World Champion Jarrett writes a script with himself in title role at Guymon
Courtesy of Ted Harbin
GUYMON, Okla. – Ryan Jarrett has a certain theatrical flare.
On the afternoon of May 3, during the final performance of the Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo, the 2005 world champion all-around cowboy wrote a pretty nifty script. As the last competitor in the tie-down roping Jarrett was in a position to win some pretty good money in the Oklahoma Panhandle, and he roped and tied his calf in 8.1 seconds.
With that, he won the third go-round by half a second and won the average competition by just a little more. Combine that with his second-place finish in the second go-round, and the Summerville, Ga., cowboy won nearly $9,200.
“I wasn’t really worried about the round or even trying to win the round,” Jarrett said. “I had to have a heck of a run to win it. I was actually more focused on the average because it pays so well.”
Then, all of the sudden, Jarrett found himself in the spotlight, roping his calf right in front of the chute and getting a quick, yet secure tie on the animal to win the whole thing.
For that, he won more than $2,700 for the round. His 26.9 seconds on three runs gave him a .8-second win over the No. 2 man, Sterling Smith of Stephenville, Texas, who had roped just moments before Jarrett.
“My year’s been pretty good,” said Jarrett, whose biggest check came from the average and was worth more than $4,000. “This is the best winter I’ve ever had. But I hadn’t won a whole lot in the last two to three weeks, so this came along at a good time.
“This has always been a good rodeo, one you want to win any time,” Jarrett said.
Jarrett also won the all-around title at the Chisolm Trail Stampede in Duncan, Okla, May 1-2, and now stands fourth in the all-around ($46,835) and third in the tie-down roping ($38,279) in the PRCA World Standings.
Prairieville, La., bull rider Jason Beck had his second ride of 90 points or better in three weeks to claim first place and $5,736. Beck scored 90 points on Carr Pro Rodeo's PJ to outdistance second-place Austin Ambrose by three points. It followed his 91-point ride in the first round of the April 8-11 Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo, presented by U.S. Smokeless Tobacco, in Pocatello, Idaho, the highest-scored ride of the DNCFR.
Reigning World Champion Header Matt Sherwood managed his first big win with new partner Rhen Richard in the team roping. They had a time of 21.1 seconds to win the average over Justin Yost and Britt Bockius by 1.8 seconds.
The other champions to emerge from a field of 860 contestants in this $357,918 rodeo in the Oklahoma Panhandle were bareback riders Jared Smith and Brian Bain (87 points), steer wrestler Darrell Petry (12.6 seconds on three head), saddle bronc riders Cody DeMoss and J.J. Elshere (88 points) and barrel racer Cassie Moseley (34.83 seconds on two runs) - her second win at Guymon in the last three years.
PRCA, WPRA working together on initiatives to enhance the sport
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) announced May 4 that the two organizations are working together on a number of initiatives designed to enhance the ProRodeo experience for their respective members.
The PRCA and WPRA announced that they are drafting a joint marketing initiative that, when finalized, will allow the two organizations to combine efforts to bring additional sponsors to the sport of ProRodeo. Additionally, the WPRA confirmed that its members will be fully participating in the upcoming Wrangler Million Dollar Tour presented by Justin Boots and the culmination of the Tour, the Justin Boots Playoffs, which will feature total prize money in excess of $6.2 million.
“I have been very encouraged by the spirit of cooperation that we recently have been able to achieve between our two great rodeo organizations,” said PRCA Commissioner Karl Stressman. “I have been working closely with (WPRA President) Kathi Myers and the WPRA Board to make sure that we can put all of the issues of the past behind us and move on with what is good for all of ProRodeo. We are working together on a number of fronts that I think have the potential to greatly improve ProRodeo for all of the members of the PRCA and WPRA over the next few years.”
“I am very excited by the joint initiatives that we are working on with the PRCA,” Myers added. “The WPRA Board is focused on continuing to improve the barrel racing event for all of our members and is looking to also grow the other new programs we’ve developed for all female rodeo competitors. We have been very pleased with the level of commitment and cooperation that Karl Stressman and the PRCA staff have shown in working with us to continue to move forward.”
