July jackpots: Cheyenne, Salt Lake, Deadwood highlight month’s last weekend
The month of July started with the lucrative Independence Day run, otherwise known as Cowboy Christmas, and ends with a bang as well, with the conclusions of several high-stakes rodeos.
The week got under way with “The Daddy of ’em All,” the Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days. One of the richest regular-season rodeos, Cheyenne began its 111th edition with the first of nine performances on July 19. Action wraps up with the final round on July 27. By then, more than 1,800 cowboys and cowgirls will have battled for the whopping purse of more than $850,000. Visitors can see more rodeo action in one day – more than 40 bucking bulls and 70 bareback and saddle bronc riders in each performance – than at any other rodeo.
The Cheyenne Frontier Days, the nine-time and reigning PRCA Large Outdoor Rodeo of the Year, holds daily performances at Frontier Park at 1 p.m. MT each day.
Cheyenne Frontier Days began in 1897 as the “business” plan of Frederick W. Angler. It still holds true to the principles of those early years. The biggest names in today’s national standings are competing in several events for a share of one of the largest purses in rodeo.
While Cheyenne is playing host to the week’s premier event, two other rodeos in relatively close proximity to Wyoming’s state capital also can help fatten a cowboy’s wallet.
The Days of ’47 Rodeo in Salt Lake City, which started July 16, continues through July 24. The rodeo, which pays a generous $12,500 of added money in each event, consists of seven performances. The first three of this week, July 21-23, start at 7 p.m. MT at Energy Solutions Arena. The last performance on July 24 is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
The rodeo features the award-winning livestock of Flying U Rodeo Company, led by ProRodeo Hall of Fame stock contractor Cotton Rosser, and Rosser Rodeo Company.
The Deadwood (S.D.) Days of ’76 Rodeo, about a 300-mile drive northwest of Cheyenne, starts July 24 and runs through July 27. The rodeo, noted for its wooden bucking chutes and old West scenery, has been honored four times as the PRCA’s Small Outdoor Rodeo Committee of the Year and is the four-time and reigning Medium Rodeo Committee of the Year.
Oh, brother: Branquinho duo takes Nampa
Timed-event cowboys Luke and Casey Branquinho, both of Los Alamos, Calif., have won some mighty big rodeos during their days in ProRodeo, but usually not in the same place at the same time. That all changed this weekend at the Snake River Stampede in Nampa, Idaho.
Luke Branquinho, the 2004 World Champion Steer Wrestler, won his discipline by turning three steers in 12.7 seconds. Meanwhile, his older brother, Casey, the tie-down roping champion at the 2005 Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo, won his event by recording a three-head time of 26.7 seconds
Luke, who last won the Snake River Stampede during his championship year of 2004, won $8,110 and solidified his No. 2 ranking in the Crusher Rentals PRCA World Standings, while Casey earned $7,271 and moved into the top 20 as he seeks his first Wrangler NFR qualification.
It’s the first time each Branquinho brother has won his event at the same rodeo since the 2003 Redding (Calif.) Rodeo.
Nampa gave contestants another shot at qualifying for the second Ariat Playoffs series, which starts next month in Caldwell, Idaho. At the conclusion of the final Tour stop in Dodge City, Kan., on Aug. 5, the top 35 contestants (35 teams in team roping) in total Tour points and the “Wild Cards,” event champions from the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo, presented by U.S. Smokeless Tobacco, will move on to the first Ariat Playoffs event, Aug. 12-16, in Caldwell, Idaho. Fox Sports Network and CBS are scheduled to televise the Playoffs.
Team ropers Speed Williams and Allen Bach, who have 12 world championships between them, broke through in Nampa for their first victory since April. Williams, of De Leon, Texas, an eight-time champion, and Bach, of Weatherford, Texas, roped three steers in 18.7 seconds, good for $3,089 each.
In the roughstock events, cowboys nearly swept their way to each title.
