Author: Ruth Nicolaus

Williamson Co. native wins bareback riding; champions crowned at 70th annual Franklin Rodeo

Franklin, Tenn. (May 18, 2019) – A Williamson County native took home a win at the seventieth annual Franklin Rodeo.

Logan Corbett, who grew up in Thompson’s Station, won the bareback riding with an 83 point ride.

During his high school days, he competed in the Tennessee High School Rodeo Association, in the bareback riding, saddle bronc riding and bull riding, crediting Tim and Diane McPeake with helping him throughout high school rodeo. After graduation from Page High School in 2007, Corbett attended Murray State  University in Kentucky and competed collegiately, graduating with an animal science degree.

Three years ago, he and his wife, Lacey, moved to New Mexico, where Corbett is the rodeo coach for New Mexico State University. He has sixty students on the New Mexico State University rodeo team, with twelve of them having qualified for the College National Finals Rodeo, held in Casper, Wyo., in June. “It’s a full time job,” he said, with that number of students on the team, and he’s pleased with the twelve who are going on to College Finals. “We’re excited about that.”

Corbett is working on his master’s degree in agricultural education at New Mexico State, hoping to be able to teach introductory college courses.

Corbett and his wife came back home a few days before he rode, to visit his mom, who lives in Bellevue, so grandma could see her grandkids: a daughter, who is two years old, and a son, who is three weeks old. While he is in the area, he visited the high school rodeo in Scottsville, Kentucky. “I ran up there to do some recruiting, talk to some kids, and see if I can’t get them to come to New Mexico State,” for the rodeo team. He has already recruited a saddle bronc rider from east Tennessee to compete for him.

He remembers coming to the Franklin Rodeo as a kid. The Franklin Rodeo “has always been one of my favorites,” he said. “In high school, I wasn’t old enough to have a PRCA card, so I’d come watch and hang out with my friends. I’ve been coming to this rodeo for years and years. It’s really a blessing to be able to get to come here and do well. It’s awesome.”

The thirty-year-old cowboy rode the J Bar J Rodeo bronc Freckled Doll for his win.

The Franklin Rodeo was the first pro rodeo that Blake Ash competed at, ten years ago, when he was a PRCA permit member. He filled his permit, winning the required $1,000, in Franklin.

Ten years later, he won the tie-down roping at the same rodeo with a time of 8.5 seconds.

The Aurora, Mo. man credited his horse with the good run. Sancho, a thirteen year old bay gelding, “worked really good,” Ash said. “He keeps getting better and better.”

The horse is owned by Mike Reade of Arkansas, and Ash has been riding him for the last two years. He makes sure the horse is in top health. “I don’t win anything if he doesn’t feel good.” In late June, Ash will hit the rodeo trail hard, and he’s had Sancho checked out by a veterinarian and equine chiropractor. “We did all the regular maintenance. We do it twice a year, at the beginning of the summer, and right before circuit finals. If I want to win anything, I want him to feel good.”

Ash has competed close to home the past ten years but this spring, went to the California rodeos and won the Clovis, Calif. rodeo, which has given him a good start to the rodeo year. He plans on competing farther from home this summer. A run at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, the pinnacle of the pro rodeo world, where world champions are crowned, might be in the plans. “I think I’m going to try the best I can,” he said.

Ash has competed at the Great Lakes Circuit Finals Rodeo eight times, winning the year-end title once and the average title once. His dad, Greg Ash, was a perennial circuit finals qualifier, first in the Prairie Circuit and later in the Great Lakes Circuit.

He is currently ranked twenty-first in the PRCA world standings.

Other champions from the Franklin Rodeo are steer wrestler Justin Raburn, Lafayette, Ga.(4.3 seconds); saddle bronc rider Jade Blackwell, Rapid City, S.D. (83 points); team ropers Nelson Wyatt, Llano, Texas/Levi Lord, Sturgis, S.D., and Marcus Theriot, Poplarville, Miss./Chase Graves Bogalusa, La. (4.2 seconds for each team); barrel racer Nicole Love, Morton, Miss. (16.39 seconds); and bull rider Coleton Greninger, Rose Bud, Ark. (85.5 points).

Next year’s rodeo will be held May 14-16, 2020. This is the seventieth anniversary of the rodeo, which is a service project for the Franklin Noon Rotary Club. Since the rodeo began, it has raised over $3 million for local and international charities.

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Results, Franklin Rodeo, May 16-18, 2019

Bareback riding

1. Logan Corbett, Las Cruces, N.M. 83 points on J Bar J Rodeo’s Freckled Doll; 2. Bryce Sifford, Martin, Tenn. 82.5; 3. (tie) Trey Moore, III Chatchee, Ala., Houston Herbert, College Grove, Tenn., and Jesse Pope, Marshall, Mo. 81 each; 6. Taylor Broussard, Estherwood, La. 80.5.

Steer wrestling

1. Justin Raburn, Lafayette, Ga. 4.3 seconds; 2. Will Lummus, Byhalia, Miss. 4.4; 3. Zack Varner, Livingston, Ala. 4.7; 4. Jordan Thrasher, Culleoka, Tenn. 4.8; 5. Justin Thigpen, Waycross, Ga. 4.9; 6. Juan Alcazar Jr., Okeechobee, Fla. 5.0.

Team roping

1. (tie) Nelson Wyatt, Llano, Texas/Levi Lord, Sturgis, S.D. and Marcus Theriot, Poplarville, Miss./Chase Graves, Bogalusa, La. 4.2 seconds each; 3. Coy Rahlmann, Ellsinore, Mo./Ryan Von Ahn, Palmyra,Mo. 4.5; 4. Cory Kidd V, Statesville, N.C./Clay Futrell, Union Grove, N.C. 4.7; 5. (tie) Mason Boettcher, East Bernard, Texas/Trace Porter, Leesville, La. and Kaston Peavy, Bay Minnette, Ala./Brad Culpepper, Poulan, Ga. 4.9 each; 7. Will Clark, Erin, Tenn./Tanner Ward, Wister, Okla. 5.3; 8. Kyle Letzelter, Canyon, Texas/Casey Cox, Ballston Spa, N.Y. 5.6.