Stressman also indicated that ProRodeo is not only surviving but thriving during the economic downturn.
“ProRodeo provides quality family entertainment at a value price, and both our fans and sponsors seem to appreciate our sport even more in these tough economic times,” said Stressman. “Now is a great time for the PRCA and WPRA to truly join forces to continue to take this great professional sport to the next level.”
Hicks sells Mesquite Championship Rodeo after 10 years
Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks has dropped the Mesquite (Texas) Championship Rodeo series from his Hicks Sports Group empire after 10 years, for a price the Dallas Morning News estimates at less than $10 million.
The deal with Dallas-based Camelot Sports and Entertainment, which had been in the works for 10 months, was announced May 1 with a two-sentence statement from Hicks Sports Group which called Camelot “an excellent operator that will provide the focus and energy necessary to make a great venue even greater.”
Camelot Sports President Mike McCall said the deal was presented to him and his partners as a sports-related investment “in need of some attention” and suitable to their interests.
“I think they have their arms around a lot of different things, and this is one that just doesn’t fit into that portfolio right now,” McCall told The Associated Press.
In addition to the Rangers of Major League Baseball and the Stars of the National Hockey League, Hicks owns a 50-percent stake in Liverpool FC of the English Premier League of soccer.
Camelot Sports was formed for the specific purpose of buying and operating the rodeo series. It has eight partners, including McCall, a former president of the Frisco (Texas) RoughRiders minor league baseball club; Donnie Nelson, the Dallas Mavericks’ president of basketball operations; and Stace Smith, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s Stock Contractor of the Year for the past five years.
The group plans to make improvements to Resistol Arena – which has been home to the rodeo since 1986 – including a club dining area, as well as enhancing the competition itself. It also hopes to cut back the number of rodeo dates and add events such as mixed martial arts and concerts, McCall told The Associated Press.
The rodeo was founded in 1958 as a weekly professional series by stock contractor Neal Gay, 16-time World Champion cowboy Jim Shoulders, bull riding World Champion Harry Tompkins, top rodeo clown D.J. (Kajun Kidd) Gaudin, Ira Akers and Bob Grant.
After a rocky start – the series lost $13,000 its first year – it became a fixture in the Dallas suburb of Mesquite, overseen by Gay and his wife, Kay. They sold rights to the rodeo to Hicks in 1999, but remained on as the stock providers and rodeo producers through to this year.
Ellensburg Rodeo announces ticket “stimulus package”
Numerous Washington kids and military veterans will be able to attend performances of the Ellensburg (Wash.) Rodeo for free on Sept. 4 and Sept. 7. The rodeo committee announced the “Ellensburg Rodeo Stimulus Package” at a press conference on April 29.
“We are delighted to be able to give something back to the community that has been a critical part of the Ellensburg Rodeo,” said Dave Standish, Ellensburg Rodeo president. “It couldn’t come at a better time with the current state of the economy.”
The Ellensburg Rodeo runs Sept. 4-7, and will also host the Xtreme Bulls Tour Finale, presented by B&W Trailers Hitches, on Sept. 5.
On Sept. 4, there will be free admission to the rodeo and fairgrounds for the Kittitas County youth baseball players (620 tickets) and local Veterans of Foreign War members (100 tickets). On Sept. 7, there will be free admission to the rodeo and fairgrounds for the Kittitas County 4H and Future Farmers of America members (more than 400 tickets) and local VFW members (100 tickets). Vouchers for the tickets will be issued to the organizations prior to the admission dates.
Along with members of the rodeo committee, 10-time PRCA Announcer of the Year Randy Corley attended the press conference, along with PRCA Director of Member Relations John Davis.
Corley will announce the Ellensburg Rodeo, alongside ProRodeo Hall of Famer Hadley Barrett.
The Ellensburg Rodeo is the final regular-season gold-tier rodeo on the Wrangler Million Dollar Tour presented by Justin Boots. The Justin Boots Playoffs are Sept. 11-13 in Puyallup, Wash., followed by the Justin Boots Championships, Sept. 24-26, in Omaha, Neb.
