ProRodeo sets schedule for 2005 Wrangler Tour
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Wrangler ProRodeo Tour starts its sixth year in January and features the same exciting venues as in 2004. The Wrangler Tour also is retaining its format in the winter and summer series, in which contestants can select up to 10 events in each series as his/her official Wrangler Tour entries.
In five short years, the Wrangler Tour has elevated America's original extreme sport to unprecedented heights. Rodeo today shares the sports page with football, basketball and baseball. The top cowboys at the conclusion of each Wrangler Tour season qualify for a slot in one or more of the three Pace Picante ProRodeo Series championship events.
At a Wrangler Tour rodeo, contestants compete in preliminary rounds to advance to the Wrangler Tour round on the event's final day. Wrangler Tour points are awarded to top finishers in each round and in the aggregate. Several of the Wrangler Tour rodeos during the winter and summer campaigns are televised by the Outdoor Life Network. ProRodeo boasted record hours of rodeo coverage in 2004 on OLN, ESPN, ESPN2 and CBS. CBS televised all final-round coverage of the Pace Series championship events.
The 12 rodeos for the winter series of the Wrangler Tour, and the dates for the Wrangler Tour (final) rounds, are: Jan. 23 - National Western Rodeo, Denver; Feb. 6 - Black Hills Stock Show, Rapid City, S.D.; Feb. 20 - San Antonio (Texas) Stock Show and Rodeo; Feb. 26 - San Angelo (Texas) Stock Show and Rodeo; Feb. 27 - La Fiesta de los Vaqueros, Tucson, Ariz.; March 19 - RodeoHouston (Texas); March 26 - Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo, Austin, Texas; April 3 - Laughlin (Nev.) River Stampede; April 10 - Clark County Fair and Rodeo, Logandale, Nev.; April 17 - Red Bluff (Calif.) Round-up; April 24 - Clovis (Calif.) Rodeo; and May 8 - Guymon (Okla.) Pioneer Days.
The winter series of the Wrangler Tour culminates with the $500,000 Pace Picante ProRodeo Chute-out. The time and place for the Pace Chute-out will be announced at a later date.
The 12 rodeos for the summer series of the Wrangler Tour and the dates for the Wrangler Tour (final) rounds are: June 25 - Reno (Nev.) Rodeo; July 4 - Rocky Mountain Stampede, Greeley, Colo.; July 9 - Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo, Vernal, Utah; July 17 - California Rodeo Salinas; July 23 - Days of '47 Rodeo, Salt Lake City; July 31 - Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days; Aug. 7 - Dodge City (Kan.) Round-Up Rodeo; Aug. 13 - Farm-City Pro Rodeo, Hermiston, Ore.; Aug. 20 - Caldwell (Idaho) Night Rodeo; Sept. 5 - Ellensburg (Wash.) Rodeo; Sept. 11 - Puyallup (Wash.) Rodeo; and Sept. 17 - Pendleton (Ore.) Round-Up.
The Wrangler Tour's summer series is capped by the $500,000 Pace Picante ProRodeo Challenge, hosted by the River City Roundup Fair and Festival, Sept. 29-Oct. 1, in Omaha, Neb.
The Wrangler Tour climaxes in Dallas with the $500,000 Pace Picante ProRodeo Classic, presented by the Interstate Batteries Texas Stampede. The Pace Classic showcases the finalists from the previous two Pace Series events and the top overall points winners from the winter and summer series. The event's dates will be announced later.
Television schedules for the Winter and Summer Tours, as well as the events in the Pace Series, have not been released. Watch for these schedules in upcoming news releases, as well as in the ProRodeo Sports News and on prorodeo.com.

PRCA, Grit Rock Ventures team up on unique marketing partnership 

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and Grit Rock Ventures, LLC announced recently that they have agreed to form Pro Rodeo Tour, LLC, a new venture that will market media, sponsorship, merchandise and other properties of the PRCA and its affiliates. Both parties will have an ownership interest in the new venture, but Grit Rock will own a majority interest and be the manager. The transaction is expected to become effective early in 2005.
"This new strategic alliance that combines the sports marketing and entertainment savvy of Grit Rock and the world's best cowboys from the PRCA is the platform ProRodeo needs to move to the next level," said Troy Ellerman, chairman of the PRCA Board of Directors. "ProRodeo is an exciting and dramatic action sport, and I believe working with Grit Rock will result in increased exposure, awareness and popularity for professional rodeo."
The PRCA will continue as a non-profit membership organization.
Headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., the PRCA is the largest and oldest rodeo-sanctioning body in the world. The recognized leader in professional rodeo, the PRCA is committed to maintaining the highest standards in the industry. The PRCA sanctions nearly 700 rodeos annually in 41 states and four Canadian provinces, which draw nearly 24 million attendees. Each year, PRCA-sanctioned rodeos raise more than $26 million for local and national charities. The PRCA's official Web site is www.prorodeo.com.
Grit Rock is a private equity investment firm based in Minneapolis, Minn., specializing in sports, media and entertainment businesses.
"We are very proud to be partners with the PRCA," said Jac Sperling, chairman and chief executive officer of Grit Rock. "They are the dominant force in rodeo, which is the most genuinely American of all sports. Our mutual goal is to help grow the sport - more participants, and more fans attending and watching rodeos on television."
Sperling is also an investor in and served as the CEO of the Minnesota Wild, a successful National Hockey League franchise.

Rodeo News and Notes
PRCA sanctions Hedeman events. Former PRCA world champion Tuff Hedeman has announced that he is creating the Tuff Hedeman Championship Challenge Bull Riding Series.
Hedeman and partner Ron Pack will put on five events that will offer $100,000 each in prize money.
Hedeman has reached an agreement with the PRCA that assures the five events will be approved by the PRCA and the money won will count in the world standings.
The Tuff Hedeman Championship Challenge Bull Riding Series will be sanctioned by Championship Bull Riding, and the events will be televised on the Outdoor Channel.
The Tuff Hedeman Championship Challenge Bull Riding Series will have its first event this January in Bossier City, La.
The annual Tuff Hedeman Challenge is set for March 11-13 in Fort Worth, Texas.

LaJeunesse heads Ogden rodeo. There's a new cowboy in town, and he's got big plans for the annual summer rodeo.
Lan LaJeunesse of Morgan, Utah, the world champion bareback rider in 1999 and 2001, is the new director of the Ogden Pioneer Days Rodeo.
"It was a good rodeo before," LaJeunesse said. "It can be great now."
The newly formed Ogden Pioneer Heritage Foundation announced his appointment and other changes for this summer's 72nd annual presentation of the Pioneer Days rodeo.
The most notable change in the works is the addition of two new stock contractors.
Foundation Chairman Wynn Covieo said the change was simply an effort to keep up with the times and to bring in stock contractors who owned the caliber of animals that would attract the profession's top-ranked athletes.

San Antonio music lineup complete. With the addition of modern rock group 3 Doors Down and hot new country singer Dierks Bentley, the 2005 San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo will be presenting one of the most diverse musical lineups in its history.
The rodeo's 17-day concert lineup was completed with the recent announcement.
Bentley, on a bill with rodeo favorite Neal McCoy, will perform Feb. 9, and 3 Doors Down is set for Feb. 17.
Other top names at the 2005 rodeo, which runs Feb. 4-20, are Alan Jackson, Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley, Montgomery Gentry and Conjunto Primavera.