Saddle bronc riding

1. Jade Blackwell, Rapid City, S.D. 83 points on J Bar J Rodeo’s Dirty Bugger; 2. Justin Browning, Lake Charles, La. 79; 3. Riggin Smith, Winterset, Iowa 78; 4. Briar Dittmer, Runnells, Iowa 77; 5. (tie) Roper Kiesner, Riley, Okla. and Ryder Sanford, Beaumont, Texas 76 each.

Tie-down roping

1. Blake Ash, Auora, Mo. 8.5 seconds; 2. Tim Pharr, Resaca, Ga. 8.9; 3. Hadley DeShazo, Ash Flat, Ark. 9.1; 4. Alex Caudle, Livingston, Ala. 9.2; 5. (tie) Justin Smith, Leesville, La. and Blake Chauvin, Raceland, La. 9.6 each.

Barrel racing

1. Nicole Love, Morton, Miss. 16.39 seconds; 2. Sadie Wolaver, Fayetteville, Tenn. 16.55; 3. Caroline Kelly, Auburn, Ala. 16.64; 4. Alishea Broussard, Estherville, La. 16.79; 5. Taylor Carver, Broxton, Ga. 16.81; 6. Laura Kennedy, Quitman, Ark. 16.87; 7. Ashley Parks, Dania Beach, Fla. 16.90; 8. Beth Ann Thomas, Hoboken, Ga. 16.91; 9. Nicole Helm, Tulsa, Okla. 16.95; 10. Sondra Conklin, Fayette, Mo. 16.96.

Bull riding

1. Coleton Greninger, Rose Bud, Ark. 85.5 points on Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Two High; 2. (tie) John Young, Orient, Iowa and Trevor Reiste, Linden, Iowa 85 each; 4. (tie) Corey Atwell, Moravian Falls, N.C. and Denton Fugate, Niangua, Mo. 83 each; 6. Creek Young, Fordland, Mo. 81.

Curtis woman uses life experiences to prepare young women for success

North Platte, Neb. – May 20, 2019 – Linda Evans is passing on the things she’s learned to the young women around her.

And she’s doing it through rodeo queen pageants.

The Curtis, Neb. woman has helped in one way or another with the Miss Rodeo Nebraska pageant, the Miss Teen Rodeo Nebraska pageant, the Buffalo Bill Rodeo, and a plethora of other rodeo related activities.

She stays in touch with the rodeo queens around the state, knowing that’s where the field of potential Miss Rodeo Nebraskas come from. She’s an expert at social media, because that’s the “language” of the young women. She’s an encourager, a booster, and a quiet behind-the-scenes worker.

It all stems from more than thirty years ago, when, after a divorce, she had $500 to her name, a seven-year old child, and one year of college education. She learned quickly how to cope, selling copiers, then radio and TV advertising.

When her daughter Kelli won the Sutherland Rodeo Queen title, Evans became interested in rodeo queen pageants. The public speaking skills that Kelli gained from being a rodeo queen helped her as she became the Nebraska High School Rodeo Queen, then a Nebraska State FFA officer, and then a National FFA president, the first ever from Nebraska. The pageants “strengthened her ability to speak well,” Evans said.

Evans had been a barrel racer, so she was familiar with the sport. She began volunteering with the two state rodeo queen pageants. She’s currently the Miss Teen Rodeo pageant director, but she does so much more than organizing the pageant, which takes place the week of the Buffalo Bill Rodeo.

Evans works on helping the next generation of rodeo queens get started. She has organized a rodeo queen clinic for five years before someone else coordinated it, and last year, she put on a rodeo queen contest for six to ten year olds. “You have to start young,” she said. “The contestants say, ‘oh, I had fun,’ and hopefully they want to go back.”

Evans believes in the skills girls can learn through rodeo queen pageants. “There are lifetime skills there,” she said. “Learning how to be in front of people, and not being scared of interviews,” are important things the girls learn. Evans relates the story about a young woman, a past Miss Teen Rodeo Nebraska candidate who didn’t win. At her first interview for a teaching position, she got the job. “They told her she was the best interview they had, and she gave all the credit for trying out for Miss Teen,” Evans said.

Evans, who has been attending the Buffalo Bill Rodeo in North Platte for nearly every year of her life, also volunteers with the rodeo. She helps organize the flags and the cowgirls who carry the flags during each night of the grand entry. Between ten and a dozen rodeo queens from across the state carry the flags on horseback, in addition to the Velvet Spurs, a drill team from the North Platte area. Cowgirls are usually eager to carry flags at the rodeo. “They really want to do it,” Evans said. “It’s a big deal to ride in the Buffalo Bill Rodeo.”

Evans works as diligently for the girls who don’t win titles as the girls who do. “We work hard trying to make them feel good, even if they don’t win,” she said.

She wants the teens and young women who come through the rodeo queen pageants to know their own strength. “I want those young women to feel confident, that they can go and do whatever they want, by themselves. They don’t need anyone to do things for them. They can succeed on their own.”

Her family and friends call her the “caretaker.” Evans moved back to Nebraska thirteen years ago, after two years in Texas, to care for her mother, until her mom passed away in early April. Her son, who is blind due to diabetes, has had two kidney transplants, and alongside his wife, she’s helped care for him during his surgeries.

“I’m the caretaker,” she said. “That’s my purpose in life, to help make somebody else’s life easier.”

She will move to Texas in late June to run a bed and breakfast, and she will be missed, said Cindy Peterson, also a volunteer with the Miss Rodeo Nebraska Association. “You can always depend on Linda,” Peterson said. “With our committee, Linda is always kind and understanding and if we have different ideas, she’s always willing to listen to someone else’s opinion.”

