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  • Roper Review: Gary Mefford

    Roper Review: Gary Mefford

    Gary Mefford found his vocation as a sophomore in high school in 1974, working part time at King Ropes in Sheridan, Wyoming. He started out tying knots and rapidly expanded to tying burners and picking up orders. Nearly 43 years later, he knows the shop like one of his favorite four strand ropes, and co-manages it with Dan Morales. “My brother grew up with Bob King, and they got me the job here,” says Gary. “It was just going to be part time while I was going to school, but I went to college in Sheridan and kept working here. I got my degree in mine maintenance – hydraulics and welding – but by that time, I was close enough friends with Bobby that if I needed some extra time off to go down the road, I could get my work done ahead of time and then take off. There’s not a lot of jobs in this world that allow you to do that. You get to enjoy what you do, and you’re working with the public a lot. We get a lot of walk-in trade here, especially in the summer months. We get Europeans in here all the time, and a lot of Argentines, Canadians, and South Africans. We ship ropes all over the world, like Brazil, Australia, and Europe. It’s a world-wide operation, but percentage-wise, the majority of our business is in the states.”
    An average day for Gary at King Ropes starts with picking out ropes for the latest orders, giving the knot tyers ropes to work on, tying hondos, pulling grass ropes down, and working on stock. From June through August, they’re stocking trailers for 3 – 4 weeks to go to the NHSFR and Cheyenne Frontier Days, followed by the WNFR in December. “I’ll start working on trailer ropes 6 to 8 weeks before they leave for Vegas,” says Gary. “We take 1,500 to 2,000 ropes and we might sell 700 to 800, but we’ve figured out over the years what we sell a lot of. When we have 500 variations of ropes, you never know what people will ask for, between different sizes and materials and stiffnesses and lengths. It’s such personal preference on what people like in a rope. Team ropers are always looking for the new fix, but the rope only does what the hand tells it to, and the hand only does what the mind tells it to. We’ve stayed pretty much with the old style ropes we’ve had for fifty years.”

    The YouTube television series How It’s Made created a documentary four years ago on how ropes are made, featuring King Ropes. “I like the four strand ropes. We buy all our four strands in bodies and put them through our stretching process, and they feel quite different when they’ve gone through the stretching process,” Gary explains. “The rope is stretched at a field outside of town. The rope comes in 600 feet coils and we tie it off at the end of the field and roll it with the tractor and pull it to the other end. It might take several days or three weeks or three months before they’re straight. The poly grass ropes that calf ropers like to use we do in a hot room in the basement that’s 130 degrees. But the Nylon comes out better if it’s stretched outside in the natural cooling and heating – the whole process makes them better than if we were doing them in the hot room.”
    While Gary grew up in town in Sheridan, his grandparents homesteaded on the Montana/Wyoming border in the early 1900s. His dad worked on ranches and later did highway construction. Gary was given an old rope horse by his older brother Dick when he was 9 or 10. “I high school rodeoed my junior and senior year, and college rodeoed locally. I jackpotted and team roped after that,” says Gary, who prefers to heel. “It’s such a challenge to do it well.” He competes in mixed team roping with Miff Koltiska, and competed several times with Mark Moreland at the Reno Invitational. He’s also roped at the WSTR Finale in Las Vegas at least eight times. “I cut my thumb off at the Reno Invitational in 2011 – I did it on the biggest stage,” says Gary. “They tried putting it back on, but it didn’t take. I just reach for stuff differently – I don’t even think about it. That was in the spring and I’d only won a few hundred dollars at some winter and spring ropings. After losing my thumb, I won $3,800 and three buckles. I’d been in a slump, and after that happened, I relaxed and things fell in place. I guess my thumb was just getting in the way.”
    Gary also puts on roping jackpots and contracts roping steers to high school, college, and cowgirl rodeos. He has 100 head of longhorn cows and raises his own roping steers at his home outside of Sheridan. His wife, Sara, helps put on the jackpots, works as secretary, runs chutes, and moves steers. She worked at King Ropes for several years, and enjoys team sorting and team roping. Their four-year-old daughter, Londyn, competes on her pony in barrel racing, pole bending, and goat tail untying.
    “My mind is always working on what I have to do after work,” says Gary, who works six days a week at King Ropes, along with hauling steers and putting on jackpots and team sortings. “I just make sure everything is prearranged in my brain on what I need to do. This doesn’t leave me very much time to practice. While working at King’s Saddlery over the years, I have met a lot of team ropers and have become friends with several them such as Bobby Harris, Rich Skelton, Mike Beers who are some of the best heelers in the world. They all have offered me a chance to go rope with them. I just don’t know how I would ever fit it in, without my wife having to do all the work at home. But there would be nothing better than to take the time and go rope with them for a month.”

  • Cream Cheese Filled Snickerdoodles & Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies

    recipes courtesy of Samantha Schemper

    Cream Cheese Filled Snickerdoodles:

    INGREDIENTS:
    Cookies
    1½ cups sugar
    1 cup room temp butter
    2 eggs
    1 tsp vanilla
    2¾ cups all purpose flour
    2 tsp cream of tartar
    1 tsp baking soda
    ¼ tsp salt
    ¼ cup sugar
    2 tsp cinnamon

    Filling
    8 oz cream cheese, softened
    ¼ cup sugar
    2 tsp vanilla

    DIRECTIONS:
    Make the cream cheese filling by mixing the cream cheese, ¼ cup sugar and 2 tsp vanilla. I used my hand mixer for this. Cover the cream cheese mixture and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400°.
    Cream butter and 1½ cup sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and 1 tsp vanilla. Mix until combined. On low speed mix in your flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Set dough to the side. In a small bowl combine remaining ¼ cup sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon, set that aside as well. Remove the cream cheese mixture from the refrigerator. For each cookie you will need 2 flattened balls of dough, 1 Tbsp each. (The flattened disk will be approx 2” in diameter) Place 1 tsp of the cream cheese mixture on top of one of the flattened dough disks. Then place the other flattened dough on top of the cream cheese. Pinch the edges together to seal. Carefully form into a ball and roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place on a plate as you finish making each and refrigerate. Before baking the cookies they should chill for 15 minutes. When the dough is chilled bake on a parchment lined baking sheet 2” apart for 8 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool. NOTE: Store in an airtight container, refrigerate if keeping for more than 1 day

     

    Peanut Butter No-bake Cookies

    INGREDIENTS:
    1 cup peanut butter
    1 cup sugar
    1 cup corn syrup
    6 cups corn flakes

    DIRECTIONS:
    Heat the corn syrup and sugar until melted, add the peanut butter until it’s melted into the sugar. Add corn flakes and scoop onto parchment paper.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • A Little Encouragement

    Continued from the August 1 issue on the five things rodeo contestants want their parents to know…

    3. Slumps happen! Slumps are the worst! When nothing will fall your way, it seems like the world is ending. The best thing about slumps is that they only last forever if you quit. Parents, keep entering them. Keep going to the practice pen. Keep letting them know this is a temporary thing and try to take off all the pressure on these kids that you possibly can because they are putting more than enough pressure on themselves. Step back and support them through it.
    4. Rodeo is HARD! When you mix kids that aren’t even old enough to drive with thousand pound animals moving fast enough to get you a speeding ticket in a school zone, things can get hairy. Once you enter the arena or nod your head, things happen quick! If you are a parent that has never entered a rodeo event, it’s difficult to describe what your kid is experiencing. Horses and stock don’t always cooperate. Plus there are other kids there that work just as hard on just as nice of horses trying to achieve the same thing. Competition in rodeo is TOUGH these days. Be reasonable with your expectations of how your kid should perform each rodeo. They have off days just like we do, especially around those teenage (aka hormones stole my kid) years.

