Native Coloradans Shirley, Peek have weekend to remember at Denver Coliseum
DENVER - This was a weekend Tim Shirley won't forget anytime soon.
How do you beat a homecoming where you get married and earn one of your biggest career wins in your hometown rodeo within 24 hours?
"It couldn't get any better," Shirley said today, while on a brief honeymoon in Estes Park, Colo. "Not in my wildest dreams could I imagine something like this. I couldn't be any happier than I am right now. This wasn't planned at all. We just decided a month ago when we were getting married. We put it all together, and everything worked out perfect."
Shirley, who was born in Denver and now lives 36 miles away in Conifer, married Mindy Downare Jan. 24 in an evening service officiated by his father, pastor Ed Shirley, at his Mountain High Christian Center in Conifer and attended by close friends and family.
The following afternoon Shirley was back in the Denver Coliseum in front of a much larger audience of 8,221, to finish work on his first National Western Stock Show and Rodeo title, tying for first place in the bareback riding average with Dustin Reeves, of Owanka, S.D.
Shirley won the second round with a 90-point ride on Big Bend Rodeo Company's Cajun Queen and then tied for fourth with an 82-pointer in the final round Jan. 25. That brought his three-head total score to 254 points, a figure matched by Reeves when he won the finale with an 87-point ride on Burch Rodeo Company's Pinball Wizard.
"The last time I even won a check in Denver was my rookie year in 2001, so this was really special," Shirley said. "This is my hometown rodeo for sure. My brothers and I used to show steers at the National Western as boys. We had competitions to see which one of us would go to the stock show the most. To finally win a title here is very sweet."
By custom, the ruling on who would receive the one available champion's buckle was decided with a coin flip, which was won by Reeves.
"Even that worked out well," Shirley said. "Dustin forgot his belt when he came out from South Dakota, so he needed a belt and he didn't have a buckle. They (the committee) will send me a buckle in the mail."
And besides, Shirley's total earnings for the rodeo came to an event-best $11,217. The buckle can wait. The earnings were enough to lift him into first place in the PRCA World Standings and build up the newlyweds' bank account.
Shirley's fellow Coloradan, Josh Peek of Pueblo, also had a big weekend in Denver, albeit with some mixed emotions. Bouncing back from a disappointing outing at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, Peek won the tie-down roping three-head average and the all-around title while dividing his time in the arena with visits to a Denver hospital to see his grandmother.
Peek dedicated his wins to his grandmother, who suffered serious injuries in a car accident, Jan. 22, and is undergoing multiple surgeries.
"We're having a hard time with it," Peek told the Rocky Mountain News. "Rodeo was far from my mind walking in (Jan. 25). I told grandma, 'I'm going to go win Denver for you.' I had to come in here and have no fear."
Peek only needed a time of 10.1 seconds or better in the final go to win the tie-down roping average and completed his run in 8.6 seconds to finish 1.5 seconds ahead of Tuf Cooper. Peek had total earnings of $13,158.
He won the all-around title because he also competed in steer wrestling.
The high-money winner of the rodeo was barrel racer Nancy Hunter of Neola, Utah, who took home $16,357 after winning two rounds and the average (45.89 seconds on three runs). The other champions at Denver were steer wrestlers Curtis Cassidy and Jake Rinehart (12.7 seconds on three head), team ropers Chad Masters and Michael Jones (15.5 seconds on three head), saddle bronc rider Bradley Harter (247 points on three head) and bull rider Kanin Asay (264 points on three head).
Young team roping pair serves notice with busy weekend in Denver, Lincoln, Neb.
The young team roping pair of Quincy Kueckelhan, 21, and Dustin Davis, 19, served notice over the Jan. 23-25 weekend that they are a rising force in the PRCA, finishing second in the average at the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver and winning the PRCA Championship Rodeo in Lincoln, Neb.
Kueckelhan, of Bonham, Texas, and Davis, of Texarkana, Ark., finished third in the short go and second in the average to earn checks of $5,732 each in Denver and then banked another $1,121 with a winning 4.5-second run in Lincoln.
The parlay lifted Davis into second place in the PRCA World Standings for heelers behind Michael Jones and would have put Kueckelhan second among headers, were he not still competing on his permit.
Mortensen, Davis to take part in Goodwill Military Tour of Afghanistan
Six-time World Champion Saddle Bronc Rider Dan Mortensen and three-time Wrangler NFR bareback rider Jessy Davis will be part of a rodeo-themed Goodwill Military Tour of Afghanistan next month, being staged by Pro Sports MVP of Colorado Springs, Colo.
The 10-day tour arrives in Doha, Qatar, on Feb. 24, and visits to U.S. military bases in Afghanistan will be staged Feb. 27-March 3, before the group returns to the United States on March 5.
Each stop will feature autograph sessions, walking tours, hospital visits, question-and-answer sessions and possible rodeo demonstrations.
Pro Sports MVP has implemented more than 60 such Goodwill Military tours for U.S. troops during the last five years.
Joining Mortensen and Davis on the tour will be barrel racer Liz Pinkston, PBR bull rider Tater Porter and WPRA president Jymmy Kay Davis.
Every Washoe County child in foster care and protective custody aided by Reno Rodeo
The Reno (Nev.) Rodeo Foundation distributed a complete "school day" outfit to every Washoe County child in protective custody or foster care on Jan. 24 at the Kids Kampus Activity Center in Reno.
The giveaway included denim clothing and socks and underwear, plus tops, jackets and items for infants and toddlers collected during the RRF's annual Denim Drive.
"Thanks to the generosity of hundreds of people in our community," said Marie Baxter, executive director of the Reno Rodeo Foundation, "we not only exceeded our goal to collect enough clothing to provide a "school day" outfit for every child in protective custody and foster care, this year's Denim Drive exceeded our collection totals from both 2006 and 2007."
San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo upgrades its Web site with contestants' page
Officials of the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo have added a new section (http://www.sarodeo.com/sarodeo/rodeo_contestant) to their Web site to keep contestants better informed about everything going on during the Feb. 6-21 rodeo, including the 2009 ground rules, horse information, hospitality, parking, office hours and autograph sessions.
Four-time National Steer Roping Finals qualifier Prather dies at 74
Jim Prather, who qualified for four consecutive National Steer Roping Finals (1965-68), died Jan. 9 at his home in Post, Texas. He was 74. Prather worked as a cattle buyer for many years and produced the OS Ranch Steer Roping and Art Exhibit, a fund-raiser for the West Texas Children's Home.
Dodge Xtreme Bulls opens its season in Rapid City, S.D., Jan. 30-31
The first of 10 stops on the 2009 Dodge Xtreme Bulls Tour is scheduled for Jan. 30-31 at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City, S.D. Defending champion Chance Smart is entered, as is Kanin Asay, who won the 2007 X-Bulls title and leads the current PRCA World Standings with $25,580 in just nine rodeos.
Upcoming PRCA Rodeos
Jan. 26 Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show, Fort Worth, Texas continues through Feb. 8
Jan. 30 All Nations PRCA Rodeo, Farmington, N.M., begins
Jan. 30 Dodge Xtreme Bulls Tour, Rapid City, S.D. begins
Jan. 30 New Mexico Stampede, Rio Rancho, N.M., begins
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