COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Bareback rider R.C. Landingham, who qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo the last two years, will not make it three in a row.
The Hat Creek, Calif., cowboy confirmed to the ProRodeo Sports News he will likely be sidelined until January 2019 while recovering from surgery on his left shoulder and right wrist.
The shoulder surgery took place Jan. 5 and he underwent wrist surgery March 2.
“I had a torn rotator cuff (in the right shoulder),” said Landingham, 27. “I rode through the end of the year last year and through the Finals with a torn rotator cuff and a partially torn bicep tendon. The wrist was just a nagging injury. I had some torn cartilage in there.”
Landingham said he initially hurt his shoulder at the Ramona (Calif.) Rodeo on May 21, and it wouldn’t heal on its own.
“I made it through and got to the Finals and then got it fixed,” he said. “They said I could get back riding in July if I wanted, but I decided that I will just wait until next January and start over at Denver. That will let me get healthy.”
Injuries have been a constant for Landingham the past eight years, but he believes getting completely healthy is a wise move for him at this point in his career.
“With my shoulder the way it was, I couldn’t compete to the level that I need to, to win against the guys who are going today,” Landingham said. “It just wasn’t worth it to keep rodeoing, I wasn’t going to win enough money to make it worth it. It is just smarter for me to take the time off and start over fresh. I just started rehab this week and everything seems to be going well. They are pretty impressed with how my shoulder is doing already without physical therapy and the wrist is getting better all the time.”
In 2016, Landingham finished a career-best sixth in the PRCA World Standings with $211,986. He won Rounds 7 and 10 and finished seventh in the average. At last year’s WNFR, Landingham placed fifth in Round 3 and finished 11th in the average and 15th in the world standings with $106,031.
“After I got hurt, I made new goals and I accomplished those goals and that’s all I could for that year (2017),” Landingham said. “Now, I just want to get healthy and start over.”
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Contract Personnel for RAM National Circuit Finals and The National Circuit Finals Steer Roping
The contract personnel for the RAM National Circuit Finals Rodeo April 5-8 in Kissimmee, Fla., is as follows: announcers Bob Tallman and Roger Mooney; secretary Becky Martindale; assistant secretary Mikey Jo Duggan; timers Jennie Murray and DeeDee Dickinson; bullfighters Clay Heger and Brandon Loden; barrelman JJ Harrison; pickup men Shandon Stalls and Will O’Connell … The National Circuit Finals Steer Roping takes place April 28-29 in Torrington, Wyo. The contract personnel for the NCFSR is as follows: announcer Bob Edmonds; secretary Crystal Longfellow; timers Jeri Reeder and Doris Mayhan; music Brenda Winklepleck …
High-stakes team roping for kids 17 and under will also be a Jr. NFR qualifier.
PHOENIX, Arizona, March 21, 2018 – For more than 40 years, kids throwing loops at roping dummies have pretended they were the high-call team at the Bob Feist Invitational. Now, those kids can actually back in the box on Wrangler BFI Week, in the same arena as the pros at the world’s richest Open team roping – to compete in their own BFI.
The inaugural Hooey BFI Junior Championships are scheduled for June 20, 2018, in Reno, Nevada – just two days after the 41st BFI. The ropings start Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. following the #12 High Desert Showdown at the Livestock Events Center.
The Hooey BFI Junior Championship Open is open to any classification and limited to 50 teams with entry fees of $500 per roper, enter twice. The roping is a four-steer average, progressive after three, and the pot is 80 percent payback. Contestants must be 17 or younger as of January 1, 2018, and must be pre-entered by June 1 or when all 50 teams have been entered, whichever comes first.
The same format will be used in the Hooey BFI Junior Championship #10, which is capped at a 6-Elite. With 50 teams in either roping, the winning team is expected to earn $15,000 cash, plus Cactus saddles, Gist buckles, YETI prizes, Resistol hats and Heel-O-Matic prizes, and more. Second place will pay $10,000, on down to sixth place, and each go-round will pay at least two places.
Both ropings will serve as qualifiers for the annual Junior NFR in December, and will offer more than double the points of other qualifiers around the country. A couple of days later, on Friday, June 22, there will be more Junior NFR qualifiers in tie-down and breakaway roping at the Reno Livestock Events Center.
“I’ve always wanted to rope since I could walk and be around horses, and it’s what I’ve always done,” says Caleb Smidt. “I watched the NFR on TV and it’s what I’ve always wanted to do.” The four-time WNFR qualifier and 2015 World Champion Tie-Down Roper is the first of his family to travel the professional rodeo trail. But the horse training and roping he learned growing up, particularly from his dad, Randy Smidt, gave him the foundation of skills that took him from Bellville, Texas, to the arena floor of the Thomas and Mack Center.
Caleb, the All-Around and Tie-Down Roping Rookie of the Year in 2013, competed at the WNFR for the third consecutive year in December and won $60,000. Although the 2017 season didn’t have gold buckle returns, he finished fifth in the world standings and split first place in Round 8 with his high school friend Cory Solomon. “I had a really good year all last year leading up to the finals, and then got to the finals and just didn’t do very good,” he says. “It’s been really wet here all winter, so hopefully it dries up and we can be roping and practicing and back into the swing of things. Justin Maass has a covered arena and I’ll go over there. He tunes me up and keeps me in line and always has good advice for me. We rodeoed together in 2013 and he’s been my coach through the whole thing.”
Caleb credits riding good horses just as much with his success as his motivation. “A good horse is a big part of my success, and being able to have my family up here with me rodeoing and joining in. I don’t like the driving part, but when you have a good horse and family with you, it’s a lot easier. It’s been successful for me the last four or five years.” He continues to ride Pockets, the horse that carried him to the WNFR and the world title in 2015. The pair won $130,000 last year, and Caleb also rode Walter Johnson’s horse Iron. The latest member of his equine team is Bart Hutton’s horse El Gato, who carried Caleb through his winning run at the Dixie National Rodeo in Jackson, Mississippi, in February. “He’s a smaller horse, and he’s got a lot of try and a big heart. He gives it everything every time you ride him, and he can run and handle big cattle. He’s still a touch green at the bigger and louder rodeos, but he’s getting better,” says Caleb, who set the horse on his biggest stage yet at The American in February.
Between every one of Caleb’s horses and his saddle is a 5 Star Equine pad, which he started using in 2015 and rode at the WNFR. He officially joined the 5 Star team in 2016 when time and hard use proved that the pads should be a staple in his tack room. “I like them. They last a really long time and seem to fit my horses good, so I’ve ridden them ever since 2015,” says Caleb. Along with spreading the word about their products through his social media, he also signs autographs at the WNFR. They’re also put to use for everyday jobs like working cattle and riding colts, which Caleb enjoys doing when he’s home. He also enjoys team roping, which he’s done professionally in the past. Caleb tried his hand at steer wrestling, but that set him back almost a year in 2014 when he broke his leg, so tie-down roping remains his primary focus.
“I love hunting,” Caleb adds. “My father-in-law has a few places to hunt, so I do a lot of deer hunting and hunting wild pigs.” Hunting will take a back seat by March and April when the PRCA Texas Circuit rodeos pick up, followed by the summer run. “Dodge City is one of my favorites and I always seem to do good there. Coming out of the head box at Salinas is always pretty exciting, and Deadwood, South Dakota, is another good one. My family has been with me (rodeoing) every year since I got married,” Caleb says of his wife, Brenna, and their son, Cru. “Now that we have a 2-year-old kid, we might start seeing more stuff on the road and doing more things. He likes horses a little bit, but he likes tractors more than anything, and big machinery.
“Since I make a living doing this, I want to make the finals and try to win another gold buckle,” Caleb finishes. “I’ve always kind of had the mindset that it’s what I do for a living, so I have to make a living at it. It’s what I do to support my family, and always my main goal is to be successful and rodeo.”
[ Brazos wins all-around championship at Jr.NFR in Las Vegas ]
Brazos Heck is quite driven and focused.