    5. They wish you wouldn’t compare them to other kids. Every kid’s journey is different and each kid will face different obstacles along the way. You might not see some of these obstacles because many times these obstacles are mental. Mind Gym is a fantastic book that can really help your kids with the mental aspect of all sports. I highly recommend all kids read this book or listen to it on those long road trips! Some kids are not natural athletes and they will have to work 10x harder than other kids. In these kids, acknowledging their hard work and encouraging them for one more tenth of a second faster time will get more out of them than expecting them to perform out of their level of ability. You can’t expect Michael Phelps to compete with Usain Bolt and vise versa. We all have our own talents and abilities. Making comparisons between your kid and others makes them feel like you wish the other kid was your kid or you are more proud of one kid than the other and it can be very damaging to your relationship.
    This is just my take on things from the points of view I have been lucky enough to see. Many hours in a trailer and late night drives have been a great way to connect with these kids and hear about what they experience and need from us. We are all going to fail at this from time to time but I’m going to attempt to be a good rodeo parent for my little cowboy and enjoy this ride for the short time it’s going to last.

    C.J. Aragon was named the 2008-2011 Grand Canyon Region Coach-of-the-Year. 2014-2015 WJCAC Coach-of-the-Year, 2016 Southwest Region Coach-of-the-Year, and 2010 National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Coach-of-the-Year.

     

     

     

  • Back When They Bucked with Kenny Pfeifer

    Back When They Bucked with Kenny Pfeifer

    Kenny Pfeifer is always on the move. In his earlier days, it was on horseback, whether training horses, or riding broncs and bulls in the ICA and RCA. Today, he’s entering his 45th year as a business owner, operating Western States Movers, LLC, out of Nampa, Idaho, and staying involved in the rodeo world with his granddaughter, even helping at several Martha Josey Clinics a year.

    Kenny and his daughter, Tammie, with the tie-down roping dummy he made for Josey Ranch – Rodeo News

    Born in 1947 in Caldwell, Idaho, Kenny grew up northwest of there in Parma, Idaho, riding the horses his dad brought home. “We always had horses around, and I did everything on horseback. The first date my wife and I went on was horseback,” says Kenny. “I was riding a bunch of horses for people, and I’d ride one to school, tie it up, and ride a different one home. I didn’t even own a vehicle until I was a senior in high school. It was seven miles to town, and my dad told me if I wanted to play sports, I’d have to get myself there and home, so I rode horses there. When I was a kid, there weren’t any kid rodeos around,” he adds. “Leonard Hamilton produced rodeos around the area, and he had an arena we built. We’d go over there all the time. He bought all the horses from the ‘Run, Paint, Run’ movie, and we had to rope them all to catch them. Some were like a bull – if you were on the ground, they’d come after you.” Kenny even started horses on wagons, mowing and hauling hay. “It turned into a lot of wrecks, but we had a lot of fun!”
    Kenny’s horse training made him the perfect candidate for riding roughstock. He and his dad put bronc saddles on the horses they started and snubbed them up to a post while Kenny climbed on. “It was just in a big dry lot, and it was harder than a pancake,” Kenny recalls. “I went to Polson, Montana, in the winter where the snow was deep and the ground was frozen, and I was riding bucking horses in a building. I never broke any bones, but I had lots of sprains, and I got stepped on and run over. I even fought bulls a couple of times. I liked riding bulls, but I got hurt too many times, so I quit that.”
    Kenny started rodeoing in high school, including high school rodeos, jackpots, and local rodeos. Little Britches started when he was a senior, and he competed there for a year. With just one rodeo to qualify for the NHSFR at the time, Kenny often placed just one out of the qualification, though he won several high school rodeos in all his events and the all-around. He also college rodeoed, helping start the Treasure Valley Community College rodeo team with Joe Mayor in the 1960s. “Joe was the first president, and I was the second. I rode three years with them, and I made the ICA finals probably ten times in a row.” One cowboy who helped Kenny with his roughstock was Cotton Rosser, the producer of the Caldwell Night Rodeo at the time. “He had a paint bucking mule I rode for him during the rodeo, and he always started the rodeo with a buffalo scramble,” says Kenny. “They were all turned out at the same time, and I learned after riding the first one, that halfway down the arena, you’d better get off because they’d turn into a herd and you couldn’t get off.”
    Following college rodeo, Kenny competed in professional and open rodeos around the Northwest, traveling with his wife, Kris. They met in 1965 on a trail ride after her horse – one that Kenny had trained – threw a shoe, and Kenny put it back on by campfire light. They were married in 1970, and Kris college rodeoed and competed in several rodeo queen contests afterward. Their two children, Shawn and Tami, rodeoed when they were growing up. Shawn also played football and went to school on a football scholarship, while Tami barrel raced in the PRCA.

    Kenny Pfeifer riding while in college

    It was at the Days of ’47 Rodeo in Salt Lake City, Utah, where Tami was competing that Kenny became acquainted with Martha Josey, holding her horse, Orange Smash, during the rodeo. They met again in Ogden, Utah, and when Kenny learned they were headed to Nampa next, he invited Martha and R.E. to stay at his place. “They’d come to the Northwest and stay with us for two or three nights, any time of day or night,” says Kenny. “Right after the Caldwell Night Rodeo, they started doing clinics each year, and my wife and I and both our kids helped. We’d rent the Caldwell rodeo grounds, the fair building, and the Charolais Barn. There was anywhere from 40 to 70 students depending on the year.” Kenny has also stayed involved locally judging the Snake River Stampede parade that kicks off the Snake River Stampede Rodeo. He judged the drill teams for many years, and most recently judged the wagon entries. “It’s originality for me – no rubber tires,” he says. “I also look at condition, cleanliness, and the type of harness. I’ve also judged horsemanship in some queen contests.”
    While Kenny retired from rodeo in 1981, he started his moving business in 1972 on 40 acres in Nampa. “I started everything from scratch – it was tough! Back then, you had to have PUC (Public Utilities Commission) authority, which was a license you had to get. It usually took a few years to get them. I invented a machine that will raise a house or any load without jacks or dollies, and it runs wirelessly by remote control and raises and steers hydraulically. We do all our own machining and fabrication right here in the shop.” Over the years, they have moved silos, bridges, houses, historical buildings, and tanks – anything heavy or oversized. “It’s kind of like rodeo,” says Kenny. “They said it couldn’t be rode, so you try it anyway. Every one is different, and that’s the challenge. We moved a historical town, Sherman Station, to a park in Elko, Nevada. There was a livery stable, blacksmith shop, creamery, and a schoolhouse. It was 117 miles south of Elko, and it took two and a half months to move because it was in the mountains and we brought (the buildings) down narrow roads and through a creek. We moved another building in Battle Mountain, Nevada, they said couldn’t get out, and we raised up a bridge to get the building across it.”
    Kenny’s inventiveness has also benefited the Joseys. Last year, they were in need of more drag dummies, and after putting together CAD drawings, Kenny fabricated 55 dummies out of half-inch pipe. “They’re a little wider and longer, so they don’t tip over so easy on the side. There’s a little drag to them, and when you rope them, they stand up and lay down when the rope comes back.” Kenny makes the 31 hour drive to Josey Ranch often three times a year, helping with their clinics and calf roping reunion, and taking his granddaughter, Kylie, to their roping and barrel racing clinics. “It’s Texas Disneyland,” says Kenny. “We’ve been doing that for 17 to 19 years.” His goal is to continue working at Josey Ranch and helping his granddaughter – and moving the West one project at a time.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • On The Trail with Rylee Jo Maryman