“She’s going to be a hard person to replace,” Peterson said. “It may take two or three people to replace her.”

In addition to her daughter, Kelli Brown and son Kory, Evans has another daughter, Jodi Propst, who lives in North Platte, and four grandsons. Jodi was also a Nebraska State FFA officer.

The Miss Rodeo Nebraska and Miss Teen Rodeo Nebraska pageants are held in conjunction with the Buffalo Bill Rodeo in North Platte. The 2019 Miss Teen Rodeo Nebraska winner will be crowned on June 12 at 1:30 pm at the Community Playhouse in North Platte, and the 2020 Miss Rodeo Nebraska is crowned the same day, during the first night of the rodeo. The rodeo runs June 12-15 and is held at the Wild West Arena in North Platte.

Tickets to the Miss Teen Rodeo Nebraska coronation can be purchased at the door. More information on the activities surrounding the Miss Teen Rodeo Nebraska and Miss Rodeo Nebraska pageant can be found on Facebook (search for Miss Rodeo Nebraska Association.)

Tickets for the rodeo can be purchased at the NebraskalandDays office, online at NebraskalandDays.com, and at the gate. For more information, visit the website or call the office at 308.532.7939.

North Platte woman volunteers with youth, wins Buffalo Bill Award

North Platte, Neb. – May 6, 2019 – High school rodeo in Nebraska is stronger, because of Tricia Schaffer, and because of her efforts, the Buffalo Bill Rodeo in North Platte awarded her last year with the 2018 Trail Boss Award.

The North Platte woman has spent more than two decades volunteering with high school rodeo at the state and national levels.

It started in 1991 when she and her husband Dewey’s oldest daughter, Emily, began competition in the Nebraska High School Rodeo Association. Schaffer began volunteering, and she hasn’t quit since.

Five years later, in 1996, she became a national director for the National High School Finals Rodeo Association, and is still in that role.

At the state level, Schaffer has helped grow the high school rodeo association’s annual scholarship auction and banquet. Because of the fundraising ability of the auction and banquet, each senior high school rodeo student gets a scholarship.

Since she’s been a national director for more than twenty years, she understands all that high school rodeo has to offer the youth, and she is able to share that info with the Nebraska high school kids. “There are a lot of opportunities out there, and if you’re not aware, your state misses out on those things.” Each state with participating high school rodeo athletes at Nationals gets a minimum of three college scholarships, and Schaffer makes sure the Nebraska high school seniors apply for those scholarships. “There are states that have no one who applies,” she said, noting that it’s sometimes because new directors don’t realize the opportunities that are there.

At the national level, she is chair of the National High School Rodeo Queen contest, the world’s largest rodeo queen pageant, with more than forty participants each year. When she first started as a national director, it was nearly impossible for a director to resign. “National directors stayed on forever,” she said. “They had to die, basically,” to get off the board,” she laughed. “I hope I don’t die, doing this job.”

The job requires a big time commitment. Schaffer is required to attend the National High School Finals Rodeo, a seven-day event, and is there several days early for her work with the queen contest. She also spends a week each winter at the mid-winter meetings. She’s been a stay-at-home mom, raising her and Dewey’s four children, which allowed her the time to serve.

Schaffer acknowledges that many people don’t have the time to volunteer anymore, and they serve for the four years their children are high school rodeo athletes. She would like to pass on the baton to someone else, but she’d also like to know that whoever replaces her is there for the long haul. “I want somebody to take it over who will stick with it, who will uphold the traditions for why the National High School Rodeo Association was formed, someone who will keep rodeo alive so families can experience it. I hear, from so many people, that their years in high school rodeo were the best of times and how much they will miss the time spent with their kids.”

Schaffer knows the good that high school rodeo does for kids. When her own four kids competed, they made friends across the state. When her kids played high school basketball, they had friends who were members of the other team. “My kids would know the other kids on the opposing team, and the other kids would say, “how do you know these people?” Her kids still network with the friends they made while rodeoing. “You have this whole family of people all over the country,” that are friends.

Rodeo is also a good learning experience for kids. “It’s a good opportunity to teach your kids responsibility,” Schaffer said, “to take care of an animal, for meeting deadlines for entering rodeos, and for taking leadership roles as event directors.”

And rodeo kids are good kids. Schaffer recalls the comments made by the people at the venue for the National High School Finals Rodeo in Springfield, Illinois. Nationals involves more than 1,700 high school kids, and it was the first time the rodeo had been held east of the Mississippi River. “The people at the fairgrounds couldn’t believe we didn’t have one fight and not one window got broken out. They were amazed that we had that many kids in one location and nothing happened.”

She also helps with the Miss Rodeo Nebraska Association, and, alongside Sheri Dodson of North Platte began the “Partner Up” rodeo, a rodeo for special needs youth. The Partner Up rodeo has grown to where ESU 16 supports it; last year, about 180 kids and 300 community volunteers helped with it.

She volunteers at Great Plains Hospital in North Platte, as well. “Everybody needs to donate their time doing something,” she said.

In 2013, the National High School Rodeo Association honored her with the “NHSRA Woman of the Year” award.

She and Dewey have six grandchildren.

The Buffalo Bill Rodeo takes place at the Wild West Rodeo Arena in North Platte June 12-15 with performances beginning at 8 p each night.

Tickets for the rodeo can be purchased at the NebraskalandDays office, online at NebraskalandDays.com, and at the gate. For more information, visit the website or call the office at 308.532.7939.

Franklin Rodeo is fundraising venture, as well as a fun time

Franklin, Tenn. (May 13, 2019) – From the outside, the Franklin Rodeo looks like a fun place to spend an evening.

But take a closer look, and a person realizes that there’s more to the rodeo than entertainment.

For the seventy years of its existence, the Franklin Rodeo has always been a philanthropic venture hosted by the Franklin Noon Rotary Club. Over its seven decades, more than $3 million has been raised by the rodeo and given back through the Noon Rotary Club.

