September sendoff: Ariat Playoff makes stop Number 3 in Omaha
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - A star-studded field is headed to Omaha, Neb., as a total of 17 world champions with a combined 58 world titles highlight the 96-contestant field for the Ak-Sar-Ben River City Roundup, the third of four events of the $1.62 million Ariat Playoffs series.
Competitors in the Omaha Round of the Ariat Playoffs will compete for a share of the $400,000 purse when the three-day event starts Sept. 25 at the Qwest Center in downtown Omaha. It will be televised on Fox Sports Net in October. Check future PRCA News Releases and the ProRodeo Sports News for dates and times in your area.
Action takes place at 7 p.m. (CT) each night. All contestants compete the first two nights. The semifinals, which will feature the top eight competitors in each event after two rounds, get under way on Sept. 27, with the four-person final round immediately following.
Five-time and reigning World Champion All-Around Cowboy Trevor Brazile highlights the field. Brazile, who also claimed his first world title in tie-down roping in 2007, is joined by two other reigning world champions in attendance this week in Omaha – bareback rider Bobby Mote of Culver, Ore., and team roping heeler Walt Woodard of Stephenville, Texas.
Omaha’s team roping lineup boasts five world champions, the most of any event. Eight-time world champion Speed Williams of De Leon, Texas.; seven-time titlist Jake Barnes of Scottsdale, Ariz.; and 2006 World Champion Matt Sherwood of Pima, Ariz., highlight the heading side, while world champion heelers Clay O’Brien Cooper of Morgan Mill, Texas; and Woodard will take aim at Omaha titles.
Three world champions headline the field in both bareback riding and saddle bronc riding, with each event’s reigning champion hoping to use Omaha as a springboard for a repeat world title.
The top 10 contestants in each event based on total Wrangler ProRodeo Tour points from the cumulative Wrangler ProRodeo Tour regular-season standings plus the three Ariat Playoffs rodeos qualify for the Wrangler ProRodeo Tour Championship, presented by Texas Stampede, Nov. 7-9 in Dallas.
The Playoffs started in Caldwell, Idaho, with the top 35 contestants from the 26-city Wrangler ProRodeo Tour and each event champion from the 2008 Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo, presented by U.S. Smokeless Tobacco. After Caldwell, the field was whittled to the top 22 from the cumulative Tour standings, plus the Caldwell and DNCFR champs, as the top athletes headed for the second Ariat Playoff rodeo in Puyallup, Wash.
From there, the top 11 in the Tour standings and each event’s champion from Puyallup advanced to Omaha.
For more information on the Wrangler ProRodeo Tour and the Ariat Playoffs, visit www.prorodeo.com.
Ariat Playoff Series – Omaha Contestant List
The following is the list of qualifiers for the River City Roundup in Omaha, Neb., the third event of the four-rodeo Ariat Playoffs, which runs Sept. 25-27. By rule, each event’s top 11 competitors in Wrangler ProRodeo Tour standings, plus each event champion from the Puyallup (Wash.) Pro Rodeo, qualify for Omaha. The list is current as of Sept. 22, 2008:
Bareback riding
Steven Dent, Mullen, Neb.
Kaycee Feild, Elk Ridge, Utah
Royce Ford, Briggsdale, Colo.
Cimmaron Gerke, Brighton, Colo.
Ryan Gray, Cheney, Wash.
Chris Harris, Itasca, Texas
Will Lowe, Canyon, Texas
Justin McDaniel, Porum, Okla.
Bobby Mote, Culver, Ore.
Tim Shirley, Conifer, Colo.
Kelly Timberman, Mills, Wyo.
Josi Young, Kimberly, Idaho
Steer wrestling
Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif.
Curtis Cassidy, Donalda, Alberta
Beau Franzen, Sidney, Mont.
Dean Gorsuch, Gering, Neb.
Stockton Graves, Newkirk, Okla.
Trevor Knowles, Mount Vernon, Ore.
Gabe Ledoux, Kaplan, La.
Ken Lewis, La Junta, Colo.
Jason Miller, Lance Creek, Wyo.
Cash Myers, Athens, Texas
Les Shepperson, Midwest, Wyo.
Wade Sumpter, Fowler, Colo.
Team roping (Heading)
Jake Barnes, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Matt Funk, Hermiston, Ore.
JoJo LeMond, Andrews, Texas
Riley Minor, Ellensburg, Wash.
Logan Olson, Flandreau, S.D.
Turtle Powell, Alpine, Texas
Matt Sherwood, Pima, Ariz.
Jake Stanley, Hermiston, Ore.
Colter Todd, Marana, Ariz.
Garrett Tonozzi, Fruita, Colo.
Travis Tryan, Billings, Mont.
Speed Williams, De Leon, Texas
Team roping (Heeling)
Randon Adams, Logandale, Nev.
Marty Becker, Edmonton, Alberta
Clay O’Brien Cooper, Morgan Mill, Texas
Broc Cresta, Petaluma, Calif.
Cesar de la Cruz, Tucson, Ariz.
Travis Graves, Jay, Okla.
Kinney Harrell, San Angelo, Texas
Michael Jones, Stephenville, Texas
Martin Lucero, Stephenville, Texas
Brady Minor, Ellensburg, Wash.
Cory Petska, Lexington, Okla.
Walt Woodard, Stephenville, Texas
Saddle bronc riding
Justin Arnold, Santa Margarita, Calif.
Anthony Bello, Oakley, Utah
J.J. Elshere, Quinn, S.D.
Billy Etbauer, Edmond, Okla.
Chad Ferley, Oelrichs, S.D.
