Patterson repeats as steer roping world champion, sets earnings record
GUTHRIE, Okla. – Rocky Patterson said he wanted to make sure the world championship race didn’t come down to the final round at the Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping like it did last year.
It didn’t, and Patterson made history at the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Okla.
Patterson won his second consecutive world championship Nov. 6 and set a PRCA single-season record with $101,685 in earnings, becoming the first steer roper to ever eclipse the $100,000 mark.
Despite entering the Finals with a lead of more than $32,000, Patterson said he was uneasy about the 2010 season’s final weekend until the final couple of rounds.
“I think Trevor (Brazile) can go off like a cheap pistol,” Patterson said. “He was within striking distance, even after he took the no-time (in Round 6). He can do enough things to make things go his way. Last night, I didn’t run bad steers; I just didn’t get anything going. Last year, I kind of got tapped off in the first round, and things just built from there. That’s a lot more fun than having to grind it out.”
After placing in three of the first five rounds, Patterson had his struggles on the final night. A difficult steer in Round 7 resulted in a 27.9-second run, and that was followed by a no-time in Round 8. A 10.1-second run in Round 9 was good for a second-place check, however, and that put any chance of a Brazile comeback out of reach.
After competing in 14 national steer roping finals without a world title, the 44-year-old has now won back-to-back championships.
“I don’t think little kids dream of the second one, but it’s nice to have,” Patterson said.
Chet Herren – who had the fastest run of the weekend in Round 8 with a 9.2-second run (on his 31st birthday) – and Cody Scheck, who won the average title at this year’s NFSR, both traveled with Patterson this year, and Scheck was coached by Patterson at Pratt (Kan.) Community College.
After making the Finals as a rookie in 2005 (and winning the PRCA Rookie of the Year award), Scheck placed 17th in both 2006 and 2009, with two years of school in between to complete his degree in agricultural business.
Scheck said he was probably unprepared for his first Finals experience – a win at Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days was responsible for a good amount of his earnings that year – and he got skunked.
He made this year count; after placing in three of his first four rounds, Scheck went on to become the only cowboy to have 10 qualified times, finishing with a time of 171.1 seconds to pick up the average buckle and the $15,000 that goes with it.
Scheck said this year was redemption for missed opportunities a year ago.
“It was a big motivator,” Scheck said of his 2009 season. “I was fairly sold up last year, and I missed a few that would have put myself in (to the Finals). It really made me hustle and practice this year.
“I should have been here (last year) to see my friend win his first world title. I traveled with Rocky all year, and I should have been here for that. I sat at home and punished myself as a motivator to rope well this year.”
The final performance was a showcase for 2009 NFSR average winner Bryce Davis, who won Rounds 6, 7 and 9. Davis finished the Finals with $21,154 and jumped up three spots to finish fifth in the world.
Brazile was the high-money winner at the Lazy E with $28,077, and he was one of five cowboys to earn at least $20,000. Dan Fisher was the only roper to not earn a check, but he will likely find plenty of comfort in knowing that he roped there with his sons, Vin and J. Tom, to become only the second father-and-two-sons combination to qualify for the Finals in PRCA history.
O’Mara closes out rookie year with win in Dodge Southeastern Circuit Finals
DAVIE, Fla. – The song you hear when you call Jacob O’Mara’s cell phone is Seventeen by Chris LeDoux. It’s the one with the line, “And in his mind, he’s riding bulls down in Las Vegas.” It’s one of O’Mara’s favorite songs, the one he has always had on his cell to remind him, and anyone who calls, the goals he has set for himself.
O’Mara, of Prairieville, La., wanted a berth in the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo and the Resistol Bull Riding Rookie of the Year award this season, but he missed the last two months of the season with a concussion to fall a bit short of both marks. If he stays healthy, it would be unwise to bet against him making it to Vegas in 2011.
The 19-year-old has been nothing short of spectacular since his return to action in early October, capped by his dominant win in the Nov. 4-6 Dodge Southeastern Circuit Finals Rodeo. O’Mara had 239 points on three head at the Bergeron Rodeo Grounds. Nobody else in the field had more than one qualified ride, including Dylan Werner, who beat O’Mara for the Rookie of the Year award.