He knows exactly what he wants in his future to be. He’s a cowboy in every sense of the word, and in rodeo, he competes on the backs of bucking bovines and bucking broncs.
“I want to ranch here in Oklahoma,” he said. “I think I can ride all three (roughstock) events, and it would just be a dream come true to win 10 all-around world titles.”
Driven. Focused. Oh, and he’s only 9 years old.
“I do this because I love to do it, and I think it’s my passion,” said Brazos, the son of Odie Heck and Shasta Yost.
He’s also pretty good at it. In early December, he competed at the Jr.NFR in Las Vegas. He finished several days of competition as the No. 2 man in mini bareback riding, where he won two rounds. He also finished third in the middle saddle bronc riding.
Because of his success, he earned the pee wee division all-around championship. No matter the age group, it is the most cherished prize in the sport.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” he said. “I’m hoping to win more.”
He stands a good chance, thanks in large part to his work ethic, his study of the game and having a couple of the best-known cowboys as friends and mentors. His father is a cowboy in Tupelo, Okla., and is close friends with Jet and Cord McCoy, two all-around champs who made their names on CBS-TV’s “The Amazing Race.”
The McCoys have been rodeo champs since they were youngsters, too.
“In a lot of ways, he does remind me of me,” Jet McCoy said. “He’s pretty special. I’ve been pretty impressed with him.”
Brazos’ list of accomplishments is long. He’s been riding since age 5, and he’s progressed fairly rapidly, too
Riding at the Heartland Youth Roughstock Championships – Dale Hirschman
Portrait of Brazos – Janet McCoy
Out West Jr Bull Riding in Erick, OK – Dale Hirschman
“He started out wanting to get on sheep,” Odie Heck said. “He’d been at a rodeo, and they had mutton busting. He was always around Cord and Jet, so he wanted to ride. Then we were at a rodeo, and kids were riding little ponies in bareback riding. He wanted to get a rigging and enter the bareback riding.”
Heck has been around rodeo all his life, but he was a timed-event cowboy. Roping and steer wrestling were good fits for the athletically built, 6-foot cowboy.
“Brazos’ athletic ability is a little different than mine,” he said. “He’s a bucking horse guy.”
In fact, Brazos craves it. When he’s not riding, he’s thinking about it, and he watches a ton of videos to help with those thoughts, from the bronc riding Wright family – brothers Cody, Jesse and Spencer have won world titles, as has Cody’s second-oldest son, the 2017 champ, Ryder – to the McCoys, to bareback riding world champions Kaycee Feild and Bobby Mote and world champion bull riders Cody Custer, J.B. Mauney and Cody Custer.
“They just make me feel like I ride really good,” said Brazos, who is sponsored by the American Hat Co. and Oklahoma Ag Transports. “I watch them over and over again, and I want to ride like them.”
Those are the types of champions he looks up to and wants to emulate. Even at his young age, he understands the need for constructive criticism if he is to improve. That’s why he looks to the McCoys for assistance. Both were five-time International Professional Rodeo Association world champions who competed in all three roughstock events.
“I almost make him ask me for help before I offer any,” said Cord McCoy, a 2005 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier in bull riding and a six-time competitor at the PBR World Finals. “If he wants to come to the house and train in our arena, I step back and let it be his idea. I let him show the desire.
“I think all of us have our own natural style. He’s pretty natural. I know he’s been watching every rodeo in the area and on TV. That’s all he craves.”
He knew Brazos was pretty good but admitted that there may have been some bias because of his relationship to the youngster.
“Then they had the Jr.NFR, which was all the kids who qualify from across the country, and he’s the all-around champion,” Cord McCoy said. “He’s got raw talent. If he keeps the desire he has today, he’s going to be a contender when he gets older.
“It was pretty inspirational to go to the Jr.NFR and see Billy (Etbauer), Ty (Murray) and Larry Mahan there. The superstars of rodeo got to watch the next generation compete.”
Jet McCoy likened the Jr.NFR as the Little League World Series, and that young cowboys and cowgirls who compete at the pinnacle of their sport are taking the steps necessary to excel as teens and adults.
“If you want to compete at the highest level, you’ve got to start early,” he said. “To have the opportunity to go to Vegas and spend three or four days to see what it’s like, it gives them something to visualize and something to shoot for.”
For now, though, those closest to him support and believe in what Brazos Heck is doing because they see his passion for the sport.
“You’ve got to have the want-to, and I don’t think anybody’s forced it on him,” Cord McCoy said. “When you nod your head, you’ve got to have the eye of the tiger.
“He’s got that winning attitude to go along with the talent.”
Horses have been part of Howard Haythorn’s life since he was a kid. Actually, they run through the genes of his family. Haythorn, a National Finals Steer Roping contestant, grew up on the back of them, rode them for rodeo, and raised and trained them.
The Maxwell, Neb. cowboy was born in 1927, the great-grandson of Harry Haythornthwaite, a stow-away on a ship from England to America in 1877. When the captain found the sixteen-year-old boy and discovered the boy was raised on a farm, he was assigned to care for the Hereford cattle on the ship. When he arrived in America, he eventually made his way to Ogallala, Neb., where he shortened his name, married, and began the family tradition.
Howard, the son of Harry Jr. and Emaline (Menter) Haythorn, was born in 1927 north of Ogallala. When the Kinglsey Dam was built in 1941, part of the Haythorn ranch was taken for the dam, and Harry Jr. split the cattle with his brother Walter and headed east to Maxwell, Neb., to begin his own ranch. Harry Jr.,’s ranch was the Haythorn Ranch Co. (not to be confused with his brother Walter’s ranch, the Haythorn Land and Cattle Co., north of Ogallala, and now owned by Walter’s grandson Craig Haythorn.)
Before he could drive, Howard was calf roping at rodeos with his Uncle Walter. Uncle Walt, a saddle bronc rider as well as a roper, would load him up and take his nephew with him. There was no high school rodeo in those days, so they competed together at local shows. In addition to calf roping, Howard showed cutting horses and team roped.
He attended high school at St. John’s Military School in Salina, Kan., (“my mother thought I needed more direction,” he quipped), graduating in 1945. He had an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, but his dad died when he was nineteen, and he was needed on the ranch.
Then Uncle Sam called; Howard went to Korea, serving for eighteen months, and “I saw all the action I wanted to see.”
When he came home, his rodeo career was about to change. Waldo, Walter’s son who was also a roper, told him, “You can throw away your calf rope. I found us a new sport. We’re going to start tripping steers.”
Haythorn Ranch Co.,recipient of the AQHA’s 50-Year Legacy Breeders Award,2009, for fifty consecutive years of registering AQHA horses. (left to right): friend and fellow steer roper Buddy Cockrell, his wife Geneva Cockrell, Londa and Harry Haythorn, Howard, and AQHA past president Jim Helzer. – Courtesy of the family
Howard as a child and his mom – Courtesy of the family
The two of them, fast friends, began their rodeo career together. They had the natural talent to rope, and the horse power, but they got some additional help from a world champion. Three-time world champion steer roper Ike Rude spent several summers at the Haythorn Ranch, teaching Waldo and Howard the intricacies of steer roping, while they trained his horses. They rodeoed together, the three of them competing, with Waldo and Howard sharing a horse in the early days.
In those days, nearly every little town had a rodeo, but not all of them had steer ropings. The two of them traveled near and far, hitting the local shows but also going as far as Cheyenne Frontier Days and Pendleton, Oregon.
Howard competed at the National Final Steer Roping in 1959 and 1963, finishing fourth in the average and twelfth in the world in 1963. The prior year, he and Clark McEntire flagged the finals. Waldo qualified for the NFSR four times (1958, 1960-61, and 1963).
The two also competed in a lot of match ropings, which were common back then. Entry fees might range from $300 to $500, usually with no purse, and only ten to twenty competitors. The matches might be four or six head, and they paid on the rounds and the finals.