Expectant moms were recipients of rodeo funds last year, through Operation Homefront’s Star Spangled Babies.

Operation Homefront throws baby showers for military spouses when they are expecting little ones. Often those soon-to-be moms are far from friends and family, and finances can be tight as well. “For a lot of these military moms, their spouses are deployed through the pregnancy and sometimes upon delivery,” said Kristen Henry, program manager for Operation Homefront.

The baby showers provide critical needs for the new moms, giving them things as simple as diapers and baby wipes and as big as car seats and pack and plays. “It makes a huge impact,” Henry said. “It helps eliminate financial stressors as they prepare for their new arrival. The program is in place to welcome the newest patriot to their families.”

Adults with special needs at BrightStone in Franklin, Tenn. also benefitted from the Franklin Rodeo.

BrightStone is a day program for adults with mental and developmental challenges.

The forty students served each day come to BrightStone for job training, social skills, lifelong learning, health and wellness, music and the arts.

They also work together making products: greeting cards, ceramics, and consumer food products that are sold to the public. Last year, 7,500 items made by BrightStone students were sold. “We typically sell out every year,” said Kristi Perkins, communications coordinator for BrightStone.

The work that BrightStone students do gives them a sense of accomplishment, Perkins said. “Our students are very proud of the products they make, and they’re proud that the community recognizes, appreciates and enjoys the products.”

Being able to work is important to BrightStone students. “To be independent, to get up each morning, do a job, and see the fruits of it,” is satisfying to them.

And having the students at BrightStone is important to the students’ parents and caregivers. “It’s such a relief (for them) to know that there’s a place their loved one can go, and use their talents to the best of their ability.”

Last year, thirty-nine organizations, from the Boys and Girls Club of Middle Tennessee to the Gentry Education Foundation to the local Alzheimer’s Association benefitted from the rodeo.

This year’s Franklin Rodeo is May 16-18. Performances start at 7 pm each night at the Williamson County Ag Expo Park. Advance tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for kids ages twelve and under and are available online at www.FranklinRodeo.com. At the gate, tickets are two dollars more per ticket. For more information, visit the website or call 615-RODEO-11.

Bassett, Neb.  (May 13, 2019) –Jaya Nelson is passionate about gelato.

Not just eating it, but making and selling it, too.

The Nebraska High School Rodeo Association member is part of a team of four high school students who have established a school-based business called “On the Go Gelato.”

The business is part of the program through Nebraska FFA with assistance from the Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The teenage business owners have developed their own gelato flavors and make and sell the gelato at various locations in Rock County High School in Bassett, around town, and at events.

Nelson, along with classmates Karley Anderson, Jillian Buell, and Grace Olson, began their venture last September, under the guidance of their FFA advisor Mrs. Ann Dvorak. They make it in the school kitchen from milk, eggs, cream, sugar, and flavoring, and sell it on Fridays at school to students. They’ve had requests for catering at area businesses, like vineyards, banks, and birthday parties. They’ll be at the Ranch Expo held in Bassett June 19-20, and were on hand at the Shark Tank filming in Lincoln, where they served gelato and made a pitch to the “sharks.”

Nelson estimates she and her business partners average about ten hours a week working on their business, before and after school. During busy weeks, it might be twenty hours. Between school, studies, and rodeo practice, it makes for long days. She’s learned to manage her time better than she thought she could. “I’ve always been decent at time management,” she said,” but it’s crazy trying to juggle school, a job and rodeo.”

She’s done well with all three facets: she’s on the honor roll at Rock Co. High School and is ranked in the top ten in the breakaway roping. She also team ropes.

The business has done well, too. The young women have made a gross profit of $5,000 since they started last fall and have the goal of doubling that by this September. The profit goes back into the business, and since it’s a school-based business, any money they earn from the hours they work is held by the school in a scholarship fund, to be given to them when they graduate. They have two options when they’re done with high school: to buy the business from the school, or pass it on to other students.

A lot of people didn’t take the four women seriously when they started. “There are not many sixteen year old entrepreneurs running a business,” she said. “We had our fair share of naysayers and inspectors.” But that didn’t set them back. “It sets a fire under you when somebody says you can’t do something,” Nelson said. “It drives you to do it and prove them wrong.”

They’ve come up with a motto: dishing out girl power, and they plan on blogging about their struggles. “Being teenage girls, starting a business, we want to show other students that you can do this just like we are,” Nelson said.

The first high school rodeo for the 2020-2021 season is in Bassett, and the On the Go Gelato businesswomen would like to sell gelato at the rodeo. And the National High School Finals Rodeo comes to Lincoln in 2020, and they hope to have a booth there, too.

But for now, they keep mixing and flavoring and dishing out the sweet treat.

Nelson is vice-president of her school’s FFA chapter, is on the speech team and is a member of the National Honor Society. She is the daughter of Devon Nelson and Kelby Nelson.

The Nebraska High School Finals Rodeo will be held in Hastings at the Adams Co. Fairgrounds June 13-15. The rodeo is held at 10 am and 6 pm on Thurs., June 13 and Fri., June 14, with the finals at 1 pm on June 15. Tickets are $7 for everyone ages five and up and are available through the office and at the gate. For more information, visit AdamsCountyFairgrounds.com or hsrodeo-nebraska.com, or call 402.462.3247.

St. Paul High School volleyball, girls basketball teams chosen as grand marshals for rodeo parade

St. Paul, Ore. (May 13, 2019) – The Oregon High School 1A State Champion volleyball team and basketball team, both from St. Paul High School, have been selected as grand marshals for the 2019 St. Paul Rodeo parade.

Both teams won their respective sports at state this year and both will be honored during the parade on July 4 through downtown St. Paul.

The girls on the teams were special this year, said their coaches, Coach Lesli Hiller (volleyball) and Coach Dave Matlock (basketball), and it wasn’t just because they were state champs.

“The way the kids conducted themselves, they were tough as nails,” said Matlock. “They didn’t back down to anybody. We’d get behind in some games, and come right back.”

