San Antonio heads toward big-money finish with live coverage on ProRodeoLive.com
SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo -- the million-dollar prize money event that is launching the Gold tier of the Wrangler Million Dollar Tour -- reaches the semifinal rounds Feb. 18 with live Internet coverage of the last four evening performances on ProRodeoLive.com, plus the 1 p.m. (CT) Feb. 21 San Antonio Xtreme Bulls, presented by B&W Trailer Hitches.
The semifinal broadcasts will be aired from the AT&T Center at 6:45 p.m. (CT) Feb. 18-19, and the wild card round Feb. 20 and the finals Feb. 21 will be heard starting at 7:15 p.m., with Steve Kenyon handling the announcing duties.
San Antonio, the PRCA's Indoor Rodeo of the Year for the past four years, is paying out $131,000 added money in each event for total prize money of $1,048,000, a figure made even loftier for the competitors because they did not have to pay entry fees. All of the prize money is generated by the rodeo committee and its sponsors, a much-welcomed innovation San Antonio undertook a year ago.
Six-time and reigning World Champion All-Around Cowboy Trevor Brazile is figuring this big-money rodeo is just the right place to get his bid for a record-tying No. 7 back on firm footing. Unable to compete in steer roping or tie-down roping for nearly two months due to a knee strain he suffered at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in December, Brazile has just recently begun to take on a full workload.
Brazile won his first tie-down roping title of the season Feb. 13-14 at the Bell County PRCA Rodeo in Belton, Texas, and then moved on to San Antonio for competition in Bracket V of the preliminaries. On Feb. 16, he and partner Patrick Smith won the second round of the Bracket V team roping with a time of 4.5 seconds and Brazile then came back to earn a share of second place in the tie-down roping with 2005 World Champion All-Around Cowboy Ryan Jarrett, each being timed in 8.6 seconds. Timber Moore won the round in 8.0 seconds.
Pending the outcome of the final round of preliminary competition tonight, Brazile is in line to qualify for the semifinals in both team roping and tie-down roping. His success at Belton also allowed him to qualify for inclusion in the 2009 All-Around World Standings for the first time, coming in at No. 3 ($11, 470) behind Clint Robinson ($32,000) and Cash Myers ($16,264).
Canadian bareback rider Davey Shields will be going for a sweep of Bracket V tonight. He won the first round with an 87-point ride on Harry Vold's Big Valley and the second round on Feb. 16 with 86 points on Kenny Rodeo Company's Little Brother.
Shields' traveling partner Scott Montague of Rapid City, S.D., tied for second both nights and enters tonight's Bracket V finale with $2,593, second in earnings.
Suhn’s march through Dixie puts him atop world standings
Contributed by Bob Welch
JACKSON, Miss. – Steer wrestler Todd Suhn’s dominating march through the Dixie National Rodeo, Feb. 5-11, vaulted him into the lead in the PRCA World Standings and kept him on pace for the richest winter season of his long career.
Suhn, a 12-time qualifier for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, won the second round in the Mississippi Coliseum and the average with a time of 7.0 seconds on two head to bank $6,621.
That was enough to move the North Platte, Neb., cowboy from third to first with unofficial earnings of $21,022, more than $3,000 ahead of 2007 World Champion Jason Miller.
“I made about $30,000 during the winter season in 2005,” Suhn said, “but most of that came later in the season. Usually I’m at about $10,000 to $15,000 for the winter, so this is a good start for me.
“I’m not making too much of this. It takes a lot to win a world championship. There are a lot of great bulldoggers out there. There’s no rest.”
Suhn finished in a tie for third in the opening round with a 3.8-second run, and then locked up the average championship by taking down his second steer in 3.2 seconds, to edge Matt Reeves by a tenth of a second.
“It was a steer I had seen at the Wrangler NFR,” Suhn said, “but he didn’t run very fast on this day, and he was really good on the ground. It was pretty fun.”