Howard raised and trained nearly all of his roping horses. The best steer roping horse he ever had was a black horse, Little Pick, who started as a tie-down horse. When he and Waldo started steer roping, he turned Little Pick into a steer roping horse. “You could do everything on him,” Howard said. Howard roped right handed on him, and Craig, Waldo’s son, roped left handed on him. Pick was a kind, gentle horse, and when he got some age on him, Howard gave him to three little neighbor girls to show in 4-H. A few years later, at a jackpot in North Platte, Howard’s horse wasn’t doing so well, so he called the girls’ dad and asked him to bring the horse to town. Howard won the rodeo on Pick, the girls lost their 4-H horse, and Pick got turned out to pasture, never to leave the ranch again.
He loved all the rodeos, but two especially stick out in his mind. Pendleton was a favorite, because of its grass arena and no chutes. But when he was roping calves, the Ak-Sar-Ben rodeo in Omaha, Neb., was the best. They provided each contestant with a twelve-foot box stall, a forty-acre polo field on which to exercise horses, a sack of oats, a bale of hay, and straw.
Howard at AQHA headquarters – Courtesy of the family
Top 6 contestants at the 1963 NFSR: Six contestants at the 1963 NFSR. From left to right, Everett Shaw, Stonewall, Okla.; Joe Snively, Pawhuska, Okla.; Howard Haythorn, Maxwell, Neb.; Don McLaughlin, Ft. Collins, Colo.; Sonny Davis, Kenna, N.M. and Glen Nutter, Thedford, Neb. – Ferrell
Howard bought his Rodeo Cowboys Association card before he went to Korea in 1951, but the ranch and his family were his first priority. He married Sue Ann Cochran the same year, and after competing at the NFSR in in 1963, he slowed down, not rodeoing full time after that. “I never intended to go to the National Finals (Steer Roping). That was not my deal. I had a ranch to run. I just went because I had the chance.”
The Haythorn Ranch was known for its Herefords and its horses. Harry Haythornthwaite, the English stow-away, had gathered 500 head of horses from Burns, Ore. in the late 1800’s and railed them to Nebraska. Howard continued the tradition of raising, training and selling quarter horses on the approximately 20,000 acre ranch in the Nebraska Sandhills. The operation has about 1,500 cows and replacement heifers, and 20 to 30 mares that are bred to four stallions.
Waldo and Howard were best of friends, Howard said, “probably closer than if we’d have been brothers. We never had an argument. I could tell him what I wanted, and he could tell me, and it didn’t bother either of us.” They were cousins, but also brothers-in-law, having married sisters. The two traveled together till Waldo suffered a stroke in 1989. Howard said, “If he can’t go, I quit. I didn’t want to go if he couldn’t go.”
Howard and Sue Ann, who passed away in 2010, had three children: Mary Helen, Margaret, and Harry Byron. Mary Helen passed away in 2015. Margaret is married to Darrell Ruh, and they live in Kenesaw, Neb. Harry Byron and his wife Londa live just a quarter-mile east of where Howard lives. “He comes to the ranch every morning,” Harry said, “to check on us, to make sure we’re out of the bunkhouse and doing our job.” Howard plays cribbage in Brady, a small town near the ranch, and occasionally rides. Last year, he went to ride with his eight-year-old great-grandson, Harry Edward, and Howard asked one of the ranch cowboys to saddle his horse for him. The cowboy didn’t want to, saying he’d get in trouble. Why? Howard demanded. Harry and Londa don’t want you to ride anymore, was the answer. Howard told him, “if you don’t saddle my horse, you’re going to get in trouble with me.”
In 2009, Howard was honored by the AQHA for breeding American Quarter Horses for 50 consecutive years. The ranch won the AQHA’s Remuda Award as well. Howard is an inductee in the Hall of Great Westerners at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, and he was given the 1983 Trail Boss Award from NebraskaLand Days in North Platte. He is a gold card member of the PRCA. He, his father, and his grandfather have all been inducted in the Nebraska Sandhills Cowboy Hall of Fame.
Life has been good: his rodeo friends, school friends, and ranching. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do,” he said. “I’d starve to death, doing anything else. I’ve enjoyed everything. I’ve enjoyed it all.”
9 Time PRCA Announcer of the Year [ The best part of life is still to come: “I haven’t gotten there yet.” ]
The rich, baritone voice is unmistakable. Step inside a rodeo arena, hear the voice, and without glancing at the announcer’s stand, you know who it belongs to.
Bob Tallman and his warm, personable approach to calling a rodeo has brought the action to millions of people at rodeo arenas across the U.S. and Canada.
The Nevada native, now living in Poolville, Texas, has been around cattle, ranching and rodeo all his life. He was born the first child of John and Irene Tallman in Orovada, Nevada, in 1947. His sister, Maryanne Tallman Smith is full of the same family try, and they were both raised on the family ranch. He remembers as a little boy, using a stick to sweep a patch of dirt clear, to draw pasture lines in it. His dad owned Tallman Lumber Co. in Winnemucca. Bob attended a one room school, but he’d rather be on horseback, in the middle of a thousand head of cattle, as the Tallmans ran their cattle in common with ten or fifteen other area ranches. Sometimes he and the other kids would fall asleep in the herd, with their stirrups tied together so they wouldn’t get bucked off.
John and Irene moved their family to town when Bob was ten years old, the first time the family had running water, flush toilets, and television. He thought it was great, Bob remembered, but it wasn’t long till the ranch called again. “I was back working for six dollars a day, as a buckaroo, driving a Farmall C tractor.”
Bob’s first love wasn’t rodeo. He tried high school football, but it wasn’t for him. At 5’1” and 105 lbs. as a freshman, he lasted for three days of practice. He excelled at golf, and could hit a ball 300 yards. But he loved rodeo cowboys, and he could rope, and that would prove to be a stepping stone towards his lifelong career of announcing. His second grade teacher and her sister, Tillie Boynton Genter and Jayne Boynton Angus, and their husbands, were the ones who got Bob started in rodeo in junior high and high school.
Another integral part of Bob’s young life was 4-H. He was a 4-H state champion horsemanship winner, on the back of a 900 lb. mustang he and a friend had roped, brought home, and broke. He and John DeLong were buckarooing in the pasture when they ran into a bunch of wild mustangs. Bob roped a “little bald-faced sucker,” loaded him onto the truck, took him home, and the next day put a saddle on him. The mustang became his 4-H horse, on which he won the title.
In college at Cal Poly State in San Luis Obispo, Calif., he roped collegiately, “but I wasn’t good enough, and I didn’t care,” he said. What he did care about was spending time with the other cowboys: Ned Londo, Bobby Berger, Dennis Reiners, Larry Jordan, Tom Castleberry, and many more. “They were my roommates, my partners, my buddies.”
He tried to ride bucking horses, too, attending Tuesday night practices where he’d get on eight or ten horses a night. Bob Robinson, the Canadian bull rider, who was helping with the practices, had advice for him. “Bobby, I know you want to be a cowboy, but you’d better find something else.”
It was at a rodeo in Fallon, Nev., in about 1969 where he was roping calves, when he told the stock contractor, “this announcer is pitiful. Can’t you find anybody else?” The contractor told him, when you’re done roping, tie up your horse and you do it. So he did, getting paid $100 a performance, and “I thought I’d never see another poor day,” he remembers.
Bob at about age six, with his hand-me-down Stetson hat
Bob and Kristen Tallman and Daniel and Nicole Pennell, along with their children Canyon and Cashly on a vacation. The family lives near Poolville, Texas – Courtesy of the family
Bob at about age six, with his hand-me-down Stetson hat
That fall, he announced rodeos for Corky Prunty, Diamond A Rodeos in Elko. By that time, he was married to Kristen, and as they drove to the rodeos, they would program their eight-track tapes, with songs by Marty Robbins and Anne Murray, so they were keyed up at the right spot for playing at rodeos. Bob’s pickup had speakers on top of the shell top camper, so he’d drive through town, announcing the rodeo was going on that day.
