After big week in Kansas, Brazile has eye on earnings record
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – After a week of driving back and forth through Kansas wheat fields, harvesting money at every stop, Trevor Brazile finds himself ahead of the pace he set in 2007 when he broke the PRCA single-season earnings record.
Talk about separating the wheat from the chaff.
Brazile won all-around titles at Phillipsburg, Kan., and Abilene, Kan., while working his way through the Dodge City (Kan.) Roundup, a silver tier Wrangler Million Dollar Tour event presented by Justin Boots. By the time he got out of Dodge on Sunday night, Brazile had added two more titles and pushed his earnings from a week in the Sunflower State to $16,525.
Brazile paired with Patrick Smith to win the team roping title at Dodge City with a time of 16.1 seconds on three head and added some cash in tie-down roping to finish with $8,107 and win his third all-around title of the weekend.
With his record-tying seventh all-around world championship seeming more likely each week, Brazile’s fans can start to look at some other historic milestones he might have on his horizon.
- Brazile’s earnings through Aug. 3 are $172,056, which is $5,216 more than he had earned on the same date in 2007 when he went on to break the PRCA single-season record of $425,115. His lead in the all-around standings has climbed to $73,629 over second-place Clint Robinson.
- He stands first in the tie-down roping world standings, fourth in team roping and fifth in steer roping, putting him in position to go after his second Triple Crown in three years, and perhaps even an unprecedented Grand Slam.
A week removed from his first win at the Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days, Billy Etbauer put together another big weekend to claim the saddle bronc riding title at Dodge City. He finished two points behind Cort Scheer in the first round with an 84 and then won the short round with an 87-point ride on Frontier Rodeo Company’s Let ‘er Rip.
Etbauer’s total of 171 points was four better than reigning World Champion Cody Wright and Heith DeMoss, who tied for second.
Reigning World Champion Bull Rider J.W. Harris won both rounds on his way to the average title, earning a 90-point ride on Frontier Rodeo Company’s Big L in the first round and coming back with an 86-pointer on Klein & Son’s War Paint.
The other champions at Dodge City were bareback rider Tilden Hooper (165 points on two head), steer wrestler Ryan Jarrett (12.3 seconds on three head), tie-down roper Mike Johnson (27.8 seconds on three head), steer roper Cody Lee (31.7 seconds on three head) and barrel racer Mary Burger (51.84 seconds on three runs).
Gray ties world record with 94-point ride in Eagle, Colo.
Like a scene straight out of the movie The Natural, with lightning flashes all around and rain pouring down, Ryan Gray climbed aboard Carr Pro Rodeo’s Grass Dancer July 31 and tied the bareback riding world record with a 94-point ride at the Eagle County Fair & Rodeo in Eagle, Colo.
It was just the third 94-pointer in PRCA history, as Gray joined Wes Stevenson (Dallas, 2002) and Will Lowe (Omaha, 2003) in the record book.
“Obviously, the goal is always to make your best ride on the best horse, and when it happens, it’s pretty amazing,” Gray said. “I knew I had a great horse, one of the best out there. A lot of guys have had 90 on that horse and won first. All I was thinking about was taking care of business.”
Gray also knew that if he rode well, he would be rewarded with a high score. Jason Havens had opened the competition with an 87, setting the bar high, and by the time Gray’s turn came, both Clint Cannon and Kelly Timberman were on the board with 91-point rides. Haven’s 87 only held up for a tie for fifth place.
“It was pouring rain, and it was every man for himself,” Gray said. “It was kind of hectic (with the storm), but it’s kind of fun when that happens, when there is all this outside stuff involved…lightning, thunder and the rain. The crowd didn’t move. They didn’t want to miss anything. It was pretty neat.”
As he always does after a competition ends, Gray texted his wife, Lacy, to let her know how he’d done.
“Only, I’m not so sure she believed me at first, this time,” Gray said. “I’m pretty sure she thought I was messing with her. She knew about that horse, so she knew it was possible, but still…”
Upcoming PRCA Rodeos
Aug. 2 Larimer County Fair & Rodeo, Loveland, Colo., ongoing
Aug. 4 Yuma County Fair & Rodeo, Yuma, Colo., begins
Aug. 5 & 7 Painted Pony Championship Rodeo, Lake Luzerne, N.Y.
