Category: Special Features

The second annual Original Wrangler Bullfights Hall of Fame was held at Lil Red’s Longhorn Saloon in the Stockyards of Fort Worth, Saturday evening, October 16th. The Induction includes bullfighters from the second season, of the 1981 to 2000 Wrangler Bullfight Tour. A few more awards and honors were bestowed on people who were instrumental in getting this historic first time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) event up and running..
The Wrangler Bullfight Tour was started forty years ago in 1981, after several bullfighters from that era, Jim Sutton, a 2nd generation rodeo producer and stock contractor, and David Allen, the rodeo representative of Wrangler, at that time, got together and convinced the PRCA, it was sorely needed. The professional bullfighters and barrelmen had not had their own professional event to show their exceptional ability in fighting bulls prior to this Tour event. The Tour was held at various PRCA rodeos throughout the year. The bullfighters that were competing that year would compete at a set number of events and their scores were kept until the end of the season. The top six would then compete at the National Finals, which was being held in Oklahoma City, at first. Each of the six would fight one bull each night for four nights. The bullfighter with the top score would become the World Champion Bullfighter.
Jim Sutton, from Onida, South Dakota, for two years added to some of his rodeos an extra added attraction of four bullfighters that would fight Mexican Fighting Bulls. He would include this in his advertising prior to the event. In time, it was evident the bullfighting brought more spectators to his rodeos, just to watch this event. The results of his ‘experiment’ were the catalyst to cause PRCA to include the Wrangler Bullfight Tour.

The Original Wrangler Bullfights Hall of Fame was the idea of James Pierce, a 1991 bullfighter with the Wrangler Bullfight Tour. He fought bulls from 1990 to 2005, and calls Thibodeaux, Louisiana, home. He has taken the reins of this Hall of Fame, with other former participating bullfighters from the Wrangler Bullfights Tour – plus Craig & Jane Copeland who own Lil Red’s Longhorn Saloon the home of this annual affair. The plaques of all inductees are on display in Lil Red’s Longhorn Saloon.
Those honored this year were: Leon Coffee; George Doak (deceased) with son George Jr. accepting for his dad; Eric Viers; Darl Allred; Steve Mowry and Kirby Birney whose acceptance was told by his daughter, Cody, Miles Hare and Michael ‘Smurf’ Horton. Stock Contractor of the year was Mr. Harry Vold (deceased) who was represented by his daughter, Kirsten who also accepted the Bull of the year, Crooked Nose, owned by Harry Vold.. Barrel Men honored were Tom Feller and John Taylor. The Resistol Supporting Legend Award was given to Jim Sutton and David Allen.
Those doing introductions and more during the program were: Robert Blue Jeanes, former bullfighter and PRCA Bullfighter Director; five time World Champion Bullfighter Rob Smets; and Shelley Burmeister Mowery, former Miss Coors and very involved in the early day development of the Wrangler Bullfight Tour. All three did an outstanding job by not only giving the credentials for those receiving honors and awards, but also relayed personal stories of these special folks.
It was a packed house and the main comment made was those in attendance were so grateful to see so many rodeo people – the rough and tough bullfighters, rodeo friends, they hadn’t seen in years, and all were smiling! Just to name a few of the former bullfighters in the audience were Rick Young, Ronny & Donny Sparks, Todd Propson, David Burnham, John Novotny, Steve Tomac, Jim Bob Feller, Miles Hare, Rob Smets, Doug Forzani, Eddie Hatfield, Barry Hankins and many more.
Additionally a 3rd annual Knox Concrete Fund/Fun Raising Charity Golf Tournament was held by the Original Wrangler Bullfights Hall of Fame in collaboration with Cowboys Helping Cowboys Charity Events, which is ramrodded by Dave Samsel, former NFR bull rider, to benefit injured rodeo athletes in need.
Also, at the Saturday night event a live auction was held, with a variety of rodeo and bullfighting related items to be bid on, including branding irons, donated by Kirsten Vold, that in the past were used to brand Crooked Nose, Bull of the Year, also a painting of George Doak fighting a bull by Buster Kenton, plus many other items. The recipients of this year’s Golf Tournament and auction by Cowboys Helping Cowboys were Kirby Birney, Inductee Bullfighter; Jeff Collins, World Champion Bareback Rider; and Cody Ohl, World Champion All-Around and Tie Down Roper.

In a perfect world, Gregory Scott would have the ideal life balance between work and play. But he knows this isn’t a perfect world so he strives to make his bits look like they just grew out of the metal, without any sign that it is man-made. It’s almost as if, like Michelangelo, he’s freeing the bit from the raw metal. And that artistry translates into a substantial waiting list for his entirely custom-made, hand-crafted bits. Craftsmanship takes time and a bucket load of patience, especially working in the blazing heat of Arizona summers.
Born and raised in Arizona, Greg and his brothers were on chore duty that included feeding horses, milking cows and chopping firewood while their widowed mother worked a variety of jobs to keep her growing family in jeans and food. When Greg was 15, his mother remarried and moved to Verde Valley, Arizona where Greg and his brothers caught roping fever. Without benefit of any formal coaching or teaching, the Scott brothers threw loops at dummies and competed amongst themselves for hours in the evenings, often into the wee hours. Greg even recalls a time when his brother roped an unprecedented 10 sets of hind feet in one round, a rare occurrence in the 70’s.