He was still working three other jobs: for his dad at the lumberyard, as a brake man on the Western Pacific Railroad, and driving freight truck for the Southern Pacific Railroad.
Announcing came naturally to Bob. He knew the contestants well; many of them were his friends, so he told stories about them. “I started building a fan base of friends and people,” he said.
In 1970, he headed to the PRCA convention in Denver, at the Brown Palace Hotel, in a white hat he bought from Cotton Rosser’s clothes store. He brushed elbows with legends in the rodeo business, contract people who were also at the convention to drum up business: Clem McSpadden, Leon and Vickie Adams, Tommy Lucia, Jay Harwood, Mel Lambert, and more.
But nobody would hire him, and money was in short supply. He and Vick Carmen, another announcer, in the mornings would cross the street to a café where coffee was a dime. At lunch, they’d order hot water and add ketchup and crackers to make soup. And in the evenings, they’d order a dinner and split it.
It was at the convention that Bob got his first break: Bob Cook, who, with Jack Roddy and Jack Sparrowk owned Rodeo Stock Contractors, Inc., asked Bob to work for them. On February 2, 1972, Bob moved to Clements, Calif., to work for RSC. The first week, his job was to break down truck tires. He helped gather bucking horses, getting on them to try them out. They “peeled the hide off me from the top of my ankles to my cheek bones,” he remembered.
He drove truck for RSC, got flank straps ready, fed livestock, packed panels, whatever he was asked to do.
All the while, he was living in his shell camper, showering and eating in the house with Canadian saddle bronc riding champion Enoch Walker and his wife Maggie who also worked for RSC.
The next year, Bob announced all of the RSC rodeos plus a few for Flying U Rodeo and Cotton Rosser, feeding livestock after the rodeo in his suitcoat. He worked the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City for livestock superintendent Buster Ivory, from 5 am to midnight every day, for $15 day.
At the time, Kristen stayed in Winnemucca. She had a good job, and they weren’t certain where they would land after Bob’s time with RSC. When she did go on the road with Bob, “we sold everything and bought a truck,” Kristen said, “with a twenty-one foot travel trailer, and that’s what we spent the first five years in, living on the road.”
It wasn’t easy at the beginning. Kristen believed in her husband’s dream of being a rodeo announcer, but no one else did, including his parents. The only person besides his wife who urged him on was her dad.
In 1976, he was asked to announce the NFR with Jay Harwood, and “away we went,” Bob said of his career.
After that, his announcing career blossomed. Mike Cervi searched him out, asking him to announce the Phoenix Jaycees Rodeo, Denver, Houston, Albuquerque, Greeley, and more. He met announcing legend Hadley Barrett, and they worked several rodeos together, which “was the most magical match in the world,” Bob said. “I spent a few thousand days with Hadley Barrett, behind me, in front of me, beside me. He was about the first guy I worked with, side by side, he in the announcer’s stand, I a-horseback.”
At one point in his career, Bob worked every major rodeo in North America, from Florida to Alberta, California to the Northeast, from Houston to Calgary. In 1983, Bob worked 313 performances, keeping up the pace for years.
He had a twin engine 414 Cessna, and when he put sheets, towels and a pillow in the airplane, “that was the day it got worse,” he said. “Instead of going home more often, I went harder.”
When he wasn’t announcing rodeos, he was doing radio and television. Bob broadcast the NFR in Oklahoma City for many years; he was on John Blair Television, CBS Sports Canada, ABC’s Wide World of Sports, FOX Sports, the Great American Cowboy, the Wrangler Network online, and hundreds of television specials, videos, and voice overs.
He and Kristen had a daughter, Nicole, in 1974. Bob was at a rodeo in Spokane, Wash., when she was born, and he celebrated with Larry Mahan and his friends in Spokane. Gary Gist bought champagne, and Cindy Dodge wrote “it’s a girl” on Winston cigarettes. “We gave away cigarettes, and we drank the whole case of champagne,” Bob said.
Five days later, he and Mahan flew to Reno to see the baby. Mahan bought a dozen roses, and when they walked into the hospital, he told Bob, “you stay in the hall.” He handed Kristen the roses, and told Bob, “Ok, you can come in now.”
Throughout his career, he has announced the National Finals Rodeo twenty-three times, nine of them consecutively, more than any other announcer, and was voted the PRCA Announcer of the Year nine times (1982, 87, 97, 99-01, 04, 06, 17). He’s appeared in several films as a rodeo announcer, was the voice of the Wrangler Network online, and is a 2004 inductee into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame.
Bob credits the people he’s been around for his success, those who helped him get to where he is today, the committees and contract people he works with, the contestants, and the rodeo audiences as well. “It took me a long time to figure that part out,” he said. “It’s people God puts in your life, and you’re either manipulated by them, or you learn how to deal and get along with them.”
He paints pictures for the fans with his announcing, and he knows how to handle an audience. “You gotta take them right to the edge, but don’t push them over,” he said. “And when they’re just about full, don’t give them anymore. They’ll come back for more tomorrow.”
He says rodeo is a lifestyle, not a sport, and when people buy a ticket to a sporting event like football or baseball, they already know something about it because they have played it. With rodeo, most of the fans have not done it, “so you have to let them taste it through your eyes, and you have to let them feel it by your inflection,” he said. “It isn’t always about winning, but having a better horse in the roping, understanding what an inside spur is in the barrel racing, understanding dedication and preparation.”
Bob Tallman – Brenda Allen
Bob Tallman’s grandchildren Cashly (on the left) and Canyon at their grandpa’s Bull Riders Hall of Fame induction in 2017 – Courtesy of the family
Bob signing autographs in the early 1980s, aboard John and Dottie Taylor’s palomino horse. – Courtesy of the family
He also treats everyone, from the lowliest to the highest, the same. “The guy in the shoe shine stand, and the man who cleans the toilets, they are important.” He follows the example of his Lord in the dignity he gives people. “Jesus treated them the same.” He also helps anyone who asks. “His phone never stops ringing,” Kristen said. “He goes out of his way, no matter where he is, no matter who it is. He’ll answer and talk to a marketing person, for heaven’s sake. He’ll say, ‘what are you selling me today?’”
He’s never worked less than four jobs at a time, and he’s diversified beyond rodeo. He and Kristen run a cow/calf herd, the 3T Angus Cattle Ranch, which sells pasture-to-plate beef. He founded a surveillance company, Pro View Digital Surveillance, with thirty employees and offices around the nation. He also cuts radio ads, serving as the voice for Boot Barn, Kubota tractors in north Texas, Coors, and Dodge. “I never remember not working,” he said.
And he doesn’t plan on retiring, which “drives a lot of young announcers to drink,” he joked. “I ain’t weakening.”
He loves to work, he said, “and I don’t hang around people who don’t like work.” He’s optimistic about his businesses. “I do something every day, in the rodeo business, to make somebody smile and look good. I do something every day, in the surveillance business, that protects people, their families and assets. I do something every day, with the ranch raised black Angus beef, that’s lean and healthy to feed somebody’s family.”
People ask Kristen, is he like this all the time? “What you see at a rodeo is what I wake up to every morning,” she said. “What you see is what you get with Bob.”
She’s not surprised at Bob’s accomplishments. “When Bob does something, he gives 200,000 percent. There’s no halfway with Bob. When he decided this was what he was going to do, there was no doubt in my mind he would do it and be successful at it. And he didn’t have any breaks on the way. He did it all on his own.”
He and Kristen live 250 yards from their daughter and her husband, Daniel Pennell, and their twin grandkids, a boy, Canyon, and a girl, Cashly, who are ten years old. Daniel, an accomplished team roper, builds barns and fences. Nicole sells livestock insurance, and together they follow their kids through their activities: the boy as a roper, and the girl with her volleyball. Kristen often cooks dinner for the family, and they eat together two or three nights a week, and every Sunday night. “We never miss a Sunday night together,” Kristen said. “We’re a very close family.”
