Chris Woodruff is the man behind Stetson Country Christmas, Roper Cowboy Marketplace, and his latest venture, ALL IN Barrel Race and ALL IN Breakaway – both held at the Orleans Arena during the WNFR and guaranteeing more than $800,000 payout. Chris rode bareback horses in high school and college. “I was in the era of Bruce Ford and I wasn’t that level,” he admits. He got his start with a family owned advertising company in the oil field industry. “I learned how to talk to people and get my foot in the door –Las Vegas can be so intimidating in 2019. But when I started in 1994 that wasn’t the case.” He got into real estate for awhile and then in 1994, he saw the need for additional shopping during the NFR and the “rest is history.”
“When I first started my goal was 100 booths – with hard work, effort and a great team, we’ve grown it into a must shop must see shopping experience during the NFR.” The first year he managed to get 500 booths into the Sands Expo and it grew from there. Fast forward to 2019 and between the two trade shows (Roper Cowboy Marketplace at Mandalay Bay and Stetson Country Christmas) it grew to more than 2,000 10×10 booths.
With an unexpected move from the Sands Expo in 2016, Chris was given an opportunity to expand into producing an event. “I find the good in everything,” he said. “That move downtown got us into the ALL IN Barrel Race which we held downtown at the World Market Center, in conjunction to the Stetson Country Christmas. 2016 was the first year for the ALL IN.”
Stetson Country Christmas has found a new permanent home at the Rio Hotel and Casino, with 14 acres of free parking on Twain Street (west side of the Rio). “Once people get there, they will be amazed at the accessibility of the shopping. We are already sold out of exhibit space.”
Being in Las Vegas at the level of what he produced for 25 years with the two trade shows, Chris saw a need to cater to barrel racers. “The barrel racing interest comes from my daughter, Autumn, who started racing when she was 12.” Autumn was actually allergic to horses and was willing to take shots or whatever it took to be around them. She has outgrown it and keeps her allergies under control with over the counter medications. Chris has been a hands-on dad, attending the barrel racings that Autumn ran at and seeing firsthand what each event was like from the competitor side. “I saw the need for the barrel race event after watching the success with the team ropers and the World Series. Why not let the barrel racers have their presence,” he said. “I’m an entrepreneur; we produced the trade shows for 25 years so we have knowledge of how Las Vegas works internally. Group W Productions was an operational partner for the Rose Palace in San Antonio – so we put on several events there over the years. We just moved to bigger and better and set our sights on Las Vegas. We’ve participated first hand as a competitor so we’ve seen all the misses that a producer misses at an event. I take that into consideration and that’s part of our plan – to be everything we can be at the ALL IN.”
“The concept is “ALL IN.” We want it to be a seamless experience for the barrel racers. There’s only 15 going to the NFR and this offers others a part of the pageantry and the lights plus pocket some pretty nice prize money.” Each entry includes a hotel room and stall, contestant’s jacket, trailer parking and more goodies as time goes. Sponsors are stepping up to add perks all the time. “We’ve got everyone entering from Sydni Blanchard to the weekend warriors and grandmas. Sydni is now one of the sponsors – she is giving one of her saddles to the fastest time to the event.”
Whatever race entered, starting on Thursday, December 5th, each contestant gets two go rounds, and a short round. The top 30 of every D to the short go. “It’s a clean slate race in the short go, so who knows who will get it.”
The entries are limited by the number of stalls available on each race – and now they added breakaway with a guaranteed $100,000 – so Chris encourages anyone interested to get their entries in early. “We want to make this ALL IN Barrel Race as big as we can make it. I had no idea we’d be paying over $700,000 by the fourth year of the event, and that’s just the barrels. The breakaway is $100,000. I haven’t seen anything where the breakaway is paid out that much. I feel like we’re stepping out there pretty good.”
Blog
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ProFile: Chris Woodruff
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Now Faith
What does it mean to have “Now Faith”? I was corrected the other day and said that I need to expand my faith and quit diminishing it by what I claim. The statements I was making such as “I believe I will walk again, whether it is on this earth or the next I’m not sure but, I believe I will walk again.” Now, although you might think this statement is a bold statement and makes the claim of walking again, by not claiming what I originally prayed for shows weakness in my faith! We all know that if we have accepted Jesus as our personal savior that the day we die we will be born again and given a new body in heaven. 2 Corinthians 5 tells us about putting on our new bodies in heaven. So, although by saying “I will walk on this earth or the next” I am claiming truth, but I am diminishing my faith because of course we all know that we will be made new and whole in heaven.
The day of my accident I prayed for healing. I have had many prayer warriors stand in agreement with me. I truly do believe that I will regain my legs and be healed 100%. Trey Johnson brought this to my attention the other day and taught me the importance of renewing our minds and having “now faith”.
Matthew 7:7-8 says “Keep on asking and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”
From the beginning I prayed for God’s will to be done and to be fully healed. Not partially healed, not somewhat healed, I prayed to be fully healed! I prayed to be healed that night. I prayed to be healed in three months. I prayed to be healed in six months. Now I am approaching ten months post injury still praying for full recovery and believing in Jesus name that I will receive it.
After 6 months of not receiving what you are praying for it is easier to wonder if it will ever happen. And although I believed, I began wondering if it is God’s will for me to walk. This is a way that Satan lies to us. He begins to sneak in and try to tell us that we won’t receive our miracle on this earth. We have to remember that Isaiah 55:8-9 claims that God’s thoughts are not like our thoughts. And his ways are far beyond anything we can imagine. So, when we don’t exactly receive what we are asking for right when we ask for them, we can’t get discouraged. We have to know that God is working and his ways are higher than our ways, and we must remain patient. We must keep asking and know that we are going to receive at just the right time.
We also must remember that God spoke everything into existence. Psalms 33:9 says “For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.” So the words we speak about ourselves and our situation are what will become. They are very important. And the beginning of words are thoughts. What we think is what we will talk about. Therefore we must control our mind. It is important to start by renewing our minds and letting God change the way we think so that we can proclaim, and command truth upon our lives.
Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
By letting God transform the way we think and proclaiming his promises they will come to fruition. So, instead of me saying “I will either walk on this earth or the next” I need to say “Lord your will be done. I know I am healed. My back is strong. My legs are strong. My ankles are strong. I can lock my knees. I am able to take steps. By Jesus’ wounds I am healed. Your timing is perfect so I will remain patient. I believe father. Lord you say in Mark 9:23 that anything is possible if a person believes! I will walk again on this earth because you are faithful and I have asked!”
So, it is a work in progress for me but I have began to let God transform my mind and seek his promises on my life, and within a week of speaking and proclaiming healing on my body I have began to be able to flex my glutes. That’s a huge breakthrough as the glutes and quads are the muscles that will lock my knees and make me able to stand on my own so praise God for that! Hebrews 11:1 describes true faith as believing in the things not yet seen. So, although you may not see your situation changing, you may not see your miracle happening, you may not see any progress, we can all rest assured that faith as small as a mustard seed will move mountains. Don’t weaken, keep believing, keep proclaiming, and know that God is working and will reward faith!
Matthew 8:13 Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.” And the young servant was healed that same hour. -
Back When They Bucked with Jerome Robinson
courtesy of the family
For Jerome Robinson, being born in Ogallala, Nebraska (the self proclainmed “cowboy capital of Nebraska”), might have been an omen as he was destined to spend his entire life dreaming about, and then acting out the life of a cowboy… Specifically, a rodeo cowboy. A three-year-old Robinson announced he wanted to be a bull rider while attending the Denver Stock show with his grandmother. Later that year he rode a horse (led by his mounted father) in the county fair and rodeo parade. By age five he was riding calves on the family wheat farm in Brandon, Nebraska.
Riding calves evolved into riding steers and then cows in the farm’s corral that was converted into a make shift rodeo arena. These practice sessions along with breaking and training ponies and horses gave Robinson the confidence to enter little britches rodeos and later high school rodeos where he experimented in calf roping, bareback riding, and steer wrestling in addition to bull riding… He excelled at none of the rodeo events. When Robinson graduated from high school, he had not yet won an event at any of the rodeos entered and had placed only once.
Robinson enrolled in Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins, Colorado with thoughts of studying veterinary medicene. While struggling with chemistry, Robinson discovered a rodeo arena in Boulder, Colorado that was scheduled to host weekly practice sessions every Sunday afternoon throughout the year, weather permitting. Robinson became a regular at Rex Walker’s Sombrero Ranch practice sessions where he cut a deal to serve as rodeo bull fighter in return for mounting all the stock he could, without paying the customary three dollar practice fee.