Greg’s roping career gave way to the workaday world of earning a living after high school. For 36 years, Greg and his brothers built and worked a successful drywall business. In 2000, Greg wanted something different that didn’t take such a physical toll on the body, so he went into the remodeling business, indulging in his fascination with metal by playing around with twisting horseshoes on the side. Making crosses led to perfecting the twist that led to crafting spurs and bits.
2005 was the year playing around with rasp spurs and horseshoe bits officially became Scott Ironworks. Greg made his first set of spurs and a couple of chain bits that he showed to roping buddies in the area. As Greg recalls, feedback from ropers who used those early bits compelled him put a port in the bit chain to add more “purchase” to the bit.
Those initial bits were not perfected, remembers Greg. In fact, they were pretty rough. But Greg worked on the necessary innovation for producing bits that were the right weight with the right balance by listening to the feedback he got from ropers using his bits. Having roped as a kid, Greg knew that a successful roping horse needs to be comfortable with a nice, relaxed mouth. And the #2 port bit was born. Greg sold the spurs at ropings as fast as he could make them. The word spread amongst competitive ropers always looking for the next best thing. Given that the bits take about ten hours of work to make, including endless grinding, polishing and forging every piece except the chains, the waiting list continued to grow.

With Greg’s passion for experimentation, what he calls “playing around with a piece to get the feel of it,” it wasn’t long before he started creating bits and spurs that went beyond functional to unique style and personality. While many bit makers were incorporating pistols into the shanks of their bits, Greg took it one step further by applying real bullets.
Greg attributes much of his inspiration to God because no one has ever done what he’s done before. The spectacular snake bit, because the diamond pattern looked “snaky” to Greg, complete with 14K gold and real ruby jewel eyes, is a tribute to that inspiration. Those snake bits were so distinctive that Greg sold four of them right away.
But that does not mean his customers get them right away. A custom-made bit with multiple hand-forged pieces takes painstaking hours of concentration throughout the entire process. While he might have started more than one piece, Greg can only finish one piece at a time. Because Greg is a one-man shop and there is no one else doing the work, he has to pace himself. At each step, Greg hand polishes every edge and curve for ultimate smoothness and fit, always in an effort to produce the perfect bit.
Starting with the shoes he decides and chooses based on the customer’s needs, whether to use new horseshoes or gently used ones. Then he forges them, shapes them, and decides on rings. Different models feature different characteristics for different needs. For instance, the #5 twisted port bit is designed to get the maximum performance from the horse.
Scott Ironworks’ reputation for perfection led to some pretty cool notoriety. In 2006, Greg’s pieces were chosen for display at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame (Colorado Springs, Colo.) in celebration of the National Day of the Cowboy. Greg made a special pair of spurs to go with the bit that earned high praise from Zane W. Mead, Art Foreman of National Day of the Cowboy, “They represent Cowboy America, Rodeo, Ranch, Cowgirl, Cowboy.” Scott Ironworks gained international distinction when New Mexico cowboy, Couy Griffin, set out on a horseback trip from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco to the Golden Gate in Jerusalem. Griffin used Greg’s best selling #2 chain port bit and a pair of spurs throughout the two-and-a-half year sojourn that crossed three continents.
Over the last fourteen years, Scott Ironworks’ client roster has grown to feature some of the most notable names in professional team roping, including Garrett Tonozzi, Tee Woolman, Luke Brown and Jake Barnes. In fact, Scott Ironworks bits have become so popular, Greg has gotten reports that his bits have been stripped right off the heads of tied-up horses and snitched out of barns. Every time a customer reports on winning a buckle or a jackpot, Greg is filled with the pride of exceptional workmanship that takes horse performance to the next level.
When you work alone like Greg does, a certain amount of thought goes to finding the right balance between work—which he does sometimes seven days a week—and riding his 4-wheeler in the cool mountains or fishing with his nephew. Overall, Greg’s philosophy of life can be summed up as, “Life is short. Enjoy it.” Greg enjoys every call or email from ecstatic customers who rave about their success in the arena as a result of using a Scott Ironworks bit.
Perfection is something Greg strives for in every piece he makes. And with every piece he makes, the bar is set a little higher. It is what keeps him doing what he does—handcrafting custom bits that get results.

Glee Nett was born in the Southern Black Hills in Edgemont, SD, her parents and grandparents homesteaded in South Dakota. She enjoyed her 4H activities, loving horsemanship, which was taught by her relatives. She competed in 4H rodeo and went from there to amateur rodeos. There were seven children in her family and they’ve all had horses throughout their lives. She competed in many available activities. “None of my competing was on a high level – I just did it for fun,” she said. She dreamed of obtaining her degree in Range Management, however with the start of her family and ranching obligations, she realized her responsibilities would require her to be at home. “I chose to have my children while I was young, so I could be active with their lives, plus be able to be enjoy my wonderful grand children.”
She went to work for a pathologist and a well known necrologist. “He was the greatest boss that ever existed – I learned how to succeed in life and that was to be respectful and be mindfully kind to everyone.” Glee had four children and the Good Lord has called two of them home. Both losses were unexpected and immediate. Their passing have taught her to be thankful and to live every day to its fullest capacity. “God gives us life and thus He has the right to call us home on His terms and on His timeline. You can either let it get the best of you or you can make the best of it.” Kindness is the most generous gift an individual can give, as we do not know what another may be experiencing in their life.”