Bob and Kristen have been married 49 years, and Bob calls her “the toughest woman on the planet to put up with me.” He has supported her in whatever she has wanted to do, Kristen said. She used to travel with him, but doesn’t anymore, and he understands that. “He’s a very good man,” Kristen said.
Arachnoiditis has hampered Bob’s mobility in the last eight years, but like everything else in his life, he’s met it head on. It is an inflammation of the arachnoid lining in the brain and spinal cord, which causes intense pain and significant disability. Bob was told when he was diagnosed that he would be in a wheelchair in two years, but he isn’t. He has learned to compensate where needed, being careful with steps. He doesn’t let the disease bring him down. “If you dwell on your moments of negativity, that dwell will swell, and clog the view of your future. And if you’re looking for sympathy, buy a dictionary. It’s in there.”
In 2000, he established the Bob Tallman Charities. He raises funds through an annual golf tournament, called the Pasture Pool Classic, for the M.D. Anderson Cancer Children’s Cancer Hospital in Houston. He also hosts the Bob Tallman Wrangler National Finals Rodeo Charity Bowling Tournament, which is held each year during the National Finals. Funds raised from the bowling tournament go to benefit the Speedway Children’s Charities in southern Nevada and the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund.
He is a past member of the Texas 4-H Foundation, and is involved with the Weatherford (Texas) Christian School, where his grandchildren attend. And he’s optimistic. The best part of life is still to come: “I haven’t gotten there yet.”
— MARCH 10, 2018 — HOUSTON — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Competitors were at the top of their game on Saturday, March 10, as they rode their way to the Semifinals. After a thrilling Super Series IV, 28 cowboys and cowgirls advanced to the Semifinals set for March 14 and 15, 2018.
TIE-DOWN ROPING
Tyler Milligan of Pawhuska, Oklahoma, advanced to the RODEOHOUSTON semifinals with an 8.5 second run in round three of Super Series IV. Milligan said he has always had a rope and pair of boots.
“It’s in my blood,” Milligan said. “I love it because everyone is always cheering for you and everyone is always on your side.”
Advancing to a Semifinal Round:
Tyler Milligan: Pawhuska, Oklahoma — $5,000
Jake Pratt: Ellensburg, Washington — $4,000
Trevor Brazile: Decatur, Texas — $3,750
Cimarron Boardman: Stephenville, Texas — $3,000
BAREBACK RIDING
Devan Reilly of Sheridan, Wyoming, won the Super Series IV Bareback Riding Championship title with three solid rides. Reilly said he seeks to always be a student of the game.
“It’s been a blessing,” Reilly said. “These are good horses, and I rode well. The horse did its job and so did I.”
Advancing to a Semifinal Round:
Devan Reilly: Sheridan, Wyoming — $4,875
Clint Laye: Pocatello, Idaho — $4,750
Tyler Nelson: Victor, Idaho — $4,000
Will Lowe: Canyon, Texas — $3,000
TEAM ROPING Trevor Brazile and Wyatt Cox won the Team Roping at Super Series IV after three runs. Brazile said he and his partner are in their first year competing together.
“He came to my house, and we roped one time to make sure we were on the same page,” Brazile said. “The rest is just good luck.”
Advancing to a Semifinal Round: Trevor Brazile: Decatur, Texas; and Wyatt Cox: Arroyo Grande, California — $10,000
Marcus Theriot: Poplarville, Mississippi; and Cody Doescher: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma — $8,000
Nelson Wyatt: Clanton, Alabama; and Trace Porter: Leesville, Louisiana — $6,000
Jr Dees: Aurora, South Dakota; and Tyler McKnight: Wells, Texas — $6,000
SADDLE BRONC RIDING
CoBurn Bradshaw of Milford, Utah, rode Wild Cherry for an 88 to advance to the Semifinals. Bradshaw said it’s important to find the right saddle that fits you well.
“I got started when my dad bought me a bronc saddle from a pawnshop,” Bradshaw said. “My dad said he always wanted to do it as a kid, but he never had enough money, so he brought the saddle home.”
Advancing to a Semifinal Round: CoBurn Bradshaw: Milford, Utah — $7,500
Heith DeMoss: Heflin, Louisiana — $6,250
Jade Blackwell: Piedmont, South Dakota — $2,750
Ty Manke: Piedmont, South Dakota — $1,375
STEER WRESTLING
Stockton Graves of Alva, Oklahoma, won Steer Wrestling at Super Series IV, solidifying his spot in the RODEOHOUSTON Semifinals. Graves is a rodeo coach at Northwestern Oklahoma State University and enjoys being around the youth in the sport.
“Being a coach makes me rodeo better,” Graves said, “and it keeps me youthful and competitive.”
Advancing to a Semifinal Round: Stockton Graves: Alva, Oklahoma — $6,750
Scott Guenthner: Provost, Alberta, Canada — $4,000
Ty Erickson: Helena, Montana — $3,000
Sterling Lambert: Fallon, Nevada — $2,000
BARREL RACING
Super Series IV Barrel Racing Champion, Carley Richardson, advanced to the RODEOHOUSTON Semifinals after three solid runs. Richardson said she began riding when she was three and has been competing with this horse for 10 years.
“I grew up in the sport,” Richardson said, “but the biggest challenge is trying not to change my game plan just because there’s a lot of money on the line.”
Advancing to Semifinal Round: Carley Richardson: Pampa, Texas — $6,000
Emily Miller: Weatherford, Oklahoma — $4,500
Ivy Conrado: Hudson, Colorado — $3,500
Kelly Tovar: Rockdale, Texas — $3,000
BULL RIDING
Dalan Duncan won Bull Riding at Super Series IV and will be advancing to the RODEOHOUSTON Semifinals. Duncan said he is looking forward to participating in the Semifinals.
“That ride fired me up a little bit more,” Duncan said. “I’m ready to come back strong and ride everything I can.”
Advancing to Semifinal Round: Dalan Duncan: Bluffdale, Utah — $4,000
Cole Melancon: Hull, Texas — $4,000
Trevor Reiste: Linden, Iowa — $3,750
Jordan Spears: Redding, California — $3,000
The top four from each event from each Super Series will advance to a Semifinal Round. The top four from each event in the Semifinal rounds will advance to the RODEOHOUSTON Super Series Championship, Saturday, March 17. The remaining six from each event in the two semifinals will compete in the Wild Card Round, Friday, March 16, where the top two from each event will advance to the Championship. Each event champion will walk away with a $50,000 payout, in addition to previous winnings. The RODEOHOUSTON Super Series continues through March 17, with the RODEOHOUSTON Super Shootout: North America’s Champions® presented by Crown Royal, on Sunday, March 18.
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™ promotes agriculture by hosting an annual, family-friendly experience that educates and entertains the public, supports Texas youth, showcases Western heritage and provides year-round educational support within the community. Since its beginning in 1932, the Rodeo has committed more than $450 million to the youth of Texas. For more information, visit rodeohouston.com and connect with #RODEOHOUSTON online via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for all of the latest news. The 2018 Rodeo continues through March 18.
March 4, 2018 / Guthrie, Oklahoma – Jordan Ketscher is the 14th man in the 34-year history of the CINCH Timed Event Championship to claim the prestigious title.
With it, he became the first Californian in five years to win the “Ironman of ProRodeo.”
“I’ve always watched this event, and just to be here and be part of the greats – Trevor (Brazile), Cash (Myers) and Kyle (Lockett) – is a dream come true,” said Ketscher, 28, of Squaw Valley, Calif.
He roped, wrestled and tied 25 animals in a cumulative time of 324.3 seconds to win the title, finishing 19.1 seconds faster than the runner-up, Clayton Hass of Stephenville, Texas; the three-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier in steer wrestling had his best run at the Timed Event after many years competing at the Lazy E Arena the opening weekend of March.
