set a record at 16.17 seconds. She blew that away on Saturday night when she and Macgyver Moonflash, an eight-year-old bay gelding, stopped the clock in 16.08 seconds. Johnson has qualified for the NFR the past two years by choosing the rodeos that she goes to carefully and not going to as many as expected. She also has a full-time job as a nurse practitioner. The $24,520 that she won here will give her a big boost and put her on the way to a third NFR qualification.

    Tristan Martin from Sulphur, Louisiana won the steer wrestling with a 3.9-second run. The former high school and college rodeo champion qualified for his first NFR last December and is now working towards his first gold buckle in the professional ranks. Prior to Fort Worth’s rodeo he was third in the world standings. The $24,260 he got in Dickies Arena could move him up to the top spot.

    This is the second year that the FWSSR ProRodeo Tournament has featured breakaway roping and the winner just lives about an hour away at Dublin. Kelsey Domer stopped the clock in 1.8 seconds to get her first buckle in Dickies Arena. She earned a total of $26,800.

    Tie-down roper Bryson Sechrist got the biggest win of his career here on Saturday night. Sechrist of Apache, Oklahoma stopped the clock in 7.2 seconds to win $23,760. Reigning world champion team ropers Kaleb Driggers from Hoboken, Georgia and Junior Nogueira, from Presidente Prude, Brazil were at the top of the leaderboard with a 4.2-second run. They each took home $25,093.

    The FWSSR ProRodeo Tournament was the first rodeo of the year for seven-time world champion Sage Kimzey from Salado, Texas. The new father made good on a promise to be his best for his family and rode all of his bulls. His Saturday night ride of 91.5 points on 4L-Diamond S Rodeo’s Space Unicorn got him his first Fort Worth championship and $29,827.

    A near capacity crowd was on hand to see the conclusion of the rodeo and plans are underway for the 126th edition in 2023.

     

    2022 Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo Champions

    Bareback Riding – Kaycee Feild, Genola, Utah, 93 points, $20,000 (total $26,360)

    Steer Wrestling – Tristan Martin, Sulphur, La., 3.9 seconds, $20,000 (total $24,260)

    Breakaway Roping – Kelsie Domer, Dublin, Texas, 1.8 seconds, $20,000 (total $26,800)

    Saddle Bronc Riding – Stetson Wright, Milford, Utah, 91.5 points, $20,000 (total $25,880)

    Tie-Down Roping – Bryson Sechrist, Apache, Okla., 7.2 seconds, $20,000 (total $23,760)

    Team Roping –  Kaleb Driggers, Hoboken, Ga., and Junior Nogueira, Presidente Prude, Brazil

    4.2 seconds, $20,000 (total $25,093)

    Barrel Racing – Wenda Johnson, Pawhuska, Okla., 16.08 seconds, $20,000 (total $24,520)

    Bull Riding – Sage Kimzey, Salado, Texas, 91.5 points, $20,000 (total $29,927)

     

    FORT WORTH, Texas — The following are unofficial results from the FWSSR ProRodeo Tournament’s Championship Round at the 125th edition of the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo, Saturday, February 5, 2022.

    Bareback Riding: 1, Kaycee Feild, Genola, Utah, 93 points on Macza Pro Rodeo’s OLS Tubs Stevie Nicks, $20,000. 2, (tie) Chad Rutherford, Hillsboro, Texas, and Clayton Biglow, Clements, Calif., 89, $10,000 each. 3, Cole Franks, Clarendon, Texas, 88.5, $4,000.

    Steer Wrestling: 1, Tristan Martin, Sulphur, La., 3.9 seconds, $20,000. 2, Payden McIntyre, Douglas, Wyo., 4.0, $12,000. 3, Taz Olson, Prairie City, S.D., 5.2, $8,000. 4, Justin Shaffer, Hallsville, Texas, 5.9, $4,000.

    Breakaway Roping: 1, Kelsie Domer, Dublin, Texas, 1.8 seconds, $20,000. 2, (tie) Taylor Engesser, Spearfish, S.D., and Erin Johnson, Fowler, Colo., 1.9, $10,000 each. 3, Shelby Boisjoli, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 2.1, $4,000.

    Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Stetson Wright, Milford, Utah, 91.5 points on Macza Pro Rodeo’s OLS Tubs Get Smart, $20,000. 2, (tie) Tegan Smith, Winterset, Iowa, and Chase Brooks, Deer Lodge, Mont., 87, $10,000 each. 3, Sterling Crawley, Huntsville, Texas, 85.5, $4,000.

