Monthly Archives: October 2013

HEMPSTEAD, Texas – On Friday morning, Jarret New will be in a classroom at Texas A&M University. On Thursday night, he used his study time to travel 43 miles from College Station, Texas, to Hempstead for the opening night of the Waller County Fair and Rodeo. He took advantage of it, posting a 4.6-second run to take the lead in steer wrestling. “My horse worked good, and I drew a good steer,” said New, 21, of Wimberly, Texas. “My buddy and roommate hazed for me and did a great job.” His roommate is Troy Lee Keaton of Sealy, Texas, who likely drove the rig back to College Station so New could crack a book or two. Keaton down his steer in 5.2 seconds to sit second with two performances remaining, set for 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Waller County Fairgrounds Arena. “I take my test tomorrow, then we’ll haul butt to Uvalde (Texas) to the college rodeo,” New said, noting that he and Keaton are on the rodeo team at A&M. College life is important to New. He traveled the ProRodeo trail all summer long trying to make a living at it. When summer ended, and with earnings running dry, New returned to campus. “I had to get my education first,” he said. He’s a young man who has placed a college degree atop his priorities, but he sees rodeo in his future. You see, he made his first run six years ago when he was a freshman in high school and has taken to it. “I just watched it and loved it, and I thought I wanted to try it,” said New, whose father and uncle have competed in rodeo. “I ran my first steer in Gonzalez, Texas, got off and was just ate up with it ever since then. “I feel like it’s a man’s sport in a man’s game.” He is making the right moves to play the man’s game, too. “In five years, I hope to own my own, self-sufficient business so I can rodeo,” New said. “I hope to be at the NFR and (have) graduated from A&M with a degree.” He has grand dreams, and he’s taking the steps – and the lessons – to make sure he does things the right way.   Waller County Fair and Rodeo Oct. 3-6 Hempstead, Texas Bareback riding: 1. Dustin Bowen, 81 points on Carr Pro Rodeo’s Patron; 2. Donnie O’Bris, 80; 3. Tilden Hooper, 79; 4. Taylor Broussard, 77; 5. Matt Crumpler, 74; 6. (tie) Lane Lerche and Justin Pollmiller, 72. Steer wrestling: 1. Jarret New, 4.6 seconds; 2. Troy Lee Keaton, 5.2; 3. Shayde Etherton, 6.0; 4. Jacob Talley, 7.3. Team roping: 1. Ty Blasingame/Cole Davison, 4.4 seconds; 2. Quisto Lopez/Keagan Duncan, 4.8; 3. Nathan McWhorter/Kinney Harrell, 5.1; 4. Cory Smothers/Zack Bocco, 5.3; 5. Tyler Wade/Tyler Barton, 5.6; 6. Caleb Mitchell/Jaytin mcCright, 22.6. Saddle bronc riding: 1. Kobyn Williams, 80 points on Carr Pro Rodeo’s Buckskin Sally; 2. Brady Nicholes, 79; 3. Doug Aldridge, 65; 4. Tol Cawley, 62. Tie-down roping leaders: 1. Cody Sacula, 7.9 seconds; 2. Casey Harmon, 16.0; 3. Ricky Canton, 18.8; 4. Austin Posey, 21.6. Barrel racing leaders: 1. Mary Walker, 15.84 seconds; 2. Jill Tanner, 16.04; 3. Nikki Steffes, 16.15; 4. Lacey Donegan, 16.61; 5. Jane Melby, 16.77; 6. Carley Richardson, 21.03; 7. Mallory Wheeler, 22.26; 8. Christine Laughlin, 26.52; 9. Paula Stamps, 38.36. Bull riding: 1. Stormy Wing, 88 points on Carr Pro Rodeo’s Grave Digger; 2. Caleb Sanderson, 87; 3. Dustin Bowen, 84; 4. Kyle Jeppesen Loudon, 82.

HEMPSTEAD, Texas – The first performance of the Waller County Fair and Rodeo is tonight, and, like the other two shows scheduled for Friday and Saturday, will feature numerous qualifiers to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Tonight’s performance will feature a couple of top barrel racers, including reigning world champion Mary Walker, the No. 2 cowgirl in this year’s rankings, and Christy Loflin, Nikki Steffes and Jane Melby. Also in the mix are tie-down roper Ricky Canton; bull rider Douglas Duncan; team ropers Justin Davis, Kinney Harrell and Jim Ross Cooper; and bareback rider Tilden Hooper. Those aren’t the only world-class athletes who will be featured tonight. With Carr Pro Rodeo and Pete Carr’s Classic Pro Rodeo in Hempstead, there are at least a dozen animals that have performed at the NFR. It’s going to be the first great show of the weekend, and it’ll be one you don’t want to miss.