She also worked in law enforcement. “I was asked by an amazing sheriff to come work for him” and as she was the only female, she transported female prisoners to the state hospital and did intake interviews for rape, abuse and incest. It was difficult to leave this type of work at the office with young children at home. She switched from that to being a legal secretary and from there she became a multi peril-crop hail adjuster and traveled nine states doing that. Her career took her to Texas for six years with the children in tow. “Texas was a unique and exciting family and work experience.”
After that career she managed two major airlines – America West and United, United Express. Starting out as a full time employee, she advanced into management quickly. “I was a field station manager in Lubbock, TX and opened new stations in Vail, CO and many other cities.”
She went to work as a Fed X courier and that’s where she had her second major accident and decided to retire. “I had been dispatched to the water treatment plant and I went around a 90 degree corner, and caught the bladed berm left on the road when the passenger’s back wheel pulled the van and as she tried to correct the direction of the van, the passenger’s front wheel caught and the vehicle rolled end over end 2 ½ times, while only traveling 22 mph! Her injuries were not life threatening, however they were substantial. The doctors did not project a life of full activity, however she relied on her faith in the Lord to walk, ride and have a full productive life again so she took time off to heal. She wanted to remain amongst her rodeo family,,,,but how? She made the decision to do so by giving back to others and sharing her western heritage with idea of granting wishes and connecting the western world with the rest of the world. This year marks the 15th anniversary of Children’s Western Wish Foundation
“It actually started with me helping to grant a wish for another organization. I knew from that moment that I wanted to start this foundation.” She applied for her non profit and was rejected three times. “I didn’t have an age limit or a specific challenge identified. When I got rejected for third time, I put on the letter,” Talk to God” and we got our 501c{3}. We didn’t have to change a thing.”
She was off and granting wishes around the United States and Canada. The wish recipient’s are local community members and their immediate family. Some rodeos request more than one wish at their event and there has been a committees where a total of 6 wishes were granted at their venue. Glee coordinates every aspect of each wish and is present at all of the wishes.
She is blessed to work with her Board of Directors whom are all rodeo personnel and as they are all in attendance at the NFR, they hold their Annual Meeting in Vegas. Glee has many responsibilities in life, ts, but the foundation is her priority. “I spend as much time as it takes – probably around 15 hours per wish.” There isn’t an application process, it’s all recommendation. “If the rodeo doesn’t have a recipient, they ask us to find one.” All the wishes are handled by Glee. “The confidentiality remains where it should. I take all of it through phone calls and emails – we give each recipient . We find out what their hobbies are so we can get the buckle to represent that. They get a buckle, hand autographed Bible by Clyde and Elsie Frost. Every quilt is made by a local quilters from Laramie, Wyoming. Every knot that is tied on that quilt is tied with a special prayer for that individual. They are customized with their name on the inside as well as one block in the center dedicated to their hobby or something special and unique to that individual. Each recipient also receives an autographed signed hat, and the female wish recipient receives a tiara and a personalized sash, many times with the title “honorary princess of the rodeo.” Each of them get to do a lot of the meet and greet with the competitors and any country western artist that may be there. A compliment we hear often, especially from the families that have never experienced a rodeo or western event, is they are so appreciative as “not very often is a special needs or challenged person been given VIP treatment and treated with such a great honor.”
She works with approximately 80% repeat rodeos and 20% new rodeos. “I have been granting wishes at the NFR for fifteen years. We grant the girls presentation wish during the WPRA luncheon – they are escorted on stage by one of our barrel racing qualifiers and presented with their gifts. This is the kick-off for the wonderful banquet the WPRA does for its qualifiers, their families, sponsors and many rodeo committees are present as they are awarded many honors. The boys recipient is honored at various venues during the NFR. Last year, it was presented during the Junior NFR (Junior World Finals.)
For Glee matching the families with the rodeos brings the western way of life to the outside world. “I’m very proud to be part of rodeo – our rodeo family and our contestants aren’t afraid to pray or show their faith and it’s great for others to see.”
“I’m not doing this for my glory – it’s not about me. I don’t care for the accolades and credit, it’s about the families.” She has had that attitude for most of her life. “When I was in fifth grade Sunday school – there was a verse in my Bible, that I always remember, whereas if you do good deeds and expect accolades, the gates of heaven will be closed. That verse is followed by: If you give alms and do not expect accolades, the gates of heaven shall be open to you.”
“I choose to never use someone’s hardship to make my foundation better.” She feels that all the recipients are special people. “To me, God chooses the parents and the people to take care of these people. I am grateful to the parents and children for allowing me to do this. I also believe that special needs people are “Special Gifts from God.”
This is her full time ministry. She assists friends as a caregiver whenever necessary, but mostly she coordinates and grants wishes. She has an abundant amount of windshield miles. The two tragedies of losing her daughter and son have helped shape the giving, kind person that she is today. “I wanted to just stay home after losing my son, and little by little, my rodeo family coxed me back into the arena to grant wishes. It’s the greatest personal satisfaction – when you get to work for the Man above and give from your heart – what more is there.”
The website for the Children’s Western Wish Foundation is currently being reconstructed so keep checking. www.cwwf.org. In the meantime, follow them on Facebook.