Both teams were undefeated, each with overall records of thirty wins and no losses.

“We went into the (volleyball) season deciding we were always going to try to improve upon what we already were,” said Coach Hiller. “Going into state playoffs, our focus was to remain confident and calm, regardless of the score, and to always play one point at a time.”

Five girls played on both teams: Emma Connor, Erin Counts, Karlee Southerland, Megan Tuck and Isabella Wyss, and the seniors provided leadership. Matlock remembers Megan Tuck taking a leadership role without being asked. It was in the 2017-2018 school year and the team was playing Central Linn and down fifteen to six after the first quarter. Central Linn had made three three-point shots in a row, Matlock said. “I remember, Megan said, ‘hey, it’s ok, there are four quarters to this game, we’re all right.’ Without being prodded, she took it upon herself to be a leader.”

The basketball team never looked too far ahead, Matlock said. “Our mantra was one day at a time, one play at a time. They were able to work hard on the next thing and not get hung up on what was coming or looking back. It paid dividends, because we were tough to beat over 32 minutes.”

The St. Paul Rodeo is a fundraiser for the St. Paul High School Booster Club, and each high school team is required to volunteer time in the stadium concession stands and parking cars for the rodeo. The kids enjoy it, Matlock said. “You should see them parking cars. They’re everywhere, doing everything.” The athletes who are on more than one team volunteer multiple times, once for every sport.

Hiller’s team had one goal in mind, she said. “We came into the season, focused on that goal and how to get there. The team is a very mature, calm team. They never let drama come onto the team.”

Hiller, who has coached at St. Paul for the past nine years, spoke highly of her players. “They were very confident and able to motivate others. Sometimes high school kids are embarrassed and afraid to motivate others and put themselves out there. But this team had strong motivators and confident players. They didn’t worry about what other people thought.”

Matlock began as an assistant coach at St. Paul High School five years ago and moved into the role of head coach four years ago. He has a deep respect for the kids, the families and the sense of community in St. Paul. “I actually told the girls, you don’t know how good you have it here. This is a special place. This group of girls was probably the finest group I’ve coached, and it’s not just because they were state champs. When you add up the tenacity, mindset, character, talent, and work ethic, this team was heads and tails above everybody else.”

He says those characteristics are passed to the kids from their families. “You can enhance them, but they’re an innate thing that goes back to the traits they were taught in the homes of parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. All these people have been teaching these kids for that moment.”

The rodeo is part of that. “That’s the beauty of the rodeo. It’s always looking to stay current, but it’s not losing its roots in the past. The kids and their families understand that and work really hard to help at the rodeo.”

“The rodeo very much embodies all of this, and that’s why it’s so special.”

Matlock loves his team and the community, and has coined a phrase for the team. “St. Paul is the oasis in the desert of life. I really firmly believe that.

“St. Paul is a very special place and the rodeo is a part of that.”

The St. Paul Rodeo parade kicks off at 10 am on July 4, followed by a rodeo matinee at 1:30 pm that day. Rodeo performances also take place at 7:30 pm each night of July 2-6.

For more information, visit www.StPaulRodeo.com or call 800.237.5920.

First performance of Red Bluff Round-Up takes place

Red Bluff, Calif. (April 19, 2019) –  Hockey just didn’t cut it for cowboy Connor Hamilton.

The Calgary, Alberta man played the sport till he was eighteen years old.

Then he switched to bareback riding, and now, nearly five years later, he’s leading the bareback riding at the Red Bluff Round-Up.

Hamilton, who is twenty-three years old, rode the Bridwell Pro Rodeo horse Caddy Wagon for 85.5 points to sit atop the scoreboard.

He’d grown up riding horses, but not frequently, and five years ago, got on his first ever bucking horse.

“I always loved rodeo,” he said. “I grew up playing hockey and fell into rodeo.”

He visited a local college and met some bareback riders who gave him tips and got him started.

Then he spent a year at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, Okla., competing on the college rodeo team and soaking up more knowledge. “It worked out good,” he said, of his year in college. “I met a lot of good guys, started pro rodeoing, and fell into it.”

Last year, he finished second in the Resistol Rookie standings, second to Zach Hibler, Wheeler, Texas.

In college, he became friends with another Southwestern Oklahoma State student, Sage Kimzey. Kimzey, a five-time world champion bull rider (and reigning champ), helped Hamilton out. “He taught me a lot of mental and physical things, and that was a good thing for me,” Hamilton said. “He told me to keep pushing it, keep pushing it, even when you’re not where you want to be. And there’s only one way to get there.”

Hamilton quit college and now rodeos full time. It was his second trip aboard the horse Caddy Wagon. He rode him in Redding, Calif. last year, but didn’t mark out the horse, which disqualified him. “I’d seen him since then, and there’s been a lot of good scores on that horse. I knew he was going to be good. I was excited to be here, and to get a good score.”

Hamilton is currently ranked twenty-seventh in the PRCA world standings.

Other leaders after tonight’s performance are steer wrestlers  Hank Filippini, Battle Mountain, Nev. and Dakota Eldridge, Elko, Nev. (5.4 seconds each); saddle bronc rider Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas (86);  tie-down roper Haven Meged, Miles City, Mont. (9.0 seconds);  team ropers Hayes Smith, Central Point, Ore. and Evan Arnold, Stephenville, Texas (6.4 seconds); and barrel racer Jessie Telford, Caldwell, Ida. (17.27 seconds). Bull rider Trey Benton, III, Rock Island, Texas, leads his event with a score of 88 points. If his score would hold through Sunday’s performance, this will be the third time for him to win the Round-Up.

The second of three performances of the Red Bluff Round-Up takes place Saturday, April 20. The Kiwanis Pancake breakfast runs from 7-10 am, and the rodeo parade kicks off at 10 am. The rodeo begins at 2:30 pm. Aaron Watson is in concert on Saturday night, with Chad Bushnell opening. For more information, visit the rodeo’s website at RedBluffRoundup.com. Tickets range in price from $14 to $30 and are available at the gate and online.