    Tie Down Roping: 1, Bryson Sechrist, Apache, Okla., 7.2 seconds, $20,000. 2, Quade Hiatt, Canyon, Texas, 7.5, $12,000. 3, Shad Mayfield, Clovis, N.M., 8.4, $8,000. 4, Charlie Gibson, Midland, Texas, 8.5, $4,000.

    Team Roping: 1, Kaleb Driggers, Hoboken, Ga., and Junior Nogueira, Presidente Prude, Brazil, 4.2 seconds, $20,000 each. 2, Jake Orman, Prairie City, Miss., and Brye Crites, Welch, Okla., 4.4, $12,000. 3, Rhen Richard, Roosevelt, Utah, and Jeremy Buhler, Arrowwood, Alberta, 4.6, $8,000. 4, Andrew Ward, Edmond, Okla., and Buddy Hawkins II, Columbus, Kan.,4.9, $4,000.

    Women’s Barrel Race: 1, Wenda Johnson, Pawhuska, Okla., 16.08 seconds, $20,000. 2, Hailey Kinsel, Cotulla, Texas, 16.24, $12,000. 3, Jordan Briggs, Tolar, Texas, 16.30, $8,000. 4, Ivy Saebens, Nowata, Okla., 16.38, $4,000.

    Bull Riding: 1, Sage Steele Kimzey, Salado, Texas, 91.5 points on 4L-Diamond S Rodeo’s Space Unicorn, $20,000. 2, Scottie Knapp, Moriarty, N.M., 90, $12,000. 3, Trey Kimzey, Strong City, Okla., 85, $8,000.

     

     

  • 18-year-old tie-down roper takes center stage at Fort Worth Rodeo

    18-year-old tie-down roper takes center stage at Fort Worth Rodeo

    FORT WORTH, Texas (Feb. 1, 2022) — Most of the contestants at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo have qualified for the ProRodeo Tournament through being among the world’s best.

    To get to that point, most rodeo contestants spend days on the road crisscrossing the country, paying entry fees and hoping to earn enough to qualify for prestigious rodeos like Fort Worth. For a few of the competitors at the rodeo this year, that road was a little shorter.

    One of those competitors was Riley Webb from Denton, Texas who was qualified based on his success at his hometown rodeo. Webb turned 18 in August, bought his membership in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, and started entering rodeos. One of those was a qualifier for the FWSSR ProRodeo Tournament and now he is roping for a championship.

    Webb stopped the clock in 8.2 seconds on Tuesday night to win round two of bracket 7. After a no-time on Monday night he knew he needed to win to advance to the wildcard or semi-finals round. The $1,760 he that came with his 8.2-second run is giving him another opportunity to rope in Dickies Arena. And, because the competition starts over with each advancement, he only needs to be in the top four in the semi-finals to get to make the trip back here on Saturday night for the championship round.

    Mitch Pollock from Winnemucca, Nevada, was another cowboy with a big smile on his face Tuesday night. Pollock had the high-marked saddle bronc ride with an 84 on Bridwell Pro Rodeo’s horse named Classy Clark. It added $1,760 to his earnings and gave him a total of $3,080 for the rodeo so far. He will be staying in town watching his buddies ride in the wildcard round and getting ready for the semi-finals.

    The two fastest barrel racing times of the rodeo so far belong to Wenda Johnson of Pawhuska, Oklahoma. Johnson set an arena record on Monday night at 16.19 seconds. She came back Tuesday and was just two one-hundredths off the pace at 16.21. She is now headed to the semi-finals after winning $3,520.

    Riding bulls for eight seconds is a goal of every cowboy that ever puts his hand in a bull rope. Sage Kimzey’s goals have been to beat Donny Gay’s record of eight world championships. He came one step closer to that goal when he earned his seventh world title last December at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Now he’s working towards gold buckle number eight and if his success in Fort Worth continues, he will be closer.

    Kimzey was one of two riders to get scores on Monday night. Then on Tuesday, he was one of three. On Tuesday he rode J Bar J Rodeo’s Little Hoot for 80 points and his second win here so far. And he added $4,326 to his earnings and has ridden 100% of his bulls this year. He will advance to the semi-finals.

    Wednesday night’s rodeo will feature the third-place winner from each bracket as well as the high money earner from all brackets who did not advance based on their placing. That competition gets underway at 7:30 p.m. where the contestants will be fighting for the final two spots in Thursday and Friday night’s semi-finals.

