PRCA News and Notes

Posted Monday, February 25, 2008

Champs shine in Tucson
Reigning and five-time World Champion All-Around Cowboy Trevor Brazile claimed his first major tie-down roping victory of the season at La Fiesta de los Vaqueros in Tucson, Ariz., earning $6,047 after roping and tying three calves in 29.2 seconds.

Brazile, of Decatur, Texas, also won the rodeo’s all-around crown.
However, Brazile wasn’t the only world champion to enjoy a profitable weekend in Tucson.
Saddle bronc rider Billy Etbauer, a five-time world champion who turned 45 last month, still is on top of his game. He put together rides of 86 and 81 points to win the average title with a two-head score of 167 points, good for $9,526.

Team ropers Speed Williams and Allen Bach have 14 world titles between them, and their recent partnership resulted in their season’s first win in Tucson. Williams, of De Leon, Texas, and Bach, of Weatherford, Texas, recorded a three-head time of 20.3 seconds, good for the overall title and $4,966 each.

Other Tucson champions were: bareback rider Tom McFarland of Wickenburg, Ariz., 171 points on two head, $7,403; steer wrestler Dean McIntyre of Wickenburg, Ariz., 15.7 seconds on three head, $7,973; bull rider Douglas Duncan of Alvin, Texas, 165 points on two head, $6,944; and barrel racer Lindsay Sears of Nanton, Alberta, 52.03 seconds on three runs, $6,979.

Murphy sweeps roughstock in Davie
All-around cowboy Bandy Murphy of Weatherford, Okla., was consistently dominant this weekend at the Davie (Fla.) Pro Rodeo, earning first-place checks in all three roughstock events of bareback riding, saddle bronc riding and bull riding.

Murphy, who celebrated his 25th birthday on Feb. 21, earned a combined $1,425 after scoring 77 points in both bareback riding and saddle bronc riding and an 84 to take the bull riding crown.

That wasn’t all for Murphy, who also placed in all three roughstock events at the Pasco County Fair and Championship Rodeo in Dade City, Fla., and in bareback riding and bull riding at the Georgia National Livestock Show and Rodeo in Perry, Ga.

Murphy, originally from Florida, joined the PRCA in 2003 and won the Prairie Circuit’s bull riding title later that year, along with the Dodge Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo all-around crown in Guthrie, Okla.

Online video highlights
Rodeo fans can log on to www.prorodeo.com and click on the RodeoUp! section of the site to watch daily highlights of the winning rides and runs from top-notch PRCA rodeos such as the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo and RodeoHouston. Highlights from San Antonio were posted during the rodeo, which ran from Feb. 1-16, and are still available for fans’ enjoyment. In addition, highlights from RodeoHouston will be posted daily beginning March 4, with footage from each night’s performance available the following day. The PRCA’s only million-dollar regular-season rodeos, San Antonio and Houston begin a trend of video highlights on www.prorodeo.com that will continue throughout the year.