    On The Trail with Rylee Jo Maryman

    Rylee Jo Maryman spends her summer days roping the dummy and tying goats. Sometimes she goes swimming, but practice comes first. “I practice to increase how I run when I’m at a rodeo. That’s my favorite sport,” said the 9-year-old National Little Britches World All Around Champion Little Wrangler. She also holds the World Champion title in the Pole Bending, and Flag Racing. Her favorite event is pole bending. “I have an awesome horse and he always does what I ask him – I think I’m very athletic in that event and it’s very challenging and I like challenges. It makes me work harder and improve.”

     

    Rylee and her two horses named Coco and Pistol- 3 Lazy J Photography

    Rylee Jo knows how hard it is to win, and she feels like she’s got the horse to do it. “If I didn’t have Pistol, I don’t think I would have won so much.” Pistol is a 21-year-old gelding. “You can do anything on him – I use him for poles, barrels, and flags.” Pistol used to be her uncle’s team roping horse and won the Purina Super Horse this year. “He is not the fastest, and he’s not a bucking horse, but if I’m having problems in anything, I go back to him to help me fix it.” She also rides Dally. “She’s fast, but not as fast as my new horse, Smurf. Smurf runs really fast and I’m trying to get him back in my hands.”
    She has been in the NLBRA for three years. “I didn’t place at all my first year, and then I got a little better last year and I finally won the world this year. It feels good. I competed against a lot of good kids and good horses,” said the St. Francisville, Louisiana, native. She lives ten minutes out of town with her mother, Casey, and father, Joe and their 10 horses, four dogs, 18 goats, five cats, 6 chickens, and cattle.
    She spends her summers at her grandmother’s house while her parents work, but as soon as they get home; it’s off to the arena. “It hasn’t been dry enough lately to do anything, but I still rope the dummy and tie goats under the barn.”

    Her mom and dad help her the most with her rodeo. “Now we rodeo for her,” said her mom, Casey. “At about 2 ½ we put her on a horse and we turned her loose by herself. She had it – squeezing with her legs and riding on her own. Since then, she’s ridden every day. Her focus 24/7 is the arena. We go every day. We competed in two different associations last year since it was her last year in Little Wranglers. She went into the finals winning the barrels and poles and in the top four of all the rest – goat tail untying and flag racing.” Casey, who works during the day as an educator in the prison, started rodeoing when she was young. “We didn’t go as hard as she does when we were young.” She roped – team rope and breakaway. Her husband, Joe, who is a biologist for the Wildlife Fisheries in Louisiana, college rodeoed, calf roped and team roped. “We’re going to do whatever we can to give her what she needs. Right now she has two new horses she’s trying to get with.”

     

    Rylee Jo with her calf named Tiger

    Rylee Jo has also gone to three of Martha Josey’s clinics as well as Stacy Martin with Next Level Goat Tying. “When I first went to the goat tying school I was tying in 18, now I’m tying in 11s,” she said. The Josey clinics have helped her figure out the first barrel. “I’m still trying to figure that out. When I pull, I give back. When I do that, my horse runs by. I’m still working on that.” What the clinics have done for this young lady is give her confidence to figure out how to fix her problems in the arena. “I can try to figure it out on my own from going to the schools.” The other thing she is figuring out is how to manage her own money. She has a bank account and she pays for part of her entry fees.

    When she grows up, she wants to rodeo full time. That’s what she’s doing now – she’s rodeoeing all weekend and if she’s not, she’s in the arena at home practicing.”

    “Keep your dreams and one day they will come true. But you have to work on them or they won’t come true.”
    Her rodeo idol is Mary Burger. “She always tries to do better.”

     

  • Roche and Hillman win more than $21,000 each at Cheyenne Frontier Days

    Roche and Hillman win more than $21,000 each at Cheyenne Frontier Days

    Roche and Hillman win more than $21,000 each at Cheyenne Frontier Days

    2017 Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo Champions

    Bareback Riding – Tim O’Connell, Zwingle, Iowa, 254 points, $12,568

    Steer Wrestling – Baylor Roche, Tremonton, Utah, 26.1 seconds, $21,498

    Team Roping TIE – (header) Brandon Webb, Carrizo Springs, Texas, 28.4 seconds, $13,162

    (heeler) Kollin VonAhn, Blanchard, Okla., $13, 162

    (header) Erich Rogers, Round Rock, Ariz., 28.4 seconds, $12,226

    (heeler) Cory Petska, Marana, Ariz., $12,226

    Saddle Bronc Riding – Brody Cress, Hillsdale, Wyo., 256 points, $14,241

    Tie-Down Roping – Lane Livingston, Seymour, Texas, 38.0 seconds, $16,085

    Barrel Racing – Stevi Hillman, Weatherford, Texas, 52.44 seconds $22,554

    Bull Riding – Clayton Foltyn, Winnie, Texas, 255.5 points, $13,804

    Steer Roping – Brady Garten, Chelsea, Okla., 51.6 seconds, $10,850

    All-Around – Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, $13,949 competing in tie-down, team and steer roping

    CHEYENNE, Wyo. — July 29, 2017 — Baylor Roche of Tremonton, Utah, and Stevi Hillman of Weatherford, Texas, were the two highest money winners at the 121st Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo (CFD) which ended an eight-day run on Sunday.

    Those two were the only event leaders coming into the Championship Round to walk away with a title from the “Daddy of ‘em All.” Both rode gray American Quarter Horses to win their championships.

    Roche’s steer wrestling winnings lacked $2 making $21,500. After winning the first round and placing third in the second, the two-time qualifier for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) was the last of 12 steer wrestlers to compete Sunday. Riding Caesar, a gelding owned by Idaho cowboy Bubba Boots, Roche’s time of 10.4 seconds was the fourth-fastest of the finals, but he still won the championship by 2.8 seconds. Last year’s CFD champion J.D. Struxness of Appleton, Minn., clocked a time of 8.2 to win the final round.

    Winning his first CFD championship in his sixth time to compete here could not have been more opportune for Roche. “July has been pretty slow,” he said, “but this sure helped. I’m not sure it has even set in yet,” he said of winning the CFD title. “This rodeo is a pretty renowned one to do good at, let alone win.”