Robinson’s faithful practice habits didn’t render many results and his freshman year he was not selected to be on the csu rodeo team. Excluded from competing at any of the intercolligiate rodeos was his fate until team member injuries took their toll and Robinson was allowed to enter the last two rodeos of the year. Placing at both gave him a berth on the team and a trip to the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) Finals in Yankton, South Dakota. The next two years of college, Robinson doubled down on the practice sessions along with attending World Champion Ronnie Rossen’s week long bull riding school where he got on thirty-three head of bulls at the seven day school. At one point, Robinson had practice sessions Tuesday and Thursday afteroons and Saturday and Sunday mornings in Fort Collins. Wednesday night and Saturday afternoon sessions took place in nearby Laramie, Wyoming and Sunday afternoon, it was Boulder again. Practice did not make perfect but it did make Robinson competitive on the intercolligiate level where he finished third and ninth nationally his junior and senior season, and the summers saw him being competitive at local PRCA rodeos while finishing fourth at Cheyenne Frontier Days in 1968.The 1970 PRCA rodeo year actually started the first rodeo after the 1969 San Franciso Cow Palace rodeo which ended in early November. All other 1969 rodeo winnings were credited to the 1970 championship standings. Robinson was attending his last few months of college, but to get a jump on the 1970 season, he would leave classes friday, driving overnight to scheduled PRCA rodeos in the midwest, competing on saturday or sunday and drive overnight to be back at school on Monday. St. Paul, Minnesota was the first rodeo of the 1970 season and Robinson drew up in the first performance on bull #1 and was the first bull rider to compete in that night’s performance. Robinson’s score held up for a first place finish. The next weekend was Bismark, North Dakota, where Robinson rode to another first place finish winning his first PRCA buckle and he won a second at the Chicago Stockyards rodeo over Thanksgiving weekend. The January 1st issue of the “Rodeo Sports News” had Robinson leading the bull riding standings. That would be the only issue in his sixteen years of competition (1967-82) that showed him leading the standings. Robinson would qualify for his first of eleven National Finals Rodeo (NFR) bull riding appearances, a PRCA record at the time. Robinson’s record would be broken by Donnie Gay, Wacey Cathy, Ted Nuce, and tied by Tuff Hedeman.
Jerome competing at the Fort Collins College Rodeo, 1967 – Clore Photo Having qualified for his first NFR in 1970, Robinson decided to make some use of his degree in education and conduct a bull riding school. He recognized that at the seven day school he had attended, the majority of the learning was done in the first three days and the last four were just practice so he elected to cut the tuition in half and conduct a three-day riding clinic. Robinson’s clinics turned out some very accomplished riders. Wally Badgett from Ashland, Montana was a student at the first clinic and won the NIRA bull riding championship the next year and was an NFR qualifier four years later. Student’s from Robinson’s second and third clinic also won NIRA championships the year following their attendance. In addition to Badgett, several NFR qualifiers came from the ranks of Robinson’s clinic including Cody Lambert, Lonnie Wyatt, and Michael Gaffney (who, along with Owen Washburn, won PBR world titles).
After six consecutive NFR appearances, Robinson while serving his fourth year as the PRCA bull riding director became involved in the implementation of a centralized rodeo entry office, known then as rocom (rodeo communications) and today as procom (prorodeo communications) that utilized a computer programed to implement the rules and guidelines of the prca rulebook regarding entries and drawing of competitive positions and livestock. It also utilized a bank of toll- free telephone lines to accommodate the communications of the rodeo contestants, stock contractors, and committees. Procom essentially consolidated the in excess of five hundred prca rodeo entry offices across the united states into one, facilitating a more efficient and cost- effective method of producing PRCA rodeos. While attending to procom growing pains, Robinson found it difficult to focus on his riding and 1976 proved to be the only year in a twelve-year span, Robinson failed to qualify for a berth at the NFR.
Robinson left the 1981 NFR and elected to skip rodeos in Odessa, Texas and the Denver Stock Show for World Cup competition in Melbourne and Sydney Australia. Returning from Australia in time for the start of the Fort Worth Stock Show Rodeo, Robinson won a bull riding in Amarillo, Texas on his way to Fort Worth where he placed high in both of the first two go rounds and was leading the average going into the progessive third round. Prior to the his third round competition, Robinson competed in Scottsdale, Arizona, and was scheduled to fly from Scottsdale to Fort Worth the next morning when two bronc riders asked him to help them make the overnight drive and Robinson agreed. Robinson slept through the better part of the night and took over his driving shift at El Paso just after midnight Friday morning running into a Texas ice storm. Just past Big Spring, Texas, about three hours fom the Fort Worth destination, the storm seemed to subside, but a patch of ice sent the top-heavy van careening into the median, flipping onto its top, pinning Robinson’s right hand between the roof and the dashboard. An ambulance soon arrived and transported Robinson to the Big Spring hospital, leaving the bronc riders, who were uninjured, to settle the paperwork on the accident and find themselves a ride to Fort Worth where they were scheduled to ride that Friday night. Robinson was admitted to the hospital where a local surgeon amputated the end of two fingers and took skin from the front of his thigh and graphed it to the front of the two amputated fingers while suturing the third finger closed. All the time Robinson, being a left handed rider, was calculating his odds of competing on his third bull in Fort Worth. Calling the Fort Worth rodeo office, Robinson applied for and received a medical waiver allowing him to postpone his competition ride until Sunday afternoon. By Friday night, other residuals of the accident set in and Robinson was unable to lift his head off the hospital bed pillow. He all but abandoned any thoughts of Fort Worth competition. Amazingly, after a good nights rest, Robinson was much more mobile and began to think, “if I can improve as much in the next twenty-four hours as I have in the last eighteen, I think i could get on in Fort Worth”. By Saturday night, Robinson had made arrangements with a long-time-friend/traveling partner and Big Spring resident to catch a ride to Fort Worth for the Sunday afternoon third go round bull ride and hopefully the short-go finals Sunday night. Robinson arrived at the stock show arena in time to have Justin Sports Medicine’s team design and wrap a protective guard on the injured non-riding hand. Robinson scored a moderate score on a substandard bull in the afternoon performance and in the finals that night, Robinson posted another moderate score after the judges docked Robinson’s ride for being somewhat out of control on an excellent short go mount. Compounding Robinson’s lacluster performance was an unorthadox dismount that resulted in what Robinson thought was a dislocated knee but turned out to be a detached ligament. The injury required surgury and put Robinson on the medically disabled list for the next four months allowing him to return to competition on Memorial Day weekend. Robinson’s riding the remainder of 1982 was average at best and Robinson acknowledged that after riding competitive with the event’s premier riders for over a decade, riding just average wasn’t much fun. He announced his retirement that fall after making qualified rides on his last five bulls.
Jerome tie-down roping at a Nebraska High School rodeo, June 1965 in Harrison, Nebraksa – Ken Studio During his four months of recovery, Robinson, who two years earlier had attended a three-day rodeo production seminar decided to try his hand at producing a rodeo. He convinced the CSU rodeo club to let him produce the “Skyline Stampede”, one of the oldest and longest running collegiate rodeos in the nation. The 1982 Skyline Stampede experienced a significant upgrade in entertainment value (complete with a sponsored “25 cent beer day”) and a modest increase in rodeo club profit. Robinson’s profits, though very modest monetarily, came in experience gained from producing a complete event from start to finish.
Another mini project Robinson involved himself in while convalescing consisted of Howard Harris, PRCA livestock contractor representative, Ken Stemler, PRCA Properties Inc. President, and Robinson making a sales presentation to Steve Gander, a notable indoor rodeo producer in the midwest to bring his brand of “World’s Toughest Rodeo” under the sanctioning umbrella of the PRCA. Gander elected to join the PRCA and at a point in the year that it was obvious Robinson was not going to make his twelfth NFR qualification, Robinson was extended an offer from Gander to be his PRCA livestock liaison and arena director. Warning Gander he would be hiring a neophyte in both job areas, Gander laughed, repeated the offer, and Robinson accepted.
The following three years, 1983-85, were filled with long days and short nights, with Gander and staff being responsible for Robinson receiving an education in rodeo production. In the late spring of 1985, Robinson was offered the position of production coordinator for a six event prca television series entitled “Winston Tour”. The rodeos were restricted to the top PRCA contestants selected to “outfits” with each “outfit” sponsored by a PRCA corporate partner. The best available livestock was used at each event with the televised performance being limited to the top six contestants in each event competing with two being eliminated, then four competing, eliminating two more, leaving the top two contestants in a head to head competition for the championship. In each televised performance, rodeo fans saw the top two contestants in each event compete three times on premium livestock in the two hour edited television show. The result was a rodeo fan’s dream.
After the 1985 debut year, the “Winston Tour” made appearances at several existing rodeos in 1986 and then yielded to political pressure from within the PRCA ranks, and the waning involvement of Winston cigarette advertising that became restricted by federal regulation. The “tour” was discontinued at the end of 1986, but the basic concept the Winston Tour was founded on… the top contestants competing on the best livestock, multiple times, in the same performance… Would surface again and play an important part in another chapter of Robinson’s rodeo career.
