Monthly Archives: June 2013

WEATHERFORD, Texas – There’s a lot of cowboy among the 910 square miles that make up Parker County. It’s about to get a little more Western with the Parker County Frontier Days and PRCA Rodeo, set for 8 p.m. Wednesday, June 12-Saturday, June 15, at the Parker County Sheriff’s Posse Arena. This is Cowboy Country, and hundreds of the top athletes in rodeo will converge on Weatherford for the four-day event. There are 552 contestants who are scheduled to compete representing dozens of ProRodeo world championships and hundreds of Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifications. These are the elite cowboys and cowgirls in the sport, and they’ll be matched with the award-winning livestock of Pete Carr’s Classic Pro Rodeo and Carr Pro Rodeo, the producers of the annual event. “It’s in the heart of Cowboy Country,” said announcer Andy Stewart, now in his eighth year of calling the action in Weatherford. “You have got to bring you’re a game, because they’re rodeo savvy there.” The Carr crew will do that. The two firms are established and have been recognized for years as the elite among livestock producers. This spring, Carr made put everything together by purchasing Classic. “I’m combining two of the best crews in rodeo to form one of the greatest rodeo companies,” said Pete Carr, the owner of the outfits. “I’m excited about the new opportunities that are ahead for the company. I want committees to know we have a lot to offer them. We’re going to have unprecedented resources for all the rodeos, which will benefit everyone involved: committees, sponsors, contestants and spectators.” In 2013, the firms will produce 34 rodeos in 13 states and have some of the greatest animal athletes in the sport. That’s a big reason so many top names plan to make their way to Parker County in mid-June. “Pete’s got a heck of a string put together,” said saddle bronc rider Wade Sundell, a four-time NFR qualifier from Boxholm, Iowa. “There are not a lot of people that can match him anymore.” Sundell has done awfully well on Carr animals this year. He won the rodeo in Claremore, Okla., by matching moves with Carr Pro Rodeo’s Social Call for 83 points over Memorial Day weekend. In early May, he placed second in Guymon, Okla., after an 85 on Carr Pro Rodeo Miss Congeniality; still, his biggest win of the season came when he won the $50,000 round at RodeoHouston on Pete Carr’s Classic’s Big Tex after a 90-point ride. “It’s awesome when you have a good horse underneath you, because you know something good is going to happen,” he said. But the animal is just half the equation; it takes a solid performance by the man on the beast to make for a winning score. That’s what fans will experience in Weatherford. “It draws top-name players from all over the country,” Stewart said. “We have four performances that are just outstanding.”

LAS VEGAS – Reigning reserve world champion barrel racer Carlee Pierce is hanging up her riding boots … for the time being. Pierce, a two-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier from Stephenville, Texas, has decided to take a hiatus from ProRodeo. How long she will be sidelines has yet to be determined, but Pierce will take some time away from rodeo trail to focus her attention on her family. “I won’t rodeo without my family,” said Pierce, a Canadian-born cowgirl who was raised in the northwest Oklahoma community of Freedom. “This year my three kids do not want to go, and they want me to stay home more, not just a few days at a time. “My family is too important for me; they will always come first.” Pierce has earned $34,003 this season and sits No. 3 in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association world standings as of June 3. In addition to being one of the top cowgirls in the game since 2011, she also has a barn full of talented horses, including Rare Dillion, a 14-year-old buckskin gelding, which has been a guiding force behind her drive to the top. But she’s also had the unwavering support of her family: husband, Steve; son, Kale; and daughters, Makala and Jacy. Over the past two summers, the rodeo trail also served as a family vacation. “To make the NFR takes a lot of sacrifice,” Pierce said. “I’ve given up time with my family, and my family has given up things they want to do. “They all told me they don’t want to travel, that they want to stay home and just be kids. They need me to stay home with them, and I need that, too.”