    Hillman earned $22,554 in the women’s barrel racing riding a five-year-old gelding called Sharpie. The petite blonde earned almost $6,800 for winning round one and came into the finals with an overall lead of one-hundredth of a second. Sharpie and Hillman ran third and their time of 17.33 seconds won the round by 31 hundredths of a second. Their total of 52.44 on three runs was 44 hundredths faster than the second-fastest total.

    “I’m truly speechless” Hillman said. “This is a rodeo that I’ve always wanted to do good at. I made the finals here last year. It’s just an incredible feeling to win this rodeo. It means a lot.”

    Rain began to fall at Frontier Park during the second event and continued to fall steadily for much of the performance.

    Hillman said the wet ground was a concern. “I thought the ground might be bad for my horse because he’s never run in the mud,” she said. “It wasn’t dangerous, it was just a little wet and slick. Actually, it was kind of fun.”

    Winners in the other six professional rodeo events and the all-around category ran the gamut, from repeat champions to those competing here for the first time.

    A pair of 21-year-old cowboys were the youngest champions.

    Brody Cress, who lives in nearby Hillsdale, Wyoming, won the saddle bronc riding title in dramatic fashion. The former Cheyenne high school wrestler and three-time state champion came into the finals trailing NFR bronc rider Jake Wright by half a point. Cress rode Charlie’s Angel of the Rafter G Rodeo string for 79.5 points, but was given the option of a reride. Since his total would not be enough to win the championship, Cress took the second chance.

    While Cress’s second horse was being loaded, Wright scored 84 points giving him an overall score of 252. That meant Cress would need to score 84.5 points to tie and 85 to win the title.

    The Sunday crowd of 12,419 roared as the hometown cowboy rode Sankey Pro Rodeo & Robinson Bulls’ Black Box for 88.5 points to win the championship. Cress is the first Wyoming native to win the CFD saddle bronc riding championship since Kaycee’s Craig Latham did so in 1995.

    The other 21-year-old CFD champion is tie-down roping Lane Livingston of Seymour, Texas. This was his first year to compete at Cheyenne and he made the most of the opportunity. He was second when the day began, but finished third in the finals with time of 14.3 seconds to earn the overall lead. Livingston’s time edged 2005 World Champion All-Around Cowboy Ryan Jarrett by four-tenths of a second.

    Livingston, who grew up on a ranch in West Texas, said winning CFD was a dream come true. The cowboy ranked ahead of him when the day began was none other than 23-time world champion and rodeo legend Trevor Brazile. Brazile competed in three events and won his third CFD all-around title.

    Two duos tied for the team roping title. Erich Rogers of Round Rock, Arizona, and Cory Petska of Marana, Arizona, were ranked seventh coming into the finals. Their time of 9.4 seconds was the fastest of the day. Their total time matched that of Brandon Webb of Carrizo Springs, Texas, and Kollin VonAhn of Blanchard, Okla. VonAhn won the championship here in 2014 with Luke Brown, but the other three were first-time winners. Rogers and Petska are NFR veterans while this is Webb’s first pro season after running his oilfield business for seven years.

    Reigning world champion Tim O’Connell of Zwingle, Iowa, has many rodeo accolades to his credit and he can add CFD champion to that list. O’Connell came from third overall to win the championship after scoring 87 points on Brookman Rodeo’s Continental Divide.

    “To win at Cheyenne, you are part of an elite group,” O’Connell said. “Look at our warm-up area.” The seats in that area feature plaques with names of previous rough-stock champions in Cheyenne going back more than 100 years.

    Winnie, Texas, has a lot to smile about in bull rider Clayton Foltyn. The three-time NFR qualifier earned his second Cheyenne Frontier Days championship on Sunday. Foltyn, was the all-around champion here in 2009 when he also competed in bareback riding. He was one of two men to ride all three bulls on Sunday and had the highest total at 255.5 points.

    Foltyn won the final round with an 87-point effort on Dakota Rodeo’s Cheese Bandit. He was 41st in the world standings prior to Cheyenne and the $13,804 that he collected should give him a significant boost.

    Brady Garten is a second-generation steer roper that has been coming to Cheyenne since he was a child. His father, Shorty Garten, has qualified for the final round in the bull riding and steer roping. They both roped in the finals this year with Shorty finishing third overall.

    They will return to Pawhuska, Oklahoma, with a new saddle, buckle and all the other items in the championship package. More importantly, Brady earned $10,850 in just the second rodeo he has entered this year.

     

     

     

    CHEYENNE, Wyo., July 30, 2017 — The following are unofficial winners from the 121st Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo.

     

    Bareback Riding: (final round winners) 1, Tim O’Connell, Zwingle, Iowa, on Brookman Rodeo’s Continental Drift, 87 points, $ 1,650. 2, Jake Vold, Ponoka, Alberta, 85.5, $1,250. 3, (tie) Tilden Hooper, Carthage, Texas, and Clayton Biglow, Clements, Calif., 85, $750 each. 5, Lane McGehee, Victoria, Texas, 84.5, $350. 6, (tie) Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, Minn., and Luke Creasy, Lovington, N.M., 83, $125 each. (overall winners) 1, O’Connell, 254 points, $8,446. 2, Vold, 253, $6,475. 3, David Peebles, Redmond, Ore., 251, $4,786. 4, (tie) Biglow and McGehee, 249, $2,534 each. 6, Creasy, 248, $1,408. 7, Hooper, 247.5, $1,126. 8, (tie) Aus and Bennett, $246.5, $422 each.

     

    Steer Wrestling: (final round winners) 1, J.D. Struxness, Appleton, Wis., 8.2 seconds, $1,852. 2, Kyle Irwin, Robertsdale, Ala., 10.1, $1,610. 3, Aaron Vosler, Cheyenne, Wyo., 10.3, $1,369. 4, Baylor Roche, Tremonton, Utah, 10.4, $1,127. 5, Jason Thomas, Benton, Ark., 10.9, $886. 6, Olin Hannum, Malad, Utah, 11.0, $644. 7, Scott Guenthner, Provost, Alberta, 12.0, $403. 8, Beau Clark, Cheyenne, Wyo., 12.9, $161. (overall winners) 1, Roche, 26.1 seconds, $9,434. 2, Guenthner, 28.9, $8,203. 3, Hannum, 33.2, $6,973. 4, Struxness, 33.3, $5,742. 5, Clark, 33.7, $4,512. 6, (tie)Thomas and Blake Mindemann, Blanchard, Okla., 35.2, $2,666 each. 8, Casey Martin, Sulphur, La., 35.6, $820.

     

    Tie-Down Roping: (final round winners) 1, (tie) Josh Peek, Pueblo, Colo., and Ryan Jarrett, Comanche, Okla., 13.6 seconds, $1,570 each. 3, Lane Livingston, Seymour, Texas, 14.3, $1,241. 4, Cooper Martin, Alma, Kan., 14.8, $1,022. 5, Monty Lewis, Hereford, Texas, 14.9, $803. 6, K.C. Miller, San Luis Obispo, Calif., 15.3, $584. 7, Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, 16.4, $365. 8, Michael Otero, Krum, Texas, 19.4, $146. (overall winners) 1, Livingston, 38.0 seconds, $9,663. 2, Jarrett, 38.4, $ 8,402. 3, Brazile, 39.1, $7,142. 4, Peek, 39.5, $5,882. 5, Martin, 41.0, $4,621. 6, Lewis, 41.2, $3,361. 7, Miller, 41.7, $2,101. 8, Otero, 45.3, $840.