The Ellensburg Rodeo, founded in 1923, is held annually on Labor Day weekend. It is among the top 20 ProRodeos in the country, featuring more than 500 competitors and a purse of more than $250,000. Ellensburg is approximately 90 minutes east of Seattle.
Tickets on sale for Xtreme Bulls Finale
Tickets are now on sale for the Xtreme Bulls Tour Finale, presented by B&W Trailer Hitches, Sept. 5, in Ellensburg, Wash. Tickets can be purchased by calling 1.800.637.2444, or by visiting the Ellensburg Rodeo Web site: www.ellensburgrodeo.com/tickets.html.
Ticket prices range from $20-$40, and fans are encouraged to purchase tickets early. The Ellensburg Xtreme Bulls stop traditionally sells out the 8,500 seats in the Ellensburg Rodeo Arena, and this year it will have an $85,000 total purse.
The Finale will be the culmination of the eight-city Xtreme Bulls Tour, which has a combined total purse of $535,000. The Finale will feature 40 bull riders in preliminary competition, with the top 12 immediately brought back for the finals, where an Ellensburg champion and a season-long Tour champion will be crowned.
The field could include World Champions J.W. Harris (2008, May, Texas); Wesley Silcox (2007, Payson, Utah); B.J. Schumacher (2006, Hillsboro, Wis.); and Cody Hancock (2000, Taylor, Ariz.)
“It’s appropriate that Ellensburg will be the location for the Xtreme Bulls Tour Finale in 2009 since the PRCA Xtreme Bulls program was initially hosted by the Ellensburg Rodeo Association in 2002,” said Sam Dunn, director of the Xtreme Bulls Tour. “The bull riding fans in Ellensburg are the best, and this will provide another great chapter in the history of the Ellensburg Rodeo.”
The Xtreme Bulls Tour Finale will be televised on ESPN2 and ESPN Classic with eight-time World Champion Bull Rider Don Gay handling the TV color commentary. ESPN2 and ESPN Classic reach 99 million and 63 million U.S. households, respectively.
Cassidy takes over all-around lead in PRCA World Standings
Canadian Curtis Cassidy earned $1,660 for a fourth-place finish in the second round of the tie-down roping in Guymon, Okla., over the weekend, which wouldn't be a big deal except it was almost exactly what he needed to qualify for the PRCA All-Around World Standings. It put his tie-down roping earnings at just over the $3,000 minimum that is required to be included in any event, at $3,215. Added on to his event-best $69,700 in steer wrestling, Cassidy, of Donalda, Alberta, shot past Trevor Brazile into the all-around lead by $9,743.
The only other change at the top of the leader board this week was in the steer roping, where Landon McClaugherty of Tilden, Texas, used his win in the Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo to jump from eighth place to first with total earnings of $14,662. He leads Brazile by $902.
PRCA Gold Card member Tony Costa dies at 69
Team roper Tony Costa, a PRCA Gold Card member, died of an apparent heart attack while taking part in the Ranchero Visitadores Ride in California. He was 69. Those wishing to offer their condolences may write to Ann Costa, P.O. Box 40, Byron Calif. 94514
Upcoming PRCA Rodeos
May 6 Jasper Lions Benefit Rodeo, Jasper, Texas, begins
May 6 Mineral Wells Rodeo, Mineral Wells, Texas, begins
May 7 Crockett Lions Club, Crockett, Texas, begins
May 8 Butterfield Stage Days Rodeo, Bridgeport, Texas, begins
May 8 Rodeo on the Ridge, Lafe, Ark., begins
May 8 Mesquite Championship Rodeo, Mesquite, Texas, begins
May 9 Kamloops Spring Rodeo, Kamloops, British Columbia, begins
May 9 Mother Lode Round-Up, Sonora, Calif., begins
May 9 Woodlake Lions PRCA Rodeo, Woodlake, Calif., begins
May 14 Redding Rodeo, Redding, Calif., begins
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