“The pen of bulls seemed pretty even,” O’Mara said. “Everybody has hard luck from time to time, and that’s how it was here. A few guys ran into some bad luck. I was just fortunate enough to ride all three.”
This “fortunate” weekend followed a second-place finish at the All American ProRodeo Finals in Waco, Texas, last month (where he banked $11,487) and a tie for second place last week at the American Royal in Kansas City, the first stop on the Wrangler Million Dollar Tour presented by Justin Boots.
So, in back-to-back weeks, he’s moved himself up to fourth place in the 2011 PRCA World Standings and earned his first berth in the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo next spring in Oklahoma City.
“It took me a while to figure out that the basics of the sport are no different at this level than they are in high school,” O’Mara said. “There’s more money and better bulls, but you still have to focus on each ride, each bull. You can’t let yourself start looking ahead.
“Toward the end of my rookie year, I started feeling more comfortable about things. When I had that concussion in Cheyenne (Wyo.), I just went home for a couple of months. I did some hunting, spent time with my family, and when I came back, I had a real fire under me. I was fresh and ready to go.”
It could be argued that his move from rookie to Wrangler NFR-level talent really started in July, before he was knocked silly by Black Diamond of the Mosbrucker Rodeos string in Cheyenne.
O’Mara had a 91-point ride on Corey & Horst’s Due North en route to a second-place finish at California Rodeo Salinas to go with a career-best 92-pointer to win at the Killeen (Texas) Rodeo, as well as other wins at Goliad, Texas; Carthage, Texas; and Canton, Texas.
For that other part of his transition to the professional ranks – learning how to set up his schedule, travel and finances – he turned to older travel partners to accelerate his education. Fellow Louisianan Brandon Sartin helped O’Mara through the early part of the year, and then veteran D.J. Domangue worked with O’Mara and his Prairieview neighbor, Jason Beck, to get their schedules worked out to greatest benefit.
“It all seemed kind of overwhelming at first,” O’Mara said. “I used to make my schedule when there were just a couple of high school rodeos and maybe one other on my schedule. The PRCA is a lot more complicated, a lot bigger, and it helps to have someone show you the ropes. Brandon and D.J. did a great job for me.”
O’Mara wasn’t the only cowboy to put a great finish to their 2010 rookie season at Davie. Tennessean Matthew Smith, who finished ninth in the bareback riding rookie standings, won two rounds and placed in all three on his way to the Dodge Southeastern Circuit Finals Rodeo title.
Smith’s 240 points were nine better than Brandon Holmes (the year-end champion) and Dustin Smith, who tied for second place in the average.
“(My approach was) I’m just going to ride it out and have fun,” Smith told the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel. “I’ve got nothing to lose. This is what we work for all year. It’s a great honor (to qualify for the DNCFR). This is big time.”
The other Southeastern Circuit champions were steer wrestler Ivon Nelson (13.0 seconds on three head), team ropers Ross Lowry and Stephen Britnell (28.1 seconds on three head), saddle bronc rider Heith DeMoss (244 points on three head), tie-down roper Wes Arcement (28.1 seconds on three head) and barrel racer Michelle West (45.59 seconds on three runs).
Former PRCA President Taylor dies at 87
Dan Taylor, a former president of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the man known widely as “The Master Chute Boss,” died Nov. 3 in his hometown of Doole, Texas. He was 87.
Taylor served as timed-event chute boss at the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City 11 times (1965-73, 1978-79) and held the same position at the National Finals Steer Roping in Guthrie, Okla., six times.
He was in charge of Chute 9 – the timed event area – at the Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days Rodeo for 49 years before stepping down last year, and Taylor had a 64-year association with the ‘Daddy of ‘em All,’ as contestant, judge and chute boss.
Taylor joined the Cowboys’ Turtle Association, forerunner to the PRCA, in 1942 at age 18 and was issued card number 64. He won tie-down roping titles during his career at San Antonio; Ellensburg, Wash.; Boston; Nampa, Idaho; Ogden, Utah; and Salt Lake City.
He finished third in the world standings in 1950 and fourth in 1951.
In 1954, Taylor was named Rodeo Cowboys Association Calf Roping Director, a post he held through 1956. He served one year as PRCA President in 1986.
The Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame inducted Taylor and his wife, Berva Dawn Sorensen Taylor, in 2005, and a year later he was voted into the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum Rodeo Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City.