In 1986, Rex Walker of Sombrero Ranch practice arena, joined forces with Robinson to create Western Trails Rodeo (WTR) as a recognized PRCA livestock contracting firm. This made western trails rodeo an integrated company capable of producing rodeos from start to finish. While acquiring some venues from an acquisition of an existing company, 1987 proved to be a testing ground and was a springboard to 1988 and beyond when a couple of singing cowboys named Garth Brooks and George Strait, with what Nashville dubbed “the hat acts,” made western lifestyle events very popular with the American public and rodeo attendance soared, making Western Trails Rodeo a financially successful venture and opened the door to one of the most challenging but exciting segments of Robinson’s rodeo adventure… production of overseas rodeos/wild west events.
Over the next two decades, Robinson would be contracted to take rodeo/wild west shows to Japan, Finland, France, Italy, Canada, Venezuela, Mexico, Oman, and Brazil. He considers the foreign performances as the most challenging and stressful, but also the most gratifying of the thousands of performances he has been a part of in the thirty-seven years of producing rodeo performances.
Jerome, present day – Rodeo News In the middle of the decade of foreign events for Robinson and the WTR crew, they produced a 1992 bull riding in Scottsdale, Arizona for another promoter. Robinson remembers very little about that event other than the announcer being stricken with laryngitis and a woman rodeo association champion bull rider competing against the men, but a significant event took place in a room at the host hotel. A group of bull riders, several of who were the stars of the now defunct “Winston Tour,” acted on the basic premise of showcasing the premier contestant athletes, the best available livestock, and having those athletes compete multiple times in one performance. From that hotel meeting in Scottsdale, the delegation moved forward and soon afterward, twenty bull riders each putting up $1000, formed the “seed money” for a company that today is valued at between an estimated 150-200 million dollars… Professional Bull Riders,” the PBR!
The next two years were filled with WTR winter/fall productions and the small county fair circuit rodeos in eastern Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma. Sometime in early 1994, a delegation from the PBR headed by Robinson’s former bull riding school student, standout Winston Tour competitor and PBR founding member, Cody Lambert summoned Robinson to a meeting where they (based on the Winston Tour and subsequent rodeo/bull riding production interaction) asked Robinson if he would be interested in being the production coordinator for their first “PBR World Finals” at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, Nevada. Robinson accepted the task and began a job that continues today. The first two “PBR World Finals” utilized almost all equipment and personnel supplied and hired by WTR. They were successful beyond expectations and doubled in prize money each of the first three years and with growth, the PBR purchased their own equipment and employed staff to take over many of Robinson’s initial responsibilities. Robinson has remained in a significant operational implementation capacity at every “PBF World Finals” for over twenty-five years. PBR also began partnering with promoters (Robinson being one of them) to produce their own events, many of which Robinson took on the handling of logistical operations and today refers to himself as the PBR’s “logistics coordinator”.
In 1999, while working on the sixth of the twenty-five PBR World Finals Robinson has worked on, he was bestowed the honor of being inducted into the PBR’s “Ring of Honor” for contributions to bull riding during his competition days and afterwards for work performed on behalf of the PBR. Earlier this year, Robinson was inducted into the “Bull Riding Hall of Fame” in Fort Worth, Texas and in August, Robinson will be inducted into the “PRCA Hall of Fame” as a “Notable Inductee” which is recognition of a competitive career along with contributions made while serving on the PRCA board of directors as bull riding director and a vice president. Serving a term on the National Finals Rodeo commission and serving on the PRCA research and development committee that recommended and facilitated the building of the PRCA headquarters in Colorado Springs and also the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum.
As Robinson embarks on his seventh decade of his rodeo adventure, he admits he enjoys the job’s travel demands, claiming to be a gypsy, relishes the challenges of producing rodeos/bull ridings and looks forward to more years with the PBR. Robinson is up for at least one, if not half a dozen more tours on foreign soil to share the culture that he loves and that has been so rewarding to him. -
On The Trail with Piper Yule
Piper is currently mastering four ponies, and has been working on that for a year. She began her career as a trick rider at the age of four. She added Roman Riding a year later, hopping on her brother’s ponies one day in the arena. “My brother was driving a wagon and I wanted to be part of that, so I just jumped on.” She relies on her brother, Cash, for the ponies. Cash doesn’t mind anymore because the ponies aren’t fast enough for him to use on the chuck wagon. Chuck wagon racing is a Canadian thing, and he started with ponies, and is now moving to Shetlands. Along with the rodeo events, both Piper and Cash do a lot of work on the ranch, which has been in the family for five generations. The family lives in Wardlow, Alberta, a small ranching community, three hours from the border in the middle of nowhere. Between Brooks and Hanna, the community is known for the Calgary Stampede rodeo horses that make their home there as well. Most of their family lives around the area.
Trick riding – Courtesy of the family 
Cash and Piper – Courtesy of the family 
Piper loving on her horse – Courtesy of the family Piper is a gymnast, nicknamed Pipes because she is so strong and has the ability to do things that kids her size can’t do. Her gymnastics teacher, Petre Neda, is an Olympian champion. He immigrated from Austria and coached the Olympian gold Korean team. She started at age 2 and at this time in her life, her groundwork in gymnastics is more difficult that the strap work of trick riding. “That’s what has set her apart,” explains her mom, Kelsey. “She can do difficult maneuvers like the bar work in gymnastics. Her snappy groundwork is her signature. The maneuver she likes the least is anywhere that the ponies can potentially bite her. “Since she rides naughty ponies, she has a hard time trusting her horse so she would prefer to vault.” Her work ethic in gymnastics included 20 hours of training a week. “Her coach was very strict – back hand springs, back walkovers, putting her feet in bars against the wall and lifting up; multiple chin ups and climbing a rope up a wall were other “warm up activities” he required of Pipes. “Piper respects her coach because he can do anything she is doing and when she doesn’t want to try, he shows her.”
Pipes received her first formal training in trick riding from Rae-Lynn Armstrong, who was Madison MacDonald Thomas’s partner in Magic in Motion. “I met her through that,” explained Madison, who has been working with her for four years now. “She’s determined with a lot of try and a lot of heart. She’s very fun to teach – you can throw anything at her and she’ll try it. For someone as young as she is and the pressure of the shows we put her under, it’s incredible what she can do and handle.” Madison, who has been trick riding for 20 years, teaches trick riding from coast to coast. “The number of trick riders is growing,” she said. “The ‘trick’ is learning how to use your body, and Pipes is a natural – I love that little girl – she’s a fun one.”
The trick riding and Roman Riding has come easily to Pipes, who practices Roman Riding often while the family is moving cows. This is the first year that she has had to work on the mental part. She’s never been nervous before. In Roman Riding there is no room for error. In order to “button up mentally,” Pipes has implemented a song into her preparation time. Fairland Ferguson used to performa in the show Cavallia, so Pipes sings the song: ‘Strong in the legs, quiet in the hand, chest and eyes up and go sell eggs.’ It’s an inside joke – she repeats the song until she is calm and focused.
Piper leaves with Madison July 2, and she will go all the way to the end of August. Kelsey will travel along. “Maddie is contracted with Flying U, Mr. Rosser has given me my first chance to see if I’m good enough to be with her,” said Pipes. Her first show is Nephi, Utah, July 11-13. This is her first full summer on the road and she is excited. She came down to the states from the end of January until the middle of March for The AMERICAN and performed during the Junior American. “My teacher sent me homework. Miss Gray has been her teacher since kindergarten and now in third grade, she will work ahead to get done before she leaves. Half of her class is gone for the winter.
Piper trick riding – Covy Moore 
Cash, Kelsey, Wes and Piper – Linda Pierson Photography 
iper has been practicing for a year on mastering four ponies – Linda Pierson Photography “It gets pretty cold up here, so many of them go to Arizona,” explains Kelsey. “We do everything in -40 degree weather and it will be like that for a long time.”
There is a tremendous amount of work that goes into the few minutes in the arena. “The production behind it takes a whole team,” said Kelsey. “It takes two hours just to get in the arena.” For Pipes, she would rather skip that part.“I don’t like to brush my hair,” she admits. “I just want my hair in braids.” She is not taking after her mom – who has a chain of beauty schools in Canada.
“I grew up out here and I wanted to braid my ponies hair instead of barrel racing,” said Kelsey. “I worked internationally for Revlon for several years as Canada’s creative director. So I got to go to Barcelona and Paris, designing shows. I loved this side of the business, so I started schools. I have a great team – we’ve had the same team my whole career and we’re committed to each other. You can’t be strong without that.” Her ability to produce a style show has helped with the specialty act scripts. “We can do the photography, the make-up and all the art that goes behind it.”Her husband, Wes, spends his days doing ranch work, and is supportive of his children’s interests. “It takes a lot of time, but it’s good.” After a full day of looking after cows, haying, or whatever is necessary, he practices with the kids, rope a little with Cash. As a former bronc rider in Canada, he knows what it takes to get trucks and trailers ready to go. His bronc riding skills have come in handy as Cash breaks his ponies. “The ponies are too small for me to get on, but I can coach him.” He stays behind when the family hits the rodeo road. “I got the easy job – I fly down to watch and then fly home.”