What started out as a way to support their horse addiction has turned into a full-time business for an Arizona family. Melanie Edwards of Buckeye, Arizona, and her daughter, Doskie Edwards of Casa Grande, Arizona, are the mastermind artisans behind the sassy signature styles of Circle M Custom Hides. This mother-daughter-duo spends many hours creating custom leather creations, whether it be luscious purses that would make a statement on any western runway, or into a bridle/ breast collar set that has their horses looking like the best dressed equine in the alley. It all began 12 years ago, when Melanie was competing along with her three daughters, Megan, Courtney, and Doskie, in 4D barrel race jackpots. “It was a lot of money just for all the entry fees, then of course the girls would want new tack for their horses, and I just flat couldn’t afford to spend money on tack that wasn’t even made of good leather; and the quality stuff I really liked was way overpriced. I had dabbled in leatherwork before, so I started embellishing what we already had. Imagine my surprise when people started buying my used pieces, literally off my horses’ back.” And, so the seed was planted. “We wanted to offer tack that was made well in addition to being rustic and unique,” explained Melanie.
By making cowhide rugs and fulfilling their own desires for quality original tack that would hold up to competition and use, a business was born that not only supported the passion the Edwards’ had for their horses, but also fed their creative fires as they developed new skills to continue producing items that stood out. “The city of Phoenix offered a jewelry making class, and Doskie and I took the class so we could learn more about soldering and jewelry making. We learned skills that helped us create our own buckles and conchos that are used in our completely handcrafted products.” With every detail of each item they make customized to their own liking, the Edwards really prefer to consider their equine creations “horse jewelry” rather than tack. And each piece with its truly one-of-a-kind embellishment is perfect for special occasions and events. Besides their horse products, they are also well-known for their one-of-a-kind purses, belts, and dog collars.
One of the dog collars you’ll find on their website, www.circlemleather.com is called the “Charlie collar,” which Melanie created 10 years ago as a gift for Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman. “I loved reading her blogs every morning with my coffee and just decided to make a collar for her Basset Hound, Charlie. I sent it to her with a letter, not really expecting to hear anything back. Little did I know, Ree had posted it online, and our computer went crazy! The next morning my email was flooded with inquiries about the collar, and we are still making the Charlie collar after all these years!” Many creations made are never advertised before being sold, and although they try their best to update their website and Facebook page, Circle M Custom Hides, it is impossible to show all that they do. Besides their leather work, they also carry a full line of Dutton bits and spurs, which they embellish to make special awards or gifts. They are also a dealer for Iconoclast boots. “It is hard to keep up with making sure the website is completely updated with all we are doing, because I work in manufacturing, purchasing, bookkeeping, as well as being a wife, mother, and horse rider!”

Melanie was your typical horse crazy girl, toting Breyer horses to school and starting with an ornery Shetland pony named Candy and she’s ridden her entire life. As she grew up, she competed in gymkhanas, but most of her horseback miles were racked up on desert trails. Married in 1988, Melanie and her husband, Paul Edwards, enjoyed their horses together. Melanie rode horses till just before the birth of each of their children. Besides the three daughters, they have a son, Craig, who lives just a mile down the road from them with his wife Nikki and daughter, Mary. “When each of the kids were little, they would ride in a backpack with me; as they got bigger, I could pony them along on a lead line, until they were finally old enough to ride alone.” Paul recently retired from his family trucking business, Edwards Brothers Trucking, and while he enjoys trail riding and has been supportive of all the horse activities the family was involved in, his passion has always been in the horsepower of old vehicles and tractors. “My husband always joked that I better not break our family with my horse obsession, but the leather hobby turned into a business, so it was perfect.” Melanie began competing alongside her daughters while they were attending the barrel racing jackpots, and currently still rides at least three times a week, and enters Grand Canyon Professional Rodeo Association rodeos when she can. “We’re not any top-notch rodeo people, but we love the people and rodeo and being a part of this life.”
Doskie remembers staying up late one night when she was about 16 years old and helping her mom work on adding crystals to some tack sets she was working on. “I remember her taking the tack in to the local feed store in Casa Grande, Arizona and when she came back, she handed me some money for helping her finish the orders. I thought that was a pretty cool way to make some money and have been working on orders ever since!” Doing double duty in her own shop as well as her mother’s, Doskie says she likes looking at vintage tack and even clothing for inspiration when coming up with new designs. “I’m not afraid to try creating something different, and I make things I think are cool, and hopefully someone else thinks it is cool too. I really look forward to setting up our booth in Vegas each year and seeing all the other vendors again; we are like a bunch of rodeo carnies, traveling the roads with our goods.” Doskie is as enthralled with her horses as her mom and is extremely proud of the babies she raises. Her main three horses she rides and has consistently running in the 1D, are Peanut, Bailey, and FX. “Peanut is a 12-year-old sorrel gelding with a flaxen mane and tail, and he’s huge, not much of a peanut at all. He is my everything horse; the first one I raised from birth and trained myself, and I just love him.” Doskie has had two major horse accidents where she had to be medi-flighted by helicopter to the hospital but has not let that deter her from riding. She is hopeful that next year will be a great year of competition in the GCPRA and WPRA with her beloved horses.
