IN RODEO, OKLAHOMA’S GAIN IS GEORGIA’S LOSS

Posted Thursday, September 3, 2009

Comanche, Okla. (September 2, 2009) – For a Georgia cowboy who grew up around cattle, a move to Oklahoma wasn’t that much of a change.

Pro rodeo cowboy Ryan Jarrett left his home in Summerville, Georgia, in 2007 to move to Comanche, Oklahoma, to be closer to his line of work as a rodeo tie down roper and steer wrestler. He is currently leading the tie down roping and the all around rankings in the Prairie Circuit, pro rodeo’s regional designation for rodeos in Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska.

And for the 2005 All-Around World Champion, the move was the right one. It put him closer to the big rodeos. “It’s a lot easier to haul (to Oklahoma) than to Georgia, when I’m trying to get to the rodeos in the western states throughout the year,” Ryan said.

With the move, he began competing in the Prairie Circuit, and it was a good decision. At Prairie Circuit rodeos this year, Jarrett said, “I’ve dang sure won my fair share” of money. He’s won at rodeos in Guymon, Duncan, Claremore, and Ponca City, Okla., and at rodeos in Kansas, including Tonganoxie, Bennington, Dodge City, and Phillipsburg.

Even though Georgia isn’t really known as rodeo country, Ryan learned how to rope calves through a friend of his dad’s. His parents run a 750-acre dairy farm, and, for practice, he’d rope Holsteins. “We practiced on them when I was dang sure younger,” Ryan said. “We had lots of them so they didn’t get a whole lot of roping.”

After competing in junior and high school rodeos, Ryan graduated in 2002 and went straight to rodeo competition. He competed at amateur rodeos and in the International Pro Rodeo Association before buying his Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association card in 2004 and joining the pro ranks. It was just one short year later that he won the All-Around World Championship, the award where cowboys must win the most money by competing in two or more events. Ryan is only one of two All Around World Champions to hail from east of the Mississippi River.

Even though he is nearly 900 miles from his home, Ryan sees his dad frequently. “Dad comes out about every two weeks, hauling cattle out here that we background,” Ryan said.

Jarrett will compete at the Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo, the region’s championship, in Kansas City at the American Royal October 22-24. This will be his first year at the championship, and even though he’s $13,000 ahead of the second man in the all-around race, he hasn’t let his guard down. He says “you never know till it’s over.”

And for a Georgia boy who grew up on a dairy farm, the only difference between cattle in Georgia and cattle in Oklahoma is in the colors and spots on the hide.

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Upcoming pro rodeos in the Prairie Circuit include: the River City Roundup Sept. 24-26 (Omaha, Neb.), the Tulsa State Fair Oct. 8-10 (Tulsa, Okla.), and the Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo Oct. 22-24 (Kemper Arena, Kansas City).

About the Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo in Kansas City:

The American Royal will host the Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo October 22-24, 2009 at Kemper Arena in Kansas City. There, Prairie Circuit cowboys and cowgirls will compete to earn a berth at the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo (DNCFR), held annually every April in Pocatello, Idaho. Two competitors from each event, the year end champion and the aggregate champion, will go on to represent the Prairie Circuit at the DNCFR.