…A Little more about:
Cash Yule
Cash started working with ponies when he was six – he is 11 now. His secret is to spend lots of time with them. “Don’t give up and don’t let them win or they will keep doing that over and over again,” he said. “When I was little, I liked to play around with them. When I got older I started doing other stuff with them. I try to pick the better ones that aren’t naughty.” His cousin dropped off a trailer load when Cash was younger and he sorted through and picked the ones he thought he could break. “The other ones that I couldn’t break, I would buck them.” He puts them on a wagon and drives them until they are tired. He tarps them and ponies them on to something and Piper is often the rider.
Cash wagon racing at The AMERICAN, Arlington, Texas 2019 – Rodeo News 
Working on their ranch in Wardlow, Alberta – Courtesy of the family Cash is in sixth grade and attends a school where there are 75 kids in school from k-12. His favorite part is social studies and math. He plans to play defense in the NFL one day as well as become a veterinarian. Along with racing ponies, Cash team ropes.
Last year, Kynan Vine, rodeo director of Calgary Stampede, hired Cash for the Presidents Day – a private performance done before the Calgary Stampede to recognize the sponsors. Last year it was geared towards kids and they had the opportunity to produce their first rodeo. They had to find all the other kids to help, they did events like ranch roping, mini broncs, barrel racing. He pushed the kids – they learned how to take the entire production seriously. He has become a huge mentor – they work hard for him and the rewards. Cash just sold 25 ponies – ponies that he raised. He has quite the business going on.
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High School Champion looking for Cheyenne championship
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (July 23, 2019) – Shad Mayfield might be the busiest 18-year-old at this year’s Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo.
The tie-down roper competed here in the qualifying rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday, July 16 and 17. He roped his first calf here in 12.4 seconds, then won the second round with a time of 9.5 seconds, just a tic over the arena record of 9.4 seconds set last year. He roped again here on July 22 and 23 and was once again successful with times of 12.6 and 11.6, placing in the top four both days. So far, he has won $6,666 here and has an opportunity to win more.
Amongst his runs here in Frontier Park, he was also taking advantage of his final qualification for the National High School Finals Rodeo held in Rock Springs, Wyoming, July 14 – 20. He roped three calves there faster than anyone else in the field and left with the national championship. He also competed at the California Rodeo Salinas and finished fourth overall.
“It’s been unbelievable,” Mayfield said of the last week. “I’ve never had any luck at the high school finals. To win it and do well at these other rodeos is a huge blessing.”
A year ago, he got to be a spectator at Cheyenne when they stopped on their way back to their home in Clovis, N.M. after the high school finals. This year, he did far more than spectate. Prior to the 123rd “Daddy of ‘em All,” he was 24th in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association World Standings. He is about $7,000 outside of the top 15 and, if he gets a good check here in the Championship Finals, he could very well move up and put himself in position to qualify for his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.
Mayfield’s success here has come on a horse that is just two years younger than he is. Django has been great in this big arena and has worked well over the 30-foot head start that the cattle get. Not long after roping here, they were headed to Deadwood, South Dakota, for another rodeo, then will be coming back to Cheyenne to rope again.
It has been a family effort for the Mayfields. Shad’s dad, Sylvester, a former NFR qualifier in the tie-down roping, has been coaching him and traveling with him. His mom Joellen has been keeping things together at home. And, while his older sister Shelby isn’t directly involved, she is very supportive.
“I couldn’t do any of this without my family,” Shad said. “Everybody plays a part and I just hope that we all can keep it rolling.”
A new set of contestants will make their way to Cheyenne to compete at the fifth performance on Wednesday beginning at 12:45 p.m.
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (July 23, 2019) – The following are unofficial results from Tuesday, July 23rd at the 123rd Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo. Money earned is subject to change.
Bareback riding: 1, Tilden Hooper, Carthage, Texas, 88 points on Rocky Mountain Rodeo Company’s Hard Times, $2,384. 2, Leighton Berry, Weatherford, Texas, 85.5, $1,788. 3, Anthony Thomas, Humble, Texas, 83.5, $1,191. 4, Garrett Shadbolt, Merriman, Neb., 81, $595.
Breakaway Roping: 1, KL Spratt, Phoenix, Ariz., 4.25, $2,403. 2, Ginalee Tierney, Broken Bow, Neb, 4.32, $1,802. 3, Erin Johnson, Fowler, Colo., 4.56, $1,201. 4, TiAda Gray, Portales, N.M., 4.59, $601. (Advancing to Finals) 1, (tie) KL Spratt; TiAda Gray; and Taryn Stippel, Pierpont, S.D., $2,403 each. 4, Ginalee Tierney, $1,802.
Tie-down Roping: 1, Raulie Hurtado Jr., Buhl, Idaho, 11.1 seconds, $1,954. 2, Shad Mayfield, Clovis, N.M., 11.6, $1,465. 3, Owen Wahlert, Grover, Colo., 12.3, $977. 4, Colt Papy, Henrietta, Texas, 13.4, $488. (advancing to finals) 1, Hurtado, $3,175. 2, Mayfield, $2,686. 3, Clint Cooper, Decatur, Texas, $1,954. 4, Wahlert, $977.
Saddle Bronc Riding: 1 (tie), Sterling Crawley, Stephenville, Texas, on Stace Smith Pro Rodeo’s B53 and Allen Boore, Axtell, Utah on Stace Smith Pro Rodeo’s Made in March, 83.5 points, $1,999. 3, Dawson Hay, Wildwood, Alberta, 83, $1,142. 4, Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas, 81, $571.
Team Roping: 1, Brenten Hall, Stephenville, Texas, and Chase Tryan, Helena, Mont., 8.7 seconds, $2,233 each. 2, Dustin Bird, Cut Bank, Mont., and Trey Yates, Pueblo, Colo., 9.1, $1,674. 3, Garrett Rogers, Baker City, Ore., and Jake Minor, Ellensburg, Wash., 10.0, $1,116. 4, Shaw Loiseau, Flandreau, S.D., and Ty Talsma, Avon, S.D., 11.5, $558. (advancing to Championship Finals) 1, Hall and Tryan, $4,466. 2, (tie) Bird and Yates and Cody Tew, Belgrade, Mont., and Jerren Johnson, Casper, Wyo., $1,674. 4, (tie) Rogers and Minor and Bubba Buckaloo, Kingston, Okla., and Shay Carroll, La Junta, Colo., 10.4, $1,116.
Steer Wrestling: 1, Beau Clark, Laramie, Wyo., 9.4 seconds, $1,411. 2, Cyler Cowling, Newell, S.D., 10.9, $1,058. 3, Riley Wakefield, O’Neill, Neb., 18.1, $705. 3, Riley Wakefield, 18.1, $705. 4, Del Ray Kraupie, Bridgeport, Neb., 24.3, $353. (advancing to Championship Finals) 1, Wakefield, $2,645. 2, Kraupie, $1,940. 3, Clark, $1,411. 4, Dowling, $1,058.
Barrel Racing: 1, Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, Victoria, Texas, 17.48 seconds, $2,611. 2, Ali Anton, Heraldsburg, Calif., 17.71, $1,958. 3, Christine Laughlin, Pueblo, Colo., 17.80, $1,305. 4, Dena Milner, Midland, Texas, 17.87, $653.
Bull Riding: (two rides) 1, Josh Frost, Randlett, Utah, 86 points on Rocky Mountain Rodeo’s Banana Man, $3,893. 2, Koby Radley, Montpelier, La., 72, $3,185.
Rookie Saddle Bronc Riding: (first round leaders) 1 (tie), Jacob Kammerer, Philip, S.D., and Carter Elshere, Elm Spring, S.D., 78 points each. 3, (tie) Jade Taton, Goodwell, Okla., and Trent Burd, Fort Scott, Kan., 76. 5, Will Reynolds, Goodwell, Okla., 74. 6, Rhett Fanning, Martin, S.D., 70. (second round leaders) 1, Rowdy Chesser, Goodwell, Okla., 75 points. 2, Kammerer, 74. 3, Cooper Thatcher, Australia, 72. 4, Jake Foster, Meadow, S.D., 68. 5, Keene Justesen, Saint Cloud, Fla., 65. 6, Cody Trump, Chadron, Neb., 64. (total on two) 1, Kammerer, 152 points. 2, (tie) Fanning and Cody Ballard, Goodwell, Okla., 127. 4, Thatcher, 124. 5, Justesen, 122. 6, Jake Clark, Crane, Ore., 90.
