PRCA Rodeo News and Notes June 10th, 2008

By Courtesy PRCA
Posted Monday, June 9, 2008

Three for the road: Week ahead features big stakes in Innisfail, Sisters, Livermore
Lucrative rodeos in two ProRodeo circuits and Canada highlight the second week of June as the season transitions into the summer stretch.

This weekend, cowboys have 20 PRCA rodeos from which to choose, highlighted by the 48th Annual Daines Ranch Rodeo, June 11-15 in Innisfail, Alberta; the Sisters (Ore.) Rodeo, June 13-15; and the Livermore (Calif.) Rodeo, June 14-15.

The Daines Ranch Rodeo is one of Canada’s most lucrative events, offering $12,000 in added money in bareback riding and bull riding, $15,000 in tie-down roping and steer wrestling and $11,000 in team roping. Four performances take place at 6:45 p.m. (MT) from June 11-14, with matinees at 1:45 p.m. slated for June 14-15. Livestock is being provided by the legendary Calgary Stampede, with seven other contractors assisting as well.

The Sisters Rodeo, dubbed “The Biggest Little Show in the World,” is holding its 68th edition at the Sisters Rodeo Grounds. The four-performance rodeo in the Columbia River Circuit – which offers $8,500 in added money per event – has two nightly shows at 7 p.m. (PT) June 13-14 and a pair of afternoon events at 1 p.m. June 14-15.

Wayne Brooks of Lampasas, Texas, the 2005 PRCA Announcer of the Year, will call the shots alongside Curt Robinson of Pendleton, Ore.

Livermore in the California Circuit offers $5,000 of added money in each event and has two matinee performances at 2 p.m. (PT) on June 14-15. The award-winning Growney Brothers Rodeo Company is providing the livestock.

Rodeo world mourns passing of Hadley
Tom Hadley, a three-time National Finals Rodeo announcer whose legendary career took him from coast to coast and all over the world, died June 2 in Austin, Texas. He was 80.

A public memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m. (CT) June 29 at the Bell County Expo Center in Belton, Texas.
Hadley, born Oct. 6, 1927, in Lawton, Okla., and a longtime resident of Mason, Texas, was a 2001 inductee into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and entered the National Cowboy Hall of Fame three years later. He began announcing rodeos full time in 1953 and called the action at more than 6,000 performances in 33 states, Canada, Mexico and Cuba.

The uncle of eight-time world champion Roy Cooper, Hadley was known for his easy-going, country-style delivery that entertained and informed novice and expert rodeos fans alike.

Hadley was instrumental in organizing the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association and was the first NIRA steer wrestling champion in 1949.

He was selected to announce the NFR in 1971, 1973 and 1982.
Hadley is survived by his wife, Virginia; son, Mark; and sister, Betty Cooper.

Brazile bags third Garden City all-around title
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Trevor Brazile, the reigning and five-time World Champion All-Around Cowboy, displayed his vast talents this weekend at the Beef Empire Days Rodeo in Garden City, Kan. Brazile, of Decatur, Texas, earned checks worth $5,706 in tie-down roping, team roping and steer roping to win the all-around title for the third time and second in three years.

Brazile previously won Garden City’s all-around title in 2004 and 2006, each time winning at least one event titles along the way. Brazile won the team roping title (with Patrick Smith) in 2006 and won the team roping (with Wayne Folmer) and steer roping crowns in 2004.

This year, Brazile placed second overall in team roping (with Patrick Smith), earning $2,652, finished third in steer roping ($2,199) and tied for fifth in tie-down roping ($960).

Brazile wasn’t the only world champion to win big in Garden City after Buster Record Jr., the 2002 world champion steer roper, took top honors in his specialty. Record, of Buffalo, Okla., recorded a three-head time of 37.7 seconds, good for $2,205.

Other Garden City champions were: bareback rider Royce Ford, 81 points on Korkow Rodeo’s Raylene, $2,004; steer wrestler Dru Melvin of Tryon, Neb., 9.1 seconds on two head, $2,400; team ropers Garrett Tonozzi of Fruita, Colo./Kinney Harrell of San Angelo, Texas, 9.9 seconds on two head, $2,902; saddle bronc rider J.J. Elshere of Quinn, S.D., 85 points on Korkow Rodeo’s Bob, $2,103; tie-down roper Trent Creager of Stillwater, Okla., 18.9 seconds on two head, $2,702; and bull rider Cole Hermanson of Mandan, N.D., 88 points on Korkow Rodeo’s Malpractice, $2,482.

Dodge Xtreme Bulls adds Bremerton
The Dodge Xtreme Bulls Tour, presented by B&W Trailer Hitches, recently added a ninth city to its 2008 edition. The Kitsap County Fair and Stampede in Bremerton, Wash., will play host to its first Dodge Xtreme Bulls stop at 1 p.m. (PT) Aug. 24 at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds.

All 40 riders will compete in the first round, and the top 12 riders will be immediately brought back for the final round, where the champion will be crowned based on the highest total score on two bulls.

Highlights of the Bremerton tour stop will air on ESPN on Sept. 7 at 3:30 p.m. ET, with an encore presentation scheduled for Nov. 23 at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

In Bremerton, each rider competes for part of the $50,000 purse and placement in the Xtreme Bulls rankings.

Dodge Xtreme Bulls Tour earnings count toward the Crusher Rentals PRCA World Standings, which determines qualifiers for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, Dec. 4-13 in Las Vegas.

For tickets, visit www.prorodeo.com

Hall of Fame weekend
Tickets are available for the 2008 ProRodeo Hall of Fame induction weekend, July 11-12 in Colorado Springs, Colo., starting with the Cowboy Ball and culminating with the annual induction ceremony.

For the ProRodeo Hall of Fame Cowboy Ball and Dinner, tickets start at $60 per person and $110 per couple. The event starts at 6 p.m. July 11 at the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and features entertainment from country performer Pake McEntire, the brother of legendary singer Reba McEntire.

The following day, the Hall of Fame’s garden area plays host to the induction ceremony, starting at 10 a.m. Tickets, which include lunch afterward, are $20 for adults, $18 for PRCA and Hall of Fame members and $10 for children ages 6-10. Children under 6 are free.

For more information, contact the ProRodeo Hall of Fame at (719) 528-4714.