     

    Saddle Bronc Riding: (final round winners) 1, Brody Cress, Hillsdale, Wyo., on Sankey Pro Rodeo & Robinson Bull’s Black Box, 88.5 points, $1,650. 2, Bradley Harter, Loranger, La., 85.5, $1,250. 3, Zeke Thurston, Big Valley, Alberta, 85.0, $900. 4, Jake Wright, Milford, Utah, 84.0, $600. 5, Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La., 83.5, $350. 6, Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas, 82.5, $250. (overall winners) 1, Cress, 256 points, $7,358. 2, Wright, 252, $5,641. 3, Thurston, 250, $4,169. 4, DeMoss, 249, $2,698. 5, Harter, 246, $1,717. 6, Crawley, 243, $1,226. 7, Dusty Hausauer, Dickinson, N.D., 240.5, $981. 8, Dawson Jandreau, Kennebec, S.D., 240, $736.

     

    Team Roping: (final round winners) 1, Erich Rogers, Round Rock, Ariz., and Cory Petska, Marana, Ariz., 9.4 seconds, $1,914 each. 2, Garrett Rogers, Baker City, Ore., and Jake Minor, Ellensburg, Wash., 9.5, $1,584. 3, Brandon Webb, Carrizo Springs, Texas, and Kollin VonAhn, Blanchard, Okla.,9.6, $1,254. 4, Joshua and Jonathan Torres, Ocala, Fla., 10.1, $924. 5, Riley and Brady Minor, Ellensburg, Wash., 10.5, $594. 6, Dustin Egusquiza, Mariana, Fla., and Kory Koontz, Stephenville, Texas, 10.7, $330. (overall winners) 1, (tie) Rogers and Petska, and Webb and VonAhn, 28.4 seconds, $8,582 each. 3, Rogers and Minor, 28.6, $6,785. 4, Minor and Minor, 29.2, $5,588. 5, Torres and Torres, 29.6, $4,391. 6, Egusquiza and Koontz, 30.9, $3,193. 7, Andrew and Reagan Ward, Edmond, Okla., 32.8, $1,996. 8, Marcus Theriot, Poplarville, Miss., and Cody Doescher, Oklahoma City, Okla., 35.5, $798.

     

    Barrel Racing: (final round winners) 1, Stevi Hillman, Weatherford, Texas, 17.33, $4,869. 2, Kim Schulze, Larkspur, Colo., 17.64, $3,652. 3, Brittany Pozzi-Tonozzi, Victoria, Texas, 17.68, $2,435. 4, Cassidy Kruse, Gillette, Wyo., 17.76, $1,217. (overall winners) 1, Hillman, 52.44 seconds, $9,860. 2, Kruse, 52.88, $8,452. 3, Pozzi -Tonozzi, 53.13, $7,043. 4, Schulze,53.32, $6,104. 5, Michelle Darling, Medford, Okla., 53.37, $4,695. 6, Jane Melby, Burneyville, Okla., 53.5, $3,756. 7, Jackie Ganter, Abilene, Texas, 53.54, $2,817. 8, Katelyn Scott, Odessa, Texas, 53.64, $1,878. 9, Elaine Hollings, Pavillion, Wyo., 53.65, $1,409. 10, Taci Bettis, Round Top, Texas, 53.66, $939.

     

    Bull Riding: (final round winners) (three rides) 1, Clayton Foltyn, Winnie, Texas, 87 points on Dakota Rodeo’s Cheese Bandit, $2,050. 2, (tie) Cole Melancon, Liberty, Texas, and Shane Proctor, Grand Coulee, Wash., 86, $1,475 each. (overall winners) 1, Foltyn, 255.5 points, $8,917. 2, Proctor, 250, $6,836. (on two) 3, Cody Teel, Kountze, Texas, 173, $5,053. 4, Melancon, 172, $3,270. (on one) 5, Denton Fugate, Dixon, Mo., 88.5, $2,081. 6, Trevor Reiste, Linden, Iowa, 87.5, $1,486. 7, (tie) Elliott Jacoby, Fredericksburg, Texas, and Bayle Warden, Charleston, Texas, 87, $1,040.

     

    Steer Roping: (final round winners) (four times) 1, Brady Garten, Chelsea, Okla., 17.1 seconds, $2,064. 2, Bryce Davis, Ovalo, Texas, 18.9, $1,746. 3, Shorty Garten, Pawhuska, Okla., 19.8, $1,428. 4, Brian Garr, Belle Fourche, S.D., 23.7, $889. (overall winners) 1, Brady Garten, 51.6 seconds, $9,008. 2, Davis, 52.8, $7,833. 3, Shorty Garten, 57.8, $6,658. 4, Garr, 60.8, $5,438. (on two) 5, Chet Herren, Pawhuska, Okla., 32.2, $4,308. 6, Jason Evans, Glen Rose, Texas, 33.5, $3,133. 7, Cody Lee, Gatesville, Texas, 35.3, $1,958. 8, Will Gasperson, Decatur, Texas, 36.3, $783.

     

    Wild Horse Race: (final round winners) 1, Jason Smith Team, $848. 2, Golf & Sports Solution, $636. 3, Team Agin.com, $424. 4, Xyngular, $212. (overall winners) 1, Team Agin.com, $5,973. 2, Jason Smith Team, $4,480. 3, Xyngular, $2,987. 4, Golf & Sports Solution, $1,493.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Sammy Castaneda