Wild Horse Race: 1, Angels vs Drunk Drivers, $644. 2, S-WA.GIMA, $483. 3, Shockers, $322. 4, Davis Dental, $161. (total money leaders) 1, Copper State Cowboys, $1127. 2, Shockers, $966. 3, S-WA.GIMA, $805. 4, Outlaw Liquors, $644.
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The Women of Rodeo Brought the Heat at Days of ’47 Cowboy Games & Rodeo on Monday
SALT LAKE CITY (July 22, 2019) – It was a hot night at the Komatsu Equipment Days of ’47 Cowboy Games and Rodeo presented by Zions Bank in Salt Lake City on Monday night both in temperature and rodeo action.
An 18-time WPRA World Champion Jackie Crawford turned in a blistering fast run in the new event of women’s breakaway on Monday night at the Days of ’47 Arena. Crawford of Stephenville, Texas, has never had a chance to compete for an Olympic-style medal and would definitely be a highlight of her storied career if she could leave Salt Lake City as the winner. She stopped the clock in 2.95 seconds to win the performance on night No. 3.
“It was a fast round tonight,” said Crawford, who drew up fourth in the performance order. “I had a chance to watch it on Saturday, so I had an idea on how it could go. Obviously a lot of girls are leaving without the game plan they came in with. I just tried to make the best run I could as I knew how it could play out. We could have never imagined we would be having this opportunity to run for money like this.”
WPRA Rookie and current world standings leader Taylor Munsell will join Crawford in looking to make history on Wednesday night for the event of breakaway roping. Munsell of Alva, Okla., stopped the clock in 3.97 seconds to advance.
Possibly the hottest barrel racer going down the road right now is Lisa Lockhart and she kept it hot on Monday night with a winning time of 17.291 on her great buckskin An Oakie with Cash “Louie.” The Oelrichs, S.D., just won the $100,000 round at the Calgary Stampede and has had success in this arena the last two years. In fact, the first year in 2017 she won bronze and in 2018 she won silver. Will 2019 be her year to win gold?
Last year’s bronze medalist Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi will be looking to add to her medal collection as well finishing second on the night with a time of 17.384. Pozzi Tonozzi of Lampasas Texas, will join her husband Garrett Tonozzi on Wednesday as he will be competing for a gold medal in the team roping after having qualified on opening night.
A total of 288 competitors will take their shot at a share of the over $1 million in prize money and a Gold, Silver or Bronze medal that will be awarded on Wednesday, July 24. There will be 32 competitors in each of the following events: bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, women’s breakaway roping, barrel racing and bull riding.
Bareback rider Ty Breuer got the night started with an 86.25-point ride on Sankey Rodeo’s Exotic Blonde. Breuer, of Mandan, N.D., easily advanced to the Gold Medal Round on Wednesday as the top two in each event receive an automatic qualification. Joining Breuer will be two-time and defending Gold Medalist Wyatt Denny. He is trying to make history here as well being the first one to ever win three consecutive gold medals. Denny of Minden, Nev., finished with an 84 on Sankey Rodeo’s Great Nation to ride again at Days of ’47 Arena on Wednesday.
Tyler Pearson saved the best for last in the steer wrestling as he was the last to compete on Monday night but he brought his A-game stopping the clock in a time of 4.56 seconds to advance for a shot at $50,000. The 2017 PRCA World Champion Steer Wrestler from Atoka, Okla., would love to add a gold medal to his world champion gold buckle. He will be joined by Elko, Nevada’s Dakota Eldridge that stopped the clock in 5.01 seconds to advance.
The Minor brothers were the top team in the team roping on Family Night at the Days of ’47 Cowboy Games & Rodeo. Riley and Brady of Ellensburg, Wash., stopped the clock in 5.19 seconds to advance to the final round on Pioneer Day at the rodeo on Wednesday. They edged Nelson Wyatt, Clanton, Ala., and Jake Long of Morgan Mill, Texas, who finished with a 5.35.
Taos Muncy of Corona, N.M., rode Sankey Rodeo’s Robin Hood for 83 points to take the saddle bronc riding win during performance three of the Days of ’47 Cowboy Games & Rodeo. Muncy will be back in two days to try and add $50,000 to his bank account. It might have taken two tries for Jake Foster but the second ride was definitely worth it as he scored 79.25 on Powder River Rodeo’s Visible Injury to advance to the Gold Medal Round. Foster of Meadow, S.D., will be competing for a shot at Gold, Silver or Bronze Medal on July 24, 2019.
It was a couple of Texan’s atop the Utah leaderboard in the tie-down roping. Timber Moore of Aubrey, was 9.34 seconds, while Sterling Smith of Stephenville was 9.67. They added $3,200 and $2,400, respectively to their bank accounts on Monday night but both would love to add the $50,000 that is awarded to the winner on Wednesday. The times from their first run doesn’t carry forward so will be a clean slate when they return in two days.
Unfortunately by the end of the night things had cooled off so much that there were no qualified rides in the bull riding. Therefore, no one automatically advances from performance three and we will now take four wild card athletes from the field of contestants based on scores or total ride time.
The full field of 32 competitors is divided into four groups of eight each and compete in one of the first four performances (July 19-20, 22-23). The top two from each performance, along with two via the Wild Card category will advance to the Gold Medal Round on July 24. The 10 competitors in each event in the Gold Medal Round will compete in a sudden-death format with the winner collecting a Gold Medal and $50,000 cash.
The Komatsu Equipment Days of ’47 Cowboy Games & Rodeo presented by Zions Bank, is taking place at the $17.5 million state-of-the-art Days of ’47 Arena at the Utah State Fairpark, custom designed and built for rodeo. The venue—an outdoor arena located in the heart of Salt Lake City—features over 10,000 stadium-style seats.
For only the fifth time in the history of rodeo, riders will have an opportunity to compete for Gold, Silver or Bronze Medals. The first two times were in conjunction with the Olympic Winter Games in Calgary (1988) and Salt Lake City (2002), when rodeo was part of the Cultural Olympiad and the other two times being the Days of ’47 Cowboy Games and Rodeo in 2017 and 2018. This will be the first time for breakaway ropers as they were not part of the aforementioned events. The medals that will be awarded at the Days of ’47 Cowboy Games & Rodeo will be produced by OC Tanner, the same company that made the Olympic medals for the champions of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.
Tickets are still available at smithstix.com for the final two performances. For more information on the event visit www.daysof47cowboygames.com.
For those unable to attend in person the Komatsu Equipment Days of ’47 Cowboy Games & Rodeo will broadcast live nightly at 8 p.m. MT exclusively on RidePass via RidePass.com or the RidePass mobile app. RideTV will air each round, excluding the finals, nightly at 8 p.m. MT. CBS Sports Network will air a recap of each performance on tape delay with the third performance on July 23 at 9:30 a.m. MT, the fourth on July 24 at 9:30 am., and fifth performance at 10:30 am MT. CBS will air a highlight show of the Days of ’47 Cowboy Games and Rodeo on July 28 at 10 a.m. MT.
Action at the Day of ’47 Cowboy Games & Rodeo continues July 23 at 8 p.m. MT.
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Results: – Performance 3 – July 22, 2019
Bareback riding: 1. Ty Breuer, Mandan, N.D., 86.25 points on Sankey Rodeo’s Exotic Blonde, $3,200; 2. Wyatt Denny, Minden, Nev., 84, $2,400; 3. Trenton Montero, Winnemucca, Nev., 81.5, $1,600; 4. Tanner Aus, New London, Minn., 80.75, $800
Automatically advances to Gold Medal Round: Ty Breuer and Wyatt Denny
Steer wrestling: 1. Tyler Pearson, Atoka, Okla., 4.56 seconds, $3,200; 2. Dakota Eldridge, Elko, Nev., 5.01, $2,400; 3. Tyler Waguespack, Gonzales, La., 5.20, $1,600; 4. Levi Rudd, Chelsea, Okla., 5.80, $800.
Automatically advances to Gold Medal Round: Tyler Pearson and Dakota Eldridge
Team roping: 1. Riley Minor/Brady Minor, Ellensburg, Wa., 5.19 seconds, $3,200 each; 2. Nelson Wyatt, Clanton, Ala./Jake Long, Morgan Mill, Texas, 5.35 seconds, $2,400 each; 3. David Key, Stephenville, Texas/Jason Warner, Congress, Ariz., 14.85, $1,600; 4. Justin Thigpen, Waycross, Ga./Kyle Crick, Lipan, Texas, 20.83, $800.
Automatically advances to Gold Medal Round: Riley Minor/Brady Minor and Nelson Wyatt/Jake Long
Saddle bronc riding: 1. Taos Muncy, Corona, N.M., 83 points on Sankey Rodeo’s Robin Hood, $3,200; 2. Jake Foster, Meadow, S.D., 79.25, $2,400; 3. Ross Griffin, Tularosa, N.M., 77.5, $1,600; 4. Dustin Hausauer, Dickinson, N.D., 75.75, $800.
