Knowles finds success again at Redding Rodeo
The Redding (Calif.) Rodeo has always been good to steer wrestler Blake Knowles, and he’s hoping that his win there May 16 might be just the thing that launches him to his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo berth.
A 3.8-second run in the final performance at the Redding Rodeo Grounds tied the Heppner, Ore., cowboy with Zack Cobb for the second-round win and carried him to the average title with a time of 8.8 seconds, five-tenths of a second faster than Darrell Petry.
It allowed him to bank $4,190 for the weekend and move from 31st place in the PRCA World Standings to17th. It also lifted him into 12th position in the standings for the Wrangler Million Dollar Tour presented by Justin Boots.
The Redding Rodeo was a Silver Tier rodeo on the Wrangler MDT with total money of $193,451.
“I’ll always take a 3.8 at any rodeo," Knowles told the Redding Record-Searchlight. "I got off to a nice start and things kept getting better from there. I had a great catch, my horse did great and all I had to was finish it off.
“Redding has been a good rodeo for me. I’ve won here before (in 2005) and also finished second here. Hopefully this will start a good run for me"
Knowles, the son of former NFR saddle bronc riding qualifier Butch Knowles, finished 17th in the world standings a year ago, missing the cutoff for the Wrangler NFR by two spots and a little more than $5,000.
Veteran Oklahoma bull rider Corey Navarre also started the week 31st in the PRCA World Standings and also got a big boost to his season at Redding.
Navarre, who qualified for the NFR in 1998-99 and nearly made it again in 2000 and 2003 when he finished 16th in the world, had a 90-point ride on Growney Brothers’ No Glory to edge Jay Foscalina of Cottonwood, Calif., by two points.
Navarre, 31, earned a rodeo-best $5,686 and, with another check at the Helldorado Days Rodeo in Las Vegas, Nev., he moved all the way to 16th in the world standings.
“He basically turned to the right and kept spinning,” Navarre told the Record-Searchlight. “It was just a matter for me to keep my upper body down and square and keep my feet down.”
Reigning World Champion Saddle Bronc Rider Cody Wright of Milford, Utah, broke through for his first big win of the season, riding Growney Brothers’ Hammer Lane for 84 points.
In a tightly bunched field, that was good enough to beat Cody DeMoss of Heflin, La., by one point and Jesse Kruse of Great Falls, Mont., by two, and earn the top prize of $4,218.
The other champions at the Redding Rodeo were three-time World Champion Bareback Rider Will Lowe (86 points on Growney Brothers’ Moulin Rouge), team ropers Ty Blasingame and J.W. Borrego (11.2 seconds on two head), tie-down roper Shank Edwards (15.6 seconds on two head) and reigning World Champion Barrel Racer Lindsay Sears (34.98 seconds on two runs).
Murray made strong impression during 10-week run on Dancing With The Stars
“King of the Cowboys” Ty Murray was eliminated from the ABC reality show Dancing With the Stars during the May 12 semifinals results show.
The tremendous wave of popularity he enjoyed the past several weeks was not enough to make up for his low judges’ score. The elimination process is half-determined by public vote and half by the judges’ total score.
“We probably stayed on the right amount of time, and I’m not going to lie – right now I’m thrilled beyond belief that I don’t have to learn any more dances,” Murray wrote in his blog. “It was a great experience and I feel like it got a ton of recognition for cowboys and bull riders.”
Murray was among 13 celebrities originally cast for the show, which premiered March 9, and often stated he was clearly out of his element on a ballroom dancing show. He was considered the most-improved contestant and was well-liked by the judges, as well as the fans. A judge referred to him as the season’s “most-valuable player.”
Murray and pro partner Chelsie Hightower received a score of 48-out-of-60 points in the May 11 dance competition, while the three other celebrity semifinalists and their pro partners were awarded higher scores and advanced to the show’s finals May 18-19. Actor Gilles Marini and two-time champion Cheryl Burke (60 points on May 11), Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson and season-six winner Mark Ballas (56 points) and Bachelor star Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani (55 points) will contend for the “Mirror Ball Trophy” in the season-eight finale.
Murray, who owns a record seven all-around world titles and two bull riding world titles, credited fan voting in the form of text messages, phone calls and online votes on ABC’s Web site, for getting him through 10 weeks of competition.
“I know the support we got was enormous,” he wrote.