Bareback rider Royce Ford, of Briggsdale, Colo., split the first-round victory and won the final round outright en route to a two-head score of 168 points and checks worth $11,289. Last year, Ford won the title at the weekend’s other main-attraction rodeo, California Rodeo Salinas.
Saddle bronc rider J.J. Elshere, of Quinn, S.D., did exactly the same thing in winning his event title with 171 points on two head. He earned $12,362, the most of any contestant at the rodeo.
Bull rider Jake Wade, of Alamo, Nev., came on strong at the end to claim the two-head average title. After tying for sixth place in the first round with an 81, Wade won the final round with an 85 aboard Bar T Rodeo’s Frontier, giving him 166 points and the title, worth $8,524.
Barrel racer Shelley Murphy of Helena, Mont., the reigning DNCFR champion, bagged $11,141 after completing two patterns in 31.76 seconds.
Snake River Stampede Champions
Bareback Riding - Royce Ford (Briggsdale, Colo.), 168/2, $11,289
Steer Wrestling - Luke Branquinho (Los Alamos, Calif.), 12.7/3, $8,110
Team Roping - Speed Williams (De Leon, Texas)/Allen Bach (Weatherford, Texas), 18.7/3, $3,089 each
Saddle Bronc Riding - J.J. Elshere (Quinn, S.D.), 171/2, $12,362
Tie-Down Roping - Casey Branquinho (Los Alamos, Calif.), 26.7/3, $7,271
Barrel Racing - Shelley Murphy (Helena, Mont.), 31.76/2, $11,141
Bull Riding - Jake Wade (Alamo, Nev.), 166/2, $8,524
No storm 'Cloud': Texan wins Salinas for 1-2 weekendTwo-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo bull rider Howdy Cloud capped off his most lucrative weekend of the year July 20 by winning the final round of California Rodeo Salinas, clinching the two-head average title and putting a charge into a disappointing season.
Cloud, of Kountze, Texas, who finished 10th in the final world standings a year ago, entered the weekend ranked 39th in the Crusher Rentals PRCA World Standings. But by winning $19,606 between Salinas and the Snake River Stampede in Nampa, Idaho, where he finished second, Cloud is right back in the game in 17th place as he seeks consecutive Wrangler NFR appearances.
In Salinas, Cloud scored 89 points on Western Rodeo’s No. 344 to win the final round and the two-head average with 170 points, eight better than runner-up Shawn Proctor of Tooele, Utah.
Cloud didn’t have the only “win-place” showing this weekend.
Tie-down roper Stran Smith, a nine-time Wrangler NFR qualifier, followed up a close second-place finish in Nampa with a victory in Salinas. Smith, of Childress, Texas, won the final round, placed in another and finished with a three-head time of 30.3 seconds. Smith earned $7,777 in Salinas and another $5,504 in Nampa, where he finished just one-tenth of a second behind event champion Casey Branquinho.
The $13,281 haul helped Smith jump five places to No. 4 in this week’s Crusher Rentals PRCA World Standings.
In terms of prize money, no one earned more than two-time and reigning Canadian Professional Rodeo Association saddle bronc riding champion Dustin Flundra of Pincher Creek, Alberta. In Salinas, Flundra won the first round and placed second in the finals en route to the average title (162 points on two head) and a $10,722 payout.
Flundra, who entered the weekend ranked 20th, vaulted into Wrangler NFR contention in 11th place after his Salinas haul. He finished 20th last year and has yet to qualify for the Wrangler NFR.
Another cowboy looking for his first Wrangler NFR berth is team roper Jojo Lemond of Andrews, Texas. Lemond joined forces with eight-time Wrangler NFR team roper Martin Lucero, to take top honors in Salinas with a five-head time of 47.2 seconds, good for $6,474 each. Lemond improved his ranking to third in this week’s Crusher Rentals PRCA World Standings.
Bareback rider Justin McDaniel is on track for his second consecutive Wrangler NFR qualification and won the two-head title in Salinas to further solidify his standing. McDaniel, of Porum, Okla., rode two horses for 164 points to win the title and $9,360.