Automatically advances to Gold Medal Round: Taos Muncy and Jake Foster
Tie-down roping: 1. Timber Moore, Aubrey, Texas, 9.34 seconds, $3,200; 2. Sterling Smith, Stephenville, Texas, 9.67, $2,400; 3. Marty Yates, Stephenville, Texas, 10.50, $1,600; 4. J.C. Malone, Plain City, Utah, 10.73, $800.
Automatically advances to Gold Medal Round: Timber Moore and Sterling Smith
Breakaway roping: 1. Jackie Crawford, Stephenville, Texas, 2.95 seconds, $3,200; 2. Taylor Munsell, Alva, Okla., 3.97, $2,400; 3. Kelsie Chace, Cherokee, Okla., 4.74, $1,600; no other qualified times
Automatically advances to Gold Medal Round: Jackie Crawford and Taylor Munsell
Barrel racing: 1. Lisa Lockhart, Oelrichs, S.D., 17.291 seconds, $3,200; 2. Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, Lampasas, Texas, 17.384, $2,400; 3. Jennifer Driver, Garden City, Texas, 17.416, $1,600; 4. Britta Thiel, Belle Fourche, S.D., 17.427, $800.
Automatically advances to Gold Medal Round: Lisa Lockhart and Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi
Bull riding: No qualified rides
Automatically advances to Gold Medal Round: No contestant from performance three will automatically advance. A total of four Wild Card athletes will now advance to the Gold Medal Round based on scores or total ride time.
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Trio From Down Under Travel State-side for IFYR
(SHAWNEE, Okla.) – The Australian Junior Rodeo Association has brought a team to the International Finals Youth Rodeo for three years. Each family must raise around $4,000 to join the tour. They land in Ft. Worth, Texas, and hit the big stores like Teskeys, NRS, Justin and American Hat with the ultimate destination being the IFYR in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
There are three on the team this year, one from New Zealand and two from Australia. They have travelled to four events along with the IFYR, but this remains their favorite.
“The people here are so friendly,” said event coordinator, Kylee Ferguson, who has been doing this for three years. “We all travel together and stay together and the volunteers here make it very easy to do that. They are amazing!”Kurtis Pertab is 18 years old and lives with his family of five; two younger brothers and his parents. They train race horses and Kurtis competes in team roping and tie down roping. This is his first trip to the United States and he enjoys how big it is and the professional way they handle rodeo.
“It’s a higher level of competition,” said Kurtis.
He competed in tie down roping Tuesday morning at the IFYR and got a time on the board. He is borrowing a horse that was found by Kylee. When he is done with his trip, he plans to finish school and start training race horses for a career. He lives by the saying: You’ll never have this day again, so make it count.
“When I go to practice sometimes I don’t want to, so I pump myself up by saying that,” said Kurtis.
Brandee Ferguson is 16 years old and this is her second trip to the United States. She was ready for the level of competition and prepared herself for the IFYR by roping a lot and keeping her mental stability active so she “doesn’t go crazy.”
“I stress out a lot and over think my run – it all goes downhill from there,” said Brandee.
She is always amazed by how many people she encounters on her trips to the states.“There are more people in Texas than in Australia,” said Brandee. “We went to Las Vegas – I enjoyed walking through the streets and seeing all the different casinos.”
Her favorite rodeo she’s been to is the IFYR.
“I like the atmosphere here. I was just ready to rope and I saw three people that I knew,” said Brandee. “I’m very surprised to see that – people were recording my voice and adding me on social media – so I’ll come back next year – they love to hear us talk.”
She is currently living outside of Houston, Texas and has been here since the Junior American and is not homesick at all.
“The family I live with make me feel like I’m at home,” said Brandee. “For me to go to a pro rodeo back home I have to travel 13 hours for one – here I can drive three hours and go to four.”
Full send or no send is a saying she lives by. She is competing in breakaway roping and team roping at the IFYR.
Holly Forster is making her first trip to the IFYR. She wanted to make the trip to experience new rodeos and meet different people.
“It’s really big and overwhelming I reckon,” said the 16-year-old who lives on a cattle property.
She has an older brother who is doing an apprenticeship in another town. The property consists of 60,000 acres of Downs country, mostly flat and in seven years of drought. She attends a boarding school six hours from home and spends most of her time there.
“I like it – I meet new people and get a better education,” said Holly. “I hope to own a cattle property or something like that.”
She competes in team roping and breakaway roping.
“My dad taught me how to rope.”
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Full & Maternal Siblings Highlight the 2019 Fulton Sale
Courtesy of Fulton Family Performance Horses
The Fulton Family Performance Horse & Production Sale on Friday, August 9, 2019 will feature extremely elite performance prospects that represent the best bloodlines in the industry. The sale will be held in Rapid City, SD at the Central States Fairgrounds this year and includes riding two-year olds, plus yearlings, weanlings, broodmares and performance horses sired by A Streak of Fling, A Dash Ta Streak, and CS Flashlight.
“This offering is a great representation of our program. Our best maternal bloodlines are at the forefront with full and maternal siblings selling and we are excited to showcase new mare lines offered from our consignors and the younger prospects. There is truly something for everyone in this sale,” says Lisa Fulton.
Give Me A Fling (2017 Bay Roan Stallion) A Streak of Fling x Give Me A Wink (Doc O Dynamite)
Giveawinktostreaker (2017 Bay Mare) A Streak of Fling x Give Me A Wink (Doc O Dynamite)
Full siblings. Their dam, Give Me A Wink (Doc O Dynamite), was a 2002 NFR qualifier and 2007 California Circuit Champion with over +$400,000 in barrel racing earnings. Give Me A Fling will be the last stallion out of Give Me A Wink to be offered on the sale and is also the only bay roan stallion of this cross.
Flingin Corona (2017 Sorrel Gelding) A Streak of Fling x Queen Fa Tima (Dash Ta Fame)
A Dash Ta Corona (2017 Sorrel Gelding) A Dash Ta Streak x Queen Fa Tima (Dash Ta Fame)
Maternal siblings. Their dam, Queen Fa Tima si 92 (Dash Ta Fame si 113), has over $115,000+ in progeny earnings and consistently has high sellers on this sale. Progeny from the A Steak of Fling x Dash Ta Fame cross have earned almost $1 million in progeny earnings and are considered a “Magic Cross” according to Equi-Stat.
Wild Shawne Fling (2017 Brown Mare) A Streak of Fling x Wild Shawne Lace (Shawne Bug)
A Wild Shawne Dash (2017 Bay Roan Mare) A Dash Ta Streak x Wild Shawne Lace (Shawne Bug)
Maternal siblings. Wild Shawne Lace is a top producer for Fulton Ranch and is sired by the great Shawne Bug si 101, LTE $277,023 by Lady Bugs Moon si 100, LTE $191, 536.
Flingin French Grey (2017 Bay Roan Mare) A Streak of Fling x French TJ Grey (Frenchmans Guy)
Streak French TJ (2017 Gray Gelding) A Streak of Fling x French TJ Grey (Frenchmans Guy)
Full siblings. These two are flashy and hail from one of the strongest maternal lines in the Fulton herd. Fulton’s have retained several broodmares by the dam, French TJ Grey, in their program. The maternal grand sire is the leading living sire of barrel horses with over $11 million progeny earnings, Frenchmans Guy.
Streakinwinnsboro (2017 Bay Roan Gelding) A Streak of Fling x Winnsboro (Merridoc)
Winn Me A Streaker (2017 Bay Roan Gelding) A Streak of Fling x Winnsboro (Merridoc)
A Dash Ta Winn (2017 Bay Roan Mare) A Dash Ta Streak x Winnsboro (Merridoc)
Full and maternal siblings. Their dam, Winnsboro si 80, is sired by the great Merridoc si 102, LTE $249,736 who has sired earners of over +$13 million. Their pedigree also includes Tinys Gay si 106, LTE +$445,000.
The sale will start at 6:00 PM with a live auction and absentee bidders can bid over the phone or online via TheLivestockLink.com. A performance preview will be held at 2:00 PM. All sale information can be found on FultonRanch.com. -
On The Trail with Bridger Anderson
Bridger Anderson is from Carrington, North Dakota, where winters are seven months long. “For five months out of the year you can’t beat it,” said the 20-year-old who just won the College National Finals in steer wrestling. “In the winter we practice when it’s above 15 degrees, but that doesn’t happen too often. The temperatures will get to -20 with wind chill down to -50.”
“Bridger has been horseback for as long as he can remember. “My parents rodeoed, dad (Glenn) roped and mom (Robin) breakaway roped and team roped.” He has two sisters, Cedar and Dawsyn, who both competed growing up as well. “I was tying goats at amateur rodeos when I was five. The first time I roped at an amateur rodeo was in fifth grade.” He made it to Nationals in the calf roping twice in junior high and once in high school. His true passion has always been steer wrestling.