Results after first performance, Red Bluff Round-Up, April 19, 2018

Bareback riding

1. Connor Hamilton, Calgary, Alb. 85.5 points on Bridwell Pro Rodeo’s Caddy Wagon; 2. Mason Clements, Draper, Utah 83; 3. Tilden Hooper, Carthage, Texas 82; 4. Clint Laye, Cadogan, Alb. 81.5.

Steer wrestling

1. (tie) Hank Filippini, Battle Mountain, Nev. and Dakota Eldridge, Elko, Nev. 5.4 seconds each; 3. Justin Kimsey, Kennewick, Wash. 5.5; 4. Blaine Jones, Templeton, Calif. 5.6.

Tie-down roping

1. Haven Meged, Miles City, Mont. 9.0 seconds; 2. Westyn Hughes, Caldwell, Texas 9.7; 3. Cooper Martin, Alma, Kan. 11.0; 4. Lane Livingston, Seymour, Texas 11.1.

Saddle bronc riding

1. Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas 86 points on C5 Rodeo’s Strokin’ Toni; 2. Jesse Kruse, Great Falls, Mont. 85; 3. Layton Green, Meeting Creek, Alb. 83.5; 4. Shane Proctor, Grand Coulee, Wash. 81.5.

Team Roping

1. Hayes Smith, Central Point, Ore./Evan Arnold, Stephenville, Texas 6.4 seconds; 2. Preston Burgess, Hilmar, Calif./Joseph Shawnego, Oakdale, Calif. 7.1; 3. Dillon Holyfield, Lewiston, Idaho/Robert Murphy, Congress, Ariz. 7.4; 4. Brooks Dahozy, Window Rock, Ariz./Nano Garza, Las Cruces, N.M. 8.0.

Barrel racing

1. Jessie Telford, Caldwell, Idaho 17.27 seconds; 2. Leia Pluemer, Los Lunas, N.M. 17.44; 3. Katie Pascoe, Morro Bay, Calif. 17.45; 4. Lea Orsburn, Hornbrook, Calif 17.61.

Bull riding

1. Trey Benton, III, Rock Island, Texas 88 points on Bridwell Pro Rodeo’s Vegas Outlaw; 2. Parker Breding, Edgar, Mont. 86; 3. Foster McCraw, Navasota, Texas 85; 4. Paul Coppini, 83.

** All results are unofficial.  For more information, visit RedBluffRoundup.com.

Nebraska high school rodeo athlete wins Gates Scholarship

Niobrara, Neb.  (April 29, 2019) –A Nebraska High School Rodeo athlete has been awarded the Gates Scholarship.

Abbi Holz, Niobrara, Neb., has received the scholarship, which covers the full cost of attendance not already covered by other scholarships, to a public or private college.

Holz, whose ACT score was 33, is on track to be the salutatorian of the class of 2019 at Niobrara High School.

In school, she was on the drama crew for three years and this year served as the assistant director for the play. She was on the speech team for two years, and has been on the A-Plus Superior honor roll since seventh grade.

She has competed in high school rodeo for three years in the barrel racing and pole bending. Holz also competes in local jackpots and loves the friends she’s made through rodeo. “The people you meet and get to know become your second family and that’s what I really enjoy about it,” she said. “Sometimes I feel closer to the people I rodeo with than the people at school.”

Holz will attend Kansas State University this fall, majoring in animal science with a pre-veterinary emphasis and hopes to attend K-State’s veterinary program. She loves animals, and gives credit to the local veterinarian for her interest in veterinary science. “I can probably blame my interest in animal science on him, for making me help castrate a horse when I was ten. I’ve always been the one ready to jump in.”

In her spare time, Holz likes to read and do leatherwork. In the eighth grade, she taught herself to tool leather, making belts, headstalls and breast collars.

She has trained the horse she currently rides, a six-year-old stallion named Feather. Her younger brother Clay, a high school sophomore, also rides him, and when Cooper, the youngest of the Holz siblings, wants to ride, he chooses Feather.

The Gates Scholarship, funded by Bill and Melinda Gates, is awarded to 300 students annually and is given to students who have an outstanding high school academic record, have demonstrated leadership ability, and have exceptional personal success skills.

She is the daughter of Orvil and Kelli Holz.

The Nebraska High School Finals Rodeo will be held in Hastings at the Adams Co. Fairgrounds June 13-15. The rodeo is held at 10 am and 6 pm on Thurs., June 13 and Fri., June 14, with the finals at 1 pm on June 15. Tickets are $7 for everyone ages five and up and are available through the office and at the gate. For more information, visit AdamsCountyFairgrounds.com or hsrodeo-nebraska.com, or call 402.462.3247.

South Dakota roper learns lessons, leads tie-down roping at Red Bluff Round-Up

Red Bluff, Calif. (April 20, 2019) – Dane Kissack has learned from the school of hard knocks, and because of it, he’s leading the tie-down roping coming into the finals on Sunday at the Red Bluff (Calif). Round-Up.

The tie-down roper has a time of 28.7 seconds on three head to be the leader of the twelve cowboys who will rope on Sunday for the title of 2019 Round-Up tie-down champion.

Kissack took advantage of a good calf on Saturday, something that he didn’t do four years ago at the Round-Up.

Four years ago, in Red Bluff, with a good calf, Kissack broke the barrier on his fourth run, adding a ten second penalty to his time and losing the chance to win the title. “Trust me, I’ve learned the hard way,” he said. “I broke the barrier at this rodeo. I ran right through it.

Because the Round-Up is potentially four runs for the cowboy who rope well, Kissack knows his best chances for winning are to make solid runs and not break the barrier, adding the penalty.

As he’s matured throughout his ten year pro rodeo career, he’s learned that he doesn’t always have to  “push the barrier” – rope as aggressively – and risk the cost of breaking the barrier and adding the penalty.