In steer wrestling, two-time Wrangler NFR qualifier Brock Andrus took top honors after turfing three steers in 19.6 seconds. Andrus, of St. George, Utah, earned $7,217 for his efforts.
Barrel racer Rachael Ross, of Murrieta, Calif., completed four runs in 64.53 seconds to win the average title and $9,879.
California Rodeo Salinas Champions
Bareback Riding - Justin McDaniel (Porum, Okla.), 164/2, $9,360
Steer Wrestling - Brock Andrus (St. George, Utah), 19.6/3, $7,217
Team Roping - Jojo Lemond (Andrews, Texas)/Martin Lucero (Stephenville, Texas), 47.2/5, $6,474
Saddle Bronc Riding - Dustin Flundra (Pincher Creek, Alberta), 162/2, $10,722
Tie-Down Roping - Stran Smith (Childress, Texas), 30.3/3, $7,777
Barrel Racing - Rachael Ross (Murrieta, Calif.), 64.53/4, $9,879
Bull Riding - Howdy Cloud (Kountze, Texas), 170/2, $7,875
San Antonio scholarships
The San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo awarded $220,000 in scholarships during the Texas FFA Convention July 17.
Twenty-five members received scholarships – 13 students were awarded $16,000 each, while 12 received $1,000 each.
This year the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo has committed $8.5 million to education, in the form of scholarships, grants, endowments, junior livestock auctions, Calf Scramble program and show premiums paid to youth in Texas. The organization has committed more than $87 since the inception of the scholarship fund in 1984.
Upcoming PRCA Rodeos
Badlands Circuit: Deadwood Days of ’76 Rodeo, July 24-27, Deadwood, S.D.
California Circuit: Sonoma County Fair & Expo, July 25-26, Santa Rosa
Columbia River Circuit: Chief Joseph Days Rodeo, July 23-26, Joseph, Ore.
First Frontier Circuit: Painted Pony Championship Rodeo, July 23, 25, Lake Luzerne, N.Y.; Cowtown Rodeo, July 26, Woodstown Pilesgrove, N.J.
Great Lakes Circuit: Dodge Truck Seneca County Fair Pro Rodeo, July 24-25, Tiffin, Ohio; Lake County Fair PRCA Rodeo, July 25-26, Grayslake, Ill.
Montana Circuit: Last Chance Stampede, July 24-26, Helena; Kootenai River Rodeo, July 25-26, Libby; Sheridan Saddle Club Rodeo, July 26, Plentywood
Mountain States Circuit: Cheyenne Frontier Days, July 19-27, Cheyenne, Wyo.; Steamboat Springs Pro Rodeo Series, July 25-26, Steamboat Springs, Colo.; Red Desert Roundup, July 24-26, Rock Springs, Wyo.; San Luis Valley Ski-Hi Stampede, July 25-27, Monte Vista, Colo.
Prairie Circuit: Nebraska’s Big Rodeo, July 24-26, Burwell, Neb.; Kaw Valley Rodeo, July 24-26, Manhattan, Kan.; Wahoo Saddle Club PRCA Rodeo, July 24-26, Wahoo, Neb.; Barber County Fair and Rodeo, July 25-26, Hardtner, Kan.
Southeastern Circuit: Neshoba County Fair Rodeo, July 25-26, Philadelphia, Miss.
Texas Circuit: Brown County PRCA Rodeo, July 24-26, Brownwood
Wilderness Circuit: Days of ’47 Rodeo, July 16-18, 21-24, Salt Lake City, Utah; Ogden Pioneer Days Rodeo, July 19, 21-24, Ogden, Utah; Desertview Pro Rodeo, July 24-26, Castle Dale, Utah
Canada: Medicine Hat Stampede, July 24-26, Medicine Hat, Alberta; Richard Cosgrove Memorial Rodeo, July 26-27, Drumheller, Alberta
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