“When I was three, I told my mom I wanted to be a steer wrestler. I was going to be a Paleontologist during the day and professional steer wrestler at night.” Although he’s not so interested in dinosaurs anymore, he’s definitely got his sights set on the WNFR. “I grew up going to rodeos, it was during the NFR that Luke Branquinho became my rodeo hero – the person I looked up to and idolized growing up.”
At a young age, Bridger’s dream was to be a paleontologist during the day, and a steer wrestler at night.- Courtesy of the family 
ridger competing on Whiskers in the National Western Stock Show Championship Round as a high school senior. Tyler Schau hazing. Luke Branquinho in the background. – Greg Westfall He jumped his first steer in the spring of his eighth grade year at Tyler Schau’s bulldogging school.
Then Robin came up with an idea in December of 2015. “We don’t give Christmas gifts; so we look for experiences,” explained Robin. “I wanted to do something that would take Bridger to the next level and to create some relationships. I sent a message to Luke’s Fan page on Facebook, asking if I could pay him to send Bridger to California to throw steers with him for a few days. Luke responded 20 minutes later and said ‘let’s do it’. We flew down and spent a weekend at the Branquinho Ranch in April, 2016. Ever since that weekend, Luke has been a mentor for Bridger; often seen in the box with him if they are at the same rodeo. I could always tell from a distance that Luke was a great human being – you need to surround yourself with people like Luke.”
Luke has been glad to help. “He’s a sharp kid, he excels in the classroom and the arena. There’s a lot of talent out there, but he has all the things that will make a champion out of him. He has the right mentality, technique and work ethic. There’s several ways to bulldog. I teach the basics and let guys find their own timing. Nobody bulldogs the same. That’s what I like about Bridger – he’ll adapt to the situation and picks up things from here or there that will help him out. There’s very few out there that are like that.”
Bridger is the 2019 CNFR Steer Wrestling Champion – Hubbell 
Luke Branquinho working with Bridger at his ranch in April, 2016. – Courtesy of the family 
Bridger winning the bronze medal at the 2018 Days of ‘47 Rodeo in Salt Lake City – Cowboy Images As far as adapting Luke’s signature move once he’s thrown a steer, Bridger said, “I’ll be better known for walking out emotionless – I don’t do much.”
Bridger went to Shawnee to the IFYR his sophomore year (2015) and won the steer wrestling title there. He was the North Dakota State champion wrestler at 170 # in 2016 – his junior year in high school. He was also in football but made the decision his senior year to retire from both sports so he could focus on getting into The AMERICAN. He qualified for the semi-finals that year in Rapid City, but didn’t make it to the AT&T – he finished in the top 25. He turned 18 in August before his senior year, bought his PRCA permit and made the short go his senior year in high school in Denver (2017) at the National Western Stock Show.When it came time to pick a college, Bridger chose to rodeo for Stockton Graves at Northwestern Oklahoma State University. “I’ve known him for three years, said Stockton, who has been the coach for seven years. “He’s a great kid – he works hard in the classroom and he works hard at steer wrestling.”
Stockton is traveling with Bridger this summer along with Billy Bolden and JD Struxness, who was the 2016 CNFR steer wrestling champion, under the coaching of Stockton. They are hauling Bridger’s horse, Whiskers, Freeway, JD’s haze horse Wave, and Billy’s horse. “Whiskers is 10 – and came from Diamond S Performance Horses (Tyler & Jackie Schau, who are also mentors of his). He came off the track. He knows his job, usually if something goes wrong it’s my fault not his.”
Bridger and his family – Courtesy of the family 
Wrestling in high school – Courtesy of the family 
Bridger competing in Reno – Sam-Sin Photography Bridger says the driving is just part of the game. “I like to rodeo and you have to travel to rodeo. It’s worth it if you get to run steers; there are cool rodeos and cool arenas out there. We’ve gone to quite a few, and this year we’re going to even more in hopes to make it to Vegas.”
“I never doubted Bridger was going to be here. He’s always been determined, focused and willing put in the work,” said Robin. “When he was three he decided to quit daycare, saying ‘Mom, cowboys don’t go to daycare.’ So at the age of three, Bridger stayed home – Glenn was around on the ranch, and he painted pink fingernail polish on the television remote to show the power on and off button and the channel up and down button. He also taught him how to push ‘1-9 start’ on the microwave so he could make himself a hot dog.” He had lots of stories for his mom at the end of the day including what laundry detergent to use, and what his teacher had taught him during the day, insight gained from the television.
Glenn taught Bridger good horsemanship. “He keeps his hands soft and is light on Whiskers mouth in the corner.” Glenn, who works for ProAg in the crop insurance world, is excited for his son. “The kid is living his dream and more power to him.”
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SPECIAL HORSE AND A SPECIAL RIDE
Barrel racing horse makes recovery, leads St. Paul Rodeo with Oregon cowgirl
St. Paul, Ore. (July 2, 2019) – A special horse made a special run tonight at the St. Paul Rodeo.
High On A Bronsin, an eighteen-year-old black gelding whose barn name is Splinter, carried barrel racer Bobbie Correa to the lead in the barrel racing at the 84th annual St. Paul Rodeo.
Splinter was back after sitting out three years due to a suspensory injury and a tear in the soft tissue, and his owner and rider, Correa, wasn’t sure he’d ever be back to running barrels.
“I’ve just hoped and prayed and never gave up,” she said, of Splinter’s injury and recovery.
Together, the team clocked a 17.79 second run to take the lead by two-hundredths over the number two cowgirl, Sabra O’Quinn, Ocala, Florida.
St. Paul was the third rodeo back for the pair. They tied for twelfth place at the Prineville, Ore. rodeo last weekend, and after running in Molalla, Ore., on Monday night, they’re sitting third.
The horse is a character, Correa said. “He’s really sweet, but he has a fire in him. He knows he has a job, and I just try to stay out of his way and let him work. I’m along for the ride.”
Splinter, named after one of the Ninja turtles, has another name, given to him by other barrel racers, Correa said. “A lot of people give him the nickname “dragon,” because he gets a little wild. But it’s a contained wild.”
Correa, who lives in Echo, Ore., is a licensed equine therapist and has a master’s license as an aesthetician. She had a job lined up, but because of Splinty’s return to competition and his skill at running barrels, won’t start till September. “Since I’ve been able to rodeo (on Splinter), my family said you need to rodeo.” Her parents, Sue Ellen and David Correa, and her whole family, have been supportive, she said.
At Splinter’s age and with the severity of the injury, it was unusual for the horse to make the recovery. But Correa is delighted.
“I’m over the moon, just being back on him and have him come back so fast.”
Other high scores and fast times from slack and the first night of rodeo at the St. Paul Rodeo are bareback rider Tony Barrington, Elko, Nev. (81 points); steer wrestler Cimarron Thompson, Hobbs, N.M. (4.0 seconds); tie-down roper King Pickett, Collinsville, Texas (9.0 seconds); saddle bronc rider Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La. (81 points); team ropers Cody Snow, Stephenville, Texas and Wesley Thorp, Stephenville, Texas (5.0 seconds). No bull riders made a qualified ride.
The second performance of the 84th annual St. Paul Rodeo is July 3 at 7:30 pm. The rodeo continues through July 6 with performances at 7:30 pm each night and a 1:30 pm matinee on July 4. Fireworks follow each night of rodeo.
Tickets are available online at www.StPaulRodeo.com and at the gate. For more information, visit the website.
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Results from the slack and evening performance, St. Paul Rodeo, July 2, 2019
Bareback Riding
- Tony Barrington, Elko, Nev. 80.5 points on Big Stone Rodeo’s Mayhem; 2.Dantan Bertsch, Eastend, Sask. 78; 3.Wyatt Bloom, Bozeman, Mont. 76.5; 4. Leighton Berry, Weatherford, Texas 76.
Steer wrestling
1st round leaders:
- Nick Guy, Parker, Colo. 4.5 seconds; 2. Kalane Anders, 5.4; 3. Aaron Vosler, Cheyenne, Wyo. 8.9; 4. Blake Knowles, Heppner, Ore. 10.2.
2nd round leaders:
- Cimarron Thompson, Hobbs, N.M. 4.0 seconds; 2.Sean Santucci, Prineville, Ore. 5.0; 3.Nick Guy, Parker, Colo. 6.1; 4. Mike McGinn, Haines, Ore. 7.1.
Bull riding
No qualified rides.
Tie-down roping
1st round leaders:
- Treg Schaack, Stinnett, Texas 9.2 seconds; 2. Westyn Hughes, Caldwell, Texas 11.0; 3. Ty Baker, Van Horn, Texas 11.2; 4. Tyler Forsberg, Fillmore, Calif.
