Behind The Chutes

Bull jumps gate, wreaks havoc
[Apr. 21, 2008] At least three, possibly as many as five people were injured at Sunday's Round-Up performance at the Tehama District Fairground when a bull got loose about 4:30 p.m. and ended up in the east grandstands where 200 people were seated, said Joe Froome, a Red Bluff Round-Up Association director.

Behind The Chutes and Elsewhere - Texas Hall of Fame Induction
[Apr. 17, 2008] By Gail Woerner

Band's rodeo cancellation spurs lawsuit
[Apr. 16, 2008] A booking company for Cheyenne Frontier Days is suing an animal rights group (SHARK) in the wake of a decision by the Matchbox Twenty pop rock band to pull out of a scheduled performance this summer.

Wrangling with gas prices: Fewer rodeo contestants are making the trek to California as four-dollar diesel begins to toughen their way of life
[Apr. 14, 2008] A funny thing happens every April in the fast lanes of Interstates 10, 40 and 80. A disjointed caravan of cowboys fixing to win big money races across the Western landscape to the spring rodeos of California. It is an annual odyssey that’s been taking place for decades.

Ride Rite, Inc. Burglarized - Bull Riding Memorabilia Stolen
[Apr. 2, 2008] It was no April Fools joke for the Ride Right, Inc. of Farmersville, TX when they discovered they had been burglarized. Ride Right specializes in the manufacturer of high quality protective vests and rodeo equipment. Many of the items stolen were one of a kind items that had been specially made for well known athletes in the bullriding and rodeo industry and were on display. It would be hard to put a value on these items but an estimate would start at over $20,000. By Cindy Meyers, CEO Rodeo Attitude

Mesquite starts 51st season
[Mar. 31, 2008] If it's April, rodeo fans in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex can count on plenty of action-packed weekends for the next several months.

The Mesquite Championship Rodeo starts its 51st season Friday, April 4 and will consist of 10 PRCA rodeos through early June. Four of the May rodeos are part of the Heartland ProRodeo Series, which launched last October for the 2008 season. By Courtesy PRCA

The Life Of A Rodeo Wife
[Mar. 22, 2008] There is just one more day of the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo in Pocatello and there has been a lot of work behind the scenes that you may not know about.

DNCFR Preparations Underway
[Mar. 17, 2008] The Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo starts in Pocatello this week, and for the next 48 hours volunteers will be getting the Holt Arena ready. They have to create a dirt floor, and set-up all the stands by Tuesday.

Freestyle Motocross and Championship Bull Riding Collide in Red Bull X Fighters Commercial and Event
[Mar. 14, 2008] Red Bull is producing a commercial featuring CBR President Tuff Hedeman, two CBR bull fighters and three bull riders along with freestyle motocross champions and world record holders Travis Pastrana and Robbie Maddison.

Herald rodeo scribe to be feted
[Mar. 12, 2008] Dwayne Erickson was reluctant to take the assignment. Hockey, basketball, golf, even cricket. Anything but rodeo! Little did he know that when Edmonton Journal sports editor Hal Pawson asked him to cover a rodeo in 1958, it would turn out to be his cup of tea. That it would establish him one day as the premier rodeo reporter in Canada. And, today,

Rodeo Austin breaks ground with first live Internet pay-per-view broadcasts
[Mar. 12, 2008] Can't go to Texas for the big rodeos? Catch them on the Internet and cable!

Ron Kantowski on why the National Finals Rodeo isn't likely to leave Las Vegas
[Feb. 29, 2008] Las Vegas and the NFR go together like Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, a notion that was reaffirmed this week when the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority announced the total nongaming economic impact of the 2007 NFR. The final figure was $60.6 million.

Heather Lehrke carries on her dad's Longhorn Rodeo legacy
[Feb. 28, 2008] Bruce Lehrke, the upbeat, fun-loving president of the Longhorn Championship Rodeo, was diagnosed with cancer in December of 2006 and died three months later on March 16, 2007, at his Nashville home. But he died with a sense of peace because he knew his daughter, Heather Lehrke, was going to continue in his bootprints and keep the Longhorn rodeo going. It's in town Friday through Sunday at the Von Braun Center Arena.

BRETT HOFFMAN: Williams in right place at right time
[Feb. 26, 2008] Clayton Williams is a 22-year-old bull rider who has earned $740,000 by winning just two bull riding shows.

Unbelievable!

Rodeo cowboys just don’t earn that kind of money. That’s the kind of money pro athletes rake in for driving a race car 500 miles, sinking a putt or hitting a baseball.