For the past 9 Decembers, Circle M Custom Hides has made the trek to Las Vegas, Nevada to display and sell their wares at the Southpoint Hotel and Casino during the WNFR’s Cowboy Christmas. “We love going to the NFR and showing all that we’ve been up to. People are always so surprised because there is not two of anything in our booth, we don’t make the same thing over and over, unless someone places a custom order for multiple items, such as awards, otherwise you won’t see a repeat. So, people always enjoy coming into our booth each year and seeing new things and knowing that they are one-of-a-kind creations. Doskie is so artistically talented and comes up with so many ideas of her own. Our tastes really complement each other, and we love sharing the quality items we produce. We guarantee everything we sell, and we are picky about what we do and how we do it. That’s part of the reason we have stayed smaller because we want control over every piece we produce.” Brent Giblin of BG Custom Silver works with Circle M, “Brent creates stunning jewelry, and he does a lot of cutting and piercing of metals used for our products. He is so good at what he does, it’s truly an art.”
Each year begins with a plan of making a certain amount of inventory each month, so that by December they will be able to fill their 10 X 30 booth in Las Vegas. The few months prior to the NFR is like crunch-time for Doskie and Melanie. Doskie explained, “We really have to hustle to crack things out before we get to Vegas, and I’m always creating things thinking of what would be good to have there at the NFR. Truth is we don’t get a lot of guys that rope coming to buy our tack, but we do get a lot of chick ropers and barrel racers that want to make as much of a statement with their looks as we do.”
Circle M Custom Hides started out as a means to an end for the Edwards family, but has turned in to a source of expression and creativity they didn’t initially expect. They are proud to use Herman Oak Harness leather from the United States of America for the base of all of their tack. They invite you to check them out and give them a chance to set you apart with one of their custom creations. If you’re in Vegas this December, stop by and tell them hello!

The first man with a rope in his hands from North Carolina to qualify for the WNFR.
The 29-year-old heeler from Mocksville, North Carolina is now preparing for his first-ever PRCA National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas and fulfilling a goal he’s had since he was a young child. Caleb’s path to Las Vegas has been a long one, but with each year he worked towards qualifying, his determination grew and his passion for becoming one of the best heelers in the business never waned. He will compete in Las Vegas in December, with Jake Cooper, and the team roping duo is preparing just as hard for the competition now, as they did to qualify for it.
By all rights, Caleb should have been a fourth-generation logger, as he grew up with his dad, Jeff Anderson, making his living as a logger like the many Anderson men before him. Caleb definitely knows the family business and has returned to it several times over the years, as he was making his way in the rodeo world. “My mom, Kathy Stikeleather, works for Statesville Auto Auction and ran barrels some; and my dad liked to team rope and would head at jackpots.” Caleb has an older sister, Leah Renegar, and younger brother Koda Stikeleather.
Caleb started competing as a calf rider when he was just 6 years old. When Caleb was 8, he started roping at Ricky Vaughn’s, in Harmony, North Carolina, and practiced there often, as he started competing in several junior rodeo associations. Caleb started high school rodeoing his sophomore year and qualified for national finals in Springfield, Missouri with Clint Keller, and again his senior year in Farmington, New Mexico with Brent Murphy before graduating from Davie High School in 2008. Although roping had become his main focus, his roughie spirit never left. “I was a bull rider at heart. I won steer riding titles and moved up to bulls, riding some 2-year-old bulls Mike Colyer owned; but when I moved up to the senior bulls it was a little intimidating and ended my bull riding career. I’ve always wished I would have stuck with it.”
Weatherford, Texas was where Caleb always felt he needed to end up to really make his team roping dreams realities. After high school he hoped to go to college there, but instead went to Hobbs, New Mexico after childhood friend, Maggie Moore, convinced him to try college rodeoing there. “I knew school was not something I was going to do over roping, but I knew it would give me a chance to get out on my own. I became friends with Kurt Jones out there, and he had made the finals a couple times, had won the George Strait, and I hung out with him and tried to learn as much as I could from him. There was another buddy at school that was from Canada and he talked me into going to some Canadian rodeos. I stayed up there for a month, but Canada was not for me at that age, so I came home and got a real job.”

Caleb still roped every day but worked with his dad in the Bear Creek Logging company, where he had worked off and on since he was 10 years old. “I’d start early and log until 5:00pm, then I’d go rope at Corey Honeycutt’s arena. I was a #6 heeler but didn’t completely understand the basic fundamentals of how I was roping; and Cory knew how to break it down for me. I’d load up all the horses I had, and we’d take turns heading and heeling for each other. Our friendship grew during those years, I became a better roper, and he became my best friend. Caleb had a lot of success during his younger years in North Carolina, winning a truck at a JX2 roping at 16, and started competing seriously in the IPRA in 2012. Caleb qualified for his first IFR in 2012, where he won the team roping average, and went on to win the heeling title at the IFR in 2013, 2014, and 2015.
On January 1, 2017, Caleb moved to the Phillips Ranch in Navasota, Texas. Shane Phillips gave him a job riding as many horses as he could stand and breaking in steers. “I stayed there for 8 months and rodeoed through the winter with Brady Tryan. But when April came, I didn’t go to California to rodeo like everyone else was. I moved to Hillsboro, Texas with DJ Smith and worked for his dad’s grading company to make money to keep alive. When he sold his place and moved to Weatherford, Caleb bought a camper and he and then girlfriend, Carrie Putnam, moved the camper to DJ’s new place in Weatherford, where Caleb was certain he needed to be.
Caleb roped all of 2018 with fellow North Carolinian, Cory Kidd, and was determined to compete all year without going back home. “It was kind of crazy how God works and that I had finally ended up in Weatherford. It’s like He let me know what I needed to do and worked me towards it. It took me a little longer to get there because I was kind of stubborn; but being there felt like I was on the right track. It wasn’t’ the greatest year, but it was the first year I had accomplished rodeoing from start to finish.” Caleb ended up in the top 30 heelers in the world in 2018, and although it was not enough to make it to the WNFR, it qualified him for Houston the following season, and that’s where things started really turning around for him.