    Sammy Castaneda

    Sammy Castaneda loves a challenge. For the Cargill Animal Nutrition Consultant from San Antonio, Texas, improving everything from the size of deer antlers to the stamina of a rodeo horse is what makes him tick. “It is very satisfying finding solutions for new and current customers and building long lasting relationships along the way,” says Sammy, who started working for Cargill in their cattle feed division 10 years ago. “Helping people reach their goals and implement a sound nutritional program long-term is success to me. Some days I am working to figure out how to help a cow/calf operation increase conception rates and increase weaning weights, or feedlots looking to improve costs and increase average daily gain (ADG). The next day I’m on a deer ranch discussing body condition and growing big healthy deer with antlers that stop you in your tracks.” Sammy also works with rodeo and performance horse owners to maintain healthy toplines and energy. “In the nutrition business the needs of customers are always changing. It is important to stay informed and understand markets and trends, as well as environmental changes that affect feed consumption, gain, and performance.”
    Sammy has always been interested in the field of animal science. Many generations of his family have lived and worked on ranches throughout South Texas including the King Ranch, home of the “Running W” brand. “They were the true cowboys called vaqueros and roped wild cows in the brush, trained horses, and worked cattle with the best of them. It was their life and they were good at it. This is where some of my roots come from and I can certainly appreciate their hard work, dedication, and love for the cowboy way,” says Sammy. Growing up, Sammy worked on feedlots and ranches and took every chance he could to work cattle, rope, and be around that lifestyle. Sammy’s interest in animal nutrition led him to achieve an associate’s degree in agriculture and a welding certificate, while he finished with a bachelors in animal science from Texas A&M Kingsville.
    “My dad always said that hard work and smart work will lead you there and it is up to you to figure out what “there” is. I graduated and then started working for Cargill in 2007. I worked at a few feedlots in the Panhandle as a feed and cattle manager, and my wife worked with me as the office manager. Taking care of over eighty-five thousand head of cattle, I gained large scale production knowledge and eventually ventured into the position I am in now. I’ve always loved the nutrition side of things. Most days I am visiting ranches, feed dealers and different breeders including cattle deer and equine. South Texas is home to millions of acres of brush country and prairie, providing habitat for lots of wildlife – white tailed deer in particular – which is a big part of my business today,” says Sammy. Nutrena and Record Rack are two of the major brands that he represents. They have a team of research scientists, specialists and consultants who work together and strive to be the leaders in providing innovative solutions to their animal feed customers worldwide. “Our customers rely on us to help them, so we have to be very effective in what we recommend, and we take it very seriously. Sometimes we’ll formulate a specific feed depending on that customer’s needs.”
    Sammy is also involved with organizations like the Texas Deer Association and is part of the committee that recently put on the Texas Deer Association’s first annual Ropin’ & Smokin’, sponsored in part by Record Rack and Nutrena. “Deer breeders are such a big part of our business, and I want to bring some of my knowledge to the table,” he says. In the last year, Sammy partnered with BXB Productions, a rodeo production company, in putting on ranch rodeos and team ropings. “We do one to two ropings a week around San Antonio and take the ropings on the road every other month or so throughout South and Central Texas. It’s helped me grow and meet new people, and it’s really cool to put something like that on. We also do some charity events to help local causes. At our first annual Nutrena Roping, we had over eight hundred teams and we gave lots of custom prizes and cash. We have also partnered with Sosa Buckers, owners Shiloh and Shane Sosa, and do different segments with bulls. There’s a huge link between rodeo and hunting. A lot of the contestants are ranch managers or avid hunters and they rodeo for fun, and these ropings are a very good way to interact and meet new people.”
    Every chance he gets, Sammy takes part in the hunting and team roping lifestyle he promotes. He’s also an avid fisherman and enjoys team roping locally, while his two children, Delina, 8, and Samuel, 5, ride and work cattle with him and have started rodeoing. His wife, Fela, works for Animal Health International Inc., and even shares some of the same clients with Sammy. “We have cows, and it’s not a big operation, but enough for the family to get together and work. I do things so I’m a role model for my kids and youth in general,” says Sammy. “I try and lead them in the right direction and strongly support them in activities such as sports, rodeo and FFA. I believe teaching those hands-on skills, discipline, hard work, and dedication will help them achieve what they set out to accomplish. I want to help my kids grow and rodeo and hopefully they can lead successful lives.
    “I’d like to continue doing these rodeo events and making them better, and get Nutrena’s name out there,” he finishes. “I also want to keep growing my business and helping these ranchers meet their goals, which is something I take a lot of pride in.”

     

  • Roper Review: Bailey Peterson

    Roper Review: Bailey Peterson

    Roping is in her blood – literally. Bailey (Cooper) Peterson, daughter of 7-time world champ, Clay O’Brien Cooper. Bailey grew up in Higley, Arizona where she lived until the age of eight. After a couple of years living in Idaho, the family made the move to Texas.
    A few years later, Barrie and Brad Smith, her aunt and uncle, along with cousins, Shelby and Sterling, left Arizona and also moved to Texas. Bailey would spend summers with them while her dad was gone rodeoing.
    “That’s really when I started roping. My Aunt Barrie hauled Shelby and I all over and I owe a big thanks to her,” says Bailey. “Shelby and I both made it to the state high school finals in Team Roping and Breakaway every year of high school.”
    Her favorite win is easily when she and Barrie won the Cruel Girl Championships in Oklahoma City. She and cousin, Shelby, were reserve champs and between the three of them, they won every round of the roping.
    Bailey remembers coming home from school every day and her dad would have horses saddled, ready for her to spin steers for him.
    “Our practice sessions were intense,” says Peterson. “It’s important to get everything you can out of every run. Every time I get on a horse I have a goal. It’s ingrained in me that you go to the practice pen with the intention of what you need to work on and it’s very serious.
    I’ve had the advantage of roping with and getting help from some of the best like Allen, Speed, David Key. A few years ago, I was going through a tough time and called Jade Corkill. He invited me over and we roped the dummy for five hours with the temperature in the single digits. I’m very grateful for those opportunities and don’t take it for granted.”
    Now, Bailey, 30, is married and has a daughter, Fallon, 9. Bailey and Cal Peterson spend most of their time in South Dakota ranching and training horses. During winter months, the family winters in Texas where they train horses, and go to rodeos and ropings.
    Fallon, it seems, will follow in her mom’s footsteps. “You can’t keep her off a horse,” explains Bailey. “She runs barrels, ties goats, and won her first buckle last year running barrels. She ropes with us in the practice pen, but isn’t ready for competition.”

    COWBOY Q&A

    So what does Bailey Peterson do for fun?
    “Every day is fun for me. As long as I’m with my family, have a rope in my hand, and am riding a nice horse… I’m happy. My life is fun.”
    How much do you practice?
    We try to practice e very day.
    Do you make your own horses?
    Yes. We raise our own and make our own.
    Who were your roping (rodeo) heroes?
    My dad and Jake.
    Who do you respect most in the world?
    First and foremost God. My dad, my husband, and my Grandma Pat.
    Who has been the biggest influence in your life?
    My husband and daughter.
    If you had a day off what would you like to do?
    Go fishing or go to the beach.
    Favorite movie?
    Lonesome Dove
    How would you describe yourself?
    Driven, honest, hardworking, kind.
    What makes you happy?
    Roping two feet. Family. Horses. Seeing other people win.
    What makes you angry?
    Missing or roping a leg for a lot of money. Not doing my job.
    If you were given 1 million dollars, how would you spend it?
    Invest in land and cattle.
    What is your worst quality – your best?
    Worst is indecisiveness. Best is striving for perfection.
    Where do you see yourself in ten years?
    Ranching and hauling my daughter to rodeos.

     

  • ProFile: Randy Corley

    ProFile: Randy Corley

    Randy Corley, who lived in North Platte for two decades, is an inductee into the 2017 Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame.
    Corley never thought he’d make a living as a rodeo announcer, and there was a teacher at Niobrara County High School in Lusk, Wyo., who concurred.
    He was a high school kid, taking a speech class because it was an easy credit, and when he was asked to give a speech, it was always rodeo-related, about world champions like Larry Mahan or Jim Shoulders. The teacher did not approve. “She had threatened me a couple of times that I needed to talk about something different,” Corley recalled. “I’d always come back to rodeo.” One time, she couldn’t take it anymore. When he started yet another speech on rodeo, she “came running up and ripped the speech off the podium, and said, ‘you’ve got to think about your future. You’re not going to talk rodeo your whole life.’” Little did she know, Corley would make his living “talking rodeo.”
    He was born in 1951 in Miles City, Mont., spending his school years mostly in Lusk and Lance Creek Wyo., and his summers with his granddad, Waldo Parsons, a cowboy who he idolized. “I spent every summer at his ranch, and when I got older, I’d go out in the winters and help feed cattle. He was everything to me.”
    In 1977-78, he attended the Ron Bailey School of Broadcast in Seattle, then worked as a dj in Broken Bow before moving to North Platte, where he was on air at KODY AM and KX 104.