ALVA, Okla. – A season of goal-setting, tough competition and dreaming is rounding the corner toward a dynamic climax for the Northwestern Oklahoma State University women’s rodeo team. The four Rangers – all-around cowgirl Micah Samples of Abilene, Kan.; breakaway roper Jessica Koppitz of Alva; and goat-tiers Trisha Price of Faith, S.D., and Karly Kile of Overbrook, Kan. – will test their talents and their mental stability at the College National Finals Rodeo, set for June 9-15 in Casper, Wyo. “It means a lot to take our women’s team,” said coach Stockton Graves, noting that the women finished second in the Central Plains Region, joining just Southwestern Oklahoma State University as the women’s team representatives from the circuit. “That was one of our goals this year as coaches and as a women’s team. We haven’t sent any women in a while. “Our goal wasn’t just to send one girl but to send several, so it feels good to accomplish our goals.” Qualifying for college rodeo’s championship event is a big deal. Only the top two teams in the region, the top two in the all-around standings and the top three in each event earn the right to compete in Casper; because women’s teams feature four cowgirls, that allowed for Price and Kile to make the venture – Price finished fourth and Kile fifth in in the region in goat tying. Samples was the runner-up in the all-around race, so she will compete in breakaway roping and barrel racing at the CNFR. “I’m very excited to be able to go in both of my strongest events,” said Samples, who transferred from Western Oklahoma State College in Altus. “I’ve been practicing a lot, and I’m feeling good going into the finals.” Rodeo features contestants who not only will battle for individual honors but also points that count toward the team race. Having a full team gives the Rangers a bit of an advantage. The men will be represented by all-around runner-up Ryan Domer of Topeka, Kan.; heelers Chase Johnson of Snyder, Texas, and Dustin Searcy of Mooreland, Okla.; and headers Ethan McDowell of Mooreland and Collin Domer of Topeka. “It’s a great accomplishment,” said Price, a sophomore. “I think it was a bunch of individual preparedness that helped us, because we all did well in different events. Everybody just went out and made consistent runs. It’s a mind game, and we were able to mentally be ready to compete in this region. “I think we have a very good chance to win the team title. I think we have the right girls going in the right events, so it’s going to work out. We competed in a tough region, and I think that helped prepare us for what we’re going to see at the college finals.” Koppitz is the only senior in the bunch – Kile is a sophomore, and Samples is a junior – but she’s made the adjustments necessary over her time at Northwestern. “I fought my head a lot the first three years, because I’m one of those that just fights my head,” Koppitz said. “This year, I had so much work to do with school because I’m taking upper-level classes that I didn’t have time to overthink everything I was doing. I’d just rope and not worry about it.” It worked. “Coach Cali (Griffin) just kept pushing me,” Koppitz said of one of the assistant coaches. “She just kept telling me I could make it and kept pushing me. I didn’t believe her for a long time until the second to last rodeo of the season, but then I thought I had a chance.” That’s the kind of mental approach that will help when the team prepares to compete in Casper. “In my opinion, our coaches are great,” Price said. “Cali helps us a lot in the breakaway pen, and Stockton really has helped us with the head game. He’s been to the NFR, where it’s even more pressure and more nervousness than anywhere else you could go, so he’s got that experience. He’s very good on the mental end of the competition, and he keeps us together.” It all needs to come together over the week that will feature the top cowboys and cowgirls in college rodeo. “It’s been exciting because we haven’t taken a girls team in a while,” Samples said. “It’s exciting to have a handful of us girls that can work together. Even if one of us had an off weekend, another one could shine and keep us up there in the standings.”

SILVER CITY, N.M. – Rodeo is much more than bucking animals and fast horses. Rodeo is a lifestyle, and every event offers something quite spectacular. For contestants, it’s a way to compete and make a living; for volunteers, it’s about creating an annual happening for the community. For fans, a rodeo is great family entertainment filled with amazing athletic feats and explosive action. That’s why the crew from Pete Carr’s Classic Pro Rodeo and Carr Pro Rodeo take their jobs so seriously when it comes to event production. It’s why they’re excited to be part of the Wild, Wild West Pro Rodeo, set for 8 p.m. Thursday, June 6-Saturday, June 8, at Southwest Horseman’s Park. There also will be a special section of bull riding set for 8 p.m. Wednesday, June 5. Like every other event on the scheduled for 2013, production is the key. “Pete Carr purchased Classic Pro Rodeo earlier this year, and that makes him the biggest and best stock contractor in rodeo right now,” said Loydd Williams, chairman of the Bridgeport, Texas, rodeo committee. “When you put those two companies together, it’s going to be tough to beat in terms of bucking stock and the overall production of rodeo. “This is not your 1960s stock contractor. This is a great production that fans will love from start to finish. Pete Carr and his crew have made our rodeo better.” It was that kind of showcase that drew members of the Will Rogers Stampede committee to hire the Carr crews for the 2013 rodeo in Claremore, Okla. “It was the professionalism, the production,” Petty said. “It was a well-oiled machine. “One of the things small rodeo committees are struggling with is we must have a product to keep people coming back, and Carr Pro Rodeo brings that product that entices people to want to see that show. Once people do see it, the chances of them becoming a regular at the rodeo are higher.” The value of the Carr production machine works quite well at rodeos of all size. In all, Carr Pro Rodeo and Pete Carr’s Classic Pro Rodeo will produce 33 events this year. “We try to have the theatrical portion of our show not interfere with the competition side,” said John Gwatney, a production supervisor for the Carr firms. “We try to run a good, fast, clean performance without interfering with the competition. “That’s where we’re different from other rodeo companies. If we’re not ready, the cowboy has to wait. When it comes time for that cowboy to compete, we’ve done everything we can to make that animal ready for that cowboy, so all he has to do is nod his head.” Fans have taken notice, but so have the cowboys who make their livings on the backs of the greatest bucking animals in the game. “Both rodeo companies have put on some really great rodeos,” said bareback rider Matt Bright, a three-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier from Azle, Texas. “When you put together the kind of stock that those two companies have with their production values, it’s a great event.”