“With this calf, I was probably off the barrier just a little bit,” he said. “I could have been faster, had this been a one-head rodeo.”

His wife Kelli reminded him of the lessons he’s learned. “That’s what my wife said,” Kissack said. “She said, Dane, you’ve got to remember you’ve learned the hard way on these things, so use that. I can still feel the pain of riding out of here. I missed out on winning a lot.”

Kissack, from Spearfish, S.D., gave a shout out to the Justin Sports Medicine staff who offer their services to Round-Up contestants, free of charge, at the rodeo. He herniated a disk and bulged two others eighteen months ago, and even though it’s healed, it still requires some stretching and therapy.

The Justin Sports Medicine staff provided that. “It seems like I always have to maintain it,” Kissack said, “and thank the Lord they’re here and ready to help. It really makes a difference. I wouldn’t be able to move around today” without them.

Kissack will come into Sunday’s finals in first place, but he won’t handle the pressure any differently. “I treat every run the same,” he said. He practices three or four times a week, and “whether it’s a practice calf or the short round at Red Bluff, they’re the same. I expect myself to rope good every time.”

In other events, the top bareback rider for the Saturday afternoon performance was Logan Patterson, Kim, Colo. (87 points), and the high saddle bronc rider was Rusty Wright, Milford, Utah (84.5 points). Steer wrestlers Hank Filippini, Battle Mountain, Nev. and Dakota Eldridge, Elko, Nev. tied to win the second round with a time of 5.4 seconds each, and team ropers Hayes Smith, Central Point, Ore. and Evan Arnold, Stephenville, Texas won the second round with a time of 5.4 seconds. Tanya Jones, Prineville, Ore., was the fast barrel racer with a time of 17.21 seconds, and bull riders Boudreaux Campbell, Crockett, Texas, and Maverick Potter, Waxahachie, Texas, both had scores of 87.5 points to be the top score for the performance.

The third and final performance of the 98th annual Red Bluff Round-Up takes place tomorrow, April 21, at 1:30 pm. Tomorrow’s event is the annual Tough Enough to Wear Pink day, with funds raised for the Dignity Health/St. Elizabeth Community Hospital. In the last ten years, the Round-Up and other community activities have raised over $474,000 for St. Elizabeth.

The Wrangler Network was live today and will be live tomorrow, with rodeo action. Performances will be archived for future viewings at wranglerwestern.com.

Results after second performance, Red Bluff Round-Up, April 22, 2019

Bareback riding (second performance scores)

1. Logan Patterson, Kim, Colo. 87 points on C5 Rodeo’s Black Feathers; 2. Garrett Shadbolt, Merriman, Neb. 85; 3. BoDell Jessen, Altamont, Utah 78; 4. Nate McFadden, Elsmere, Neb. 77.5.

Steer wrestling

2nd round results; the 2nd round is completed and the top twelve steer wrestlers in the average will compete in Sunday’s performance

1. (tie) Hank Filippini, Battle Mountain, Nev. and Dakota Eldridge, Elko, Nev. 5.4 seconds each; 3. Justin Kimsey, Kennewick, Wash. 5.5; 4. Blaine Jones, Templeton, Calif. 5.6; 5. Stetson Jorgensen, Blackfoot, Idaho 5.8; 6. Tom Lewis, Lehi, Utah 5.9; 7. Ty Erickson, Helena, Mont. 6.5; 8. Juan Alcazar, Jr., Okeechobee, Fla. 6.7.

Saddle bronc riding (second performance results)

1. Rusty Wright, Milford, Utah 84.5 points on Powder River’s Rain Cloud; 2. Preston Burr, Stratford, Texas 83.5; 3. Spencer Wright, Milford, Utah 82.5; 4. Mitch Pollock, 81.5.

Tie-down roping

2nd round results; the 2nd round is completed and the top twelve steer wrestlers in the average will compete in Sunday’s performance

1. Dane Kissack, Spearfish, S.D. 8.3 seconds; 2. Taylor Santos, Creston, Calif. 8.9; 3. Haven Meged, Miles City, Mont. 9.0; 4. Westyn Hughes, Caldwell, Texas 9.7; 5. Cade Swor, Winnie, Texas 10.2; 6. Rhen Richard, Roosevelt, Utah 10.5.

Team roping

2nd round results; the 2nd round is completed and the top twelve steer wrestlers in the average will compete in Sunday’s performance

1. Hayes Smith, Central Point, Ore./Evan Arnold, Stephenville, Texas 6.4 seconds; 2. (tie) Preston Burgess, Hilmar, Calif./Joseph Shawnego, Oakdale, Calif. and Kaleb Driggers, Hoboken, Ga./Junior Nogueira, Presidente Prudente, Brazil 7.1 each; 4. Dillon Holyfield, Lewiston, Idaho/Robert Murphy, Congress, Ariz. 7.4; 5. (tie) Brooks Dahozy, Window Rock, Ariz./Nano Garza, Las Cruces, N.M., Blake Hirdes, Turlock, Calif./Daniel Holland, Bonanza, Ore. and Luke Brown, Rock Hill, S.C./Jade Corkill, Fallon, Nev. 8.0 seconds each; 8. (tie) Cory Kidd V, Statesville, N.C./Logan Medlin, Tatum, N.M. and Spencer Mitchell, Orange Cove, Calif./Cody Doescher, Webbers Falls, Okla. 8.1 each.

Barrel racing (second performance results)

1. Tanya Jones, Prineville, Ore. 17.21 seconds; 2. Jolee Lautaret-Jordan, Kingman, Ariz. 17.30; 3. Danyelle Williams, Vale, Ore. 17.32; 4. Mary Jo Camera, Stevinson, Calif 17.45.

Bull riding (second performance results)

1. (tie) Boudreaux Campbell, Crockett, Texas, 87.5 points on Flying U Rodeo’s Bringing Trouble, and Maverick Potter, Waxahachie, Texas, 87.5 points on Flying U Rodeo’s Countin Card; 3. John Pitts, Panama City, Fla. 85.5; 4. Dalan Duncan, Ballard, Utah 83.5.