“This meant a lot, because I didn’t get to come here last year because of a conflict with a Champions Challenge event,” Hass said, referring to a PRCA event in which he was contractually obligated to compete. “I got a chance to come back and prove that I’m supposed to be here.
“This is a bit of redemption I’ve placed here a few times, and to stay solid through all 25 head means a lot.”
Ketscher entered Sunday’s fifth and final round as the No. 1 man, but he had just a 7.1-second lead on Myers, who moved to third after the first discipline of the day, heading. Brazile, the Timed Event’s only seven-time winner, posted a 6.7-second run to move into the runner-up position.
Myers then fell all the way to sixth after suffering a 60-second penalty in tie-down roping when his calf got up from the tie before the required 6 seconds – a 60 is equivalent to a no-time at a traditional rodeo. An event later, Brazile joined him after losing his dally in heeling.
The standings shuffle continued through the final performance of the five-round affair. When the competition ended, the top two men took the biggest prizes.
“It always helps to have $25,000,” Hass said, referring to his substantial second-place earnings. “The winter has been pretty good, but it could always be better. Now I’m just trying to move on throughout the year and make the NFR.”
So, what brought the Texan the most pride in his performance over the weekend?
“The fact that I used my head, and I feel like I stayed focused,” he said. “Even when I had hiccups, I didn’t back off. I just roped my game.”
Ketscher has never been to the NFR, but he performed at an optimum level through the three days of competition, where cowboys battle the mental and physical challenges that come with the “Ironman.”
“This is just so awesome,” he said of the event. “Everybody specializes in different events, so you’ve got to come here and do something you’re not comfortable with. It’s just a marathon.”
He held the lead through much of the three-day championship and showed just why consistency is important in this game. And on the final day, when the thoughts of that big check came into his mind, he had to push them away and focus on the task at hand.
“I was trying not to overthink things, and I was just wanting to make every run like I had done the four previous rounds,” Ketscher said. “I wanted to trust myself and trust my horses to make it happen.”
He will return a year from now as the reigning champion.
“I’m going to go home and work on a few things,” he said. “It’s going to be just as tough next year. There’s no need to slack off.
“Things happen here, and that’s what the Timed Event is all about. Anytime, as a cowboy, that you get a chance at $100,000, you have to love the opportunity.”
Myers did pick up a nice prize. His horse, Diesel, was named the AQHA CINCH Timed Event Championship Top Horse.
The 2018 CINCH Timed Event Championship partners include CINCH – Jeans and Shirts, Priefert – Farm, Ranch & Rodeo, YETI Coolers, Montana Silversmiths, ABI Equine, RAM, RIDE TV, Carroll Original Wear, Big Tex Trailers, P&K Equipment, Cavender’s, Nutrena, The Team Roping Journal, MacroAir, Bio S.I., National Saddlery, Cross Bar Gallery, John Vance Auto Group, Pendleton Whisky, CSI Saddle Pads, Formula 1 Noni, Guthrie CVB, Made In Oklahoma Coalition, J.W. Brooks Hat Co., Hilton Garden Inn – Edmond, America’s Best Value Inn – Guthrie, Sherwin-Williams, Anderson Bean Boot Co., Chris Neal’s Future Stars and Rising Stars Calf Ropings, and the National Little Britches Rodeo Association.
The 2018 CINCH Timed Event Championship is a Lazy E Production. For more information on the CINCH Timed Event Championship or other Lazy E events, contact the Lazy E Arena, 9600 Lazy E Drive, Guthrie, OK 73044, (405) 282-RIDE, (800) 595-RIDE or visit www.lazye.com.
RESULTS
First round: 1. Cash Myers, 51.8 seconds, $3,000; 2. Trevor Brazile, 65.1, $2,000; 3. Russell Cardoza, 67.7, $1,000.
Second round: 1. Erich Rogers, 55.0 seconds, $3,000; 2. JoJo LeMond, 59, $2,000; 3. Jordan Ketscher, $1,000. Third round: 1. Jordan Ketscher, 56.0 seconds, $3,000; 2. Trevor Brazile, 57.6, $2,000; 3. Clayton Hass, 57.9, $1,000.
Arkansas cowboy earns $11,000 while claiming the Jr. Ironman Championship
March 4, 2018 / Guthrie, Oklahoma – The biggest attribute for cowboys competing in multiple events is being consistent through the contest.
Myles Neighbors was the most consistent through his three days at the Jr. Ironman Championship, which led to his title and the first-place check worth $10,000. He roped, wrestled and tied 12 animals in 167.8 seconds to claim the title.
“This is a marathon, not a sprint,” said Neighbors, 19, of Benton, Ark., repeating the adage passed on by longtime contestants of the CINCH Timed Event Championship. “You’ve got to keep knocking them down. Even if you break a barrier, you just don’t take a 60. If you don’t take a 60, you’ll be the champ.”
In this unique competition – where the 10 cowboys compete in heading, heeling, tie-down roping and steer wrestling in each round – a 60-second run is equivalent to a no-time at a traditional rodeo. The Arkansas cowboy was the only man in the field who didn’t suffer that penalty. In fact, his longest run came Sunday morning’s final round, when he stopped the clock in 31.1 seconds in heeling.
“I think the key was my horsepower and consistency,” he said. “You’ve got to have horsepower here. You’ve got the score them, you’ve got to run them down, and you’ve got to be consistent. You’ve got to catch everything.”
He also needed things to go his way. Heading into the final event of the weekend, Neighbors was in second lace and trailed leader Wyatt Hansen of Oakdale, Calif., by 30.4 seconds. But Hansen struggled in steer wrestling and suffered his first 60 of the weekend.
That pushed Neighbors to the top spot when it counted most. Hansen fell to second place, while the reigning champion, Bo Yaussi of Udall, Kan., finished third.
A year ago, Neighbors won the opening round but fell off the pace through the end. He took the lessons gained 12 months ago into account while chasing the championship.
“I found out I needed to start reading my cattle a lot better, knowing what my cattle are supposed to do,” said Neighbors, who is attending Northeast Texas Community College on a rodeo scholarship. “This is easily the biggest thing I’ve ever won. This is an opportunity we don’t have very often. This is a one-of-a-kind deal for us. We don’t get to run at $10,000 every day.”
In all, he pocketed $11,000, adding the $1,000 prize for winning Saturday’s second round. Yaussi won the first round, while Ryder Ladner of Kiln, Miss., posted the fastest round of the weekend, 36.6 seconds, to win Sunday.
For the second straight year, Chance, the steer wrestling horse owned by J.D. Draper of Oakley, Kan., earned the AQHA Jr. Ironman Top Horse Award.
The 2018 CINCH Timed Event Championship partners include CINCH – Jeans and Shirts, Priefert – Farm, Ranch & Rodeo, YETI Coolers, Montana Silversmiths, ABI Equine, RAM, RIDE TV, Carroll Original Wear, Big Tex Trailers, P&K Equipment, Cavender’s, Nutrena, The Team Roping Journal, MacroAir, Bio S.I., National Saddlery, Cross Bar Gallery, John Vance Auto Group, Pendleton Whisky, CSI Saddle Pads, Formula 1 Noni, Guthrie CVB, Made In Oklahoma Coalition, J.W. Brooks Hat Co., Hilton Garden Inn – Edmond, America’s Best Value Inn – Guthrie, Sherwin-Williams, Anderson Bean Boot Co., Chris Neal’s Future Stars and Rising Stars Calf Ropings, and the National Little Britches Rodeo Association.
The 2018 CINCH Timed Event Championship is a Lazy E Production. For more information on the CINCH Timed Event Championship or other Lazy E events, contact the Lazy E Arena, 9600 Lazy E Drive, Guthrie, OK 73044, (405) 282-RIDE, (800) 595-RIDE or visit www.lazye.com.
RESULTS
Jr. Ironman first round: 1. Bo Yaussi, 42.3 seconds, $1,000.