Weekend of roping served as a benefit for families affected by West, Texas, explosion GROESBECK, Texas – Bobby Joe Hill paid a little more attention to the news in the days following the April 17 fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas. He saw that 15 people had died and more than 200 were injured, including many of the first-responders who arrived on the scene to care for others. He knew he had to do something to help the families of those affected by the blast. Being involved in rodeo, he knew just how to make it happen. That’s why Hill, owner of Hill Rodeo Cattle, organized the Wild West Memorial, a four-day competition that featured team roping, a ranch rodeo and an open steer roping from May 24-27 at the Limestone County Fairgrounds in Groesbeck, some 45 miles southeast of West. “We raised $7,000 for the families of the fallen first responders,” said Hill, who worked with Roger Nevil of American LNG, Chris Glick of Last Chance Designs and Johni Nevil in organizing the event. “I had hoped to make a little more for the families, but it cost a little more to put this on than I’d thought, but I wanted it to be a first-class event. “I wanted to go big or go home, so we went big. This is just the first year. We’ve already got our dates set for next year, Memorial Day weekend, Friday to Monday.” The “first-class event” featured 16 National Finals qualifiers, including two world champions, Scott Snedecor and Rocky Patterson. It was quite an event that just got off the ground 19 days prior to opening night. “I felt like I was pretty blessed and that those people needed the money more than I did,” said Lawson Plemons, a team roper, tie-down roper and steer roper from Axtell, Texas. “I had a good day, and I wanted to help somebody else out.” In all, Plemons won $5,700, two saddles and a buckle; he donated all of the money from his short go-round earnings to the families of first responders. He wasn’t the only cowboy to do so; Patterson, the three-time and reigning world champion steer roper, donated a portion of his earnings. “Anytime you hear about some little kids losing their dad, it’s a bad deal,” Patterson said. “There were a lot of people affected, but to me, the worst of it is the kids.” Patterson pointed to one family that lost the father, who had three children and whose wife was expecting their fourth. Now that mother will raise four children as a single mother. “Those people will need this kind of help every year,” he said. That’s why Hill is looking toward the future. “We were able to raise a lot of money in a few days with just Facebook advertisements,” said Hill, who supplies roping cattle to numerous ProRodeos throughout the year, including the Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping. “I was very pleased with the turnout.” He wasn’t the only one. In addition to the donations, there were several others who were involved in some capacity. In fact, top ProRodeo announcers Charlie Throckmorton and Curt Robinson and rodeo judges donated their time and talent to call the action for the introduction of ropers and the steer roping, as did Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association judge Brad Bettis and Cowboy Professional Rodeo Association judge Joey Jobe. “You’ve got to do something to try to help those people,” Robinson said. “Bobby Joe was going to all that work trying to put it together, and I felt like it was an honor to trying to help somebody out.” That was a common theme. “We got a lot of help from Tara Shepperd and John Costlow, who announced during the team ropings and did all the work that went on in the entry office,” Hill said. “They played a big part in keeping this event rolling.” Of course, there were a lot of people who stepped up and helped out, including the sponsors: A Cut Above Buckles, Centex Oilman’s Association, Cardinal Energy, Cactus Saddlery, Vaquero Energy, Utley Cattle Co., Aqua Transfer Energy, Buffalo Livestock Auction, Hill Rodeo Cattle, Jason Smith, Carr Pro Rodeo, Stace Smith Pro Rodeos, Andrews Rodeo Co., Frontier Rodeo Co., Champion Rodeo Co., Hat Brand Rodeo Co., Pickett Pro Rodeo, J-J Rodeo Co., Brent Bennett Rope Horses, Serna Services, Fire It Up Team Roping Prod, Brandon Holliman, Gaines Horse Shoeing, Seth Sawyer, Crazy Heart Sound and Lighting, Cowboy Tack Collection, Eloy Perez, Groesbeck Auction & Livestock, Winters Oil Partners, Bearcat Oilfield Services, Caney Creek Hunting Lodge, Double J Water Well, Bodie Services, Rafter G Sales, Wrangler, Clayton and Kasey Wood, 3W Ranch Supply, Custom Hose, Dew Tire Shop, Dane Noyce, Last Chance Designs and Big Daddy Productions. In addition to all those who made the Wild West Memorial a big part of their business, there were others who stepped up to the plate. More team ropers participated than expected, and there were 21 teams in the ranch rodeo. It was a powerful show of the giving nature that burns deep inside cowboys. “It’s something we need to do,” Throckmorton said. “Tragedy can strike us anytime, and we knew we needed to be there. That’s the reason we did it. Curt Robinson was already down here at another event, and he is the guru of all steer roping announcers. “It was a first-class deal, and we tried to make it like the National Finals.” That’s a tribute to Hill and those who helped him organize the event in less than 20 days. “People thought it was really good for him to put it together on the last minute,” Plemons said. “It was a good roping to watch, but he made it good.” That was one of Hill’s goals; his primary purpose was to provide funds to those who need it most. “I want to thank everybody who even offered to help out, because we couldn’t have done it without them,”  Continue Reading »