Memorials may be sent to the West Texas Boys Ranch, 10223 Boys Ranch Road, San Angelo, TX 76904; the West Texas Rehab Center, 3001 S. Jackson, San Angelo, TX 76904 or to any charity of the giver’s choice.
• Timberman pays tribute to ‘most successful cowboy’ in Casper, Wyo.
For Kelly Timberman, there was a special thrill to sharing the bareback riding championship at A Tribute to Chris LeDoux Rodeo in Casper, Wyo., that goes back to his childhood, to memories of his early years as a professional and to long trips on asphalt roads.
Timberman’s dad rodeoed with LeDoux, the 1976 world champion bareback rider who was also an accomplished country singer and songwriter. LeDoux performed at some of Timberman’s early rodeos and quite often on his truck’s tape deck.
“Chris LeDoux exemplified everything rodeo is about,” Timberman told the Casper Star-Tribune. “He epitomized how you want to ride bareback. And there was a lot of truth to his songs. We used to listen to them all the time on the road.
“Chris LeDoux was the most successful cowboy I can think of.”
In Timberman’s mind, there was no more fitting tribute to LeDoux, who died five years ago from a rare form of liver cancer, than to perform at his best in his hometown rodeo. Timberman had an 86-point ride on Triple V Rodeo’s Indian Summer to match the 86 that Casey Colletti of Pueblo, Colo., had on Triple V’s Double Shot.
“Having this rodeo in my hometown is great,” Timberman said. “I’ll tell you what, it doesn’t get much better than this.”
The other champions at Casper were steer wrestler Dru Melvin (4.0 seconds), team ropers Garrett Tonozzi and Hank Bounds (4.9 seconds), saddle bronc rider Cole Elshere (82 points), tie-down ropers Jayce Johnson and Trevor Thiel (8.1 seconds each), bull rider Clayton Savage (83 points) and barrel racer Jane Melby (14.86 seconds).
• Brazile moves one step closer to record eighth all-around title
With his rodeo-best earnings of $28,077 at the Nov. 5-6 Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping in Guthrie, Okla., Trevor Brazile pushed his season all-around total to $296,411, a record for any cowboy entering the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Brazile is virtually assured of his record eighth all-around gold buckle; his lead over second-place Curtis Cassidy is $158,950, which is more than anyone has ever earned at the Wrangler NFR. Brazile’s season total is nearly $35,000 more than any reserve world champion has ever earned (Josh Peek’s $261,692 in 2007), and he is qualified in both the team roping and tie-down roping events in Las Vegas Dec. 2-11. No one else is qualified in more than one event.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “I’ll get on a few, take ‘em one at a time, see how it feels, see how I feel, and make a decision at that time. If I’m not ready, I won’t go to Las Vegas. But, I’m definitely going to wait until then to decide.”
— Canadian saddle bronc rider Rod Hay, telling Dwayne Erickson of the Calgary Herald about his comeback from a broken leg June 20 and his plan to get in some practice time before he decides if he is fit enough to compete in his 20th Wrangler NFR.
Next Up (2011 rodeos)
Nov. 11 Dodge Great Lakes Circuit Finals Rodeo, Louisville, Ky., begins
Nov. 12 East Central Florida PRCA Rodeo, Cocoa, Fla., begins
Nov. 12 Dodge Mountain States Circuit Finals Rodeo, Denver, begins
Nov. 12 Dodge Columbia River Circuit Finals Rodeo, Redmond, Ore., begins
Nov. 13 Brawley (Calif.) Cattle Call Rodeo begins
Rodeo News and Notes
ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductee Decker dies at 85
Jo Decker, one of the key figures in the launching of the National Finals Rodeo in 1959 and an inductee in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, died of natural causes Nov. 5 at Talihina (Okla.) Manor nursing home. She was 85.
Decker was one of the top rodeo secretaries for more than 25 years, working for a Who’s Who of stock contractors – Beutler Brothers, Harry Vold, Hoss Inman, Harry Knight, Mike Cervi and Everett Colborn – and was also active in efforts to preserve rodeo and Western heritage throughout her life.
When the Rodeo Cowboys Association, the precursor to the PRCA, began work on creating a season-ending National Finals Rodeo, Decker was one of the first people the organization contacted.