After the season was over in 2018, Caleb began working for Luke Brown as he built his new ranch in Lipan, Texas. “Carrie works as a cost analyst for Patrick Smith’s company, Driven, and I’d drop her off at work, and work at Luke’s all day. “We started building the NFR arena at Luke’s so they could practice for the 2018 finals, and it was really cool because if Luke’s partner wasn’t there I’d get to fill in and rope with him. I would work turning steers out, raking the arena, basically everything they didn’t need to do so they could just rope. Just being around those elite ropers was like being at school, watching the pros and how they did things. I was fortunate to get to be around them and tried to pay attention to every detail.” Caleb fed for Luke, Paul Eaves, and Clayton Hoss, while they competed in Las Vegas last December, and after the finals were over, he and Carrie moved their camper to Luke’s ranch, where they now reside. “it’s been a blessing being at Luke’s, we have a Texas family and it has been a great thing for us.”
Caleb wasn’t sure who he would rope with for the 2019 season, but after some success at jackpots during the winter with Jake Cooper, the ropers agreed to team up together. “I was broke and trying to do anything I could to make money that winter, and although we started out with a few successes, it was a little shaky. But we agreed we were going all the way and not giving up on each other. When we went to Houston, we were in 80th position, and after winning $30,000 each there, it shot us up 77 places. It was the most money I’d ever won at one time, and we had confidence that we could keep going.” Towards the end of the season, Caleb’s position to qualify seemed fairly solid, but Jake had dropped to 16th after Pendleton. “It was tough towards the end because he was on and off the chopping block, and I really wanted to qualify with him for finals. I couldn’t really take a deep breath until the final steer was roped that season and I knew we had made our goal and qualified together. It wouldn’t have been as sweet if we hadn’t both made it; but it worked out the way the good Lord wanted it to, and we’re blessed with that.”
Caleb and Carrie recently came back to North Carolina in October, and surrounded by family and friends, were marred after 5 years of dating. Caleb’s groom cake was a replica of an NFR back number. Although Carrie is a competitor herself, she’s put off her rodeo aspirations these past few years to support Caleb’s goals. “Carrie won the IPRA barrel racing title in 2015 and has given up quite a bit for me. I look forward to getting to a point where she can start going for herself again.”
Caleb will compete on his sorrel mare that he’s been riding since 2012, “My aunt, Ronda Beaver, gave me Sugar Bear. She’s a 2006 model and has taken me through all of my competition so far. I have a second horse I ride occasionally, but when it’s game time and big money is up, I ride Sugar Bear. I’m looking forward to being at the finals on her because I’ve always felt if I could get her in that building that she’d do well. In the east, the set-ups are short in small pens and we rope a lot of big steers, so I think she’ll be right at home. I think she’ll be one of the best heel horses there.”
Caleb is all about setting goals and staying disciplined to reach them. “I’m big on being prepared and working hard. This is what I’ve always wanted to do. If something isn’t right, I work to fix it. I’ve been studying tapes from prior finals and watching how other teams go about it. It hit me the other day, that I’m not just going to be watching it on tapes; it’s going to be me backing into the box. I don’t think it will sink in fully until I’m there.” In 2017, when Caleb moved out to Texas for his first real attempt at qualifying, he saved a screenshot of a Facebook post before turning off his social media. “The post was a picture of the Thomas & Mack that said, ‘Set a goal so big that when you achieve it, it will blow your mind.’ I quit Facebook when I moved out there because I knew I had to full heartedly be in it. I didn’t want distractions, I figured I could be roping a dummy or riding my horses rather than wasting time looking at things that weren’t going to get me to my goal. But I’d open that screenshot often to remind myself of exactly where I was trying to get.”
Caleb has had the chance to go to the WNFR several times over the years, and although the stands are often filled with many aspiring rodeo athletes, hoping to be on that arena floor one day, for Caleb he declared at a young age that he’d never go to the WNFR until he was there to run a steer himself. So, although over the years he passed on many trips to attend as a spectator, he held fast to his goal and has saved the special moment of walking into the Thomas & Mack, for this December, when he rides in as a 2019 WNFR competitor, mind blown.

“I’ve always felt confident that there was an audience in America for rural progarming that was being ignored by urban broadcasters,” said Patrick Gottsch, the man behind RFD-TV and the new Cowboy Channel, both owned by Rural Media Group. Born and raised on a farm outside of Elkhorn, Nebraska, Patrick knows firsthand the role rural America plays in the lives of all Americans. His father, Pat, was a farmer. He grew corn and raised cattle and had a feedlot as well as two other farms. “The cowboy values are important and main stream media doesn’t cover it. The best memory a kid has is of the county fair and now RFD-TV and the Cowboy Channel bring viewers the county fair 365 days a year.”
Patrick went to college at Sam Houston State University for two and a half years. “I wanted to go back and farm with my dad; which I did for three years; the three worst drought years in Nebraska. My dad encouraged me to find a job in town.” He moved to Chicago in 1977 and worked as a commodity broker for the next two years. “I wanted to come back home to Nebraska – I didn’t want to live in downtown Chicago, so I was a commodity broker in Omaha. The Carter Grain embargo in 1980 wiped out a lot of people and I went broke.