Reigning World Champion Bareback Rider Justin McDaniel was reunited with the world class Delta Ship from the Frontier Rodeo string, and they combined for a 91-point ride that paid McDaniel $5,743.
McDaniel tied the Wrangler NFR record with a 91.5-point ride on Delta Ship in 2007, when the horse was owned by J Bar J, and this was their first meeting since Las Vegas.
“He’s big, jumps high in the air and kicks real hard,” McDaniel said. “If you don’t have your feet set, he’ll buck you off the next jump. He’s everything there is to want in a bucking horse. The full package. I really like him.”
Taos Muncy followed his Feb. 7 win at the Black Hills Stock Show & Rodeo in Rapid City, S.D., with another win in the Mississippi Coliseum. His 86-point-ride on Smith, Harper & Morgan’s Painted Feather was three points better than runners-up Chad Ferley and Sam Spreadborough.
Muncy’s earnings of $5,757 moved him up to third in the PRCA World Standings behind Bradley Harter and Rusty Allen.
Bull rider Kanin Asay also used a win in Jackson to move closer to the world standings’ lead. His 91-point ride on Silverado Rodeo Company’s Monkey Wrench was two points better than Jason Beck and lifted him past reigning World Champion J.W. Harris into second place in the PRCA World Standings behind Clayton Savage.
The other champions at the Dixie National Rode were team ropers Ross Lowry and Steve Britnell (10.0 seconds on two head), tie-down roper Brett Conner (16.4 seconds on two head) and barrel racer Sherry Cervi (14.23 seconds).
Tucson welcomes 84th edition of La Fiesta de los Vaqueros
Created in 1925 as a "Wild West" attraction to bring tourists to Tucson, Ariz., La Fiesta de los Vaqueros will launch its 84th annual rodeo on Feb. 21, with more than 600 PRCA cowboys competing for more than $320,000 in prize money.
Pre-rodeo ticket sales are running ahead of last year, and rodeo General Manager Gary Williams expects daily crowds of 11,000 at the Tucson Rodeo Grounds, Feb. 21-March 1, with area schools closing on Thursday and Friday of rodeo week so families can enjoy the annual parade and rodeo traditions.
New team roping pair comes on strong in San Angelo, Texas
The newly-minted team roping pair of JoJo LeMond of Andrews, Texas, and reigning World Champion Heeler Randon Adams, of Logandale, Nev., seems to be working out nicely. They got off to a strong start at the San Angelo (Texas) Stock Show & Rodeo Feb. 11 when they won the first round in slack competition with a time of 4.0 seconds ($3,319 each). They will be among the favorites when the rodeo officially gets under way Feb. 19.
The 77th annual rodeo is one of the biggest of the winter season with 1,097 entries.
Harris lives up to billing at Bell County PRCA Rodeo
After J.W. Harris and his family were recognized before the Bell County PRCA Rodeo in Belton, Texas, for his achievement in winning the 2008 world championship, he came right back to deliver a world-class performance. Harris won the bulll riding with a 90-point effort on Andrews Rodeo's Red Onion to win the event by one point over Douglas Duncan at the Bell County Expo Center. It was the fourth time Harris had drawn Red Onion and his third successful ride.
Upcoming PRCA Rodeos
Feb. 17 San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, San Antonio, Texas, continues through Feb. 21
Feb. 19 San Angelo Rodeo, San Angelo, Texas, continues Feb. 28
Feb. 21 San Antonio Xtreme Bulls, San Antonio, Texas
Feb. 21 La Fiesta de los Vaqueros, Tucson, Ariz., begins
Feb. 19 Georgia National Junior Livestock Show & Rodeo, Perry, Ga., begins
Feb. 20 Pasco County Fair Championship Rodeo, Dade City, Fla., begins
Feb. 20 Silver Spurs Rodeo, Kissimmee, Fla., begins
Feb. 20 Brighton Field Day & PRCA Rodeo, Okeechobee, Fla., begins