Rod Hay, Wildwood, Alberta
Chet Johnson, Gillette, Wyo.
Jesse Kruse, Great Falls, Mont.
Jess Martin, Dillon, Mont.
Ben Morrow, Grafton, Australia
Cody Taton, Newell, S.D.
Cody Wright, Milford, Utah
Tie-down roping
Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas
Jeff Chapman, Athens, Texas
Seth Childers, Cameron, Texas
Tuf Cooper, Decatur, Texas
Hunter Herrin, Apache, Okla.
Jerrad Hofstetter, Portales, N.M.
Ryan Jarrett, Summerville, Ga.
Mike Johnson, Henryetta, Okla.
Josh Peek, Pueblo, Colo.
Doug Pharr, Victoria, Texas
Stran Smith, Childress, Texas
Fred Whitfield, Hockley, Texas
Bull riding
Kanin Asay, Powell, Wyo.
Howdy Cloud, Kountze, Texas
Brian Curtis, Belle Fourche, S.D.
J.W. Harris, May, Texas
Cory McFadden, Coleman, Texas
Zack Oakes, Elk, Wash.
Shawn Proctor, Tooele, Utah
B.J. Schumacher, Hillsboro, Wis.
Chance Smart, Philadelphia, Miss.
Jake Wade, Alamo, Nev.
Stormy Wing, Dalhart, Texas
Steve Woolsey, Payson, Utah
World champions shine in Albuquerque
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Reigning World Champion All-Around Cowboy Trevor Brazile, 2004 World Champion Steer Wrestler Luke Branquinho and eight-time World Champion Fred Whitfield highlighted the champions at the New Mexico State Fair Rodeo, which concluded Sept. 25 in Albuquerque.
Brazile won the rodeo’s all-around crown after earning $1,330 in tie-down roping and team roping.
Branquinho turfed two steers in 7.4 seconds to win the steer wrestling title and $4,941, while Whitfield claimed the tie-down roping title with a two-head time of 15.0 seconds, good for $5,517.
Brazile also enjoyed success at the Amarillo (Texas) Tri-State Fair and Rodeo and the Southwestern International PRCA Rodeo in El Paso, Texas, joining forces with heeler and 2005 World Champion Patrick Smith to win both titles.
In Amarillo, the team roped two steers in 15.1 seconds, good for $3,929 each, and they also earned $4,448 in El Paso after recording a total two-head time of 9.0 seconds.
For the weekend, Brazile earned $10,436.
Other highlights from the weekend included five-time World Champion Cody Ohl, who won the his event title in El Paso, and five-time World Champion Saddle Bronc Rider Billy Etbauer, who won a share of the crown (with Dusty Hausauer) in Amarillo.
Wrangler Gala to honor McSpadden
Celebrating 50 years of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, the Wrangler Gold Buckle Gala also will pay homage to the late Clem McSpadden as the 2008 Wrangler Legend in festivities in Las Vegas.
The Gala gets underway at 7 p.m. PT on Dec. 1 at the South Point Hotel and Casino’s Grand Ballroom. Entertainment will be provided by Grammy Award- winning country music recording band Asleep at the Wheel.
McSpadden, a PRCA announcer for 60 years who also served as longtime Oklahoma state senator and former general manager of the National Finals Rodeo, died July 7 after a battle with cancer.
All proceeds benefit the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy. For details, call 719.548.4748.
National Cowboy Hall of Fame
ProRodeo Hall of Fame members Hadley Barrett, Don Gay, Charles Sampson, Marty Wood, Lane Frost, Feek Tooke and Chuck Parkison are among nine individuals who have been chosen for induction into the National Western Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum Rodeo Hall of Fame Oct. 26 in Oklahoma City.
Induction into the Rodeo Hall of Fame is one of the top honors that can be bestowed on a rodeo cowboy or performer. Inductees are chosen annually by a vote of the Rodeo Historical Society membership, and the inductees will be recognized at a special ceremony.
George Williams and Claire Belcher Thompson also will join the new class.
Upcoming PRCA Rodeos
California Circuit: Kern County Fair Rodeo, Sept. 26-27, Bakersfield; Poway Coors Rodeo, Sept. 26-28, Poway; San Bernardino Sheriff’s PRCA Rodeo, Sept. 26-28, San Bernardino; Barstow Rodeo Stampede, Sept. 27-28
First Frontier Circuit: Cowtown Rodeo, Sept. 27, Woodstown Pilesgrove, N.J.; Shawnee Mountain PRCA Rodeo, Sept. 27-28, Shawnee on Delaware, Pa.
Mountain States Circuit: The Qualifier at the Ford, Sept. 25-27, Fort Collins, Colo.
Prairie Circuit: Ariat Playoff Series – River City Roundup, Sept. 25-27, Omaha, Neb.
Southeastern Circuit: Harrison Roundup Club PRCA Rodeo, Sept. 25-27, Harrison, Ark.; Southwest Arkansas District Livestock Show & Rodeo, Sept. 25-27, Hope, Ark.; Rodeo of the Mid-South, Sept. 26-27, Southaven, Miss.; Southern Pro Rodeo, Sept. 27, Tylertown, Miss.
Texas Circuit: Comal County Fair & Rodeo, Sept. 25-27, New Braunfels; Eastland County Pro Rodeo, Sept.2 6-27, Eastland
Turquoise Circuit: Andy Devine Days PRCA Rodeo, Ssept. 27-28, Kingman, Ariz.
Wilderness Circuit: Pahrump Fall Festival PRCA Rodeo, Sept. 26-28, Pahrump, Nev.
Canada: McCord Pro Rodeo, Sept. 26-27, McCord, Saskatchewan
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