“My daughter was born Dec 13 1984 and I came down the hill from the hospital and there was a guy trying to put a dish together. I pulled in and was interested in buying a satellite dish – he asked me if I had any tools, and I ended up helping him. It took us six hours and we were turning the dish and all of a sudden HBO came on and I was hooked.” He got a job that day installing dishes for him and started E.T. Installations, a company that sold and installed C-band home satellites. “I always followed up after installing one, and everyone loved them.” As Patrick traveled through rural America, he heard customers wondering why there was a lack of rural programming as well as old westerns like Gunsmoke, which seemed to be taken over by shows about urban cops or suburban housewives. There wasn’t anything directed at rural folks.
He launched RFD-TV (Rural Free Delivery Television) in 1988 and the company had the right idea but the timing was off. In March 1991, Patrick moved to Fort Worth, Texas and served as the Director of Sales for Superior Livestock Auction from 1992 to 1996. Superior Livestock Auction was the first to introduce satellite video marketing, which was carried on RFD-TV, to the livestock industry and has since grown to become the largest livestock auction enterprise in the United States. He was putting programming on RFD-TV, but he was still trying to fill programming. “We got our break in December of 2000, when DISH network agreed to launch it. It was a one man and two daughter network, we’d put all the programming on a hard drive a week at a time.”
Today, RFD-TV is available in more than 52 million homes nationwide. Rural Media Group, Inc. has since expanded to include RFD-TV The Magazine (2003), RFD HD (2008), RURAL TV (2009), RURAL RADIO (2013) on SiriusXM channel 147, and most recently the Cowboy Channel, launched in July of 2017.
“I am always amazed that when Patrick has a vision, he has the ability and tenacity to see it through to fruition,” said Pam Minick, who has known Patrick since before he launched RFD-TV. “When he came to work here (in Ft. Worth) for Superior, you could find his daughters sleeping in his office.” Pam has recognized his passion for rural America for years. She has been part of American Rancher, one of the first shows that aired on RFD-TV as well as Gentle Giants. “A lot of things he does, he does with the intention of making rural America look good. I applaud him for that.”
The latest venture, the Cowboy Channel, has been a dream of Patrick’s since 2013 when Randy Bernard came along with the AMERICAN. “I’ve always thought there was a void with the other sports channels, why not a rodeo channel? If there was one thing missing in our sport in regard to linear TV, it was a TV devoted to rodeo – and everything that has to do with western sports.”
The partnership between the Cowboy Channel and the PRCA was announced the first of September “We tried five years ago to get PRCA and didn’t get it –quite frankly I was upset at the time, but it’s been a blessing in disguise,” admits Patrick. “We’ve really worked hard the last four years to build the Cowboy Channel up and tried to prove ourselves. The goal was always to have the Cowboy Channel the premier rodeo channel.
“We’ve got content now, and media is changing at a rapid pace. We will be distributing content through any means possible. We want the younger audience – we haven’t made any announcements yet on that but be assured we are looking to stream any way possible to create more fans.” Although he’s not home much, Patrick lives in his hometown of Elkhorn where his brother continues to raise corn and soybeans. Patrick has three daughters—Raquel, Gatsby and Rose. Raquel currently serves as the CEO of the Cowboy Channel, based in Ft. Worth. Raquel and Gatsby currently serve on the Company’s Board of Directors. Patrick jumps out of bed in the morning and spends his time promoting the Cowboy Channel and the western industry. “Helping spread Western culture and the rural values back into the cities – that’s my fun and it’s a real challenge. There’s a wall being built between urban and rural and we have to work at it.
“Our goal is to serve the needs and interest of rural America,” he concludes. “We want to reconnect city and country – it’s a fight and a struggle – but we have found that we have as much interest in the urban area.” The Cowboy Channel has seen an increase in homes from 12 million to 40 million in the last two years. “We are doing everything we can with our own company to expand the fan base.” One thing the company is doing is hosting the first rodeo in New York since 1984. Madison Square Gardens began in 1922, Tex Austin produced it. Madison Square Gardens continued as an annual rodeo until 1959. In 1925, there was no rodeo as a new facility was being built. “We are inviting a lot of the folks that competed there to make it a celebration,” he said. “All the major distributors for cable are in New York – we are going right where they are and somehow we will get them to come to the event.” The other opportunity he sees in New York is the expanded opportunities for advertising. “90% of advertising comes out of New York and we are hoping to get a lot of them to come and attend, and maybe get main stream advertising.” For now, Patrick is crisscrossing the country promoting the Cowboy Channel and Rodeo New York. “We are just going to keep doing what we’re doing. I’m proud of what RFD-TV has done over the past 31 years.”

Brenda Michael adored her dad, Benny Binion. She and her dad had a relationship like no other. Although he was a successful business man that made his fortune in the world of gambling, his passion was to be a cowboy. Eventually, after moving his family from Dallas to Las Vegas and getting them situated comfortably he amassed a ranch in Montana in 1943. Brenda was only two.
Brenda was born in Dallas, Texas, the middle child of five. Barbara was six years older, Jack was four years older, then Brenda, Ted was 16 months younger, and Becky was three years younger. “We moved to Las Vegas, when I was five. It was a very small town, only 15,000, when we got there. But gambling was becoming a major force and it grew rapidly. Daddy ran crap games and a policy game in Dallas, but after World War II was over, the ‘powers that be’ tried to shut down gambling. So we moved,” explained Brenda.