Jr. Ironman second round: 1. Myles Neighbors, 42.3 seconds, $1,000.
Jr. Ironman third round: 1. Ryder Ladner, 36.6 seconds, $1,000
Jr. Ironman average leaders: 1. Myles Neighbors, 167.8 seconds, $10,000; 2. Wyatt Hansen, 193.2, $5,000; 3. Bo Yaussi, 197.1, $2,000.
MARCH 1, 2018 — HOUSTON — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — It was a wild night in NRG Stadium as cowboys and cowgirls battled it out during the RODEOHOUSTON Super Series I Championship. The athletes competed for the top four spots in each event to advance to the Semifinals on March 14 and 15.
TIE-DOWN ROPING
Caleb Smidt of Bellville, Texas, secured a win during night three of Super Series I and spot in the Semifinals with a time of eight seconds in the Tie-Down Roping event. With a solid ride to end the series, Smidt said he knows how to prepare moving forward.
“This ride tonight gave me confidence more than anything,” Smidt said. “I’m going to practice at my house and spend time with my family before the next round.”
Steven Dent took the win in Bareback Riding during Super Series I. During high school, Dent was heavily involved in athletics and was a champion football player and wrestler. He said these experiences prepared him for bareback riding.
“Football and wrestling taught me work ethic and how to set goals,” Dent said.
TEAM ROPING With valuable experience behind them, Matt Sherwood and Walt Woodard were confident returning to RODEOHOUSTON in 2018. That confidence showed as they secured a Team Roping Championship in Super Series I. Woodard said he is glad to be back at the Rodeo, among tough competition.
“Being here before helps,” Woodard said. “We are banking on our experience to carry us on through the competition, which is the best in the world.”
Advancing to Semifinal Round: Matt Sherwood: Pima, Arizona, and Walt Woodard: Stephenville, Texas — $8,000
Chad Masters: Cedar Hill, Tennessee, and Travis Graves: Bluff Dale, Texas — $7,500
Luke Brown: Morgan Mill, Texas, and Jake Long: Morgan Mill, Texas — $6,000
Dustin Bird: Cut Bank, Montana, and Jake Minor: Milton-Freewater, Oregon — $6,000
SADDLE BRONC RIDING
Layton Green used his eight seconds of glory to obtain a win for Super Series I. Green said having a relaxed attitude and a great enjoyment of the sport served him well during the competition.
“I try not to overthink things,” Green said. “If you’re having fun you’re riding well, and if you’re riding well you’re having fun.”
Advancing to Semifinal Round: Layton Green: Meeting Creek, Alberta, Canada — $5,500
Justin Shaffer of Hallsville, Texas, won the Super Series I Steer Wrestling Championship. In his first year competing at RODEOHOUSTON, Shaffer said he is impressed with the competition and is excited for what is ahead.
“It is so exciting to be here,” Shaffer said. “Everyone here knows what it takes to win, and I can see how that motivates everyone to compete really hard.”
Advancing to Semifinal Round: Justin Shaffer: Hallsville, Texas — $6,000
With a time of 14.77 seconds, Taci Bettis solidified her spot in the Barrel Racing Semifinals. Bettis was thrilled to compete at RODEOHOUSTON and said this particular rodeo has been on her bucket list her entire life.
“I’m just going to keep trying to have smooth runs,” Bettis said.
JW Harris from Goldthwaite, Texas, was named the Super Series I Bull Riding Champion. Harris said he is confident about where he is and he hopes to take this momentum into the Semifinals.
“I am really enjoying what I am doing,” Harris said. “The atmosphere here is great. It’s been a tough couple of years for me, but I’m where I want to be right now.”
The top four from each event, from each Super Series will advance to a Semifinal Round. The top four from each event in the Semifinal rounds will advance to the RODEOHOUSTON Super Series Championship, Saturday, March 17. The remaining six from each event in the two semifinals will compete in the Wild Card Round, Friday, March 16, where the top two from each event will advance to the Championship. Each event champion will walk away with a $50,000 payout, in addition to previous winnings. The RODEOHOUSTON Super Series continues through March 17, with the RODEOHOUSTON Super Shootout: North America’s Champions® presented by Crown Royal, on Sunday, March 18.
World’s Richest One-Day Rodeo pays $2 Million to the Best Rodeo Athletes
ARLINGTON, Texas – The home of the Dallas Cowboys became home to the world’s best cowboys and cowgirls today, Sunday, Feb. 25, as turf turned into dirt for the world’s richest one-day rodeo. RFD-TV’s The American, Presented by DISH payed-out $2 million dollars to the best athletes in PRCA, PBR and WPRA, and those who earned their spot as a qualifier, making the American dream come true for three athletes who advanced out of the semi-finals to split the million dollar purse.
Four-time PRCA world champion Kaycee Feild, six-time world champion steer wrestler Matt Reeves and ERA champion Cort Scheer all three took home $433,333 checks to split the million dollar prize as competitors who advanced from the semi-finals. Invitee’s Taci Bettis, Junior Nogueira and Kaleb Driggers, reigning PBR World Champion Jess Lockwood, defending American Tie-Down Roping Champion Marty Yates earned $100,000 checks.
Nogueira told the press he missed out on his late father’s Brazilian Hall of Fame induction ceremony for a chance to grab his American Dream. His father passed away doing what he loved most – Roping.
CUTLINE: When asked what he planned to do with his newly signed check, Field responded saying, “When I retire from rodeoing, I don’t have to go get a 9-5, I can stay home with my kids and see them off to school and pick them up at home when they get off the School bus.” Photo Credit: Andy Watson/ Bullstock Media
BAREBACK RIDING: Kaycee Feild dominated the bareback riding with a score of 90.75. Field rode C5 Rodeo Company’s Virgil, reigning bareback horse of the year, claiming a piece of the American’s million-dollar prize. Newlywed Albertan Orin Larsen scored an 88.5 on Frontier Rodeo Company’s Full Baggage. Steven Dent was 85 points to place third on Powder River Rodeo’s 2016 World Champion Bareback Horse Craig at Midnight. Mason Clements and Frontier’s Show Stopper were 82.5.
BARREL RACING: Invitee Taci Bettis and her horse Smash took $100,000 home to Round Top, Texas, after running a 14.845. Last year’s winners, Hailey Kinsel and horse Sister were second in the short-go with a 14.982. Ari-Anna Flynn, daughter of world champion bull rider, Denny Flynn, was third with a 15.238. Maryland futurity rider and A Cornerstone carried a 5 second penalty to be fourth with a 19.941 in the short-go.
STEER WRESTLING: Six-time world champion steer wrestler Matt Reeves was a rapid 3.73 to win $433,000 from the qualifiers pool. 2017 PRCA World Champion Steer Wrestler Tyler Pearson finished four-hundredths of a second behind to place second with a 3.79. Dakota Eldridge was 4.12, placing third and Canadian Scott Guenthner was fourth with a 4.24.
SADDLE BRONC: ERA champion Cort Scheer came through the ranks of the qualifiers to ride four-time bronc of the year, Frontier’s Medicine Women to 89 points and a $433,333 payday. Scheer edged out last year’s winner, Cody DeMoss by .25 points. Clay Elliott and Powder River’s young NFR mare, Show Me Again were 83.75. Wyoming’s Brody Cress, finished fourth with 83.75. Heith DeMoss, who lost the tie-breaker to make the short go, helped him at the chute and was at his side when the score came in.
TIE-DOWN ROPING: Reigning American Tie-Down Roping Champion Marty Yates, becomes a two-time American champion, beating his own fastest time and The American’s record time. He heads home to Stephenville, Texas with a time of 6.38 and a check for $100,000. Texan Cory Solomon comes out of the American in the second spot with a time of 6.45. Cajun Marshall Leonard finishes at AT&T stadium in third place, stopping the clock at 7.11. America’s favorite tie-down roper places fourth on rodeo’s biggest stage with a time of 7.91.