Unofficial contestant list for Sunday, April 21 finals

These steer wrestlers have advanced to compete on Sunday, April 21 for the finals. * Unofficial.

1. Stetson Jorgensen, Blackfoot, Idaho 16.1 seconds on 3 head;
2. Hunter Cure, Holliday, Texas 16.9;
3. Juan Alcazar, Jr., Okeechobee, Fla. 17.3;
4. Jace Melvin, Ft. Pierre, S.D. 18.0;
5. Tucker Allen, Oak View, Calif. 18.3;
6. Curtis Cassidy, Donald, Alb. 18.5;
7. Charles Harris, Salinas, Calif. 18.9;
8. Blaine Jones, Templeton, Calif. 19.4;
9. Ty Erickson, Helena, Mont. 20.8;
10. (tie) Justin Kimsey, Kennewick, Wash. and Tom Lewis, Lehi, Utah 21.0 each;
11. Dakota Eldridge, Elko, Nev. 21.9.

These tie-down ropers have advanced to compete on Sunday, April 21 for the finals. * Unofficial.

1. Dane Kissack, Spearfish, S.D. 28.7 seconds on 3 head;
2. Joey Dickens, Loveland, Colo 30.5;
3. Taylor Santos, Creston, Calif. 31.7;
4. Rhen Richard, Roosevelt, Utah 32.4;
5. Haven Meged, Miles City, Mont. 32.5;
6. Cade Swor, Winnie, Texas 32.9;
7. Cody Craig, Wendell, Idaho 33.8;
8. Cooper Martin, Alma, Kan. 34.2;
9. J.D. McCuistion, Collinsville, Texas 34.3;
10. Reid Zapalac, Smithville, Texas 35.4;
11. Westyn Hughes, Caldwell, Texas 38.9;
12. Stetson Vest, Childress, Texas 39.1.

These team ropers have advanced to compete on Sunday, April 21 for the finals. * Unofficial.

1. Kaleb Driggers, Stephenville, Texas/Junior Nogueira, PResidente Prudente, Brazil 22.1 seconds on 3 head;
2. Spencer Mitchell, Orange Cove, Calif./Cody Doescher, Webbers Falls, Okla. 22.4 seconds;
3. Luke Brown, Morgan Mill, Texas/Jade Corkill, Fallon, Nev. 24.2;
4. Cory Kidd V, Statesville, N.C./Logan Medlin, Tatum, N.M. 24.8;
5. Jr. Dees, Aurora, Colo./Lane Siggins, Coolidge, Ariz. 25.1;
6. Blake Hirdes, Turlock, Calif./Daniel Holland, Bonanza, Ore. 25.6;
7. Lane Ivy, Dublin, Texas/Buddy Hawkins II, Stephenville, Texas 27.2;
8. Brooks Dahozy, Window Rock, Ariz./Nano Garza, Las Cruces, N.M. 33.3;
9. Dillon Holyfield, Lewiston, Idaho/Robert Murphy, Congress, Ariz. 35.3;
10. Preston Burgess, Hilmar, Calif./Joseph Shawnego, Oakdale, Calif. 36.8;
11. Hayes Smith, Central Point, Ore./Evan Arnold, Stephenville, Texas 37.4;
12. Coleman Proctor, Pryor, Okla./Ryan Motes, Weatherford, Texas 37.5.

Ft. Hays rodeo students benefit from Kansas’ Biggest Rodeo

PHILLIPSBURG, KAN. (April 5, 2019) – For the twenty-third year, Kansas Biggest Rodeo in Phillipsburg is helping college rodeo athletes pay for their schooling at Fort Hays (Kan.) State University.

This year’s beneficiaries are Bailey McCaughey, Eads, Colo., and Nathan Poss, Scotia, Neb.

McCaughey is in her fourth year of studies at Ft. Hays, where she competes on the rodeo team in the breakaway roping and barrel racing. The 2015 Douglas County (Colo.) High School graduate competed in high school rodeo, qualifying for the Colorado State High School Finals Rodeo twice.

At Ft. Hays, she will apply for the radiology program and hopes to become a radiology tech. Prior to attending Ft. Hays, she spent two years at Garden City (Kan.) Community College.

McCaughey works part-time when she is home on the weekends and holidays, and appreciates the scholarship money. “It means a lot,” she said. “Being an out-of-state student, I have a higher tuition bill. It’s less money that I have to pay off in debt some day and I’m extremely grateful for that.” She is the daughter of Todd and Judy McCaughey.

Nathan Poss is a freshman at Ft. Hays State. He is competing in the team roping in collegiate rodeo, with a major in agri-business.

A 2018 graduate of Central Valley High School in Greeley, Neb., Poss competed in high school rodeo and qualified for the Nebraska State High School Finals Rodeo three years. After college graduation, he’ll return to the family ranch, where they run 700 head of purebred Angus cattle. He is the son of Danny and Kristi Poss.

Both McCaughey and Poss say that competing in rodeo at the collegiate level is beneficial to them. “It teaches people responsibility,” McCaughey said. As a college rodeo athlete, “you have to enter (the rodeo), pay for fuel, feed your horse, and make sure you know when you’re up” for competition. McCaughey competes because she enjoys it. “I would have been extremely bored at college if I hadn’t rodeoed. I think it keeps a lot of kids out of trouble. It keeps us busy.”

For Poss, college rodeo has disciplined him. “It has really helped me maintain a work ethic. Every day, I have to practice. And it gives me something to become better at, to work at.”

Since 1997, the Phillipsburg Rodeo Association has awarded scholarships to FHSU students who compete in rodeo. The Phillipsburg Rodeo Association is the organization behind Kansas’ Biggest Rodeo, which will be held August 1-3, 2019. For more information on the rodeo, visit www.KansasBiggestRodeo.com.