HEMPSTEAD, Texas – With several days remaining on the 2013 Waller County Fair and Rodeo schedule, organizers already are excited with the exposition. “So far, we’ve had the best start to any fair and rodeo I’ve been associated with,” said Clint Sciba, the Waller County Fair Board president. “Our Saturday night was incredible, and Stoney LaRue sealed it with a great show. We had a little rain, but it didn’t dampen the spirits of the people who came out. “Our Bull Mania was awesome, and the fans loved that new part of our fair and rodeo. I think we’ve found something that can help bring great entertainment to Hempstead and Waller County.” Those were just two of the many events on the action-packed opening weekend of the fair. The festivities began with the annual parade, which was followed by the talent show. “I think the thing that has made our fair and rodeo so successful so far is that we’ve got something for everyone to enjoy,” Sciba said. “Everybody loves a parade, and we had so many people who really enjoyed the talent show. “I wasn’t sure what to expect out of our Kid Zone, but I think it was a big hit.” It wasn’t the only big hit. “We had a great turnout at the rodeo arena for the Bull Mania, but a lot of them came so early so they could enjoy the kids’ activities,” Sciba said, noting the mutton busting and calf scramble, which took place prior to the stand-alone bull riding event. “The kids were great, and it set a great tone for the evening. “The thing about mutton busting, to me, is that it’s always a fun time. The kids love to do it, and the adults love to watch it, and I think that’s what we got.” The key, though, is that it set the perfect tone for rest of the fair and rodeo. “I love that we have so much going on in our rodeo arena every night of our fair and rodeo,” Sciba said. “The ranch rodeo on Sunday went over really well. We had just enough teams to make it work and to give the fans a thrill.” It’s something fair-goers can expect the final few days of the exposition, from Wednesday’s barrel race and the opening night of the carnival to the ProRodeo that takes place Thursday-Saturday to the great concerts that are planned to close out the final three nights: Jeff Woolsey Band and Jason Allen on Thursday; John Slaughter and Johnny Lee on Friday; and Josh Ward and Cody Canada & The Departed on Saturday. “Our goal is to provide the best entertainment value possible for this part of the country and to try to grow our fair and rodeo every year,” Sciba said. “I think we’ve got a great start this year, and I’m really excited to see where the rest of the week goes.”

The American has been the talk of rodeo since it was announced several weeks ago. While some say it’s an attack on ProRodeo, I don’t see it in that way. Actually, I see it as brilliant and an opportunity cowboys and cowgirls. A couple of weeks ago during a visit with Randy Bernard, I learned a lot about his decision as president and CEO of Rural Media Group to utilize The American as a means to drive attention toward the Western lifestyle in general. “We are not just to produce television; we want to grow the overall Western lifestyle and Western sports,” he said. “We have to build our cowboys and our cowgirls, and I think this is one way we can do that.” Bernard served as president and CEO of Professional Bull Riders for many years, then moved on to IndyCar, where he ran things for a little more than two years. He returned to the world of cowboy hats in late 2012 and quickly made RFD-TV a name beyond those in the Western lifestyle. There is much more for us to learn about The American, including a visit with two-time PBR world champion bull rider Justin McBride, who will forego a probable exemption into the field to battle through the qualifier while competing in bareback riding. He is scheduled to compete on his first horse in, well, a long, long time at the Professional Roughstock Series’ Midwest Classic, set for Oct. 19 at the Bicentennial Center in Salina, Kan. When it all comes together, it makes everything quite exciting in our world of rodeo.

McAlester, Okla. This place feels a lot like home to Mike Chase. The Lazy E Arena is just two and a half hours from his birth home of El Dorado, Kan., and just two and a half hours from his place near McAlester, Okla. What’s most important, the Lazy E is home to the Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping, and that’s where he wants to be this weekend. He earned the right by finishing 15th in the world standings at the end of the regular season, pocketing $27,375. Chase won the event title in Hugo, Okla., in the state’s southeastern most region. That was great, but he earned the right to rope in this weekend’s championship by being solid throughout the year. That’s what it takes to compete at an elite level. That’s why he’s hoping it carries over to this finale, which features the largest purse of any event in 2013.

The PRCA will conduct an audit of the world standings in the coming days, but for now, this is how the standings look for the top 15 in steer roping, essentially listing the qualifiers to the Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping. In the coming days, you will see the biographies for all 15 cowboys as they are set to appear in the official program. 1 Rocky Patterson, Pratt, Kan. $70,932 2 Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas 57,759 3 Chet Herren, Pawhuska, Okla. 55,560 4 Cody Lee, Gatesville, Texas 54,593 5 Vin Fisher Jr., Andrews, Texas 48,849 6 J. Tom Fisher, Andrews, Texas 44,028 7 JoJo LeMond, Andrews, Texas 43,433 8 Scott Snedecor, Fredericksburg, Texas 43,184 9 Dan Fisher, Andrews, Texas 42,843 10 J.P. Wickett, Sallisaw, Okla. 37,739 11 Joe Wells, Cisco, Texas 34,960 12 Tony Reina, Wharton, Texas 33,383 13 Bryce Davis, Ovalo, Texas 32,560 14 Jess Tierney, Hermosa, S.D. 32,100 15 Mike Chase, McAlester, Okla. 27,375 1 Rocky Patterson, Pratt, Kan. $70,932 2 Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas 57,759 3 Chet Herren, Pawhuska, Okla. 55,560 4 Cody Lee, Gatesville, Texas 54,593 5 Vin Fisher Jr., Andrews, Texas 48,849 6 J. Tom Fisher, Andrews, Texas 44,028 7 JoJo LeMond, Andrews, Texas 43,433 8 Scott Snedecor, Fredericksburg, Texas 43,184 9 Dan Fisher, Andrews, Texas 42,843 10 J.P. Wickett, Sallisaw, Okla. 37,739 11 Joe Wells, Cisco, Texas 34,960 12 Tony Reina, Wharton, Texas 33,383 13 Bryce Davis, Ovalo, Texas 32,560 14 Jess Tierney, Hermosa, S.D. 32,100 15 Mike Chase, McAlester, Okla. 27,375