    In 1979, world champion saddle bronc rider Bill Smith started a nightly rodeo series in North Platte and hired Corley to announce it. He was acquaintances with Michelle and Trent Barrett, the children of the legendary North Platte native Hadley Barrett, also a rodeo announcer. Michelle, who ran barrels, and Trent, who roped at the rodeo, insisted their dad, a rancher north of town, come to the rodeo to hear this young announcer. He did, and Corley was nervous; he knew who Hadley was, and his accomplishments in the music world and the rodeo world.
    Hadley was impressed but wanted to hear Corley announce when he wasn’t aware of Hadley being in the audience. So the next week, Hadley made a trip to town for tractor parts, and again visited the rodeo, this time unannounced. He liked what he heard. A few weeks later, he asked Corley if he’d be interested in getting his PRCA card. Corley was, and Hadley assisted him in becoming a PRCA member.
    That was in 1980, and four years later, Corley won the PRCA’s Announcer of the Year award, an honor he would win eleven more times throughout his career, the most of any other announcer, in 1990-1996, 1998, 2003, 2011 and 2015.
    Throughout Corley’s career, he has announced rodeos across the nation: the big ones, and the little ones alike: North Platte; Puyallup, Wash.; Caldwell, Ida.; the RAM National Circuit Finals; Tucson, Ariz.; San Antonio, Texas; Phillipsburg and Pretty Prairie, Kan., and dozens more. He was selected to announce the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo sixteen times.
    He worked alongside his father-in-law at five rodeos: North Platte, San Antonio and Waco, Texas, Caldwell, Idaho, and Puyallup, Wash., till Barrett passed away on March 2 of this year.
    Corley vividly remembers what Barrett said after the final performance in San Antonio on Feb. 26, four days before he passed. “He laid his mike down, and said, that is the best rodeo I have announced in my life.”
    Corley and Barrett were good friends as much as they were son-in-law and father-in-law, and Corley relates a funny story Barrett told years ago. When he first started, Barrett asked him to live in on the ranch, to help take care of things when Barrett was on the road. By that point, Corley and Michelle were dating; they married in 1984. “I thought it would be nice to have somebody to help out when I wasn’t around,” Barrett said. “I made Randy a deal, and I thought he had good values. What I didn’t realize was, his values were my valuables: my clothes, the food in my refrigerator, my rodeos, and my daughter.”
    Barrett was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1999, and now eighteen years later, Corley follows him. The ceremony is the first weekend of August. It was a team effort, he insists, throughout his career. “I need about 500 or 600 people to come up to the podium with me,” he joked. “There are a lot of people to thank, more than I can pinpoint. It’s stock contractors, great committees, really good entertainers and rodeo clowns and bullfighters and sound people that I’ve gotten to work with. It’s all the people that make those rodeos happen, and have given me a place to shine. All of them exemplify what the announcer does.”
    Corley knows the North Platte rodeo fans will miss Hadley; this will be the first time since 1964 that Hadley has not been behind the mike at the rodeo. He’s been preparing himself. “It’s something I’ve talked to God about every day,” he said. “I have to go into that rodeo, and make it good.” A special tribute will be done for Hadley; it won’t be sad, Corley said, but “we’ll pay tribute in a special way. We’ll hear Hadley.”
    Corley and his wife Michelle moved to Silverdale, Washington in 2001. Corley has two daughters, Kassi and Amanda, and together the couple has a son, Cole, and a daughter, Brittany.
    He is honored to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, and thankful for his life. “I realize more and more every day, how we don’t have the control we think we do. You can place it all in God’s hands, and it’s how God planned it.”

    The other inductees into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame are:

    The late Buck Rutherford (all-around champion, 1954)
    Enoch Walker (saddle bronc riding champion, 1960)
    Tommy Puryear (steer wrestling champion, 1974)
    Mike Beers (team roping champion, 1984)
    Cody Custer (bull riding champion, 1992)
    Bob Ragsdale (22-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier)
    Christensen Bros.’ Smith & Velvet, (four-time bareback horse of the year)
    the committee for the Ogden (Utah) Pioneer Days.

     

  • Belly Button Stew & Texas Trash

    Belly Button Stew
    recipe courtesy of Ken Stafford, Droffats Catering and Concessions,
    Shawnee, Oklahoma

    ingredients:
    Ground beef
    Polish sausage
    Hot links
    Onions
    Bell peppers
    Diced tomatoes
    Pinto beans
    Salt and pepper

    DIRECTIONS:
    Serve on a bed of cornbread and cover with grated cheese.
    We make about 40 pounds of this every year for the IFYR. It was named “Belly button” because a little girl thought the sausages looked like belly buttons. Enjoy!

     

    Texas Trash
    recipe courtesy of Kambria McDougal
    Kambria competes in barrels poles and breakaway and this recipe was made up to accommodate her gluten free diet.

    ingredients:
    Gluten free pretzel sticks
    Cheese balls
    Rice Chex – both plain and honey nut
    Cheerios – both plain and honey nut
    Salted peanuts
    Honey roasted peanuts

    DIRECTIONS:
    Line up 15 tubs and add all ingredients to each tub, equal parts in all tubs, shake and go.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • A Little Encouragement

    This was taken from a friend of mine who is a great coach, Stacey Elias Martin. She has coached from the pee wee level to the college level and here are a few observations that we share.
    After being around some of the best (and worst) parents and kids in the rodeo world, there are a few things I want parents to know about their little cowboys and cowgirls. This is about those kids that are internally driven to strive for success and are out there working all week for those weekend rodeos. Here are 5 things they want their parents to know…

    1. Their fear of disappointing the people who support them and love them can be overwhelming and can cripple them in a competition. These kids WANT to win. They know YOU really want them to win and so they enter the arena with the weight of all of that pressure on their shoulders. The kids I have seen be amazing in the arena, never had to walk out and worry about parents that were mad/yelling/upset with them. These kids were free to lay it all on the line every time they rode in the alley so they won a lot more than the kid that was scared to make a mistake. We ALL want to win but is it worth losing the respect of our kids when we act like jerks by being loud, embarrassing, and insulting if they don’t win? I want to win as much or more than anyone but I try really hard to let my son know that as long as he gives it his best effort, win or lose, I love him and this is something we do for fun. Wins and losses will never be allowed to define who we are or change our love for him.
    2. These days are numbered and when these kids are gone, you will beg for one more rodeo road trip, win or lose. I hear it from so many parents… “We can’t wait for high school rodeo to be over.” Then two years later they are wishing for one more trip to nationals with their kids because they finally realize how amazingly blessed we are, that we get to haul our kids all over the country every summer and make some amazing memories. The memories we make and time with our kids is much more valuable than any saddle or buckle you could ever bring home.

