LOVINGTON, N.M. – When the Lea County Fair and Rodeo rolls into town the first week of August, great athletes will be part of the festivities.
It’s just what happens when Carr Pro Rodeo is part of the production. Top saddle broncs like Showgirl will be just half the equation when world champions like Billy Etbauer, Cody Wright, Taos Muncy and Jesse Kruse display their talents during the rodeo, set for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 4-Saturday, Aug. 7.
“This is what we do for a living, so you hope to get on good horses everywhere you go,” said Muncy, a New Mexico cowboy from Corona who won the 2007 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association title.
J.J. Elshere, a three-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier from Quinn, S.D., knows well what it means to get on the back of a Carr Pro Rodeo horse. He split the victory at the Lea County Fair and Rodeo a year ago, riding Showgirl for 85 points to tie Isaac Diaz of Stephenville, Texas, who rode the Carr bronc Big Time.
“I’d heard a lot of stories, and none of them were the same,” Elshere said of Showgirl. “She did turn out of there and buck. She was hard to ride, but I managed to stay in the saddle long enough.”
Many great bronc riders don’t.
“Showgirl really bucks,” said Pete Carr, owner of the Dallas-based livestock firm. “They don’t ride her very often. She’s been to the finals in bareback and in bronc riding.”
And Showgirl will be just one of a number of outstanding animal athletes that are part of the show in Lovington. Carr said he loves what he sees in Miss Congeniality, Big Casino, True Likes, Take The Plunge and Air Miles.
“They won the truck on her in Canada two years ago, and I just got her out of Canada this past year,” Carr said of Miss Congeniality. “The last couple of years in Edmonton during the Canadian National Finals Rodeo, they have won rounds on her.”
Cowboys won on True Lies and Miss Congeniality earlier this summer. But horse like Big Casino, Take The Plunge and Air Miles are broncs that might be more than a handful, even for the world’s best cowboys.
“Big Casino threw off Heith DeMoss at Pecos, and I don’t think they’ve ridden him yet,” Carr said. “Take The Plunge and Air Miles are both mares, and they’ve been throwing guys off left and right this year.”
The latest victims were Cody Martin and Jeff Willert in Pecos, Texas
So whether they ride for high scores or are bucked off midway through an eight-second ride, cowboys know they’ll be in the middle of some serious action at the Lea County Fair and Rodeo. It’s what they crave and why they put their names in the hat in order to compete.
“Anytime you have a chance to go to one of Pete’s rodeos, you know you’ll have a horse that you can win on,” Muncy said.