Aug. 5 Lawton (Okla.) Rangers Rodeo begins
Aug. 5 Gerry (N.Y.) Volunteer Fireman’s Rodeo begins
Aug. 5 Lea County Fair & PRCA Rodeo, Lovington, N.M., begins
Aug. 5 Sikeston (Mo.) Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo begins
Aug. 6 Lyon County Fair PRCA Rodeo, Marshall, Minn., begins
Aug. 6 Richland County Fair & Rodeo, Sidney, Mont., begins
Aug. 6 Logan County Fair & Rodeo, Sterling, Colo., begins
Aug. 6 Kit Carson County Fair Rodeo, Burlington, Colo., begins
Aug. 6 XIT Rodeo & Reunion, Dalhart, Texas, begins
Aug. 6 Jerome County Fair & Rodeo, Jerome, Idaho, begins
Aug. 6 Cache County Fair & Rodeo, Logan, Utah, begins
Aug. 6 101 Wild West Rodeo, Ponca City, Okla., begins
Aug. 6 Omak (Wash.) Stampede begins
Aug. 7 Lincoln County Fair Rodeo, Afton, Wyo., begins
Aug. 7 Summit County Fair & Rodeo, Coalville, Utah, begins
Aug. 7 Caribou County Fair & Rodeo, Grace, Idaho, begins
Aug. 7 Yakima Valley Fair & Rodeo, Grandview, Wash., begins
Aug. 7 Klamath Falls (Ore.) Great Northwest PRCA Rodeo begins
Aug. 7 Ralph Morgan Semi-Annual Rodeo, Lauderdale, Miss., begins
Aug. 7 Mesquite (Texas) Championship Rodeo begins
Aug. 7 Linn County Fair & Rodeo, Mound City, Kan., begins
Aug. 7 Mount Hope (Ala.) Pro Rodeo begins
Aug. 7 Catfish Stampede, Onida, S.D., begins
Aug. 7 Steamboat Springs (Colo.) Pro Rodeo Series begins
Aug. 7 Douglas County Fair, Castle Rock, Colo., begins
Aug. 7 Dawson Creek (British Columbia) Stampede begins
Aug. 7 Olds (Alberta) Fair & Rodeo begins
Aug. 7 Santa Barbara (Calif.) Old Spanish Days Stock Show & Rodeo begins
Aug. 8 Freeborn County Stampede Rodeo, Albert Lea, Minn., begins
Aug. 8 Cowtown Rodeo, Woodstown Pilesgrove, N.J., begins
Aug. 8 Ashley (N.D.) Rodeo begins
Aug. 9 Northeast Montaina Fair & Rodeo, Glasgow, Mont., begins
McSpadden inducted into Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame tonight
Legendary rodeo announcer and former Oklahoma State Senator Clem McSpadden will be inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame posthumously tonight in ceremonies at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.
McSpadden was general manager of the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City for 18 years (1967-84) in addition to his career as an announcer for such prestigious events as the National Finals Steer Roping (1963-2000), the Dodge City (Kan.) Roundup, the Calgary Stampede and the Canadian Finals Rodeo.
McSpadden was the PRCA Announcer of the Year in 1986, the Cowboy Hall of Fame Rodeo Man of the Year in 1986 and was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1990. He is the third rodeo figure to gain entry into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, joining all-around cowboy Jim Shoulders and bull rider Freckles Brown.
Joining McSpadden in the six-man induction class tonight are former Kansas University football coach Ted Owens, former University of Oklahoma football player Tom Catlin, former Pittsburgh Steelers football player John Kolb, former major league pitcher Cal McLish and professional golfer Bob Tway.
Neal Gay, Liz Kesler to be honored by Rodeo Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City
Stock contractor and rodeo producer Neal Gay of Terrell, Texas, will receive the Ben Johnson Memorial Award this fall for a lifetime of service to rodeo and his community. The Tad Lucas Award, created to honor outstanding Western women, will be presented to Liz Kesler of Henryetta, Texas.
The Oct. 23-25 ceremonies are part of the Rodeo Hall of Fame induction weekend in Oklahoma City. The Rodeo Historical Society has chosen nine notables of the sport for this year’s induction class – Harry Vold, Cotton Rosser, Chuck Henson, John J. Miller, Florence Price Youree, Walt Alsbaugh, Joe Chase Jr., Reg Kesler and Tom Tescher.
Brothers have Wright Stuff in Heber City, Utah
Their brother, Cody, may be the reigning world champion saddle bronc rider, but a host of Wrights are showing up at the pay window in PRCA events across the country. At the Mountain Valley Stampede in Heber City, Utah, July 31-Aug. 1, four Wrights won checks after finishing in the top eight in the saddle bronc riding. Alex Wright’s 74-point ride was second only to Matt Morrison’s winning 78-pointer on Diamond G Rodeos’ Lots’a Fun, while Cody Wright was fifth, Cal Wright sixth and Jesse Wright eighth.
It is believed to be the first time four brothers have placed at the same rodeo in PRCA history. The quartet of brothers won $2,585 of the $6,802 awarded by the rodeo in saddle bronc riding, or 38 percent of the money.
PRCA rodeo clown Garry Miller dies at 59
PRCA rodeo clown Garry (ReRide) Miller, of Laveen, Ariz., died of a heart attack July 20 at age 59. His funeral service will be Aug. 4 at 2 p.m. (PT) at Parkway Christian Church, 14787 N. Cholla St., Surprise, Ariz.
Miller became a PRCA member in 2003 and worked a number of rodeos in the Southwest, including the Scottsdale (Ariz.) Jaycees Parada del Sol.
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