TEAM ROPING: Junior Nogueira and Kaleb Driggers take home separate checks for $100,000, becoming the 2018 American Team Roping Champions. They stopped the clock with a time of 4.57. Chad Masters and Paul Eaves finished second with a time of 5.03 to win $25,000.
BULL RIDING: Dakota Rodeo’s More Big Bucks earned reigning PBR World Champion Jess Lockwood more big bucks at their rematch today. Lockwood rode him at the 2017 PBR World Finals to earn him the world title. Texan Cooper Davis was right behind him with 89.5 points on Show Nuff to win $25,000.
LONG-GO RESULTS:
BAREBACK RIDING: Four-time PRCA world champion Kaycee Feild and Orin Larsen both scored 88.25 on J Bar J Pro Rodeo horses to split first and second. Nevada native Mason Clements place third in the go with an 86.50 on another of J Bar J’s world class bucking horses, Night Fist. Going into the shoot-out round in fourth place, Nebraskan Steven Dent was scored 86.25 points aboard the J Bar J stallion, Night Jacket.
BARREL RACING: 2017 American Barrel Racing Champion Hailey Kinsel and her horse, Sister, were back to defend their championship title, placing first in the long go with a time of 14.674. After, rubbing the second barrel, Maryland’s top futurity rider, Brandon Cullins set it back up to clock 14.764 seconds. Ari-Anna Flynn ran home to the third spot in the go, stopping the clock at 14.834. Taci Bettis raced to her spot in the short-go with a time of 14.874, leaving her fourth.
STEER WRESTLING: 2017 PRCA World Champion Ty Pearson was on the hunt for $100,000 dollars, as he advanced to the shoot-out with a 4.00. Qualifier Matt Reeves, a six-time WNFR qualifier, placed second in the long go with a 4.18. Canadian Scott Guenthner wrestled his way into the short-go in the third spot, with a time of 4.19. Dakota Eldridge set out to stay in contention for a big pay check, as he placed fourth in the long go, clocking in with a 4.39.
TEAM ROPING: Kaleb Driggers and 2016 PRCA All-Around Champion Junior Nogueira roped their steer in a time of 3.32, taking them to the lead in the long-go. Two-time world champion Chad Masters and his partner Paul Eaves stopped the clock at 3.54, advancing them to the shoot-out in second. Erich Rogers and Cory Petska had a solid run of 3.58, winning third in the round. Speed Williams spun a steer for Wesley Thorp, giving the team a time of 3.60. Thorp moved back to the short-go in fourth with Williams.
SADDLE BRONC: Reigning American Saddle Bronc Champion Cody DeMoss, came out of the long-go seeking to add another championship title to his lengthy résumé. DeMoss rode Dakota’s Rodeo Bartender to the first-place spot in the go, scoring an 87. Semi-finals champion Clay Elliott scored an 86.75, advancing to the shoot-out in second place. After his first horse stumbled, Cort Scheer’s re-ride horse took him to third place and a score of 84.5. Brody Cress won the tie breaker over Heith DeMoss for his spot in the shoot-out. Cress and DeMoss both scored an 84. The tie was broken by a fifth official, whose scorecard is reserved for resolving ties.
TIE-DOWN ROPING: Houston, Texas, cowboy and five-time WNFR qualifier Cory Solomon won the long-go with a 6.74. Fan favorite Tuf Cooper, had his calf roped and tied in 6.93 seconds placing him second. Qualifier Marshall Leonard was a 6.96 in the first round at AT&T Stadium, placing third. Marty Yates made it back to the short go in the fourth spot with a time of 7.23.
BULL RIDING: 2016 PBR World Champion Cooper Davis took the lead with an 89.50 followed by 2017 PBR World Champion Jess Lockwood who rode for 88.50 points Texas native Stormy Wing who rode for 87 points. Two-time PBR World Champion J.B. Mauney made it back to the short-go with an 84.25 ride.
As dirt is loaded out and the turf is rolled back for the famed Dallas Cowboys to chase Super Bowl dreams, rodeo contestants alike await for their chance to chase their American Dream at the 2019 RFD-TV’s The American.
Franklin, Tenn. (February 21, 2018) – Tickets go on sale March 1 for the Franklin Rodeo in Franklin, Tenn.
Held at the Williamson County Ag Expo Park, the rodeo takes place May 17-19 and will celebrate its 69th annual event this year.
It’s the longest running event in the county and a tradition among residents, said Bill Fitzgerald, executive director for the rodeo. “The rodeo builds friendships and relationships,” he said. The rodeo is produced by the Franklin Noon Rotary Club, with proceeds going towards local charities. That makes a difference for fans, Fitzgerald believes. “It builds excitement in the community because it’s something people can go to, and they can feel like they’re supporting the community while they’re having fun.” The rodeo is the largest in the state.
While fans are in Franklin for the rodeo, there is plenty to do during the daytime. Franklin is a short twenty-minute drive from downtown Nashville, which features such attractions as the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Ryman Auditorium, Opryland USA, and President Andrew Jackson’s home, the Hermitage.
Franklin is a beautiful historic place with a quaint downtown full of stately homes and perfect for shopping. History buffs will enjoy Civil War sites like the Carnton Plantation and the Battle of Franklin, and foodies can get their fill of barbecue and a wide variety of dining destinations.
Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for kids ages 12 and under. All seats are reserved. Tickets can be purchased online at www.FranklinRodeo.com or at the gate.
Since the rodeo began in 1949, it has raised over $2 million for local organizations.
For more information, visit the website at FranklinRodeo.com or the rodeo’s Facebook page or call 615-RODEO-11.
SAN ANTONIO (Feb. 20, 2018) – The first of two Semifinals began in the AT&T Center on Tuesday night at the San Antonio Rodeo got underway with some great rides and fast times.
Richmond Champion from The Woodlands, Texas had the high-marked ride in the bareback riding. Champion, who has qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) three times is looking for his first San Antonio Rodeo title. He came one step closer with an 86.5-point ride on Calgary Stampede’s horse named Yukon Rambler. That added $4,429 to $3,121 that he had already won here. Champion is now in good shape to be among the top five money winners that will ride for a title here on Saturday night.
Rusty Wright also made a big move in saddle bronc riding. He was 92 points on another horse owned by Calgary Stamtpede named Weekend Departure. Wright won the title here in 2015 on the way to the first of two NFR qualifications. He made the trip to Vegas in 2015 and 2016 to compete at rodeo’s championships. Then injury kept him out of the top 15 in 2017.
Instead, he was a spectator at the 2017 NFR and watched his younger brother, Ryder Wright earn the world championship. That lit a fire in Rusty Wright that had been very evident here. His 89 was the highest marked saddle bronc rider here so far and with what he won on Tuesday, he has the lead in the money standings at $10,107. Wade Sundell from Coleman, Oklahoma, is second here with $9,364.
The barrel racing at this year’s rodeo is speeding up in the Semifinals. All four of the top times were under 14 seconds for the first time this year. Leader of the pack was Jessie Telford from Caldwell, Idaho, with a 13.76-second run. Telford put her barrel racing aspirations on hold after she got married and had two daughters. Her children are older now and she and her horse are making a big statement here.
Telford is second in the money standings behind Hailey Kinsel who placed third Tuesday night. Kinsel, from Cotulla, Texas had a time of 13.83. Second went to Kelly Bruner who won the final round of Bracket 5 to advance. Bruner stopped the clock in 13.83. Fourth place was Tiany Schuster from Krum, Texas, with a 13.91.
These Semifinal contestants will have their second round on Wednesday night beginning at 7 p.m. Half of them will head home as the other half waits for Saturday night’s finals. The five contestants in each event that have won the most money will have one more opportunity to cash in at the $1.7 million San Antonio Rodeo.
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SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Feb.20, 2018) — The following are results after the 16th performance of the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo, the 13-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Large Indoor Rodeo of the Year.