2nd round leaders:
- King Pickett, Collinsville, Texas 9.0 seconds; 2. Justin Brinkerhoff, Corinne, Utah 9.1; 3. Tyler Prcin, Alvord, Texas 11.0; 4. (tie) Jason Minor, Ellensburg, Wash. and Treg Schaack, Stinnett, Texas 4.0 each.
Saddle bronc riding
- Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La. 81 points on Big Stone’s Batter Up; 2. CoBurn Bradshaw, Beaver, Utah 80; 3. Jake Watson, Hudsons Hope, B.C. 77; 4. Dawson Hay, Wildwood, Alb. 76.
Team roping
1st round leaders
1, Cody Snow, Stephenville, Texas/Wesley Thorp, Stephenville, Texas 5.8 seconds; 2. Cody Hilzendeger, Baldwin, N.D./JC Flake, Laramie, Wyo. 7.0; 3. Kelsey Parchman, Cumberland City, Tenn./Matt Kasner, Valentine, Neb. 10.3; 4. Nelson Wyatt, Llano, Texas/Levi Lord, Sturgis, S.D. 11.4.
2nd round leaders
- Cody Snow, Stephenville, Texas/Wesley Thorp, Stephenville, Texas 5.0 seconds; 2. McKennan Buckner, Powell Butte, Ore./Bill Justus, Haines, Ore. 5.9; 3. Logan Olson, Stephenville, Texas/Blaine Vick, Dublin, Texas 10.0; 4. Chace Thompson, Munday, Texas/Tyson Thompson, Munday, Texas 11.3;
Barrel racing
- Bobbie Correa, Echo, Ore. 17.79 seconds; 2. Sabra O’Quinn, Ocala, Fla. 17.81; 3. Holly Schoenberg, Kennewick, Wash. 17.87; 4. Cheyenne Allan, Mabton, Wash. 17.88.
** All results are unofficial. For more information, visit www.StPaulRodeo.com.
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Campbell wins Cody/Yellowstone Xtreme Bulls title for second time
CODY, Wyo., June 30, 2019 — The atmosphere at the Cody/Yellowstone Xtreme Bulls was filled with anticipation at Stampede Park on Sunday night.
Fans were wondering if the weather would hold or would it rain? How many riders would make it to eight seconds? Who would win the title, and would everyone stay safe and healthy?
Two and a half hours later all those questions and more would be answered. A near-capacity crowd experienced a couple of rain showers, a little wind and thunder, a lot of patriotism, and pride in the celebration of 100 years of the Cody Stampede. Most of all they got to see some high-scoring bull rides with the top four of the night being 90 points or better.
Leader of the pack was Crockett, Texas’ resident Boudreaux Campbell who earned his second, consecutive pair of spurs for the championship. He rode a bull from Frontier Rodeo Company that carries the brand B2 for 92.5 points.
Prior to winning in Cody, Campbell was eighth in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association world standings. The $5,443 that he won here will be added to his season earnings and will potentially help him secure his third qualification to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) next December.
A year ago, Campbell added a pair of trophy spurs to his collection. This year he also got a knife and a buckle commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Cody Stampede.
“The buckle is really cool,” Campbell said. “I’ll get to talk about that the rest of my life. Hopefully I’ll be able to tell my grandkids about it someday. I’ll pull it off a shelf and tell them that I won it at the 100th anniversary. Not everybody will be able to do that.”
Shortly after Campbell rode, Parker McCown from Montgomery, Texas, who recently competed at the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) in Casper, Wyoming. McCown scored 91 points on Frontier’s bull Magic Poison who has been selected for the NFR. He is just getting his start in pro rodeos as a permit holder. He leads those standing and will add $4,173 to those earnings from Cody.
The newly crowned college champion Daylon Swearingen finished third with a 90.5-point ride. Swearingen could very well be on his way to an NFR qualification as well. He was one spot out of the top 15. He added $3,084 which will help fill in the gap. Swearingen is originally from New York, has an address in Rochelle, Ga., now and competed for Carthage, Texas, Panola College at the CNFR. Rounding out the top four was Linden, Iowa’s Trevor Reiste who scored 90 and won $1,996.
“There were 40 guys entered her that had a chance to win,” said Donnie Gay, eight-time world champion and general manager of Frontier Rodeo Company. “Boudreaux put it all together. Your ability means something when you come to one of our rodeos. We work really hard to put together a set of animals that everybody has an opportunity on.”
The 2019 edition of the Cody/Yellowstone Xtreme Bulls had a total of 41 bull riders competing for nearly $20,000. The evening finished with bull fights from Bull Fighters Only where Weston Rutkowski finished at the top.
100th anniversary rodeo action begins at Stampede Park with the first of four performances sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and Women’s Professional Rodeo Association at 8 p.m. July 1st.
Cody Stampede copresident presented Boudreaux Campbell his awards along with Frontier Rodeo’s general manager, Donnie Gay. PRCA photo by Andy Watson
The following are results from the Cody/Yellowstone Xtreme Bulls, Sunday, June 30, 2019.1, Boudreaux Campbell, Crockett, Texas, 92.5 points on Frontier Rodeo’s B2, $5,443. 2, Parker Cole McCown, Montgomery, Texas, 92, $4,173. 3, Daylon Swearingen, Rochelle, Ga., 90.5, $3,085. 4, Trevor Reiste, Linden, Iowa, 90, $1,996. 5, Brady Portenier, Caldwell, Idaho, 89.5, $1,270. 6, Chase Dougherty, Canby, Ore., 88, $907. 7, Jordan Hansen, Ponoka, Alberta, 87.5, $726. 8, Jeff Askey, Athens, Texas, 87, $544.
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Montana Silversmiths – Dillon Hahnkamp
Third-generation cowboy, Dillon Hahnkamp, is no stranger to the rodeo lifestyle. Although his little hometown of Melrose, Montana only has 75 residents, he had a father, Jay, and grandfather, Charlie Hahnkamp, who set the example in front of him his entire life. Now 20 years old, Dillon still carries on that rodeo tradition in his own life and is grateful to have a wonderful support system making it possible for him to compete at the college level in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association, as he secures an education for his future. Dillon was a recipient of the Montana Silversmiths Pursuit of Excellence scholarship this past spring, and he is looking forward to putting the scholarship to use in the fall as he continues his education.
Dillon attended school at Beaverhead County High School in the nearby town of Dillon, which is home to approximately 5,000 Montanans. He competed in the Montana High School Rodeo Association as a calf roper and team roper while in high school. After graduating in 2017, he went on to Ranger, Texas to attend Ranger Community College where he competed in the NIRA and studied welding technology. “The Southwest region of the NIRA is one of the toughest regions there is. It’s just a melting pot of fantastic ropers and the competition there is outstanding. I think if you want to rope, that’s where you need to be for at least a little while.” Dillon appreciates all that he learned while in the region and is proud to have made it to several short-gos at region rodeos during his time there.
Dillon’s dad competed as a calf roper, and he and Charlie also worked as pick-up men at pro rodeos in Montana for nearly 30 years. Charlie also worked for many years as a stock contractor. “My grandpa went with the more reliable paycheck when it came to rodeo. He’s 88 and still rides and shuttles cattle around, he’s a true cowboy. He’s the real deal.” Dillon’s mom, Denise, is from Minnesota and rodeo was not a huge part of her life before moving to Montana. However, she is now immersed in the lifestyle with Dillon, and his younger brother, Cord, 15, who competes as a bareback rider and roper.
Dillon is still making the decision between attending school in Laramie, Wyoming at the University of Wyoming, or Miles Community College in Miles City, Montana next fall. He’s considering focusing on business to complement his welding skills he’s gained so far and turn his associate degree into a bachelor’s degree while continuing to compete in the NIRA. Dillon appreciates the support of Montana Silversmiths and is honored to carry the scholarship with him as he continues to prepare for his future. “Being a college student that rodeos is very expensive. When you have to be at school with horses and trailers and have the extra expenses that rodeoing in college entails, every little bit of help makes a huge difference. I am so grateful to Montana Silversmiths for recognizing me with this honor.”
Implemented in 2005, the Pursuit of Excellence Scholarship program was created to give back as an investment in candidates who have a history of self-improvement and a desire to better themselves and their communities. Montana Silversmiths’ vice president of marketing, Judy Wagner, explained, “Montana Silversmiths is grateful for this opportunity we have to give back. The most rewarding part is reading the applications and stories the applicants send in. It gives me hope and pride in the future to see the talent and stories these young people share with us. Of course, it’s a great asset to have straight A’s, but the whole premise of this scholarship is not just academic, it’s more about applicants that have improved themselves no matter what, and the effort they have put in to get where they are.” The trophy hat feathers that Montana Silversmiths unveiled this year seemed like the perfect product to pair with this scholarship program, and a portion of the sales of the trophy hat feathers will be used to support the Pursuit of Excellence Scholarship program.