At the first NFR in Dallas in 1959, Decker helped organize the event, filled the role of production coordinator and carried the American flag for the grand entry each night. She served as secretary of the National Finals Rodeo six times (1964, 1966-70) and was secretary of the inaugural National Finals Steer Roping in Clayton, N.M. in 1959.
Decker was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs in 2001, and she was also enshrined at the Rodeo Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy Museum in Oklahoma City in 2000.
In 1999, the National Cowboy Museum in Oklahoma City honored her heritage preservation efforts with its Tad Lucas Memorial Award.
Decker’s success as a rodeo secretary came from her ability to understand problems encountered by cowboys, stock contractors and judges and offer solutions to ensure a successful rodeo.
She has been described as having the biggest heart in rodeo, always willing to help anyone. She was also known as a consummate horsewoman, who was better able to diagnose a problem than the local veterinarian.
Decker is survived by her husband of 64 years, Tater, who is a PRCA Gold Card member who competed in two NFRs; son, Dirk (Misty); granddaughter, Harley; and nephew, David Ramsey, the son of her late twin brother Jack Ramsey.
A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. (CT) Nov. 21 in Decker’s hometown of Clayton, Okla., at the Clayton High School auditorium.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund, 101 Pro Rodeo Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80919.
ProRodeoLive.com coverage of the Wrangler NFR
ProRodeoLive.com will provide live and comprehensive streaming audio coverage of the 52nd Annual Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, Dec. 2-11 from the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
The broadcasts can be heard on a network of radio stations across the country or by visiting ProRodeoLive.com and clicking on the link on the homepage. ProRodeoLive.com’s coverage also is being offered on iTunes Radio.
ProRodeoLive.com is the official radio broadcast provider of the PRCA.
The broadcasts are anchored by 2009 PRCA Broadcaster of the Year Steve Kenyon. Analysis and color commentary are provided by a trio of rodeo insiders – Clint Corey, Wade Wheatley and Freya Ford.
Corey is a ProRodeo Hall of Famer, 1991 world champion and 18-time Wrangler NFR qualifier. Wheatley is a six-time Wrangler NFR qualifier, and he finished second in the world title race in 2002.
Ford was the 2009 Miss Rodeo Idaho and finished runner-up to 2010 Miss Rodeo America Kelli Jackson.
ProRodeoLive.com broadcast schedule
(All times PT)
Thursday, Dec. 2, and Friday, Dec. 3 ... on air at 6:15 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 4, and Sunday, Dec 5 ... on air at 5:15 p.m.
Monday, Dec 6, through Friday, Dec 10 ... on air at 6:15 p.m.
Saturday, Dec 11 ... on air at 5:15 p.m.
ProRodeoLive.com also will offer ProRodeo fans daily interviews and results in its ProRodeoLive’s Wrangler NFR Today program, Dec. 2-11, which will be broadcast at 11 a.m. (PT) from the PRCA booth at the Cowboy Christmas Gift Show, held at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Notes from along the rodeo trail …
Former Badlands Circuit saddle bronc rider Billie Sutton of Burke, S.D., was elected Nov. 2 to serve as the South Dakota state senator from District 26. Sutton, a 26-year-old Democrat in his first run for public office, defeated Republican John Meyer, a businessman from Winner, S.D., with 4,167 votes to Meyer’s 3,045. An investment banker in training, Sutton told the Rapid City Journal he has set his sights on the Senate Appropriations Committee. Education will also be one of his priorities. Sutton is the grandson and namesake of the late Billie Sutton of Bonesteel, S.D., who served as a state senator from the same district, then known as District 24, and later ran for lieutenant governor. Sutton’s rodeo career ended in 2007 when he suffered a broken back while competing in the Dodge Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo in Minot, N.D. … Rose Abrams, a member of the rodeo committee and a longtime volunteer, was voted the third annual Clem McSpadden Leadership Award by the contestants at the American Royal Rodeo in Kansas City, Oct. 21-23 and 29-30. The award recognizes an individual who goes above and beyond the call of duty, in and out of the arena, to promote and support the sport of rodeo … Frances D. Hirdes, the widow of ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductee Les Hirdes, died Oct. 29 at her Turlock, Calif., home. She was 82.