“My dad was always particular about his girls. He didn’t want us around the casino,” Brenda remembers. “We’d go eat and that was it.” Brenda remembers her mother staying at home with the children and driving them to Saint Joseph Catholic School growing up. She graduated from Catholic High School with 42 in her graduating class. “Daddy bought our home because it had a place for horses. I don’t think he even looked in the house. It was seven acres and we always had horses,” she laughed.
The ranch finally grew to 210 sections, including one pasture that was 98 sections. “I looked forward to going back to Montana in the summer. I always liked the ranch. I’d cry when I had to come back to Las Vegas. I was the only one that cried,” she admitted.
Benny wanted everything done on the ranch the way it used to be done. “He refused to use four-wheel-drive pickups because it tore up the land. We did everything with horse and wagon. Daddy bought fifty WWI wagons that had never been uncrated. They would fill them with cake, take them out in the pastures, feed, and come back,” remembers Brenda. She has a very vivid memory of everything that was done on the ranch.

When Benny Binion was sent to the penitentiary over income tax, when Brenda was 12, she was very sad because she didn’t get to go to the ranch. She just knew no one would take care of the horses, and she couldn’t see them. He didn’t get released until 1957, on a technicality. Turned out Brenda was right. The hired hands that were left to tend to things on the ranch were told not to sell the horses, but they did sell the cattle. When the hired hands heard Benny was out they disappeared. There was only one filly left. “We had no idea where they went, and those that were left had gotten down in the Missouri breaks, so Ted and I started riding the Missouri River breaks trying to find them. The horses knew the trails but we didn’t. It took years and since none of the studs had been cut we ended up gathering nearly 1,200 horses. Two that we found were named ‘Happy’ and ‘Sappy’. We took them to a rodeo and boy could they buck,” said Brenda with a big smile. “We took nineteen horses, including Happy and Sappy, to Harry Knight at Great Falls and he bought them and they ended up in a rodeo in Belgium. Benny recognized Brenda’s interest in the horses and although she was only seventeen he asked her to register all their horses with the American Quarter Horse Association. “The inspector came from Amarillo to inspect them, they were all cataloged. Every summer they would upgrade until they got papers.
Brenda fell in love with Bert France, a cowboy from Las Vegas, who rode bareback and saddle broncs. She was just eighteen. He qualified for the first National Finals Rodeo in 1959 in the bareback event. Three months later he was killed, on July 4th, in an automobile accident. At the time he was leading for the All-Around in the Rodeo Cowboys Association. Brenda had traveled with him that summer, but was at the ranch at the time of his accident. She tried going back to school but she couldn’t concentrate on her studies. She went to work at Bank of America, but spent summers at the ranch in Montana that she loved.
A bronc rider from South Dakota was coming to the ranch and starting horses for Benny. His name was Andy Michael and in 1963 he and Brenda were married. Their daughter, Mindy, was born the following year. They lived on the ranch until Mindy needed to start school. They moved to Amarillo in September, 1969. Brenda and Andy were married 27 years, and divorced in 1990.

Brenda had always wanted to get in to the cutting horse competition, but was always too busy. The year after Benny died she bought a mare, ‘Lena Leo War Lady’ and the first cutting competition to which she took her, in Reno; the horse won the open. Brenda went home with more than $25,000! Brenda admitted, “she was a lop-eared mare, that was pretty plain looking, but she could cut.” She spent the next four years in the cutting circle and did quite well.
When Brenda’s mother passed away, in 1994, Brenda was named the executrix of the estate. It was a full time job and she had to give up her cutting competition. “Everything had to be appraised and taxed, and finally we had to sell the ranch.” All of the stress had contributed to Brenda’s poor health. She broke her femur due to an infection and spent 20 days in the hospital battling osteomyelitis. It look Brenda three years to recover from this debilitating health issue.
Brenda continues to live in Amarillo. She bought Lighthouse Ranch which is next to Palo Duro Canyon and runs cattle on it. She has watched her two grandchildren, from Mindy and Clint Johnson, past Saddle Bronc World Champion 1980, 1987, ’88,’89, grow to adults. Ben, winner of the Texas High School Cutting Horse title in 2009, now owns restaurants, and he and wife, Kaitlin, have two children, Porter and Emory, and are expecting twins in February. Janie is a WPRA barrel racer, works for Ride TV with the PBR Velocity Tour and is presently a sideline reporter.
Brenda continues to be heavily involved in the bucking horse business through the Benny Binion World Famous Bucking Horse Sale which is held during the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, and watches son-in-law Clint work with Dr. Gregg Veneklasen with Timber Creek Veterinary Clinic in creating clones and taking embryos of proven bucking stock. She supports many projects held in Amarillo involved with rodeo and the western way of life. Brenda received the Ken Stemler Pioneer Award in 2015 at the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado, for her commitment to professional rodeo through the Binion Bucking Horse Sale that benefits the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and is used for youth educational scholarships.
Brenda proudly continues to do the things her dad taught her that were important. “He was part of the vanishing breed of westerner that saw that the western way was not lost. He thought a handshake was better than a bond. His word was better than any written agreement. He taught me a lot of great things. I met a lot of nice, interesting people. I’ve always been proud to continue my dad’s work,” said the red-headed, quiet spoken woman, who has always been there to support her community, the rodeo world and the people in it with their western way of life.