Murray, 39, and Hightower appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on May 12 and were on Good Morning America via satellite the next morning. Murray and Hightower also appeared on Live with Regis and Kelly on May 13.
Murray and the other three semifinalists, and their partners, are featured in the May 18 edition of TV Guide
An in-depth story on Murray’s run on Dancing With the Stars and comments from ProRodeo cowboys about the show will appear in the May 29 ProRodeo Sports News. Call 1.800.763.3648 to order the PSN.
Texas two-step for Huckabee, Colletti and Hodges
Is anyone else here experiencing deja vu?
The top of the results sheets at the San Augustine County (Texas) PRCA Rodeo and the Panola County Cattleman's Association PRCA Rodeo in Carthage, Texas, bore a certain striking similarity May 15-16.
Blake Huckabee of Shreveport, La., was the all-around champion at both rodeos, Casey Colletti of Pueblo, Colo., won both bareback riding events and steer wrestler Jack Hodges of Stephenville, Texas, won outright at Carthage and shared the title at San Augustine with Britt Walters of Huntsville, Texas.
The ironic twist for Huckabee? He won all his money in tie-down roping at Carthage and all his money in team roping at San Augustine, paired with Donnie Savage of Greenwood, La.
Copenhaver to be inducted into Pendleton (Ore.) Round-Up Hall of Fame
Two-time World Champion Saddle Bronc Rider Deb Copenhaver has been selected for induction into the Pendleton (Ore.) Round-Up and Happy Canyon Hall of Fame with Walla Walla tribal leader Willie Wocatsie and Ollie Osborn, one of the great women bronc riders who competed in the post World War I era. Copenhaver returned from service as a Navy Seabee in 1946 to begin a career in professional rodeo and competed in the Pendleton Round-Up 15 consecutive years, winning there in 1955, the first of back-to back years in which he won the world championship over Casey Tibbs. His last pro rodeo was Pendleton in 1974. Copenhaver was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1991.
Oklahoma cattle drive pays tribute to McSpadden
Sixty-six head of longhorns will be driven down Route 66 on May 23, in honor of the late Clem McSpadden, ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductee, former Oklahoma legislator and nephew of Will Rogers. The steers will travel 12 miles from McSpadden's Bushyhead pasture to the Will Rogers Stampede Arena in Claremore, Okla., a section of highway that was named for McSpadden several years ago. A chuck wagon feed for drovers and sponsors at the arena will follow at 2 p.m. The Will Rogers Stampede runs May 21-23.
RodeoHouston to distribute nearly $5 million in scholarships May 19
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo officials will distribute $4.74 million in scholarship awards on May 19. Though the rodeo's Metropolitan, Opportunity and School Art programs, each of 317 Houston-area students will receive a four-year, $15,000 scholarship to attend a Texas college or university.
Reno (Nev.) Rodeo Cattle Drive has openings available
For the first time in many years, the annual Reno (Nev.) Rodeo Cattle Drive has a handful of openings available for riders, June 14-18. The drive, now in its 19th year, gives riders of all experience levels the oppportunity to move 300 head of cattle through the Nevada high desert to Reno. For more information, visit www.renorodeo.com or call 775.329.3877.
Knocke to speak at Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame May 20
Rodeo reporter Ed Knocke will be appearing at the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, May 20, to speak about his career in sportswriting and the great champions he has covered in his more than 25 years as a mainstay at the Dallas Morning News.
Upcoming PRCA Rodeos
May 21 Will Rogers Stampede, Claremore, Okla., begins
May 21 Abdallah Shrine Rodeo, Tonganoxie, Kan., begins
May 22 American Heroes PRCA Rodeo, Braham, Minn., begins
May 22 Central Arkansas PRCA Rodeo, Conway, Ark., begins
May 22 Crosstie PRCA Rodeo, Hinton, Okla., begins
May 22 Cowboy Capital Pro Rodeo, Bandera, Texas, begins
May 22 Bonnyville Pro Rodeo, Bonnyville, Alberta, begins
May 23 Cowtown Rodeo, Woodstown Pilesgrove, N.J.
May 23 The Last Stand Rodeo, Coulee City, Wash., begins
May 23 Jackson Pro Rodeo, Jackson, Tenn., begins
May 25 Old Fort Days Rodeo, Fort Smith, Ark., begins
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