     

    FORT WORTH, Texas — The following are unofficial results from the FWSSR ProRodeo Tournament at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo, Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022.

    Bracket 7, Round 2

    Bareback: Clint Laye, Cadogan, Alberta, 87 points on Bridwell Pro Rodeo’s Scarlet Lady, $1,760. 2, Dantan Bertsch, Tompkins, Saskatchewan, 84.5, $1,320 3, Tim O’Connell, Zwingle, Iowa, 82.5, $880. 4, Clayton Biglow, Clements, Calif., 78, $440.

    Semifinals Qualifers: Bertsch, $3,080, Laye, $1,760. Wild Card Qualifier: Biglow, $1,760

    Steer Wrestling: 1, Jason Thomas, Benton, Ark. 3.8 seconds, $1,760. 2, Justin Shaffer, Hallsville, Texas, 3.9, $1,320. 3, Newt Novich, Twin Bridges, Mont., 3.9, $1,320. 4, (tie) Rowdy Parrott, Mamou, La., 4.2, and Dakota Eldridge, Elko, N.V., 4.2, $220 each.

    Semifinals Qualifiers: Shaffer, $2,200, and Jason Thomas, $1,761. Wild Card Qualifier: Parrott, $1,760.

     

    Breakaway Roping (Three times) 1, Bailey Gubert, Hungerford, Texas, 2.2 seconds, $1,907. 2, Whitney Thurmond, Iola, Texas, 4.5, $1,466. 3, Danielle Lowman, Gilbert, Ariz, $1,026.

    Semifinals Qualifiers: Gubert, $1,906 and Loni Lester, Gonzales, Texas, $1,760. Wild Card Qualifier: Thurmond, $1,466.

    Saddle Bronc Riding,: 1, Mitch Pollock, Winnemucca, N.V., 84 points on Bridwell Pro Rodeo’s Classy Clark, $1,760. 2, (tie) Cole Elshere, Faith, S.D.; Shorty Garett, Eagle Butte, S.D., and Stetson Wright, Milford, Utah, 82.5, $880 each.

    Semifinals Qualifiers: Pollock, $3,080, and Wilson, $1,760. Wild Card Qualifier: Wright, $880.

    Tie Down Roping: 1, Riley Webb, Denton, Texas, 8.2, $1,760. 2, Tanner Green, Cotulla, Texas, 9.2, $1,320. 3, Matt Shiozawa, Chubbuck, Idaho, 9.3, $880. Haven Meged, Miles City, Mont., 9.8, $440.

    Semifinals Qualifiers: 1, Webb, $1,760 and Marty Yates, Stephenville, Texas. Wild Card Qualifier: Shad Mayfield, Clovis, N.M., $1,320

    Team Roping: 1, Kaleb Driggers, Hoboken, Ga., and Junior Nogueira, Presidente Prude, Brazil, 4.0 seconds, $1,760 each. 2, Britt and Jake Smith, Broken Bow, Okla., 4.5, $1,320. 3, Quinn Kesler, Holden, Utah, Caleb Hendrix, Fallon, N.V., 5.0, $880. 4, Garrett Rogers, Baker City, Ore., and Justin Davis, Cottonwood, Calif., 440.

    Semifinals Qualifiers: 1, Rogers and Davis, $2,200 each. 2, Driggers and Nogueira, $1,760. Wild Card Qualifier: Smith and Smith, $1,320.

    Women’s Barrel Race: 1, Wenda Johnson, Pawhuska, Okla., 16.21 seconds, $1,760. 2, Emily Beisel, Weatherford, Okla., 16.29, $1,320. 3, Kassie Mowry, Dublin, Texas, 16.33, $880. 4, Stephanie Fryar, Waco, Texas, 16.57, $440.

    Semifinals Qualifiers: Johnson, $3,520 and Beisel, $2,640. Wild Card Qualifier: Fryar, $1,320.

    Bull Riding: 1, Sage Steele Kimzey, Salado, Texas, 88 points, on J Bar J Pro Rodeo’s Little Hoot, $1,906. 2, (tie) Nic Luca, Garden City, Mich., $1,246 and Jimy Marten, Donahue, Iowa, 81, $1,246.

    Semifinals Qualifiers: Kimzey, $4,326, and Trevor Reiste, Linden, Iowa,$1,980. Wild Card Qualifier: Marten, $1,247.