    TO BE CONTINUED in August 15, 2017 issue…

  • On The Trail with Roscoe Jarboe

    On The Trail with Roscoe Jarboe

    Roscoe Jarboe is “the Rock.” Or at least, that’s what his dad used to call him. When the number five bull rider in the PRCA’s world standings was a little boy, his favorite WWE wrestler was the Rock. His dad would walk through the house, asking if anybody could smell what the Rock was cookin’. And he’s cooked himself up a great start to a rodeo career.

    The New Plymouth, Idaho bull rider won the 2016 Resistol Rookie of the Year award, plus qualified for his first Wrangler NFR last year.
    He’s been preparing to ride bulls since he was a kid, traveling with his dad, Bo Jarboe, as Bo rode bulls in the Columbia Circuit.

     

    “He cut his teeth (on bull riding) when he was a baby,” Bo said. “I used to load him up in the pickup when I went to rodeos, and it’d be just me and him. Well before he knew what was going on, he was at rodeos.”

     

    Roscoe at age 4 behind the chutes with his dad, Bo in 2000 – WT Bruce

    Bo rode bulls till about 2000, when Roscoe was four years old, and then he and his then-wife Miss (short for Melissa) built an arena and bucking chutes on his place outside of New Plymouth. They made sure their son had whatever he needed: first calves, then steers, mini-bulls, and bulls.

    At New Plymouth High School, Roscoe was in FFA and 4-H and showed pigs. He wrestled and rodeoed, competing in the Idaho High School Rodeo Association his freshman year, and then in the Oregon High School Association his sophomore and junior years. He finished as reserve state champion bull rider in 2012 and 2013, his sophomore and junior years, winning the average his junior year and finishing eleventh in the nation at the National High School Finals Rodeo in 2013.

    His senior year Roscoe went pro, getting his PRCA permit that year. He turned 18 in April of 2014, but chose to spend two years as a permit holder before he got his card and entered his rookie year. “I wanted to get the experience, to figure out the rough patches, what rodeos to go to, and what rodeos not to go to,” he said.
    For him, rodeo is not just the eight seconds on a bull. The sport is ninety percent mental, Jarboe believes. “Most of us are in good shape to ride bulls, and we work out, but mainly we’re working on our minds.” Riding bulls is like riding a bike; a person doesn’t forget how to, Jarboe said, but staying confident is important. “We just have to keep our minds positive; it’s a mind game. We read books (about mental psychology), and all we have to do is stay positive.”

    His traveling partners help. He travels with Dallee Mason, Brady Portenier, and Chase Robbins, and the four keep each other going. “It’s cool because we’re all really good friends, and say we get bucked off,” said Portenier, who is from Caldwell, Idaho. “We don’t talk about it till we get in the car, then we have our words, and everybody has their own opinions, and we usually get something productive out of our conversations. There’s no negativity in the car.”

    Roscoe and Brady have known each other since they were kids; their dads rodeoed together, and Brady remembers going to the practice pen with Roscoe. “We picked up horn tips, and thought we were cool,” he said.

    This year has been Roscoe’s best year of rodeo. As of press time, he was ranked fifth in the world standings and had $87, 455 won. After competing at his first WNFR and finishing his first year of pro rodeo, his maturity and confidence shows. “I’m just having fun this year,” he said.

     

    Roscoe at the 2016 WNFR, his first year qualifiing – Hubbell

    Part of that fun is being more relaxed on the road. With his paycheck from the WNFR, he bought a motorhome. He and his buddies are “taking it easy this year, and having fun with what we do.” They sightsee when they have time, taking in Mt. Rushmore and other places, and they bowl and golf. “We’re being kids,” he said. Golfing is big for him and his buddies. “We golf all the time. That’s like another job for me. It’s so relaxing to just get out there and hit some balls.”

    His biggest win this year was at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, where he won the finals on D&H Cattle Company’s Sweet Pro Bruiser, scoring 91 on the bull. It was a bull he would love to get on again. “He’d be good to get on any time. You don’t want to miss the opportunity to get on that bull.”

    Last year, Roscoe’s biggest win was Cheyenne Frontier Days, when he covered all three of his bulls, won the second round, finished fourth in the finals, and won the average with 246 points on three head.

    Jarboe didn’t let nerves get to him at his first WNFR, even though it was everything and more than he expected. “Everybody tells you it’s just another rodeo,” he said. “When you get there, it’s a lot bigger than that. But once you get behind the bucking chutes, you can’t see the crowd and the lights aren’t too bright, and it’s just another rodeo. You focus on riding your bull.” He covered his first two bulls, but regretted not riding more. When the WNFR was over, he wished there were more bulls to ride. “I could have gone a couple more rounds, but that’s because I was disappointed in how I finished.”

    He has several nice buckles, including one from his Cheyenne Frontier Days win in 2016 and one from round two of the WNFR, but he wears a buckle he won in 2011 showing pigs at the Payette County Fair. He was grand champion two years in a row, and loved showing pigs. “It was a good experience because you had to raise an animal and treat them as you want to be treated. Pigs have a personality of their own. They’re probably one of my favorite animals.” He doesn’t wear his good buckles, not wanting to scratch them.

    Roscoe’s younger sister, Harli Jo, is the pig showing expert in the family. She’s won grand champion several years in a row. The 16-year-old is graduating from high school a year early to move on to college. “My kids achieve what they set out to do,” Miss said. “They work very hard for their goals. The best thing is they are very humble about it.”

     

    Roscoe has his own style of bull riding. “Everyone likes to talk about how he’s got some crazy wild style,” Portenier said, “but when you break it down, he does the basics better than a lot of guys, and does them well. When he gets into those wild positions, he’s able to fall back to the basics, and go to home base, and doggone ride them.”

    His buddies have named it “the noodle.” “He noodles them,” Portenier said. “He can get into a really bad position, to where most guys would quit or plain not have the ability to get back in the middle. But Roscoe seems to do it more than not. Everybody has that one time when they’re hanging off to the side and can wiggle back, but I’ve seen Roscoe do that quite a bit.”

    His dad Bo, and his mom, Miss, divorced when he was 16. His dad travels for his job, and if the rodeo is close, will drive seven or eight hours to watch him ride. Roscoe’s style of riding isn’t like his dad’s. “He’s got his own style,” Bo said. “It’s a really strange style that works for him. I wish he would change it up just a little bit so his body lasts for a while. But the more time goes, he may change it up.”

    He and fellow bull rider Garrett Tribbles were neck and neck for the Resistol Rookie race all year. Both qualified for the Wrangler National Finals, but Roscoe edged out Garrett at the end of the season by over $20,000. Robbins, Roscoe’s traveling partner, finished third in the Resistol race.

    He’s ready for this year’s Wrangler NFR. Last year didn’t go as he wanted. “I started getting down on myself, and that’s the worst place to do it, at the (National) Finals.” This year he’ll know what to expect. “It’s still nerve-wracking when you get there, but I’ll feel like I’ve been there and done that.”

    Roscoe has qualified for and competed at the Columbia River Circuit Finals twice and competed at the PBRs early in his career.
    He’s ready to repeat what he did last year, when he was on a roll. “It’s hard not to win when you can’t fall off. There are ups and downs (in bull riding), but when you get one rode, you just roll with it, and let it happen till it starts not happening anymore.
    “I try to keep my head focused and do what I’m supposed to do.”