Plenty on the line: Lull between Playoff events doesn’t mean lack of drama
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Last weekend, the long-anticipated Ariat Playoffs got under way with the Caldwell (Idaho) Night Rodeo. Even with two weeks until the next event in Puyallup, Wash., there’s no shortage of action as the regular season steams into its final month of action.
A total of 26 PRCA-sanctioned rodeos from Pennsylvania to the West Coast highlight the week ahead, with most of the action focusing on two small towns in Washington separated by some four hours, another in a coastal valley overlooking the Pacific Ocean in southern California and one in the scenic Rocky Mountains in Colorado.
Washington plays host to the Kitsap County Fair and Rodeo and Horse Heaven Roundup in Bremerton and Kennewick, respectively. Both events start Aug. 20 and end Aug. 23. Bremerton also plays host to the next installment of the Dodge Xtreme Bulls Tour, presented by B&W Trailer Hitches. The top 40 bull riders will go up against ProRodeo’s top bulls, starting at 1 p.m. (PT) Aug. 24. Each rider will compete for part of the $40,000 purse and placement in the Xtreme Bulls rankings. Dodge Xtreme Bulls Tour earnings count toward the world standings, which determines qualifiers for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, Dec. 4-13 in Las Vegas.
Bremerton offers $8,500 added money per event in its four-performance rodeo, which begins each day at 7 p.m. Powder River Rodeo, LLC is the primary stock contractor, while Korkow Rodeos, D&H Cattle, Growney Brothers and Western Rodeos also are supplying livestock for the rodeo.
Kennewick also has four performances, starting at 7:25 p.m. each day, and offers $7,500 added money in each event. Flying Five Rodeo Company and Big Bend Rodeo Company are bringing their world-class livestock to the rodeo.
In just seven years, the Rancho Mission Viejo Rodeo in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., has become one of the PRCA’s best. The rodeo, located halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, is ProRodeo’s biggest two-day rodeo, offering $20,000 in added money in each event. The rodeo starts Aug. 23 at 4 p.m. PT and ends Aug. 24 with a 1:30 p.m. performance
The Colorado State Fair in Pueblo continues this week with daily performances at 7 p.m. MT. The rodeo, which offers $7,500 of added money in each event, starts Aug. 22 and continues with the fifth and final performance on Aug. 26.
Caldwell crowns first Playoff champions
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The hits just keep coming for roughstock cowboy Steven Dent. The Mullen, Neb., cowboy won another major bareback riding title on Saturday at the Caldwell (Idaho) Night Rodeo, the first event on the four-leg Ariat Playoffs Series.
Dent, whose 2008 highlights include bareback riding victories at such lucrative rodeos as RodeoHouston and Dodge City, Kan., saved his best for last in Caldwell. He won the four-man final round with an arena-record, 91-point ride aboard four-time and reigning PRCA Bareback Horse of the Year Grated Coconut of the Calgary Stampede string.
Dent placed in all but one round and won $11,320, further extending his lead atop the Crusher Rentals PRCA World Standings to $22,000 over Royce Ford as the ProRodeo season enters its homestretch run.
Dent wasn’t the only top-ranked cowboy to take home Caldwell hardware and extend his lead. Trevor Brazile, the five-time and reigning World Champion All-Around Cowboy, won the tie-down roping crown and $9,812. Brazile, of Decatur, Texas, didn’t place in the first two rounds, but qualified for the eight-man semifinal after a fourth-place showing in the two-head average.
That’s when Brazile took off, winning both semifinal and final rounds, clocking times of 8.8 and 8.5 seconds, respectively.
Another cowboy, team roping header Jake Stanley, perhaps punched a ticket to his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo with a Caldwell victory. Stanley, of Hermiston, Ore., joined forces with Jade Corkill of Fallon, Nev., to earn $8,679, clinching the title with a sizzling, 4.5-second run in the final round.
Stanley, who entered the weekend ranked 16th in the world standings – just one spot out of Wrangler NFR qualification – vaulted to No. 10 after the Caldwell windfall. Corkill, another RodeoHouston champion to also claim a Caldwell title, remained No. 3 among heelers, but moved to within $700 of standings leader Michael Jones.
Reigning World Champion Steer Wrestler Jason Miller and saddle bronc rider J.J. Elshere further cemented their solid Top 15 status and added to their stellar seasons.
Miller, of Lance Creek, Wyo., earned $8,050, winning the semifinal round and tying for the final-round title. Miller was declared the Caldwell champion based on a tie-breaker that reverts to the top score or time of the previous round. Miller moved into seventh place in the world standings after his lucrative weekend.
Elshere, of Quinn, S.D., didn’t place in the first round, but didn’t miss the rest of the way. He won $12,076 in Caldwell, highlighted by his final-round, 87-point ride aboard renowned Burch Rodeo bronc Blood Brother. Elshere, the 2006 Wrangler NFR saddle bronc riding average champion, strengthened his hold on the No. 3 spot in the world standings.
The only cowboy not to leap into the Top 15 was bull rider Brian Curtis of Belle Fourche, S.D. Curtis earned $9,812 that bumped him to 31st in the world standings, but Curtis will get a few more shots to improve on after winning the Caldwell title and earning an automatic berth into the second Ariat Playoffs event at the Puyallup (Wash.) Rodeo, Sept. 5-7.
Mote, Brazile win in Canby
Bobby Mote, the two-time and reigning World Champion Bareback Rider, claimed his event title at the Canby (Ore.) Rodeo by scoring 86 points on Growney Brothers Rodeo’s Bitter Sweet. Mote, of Culver, Ore., earned $3,463 for the ride and solidified his hold on No. 3 in this week’s Crusher Rentals PRCA World Standings.
Five-time and reigning World Champion All-Around Cowboy Trevor Brazile claimed all-around honors in Canby with $4,130 earned in tie-down roping and team roping. Brazile, of Decatur, Texas, also bagged the steer roping title at the Inter-State Rodeo in Coffeyville, Kan., earning $2,485.
Boatright recovering from serious fall
Bret Boatright, one of the most consistent team ropers of the 1980s and 1990s, is recovering at his Mulhall, Okla., home from multiple injuries suffered in a fall from a 12-foot ladder on Aug. 13.
Boatright underwent more than three hours of surgery Aug. 14 at Stillwater (Okla.) Medical Center and had eight screws inserted into his broken left elbow and two more in his broken left hip. He also broke two bones in his left hand and shattered his right wrist.
“We are building a new home, and Bret was up on the ladder helping install insulation,” said Boatright’s wife, Kim. “He fell on the concrete garage floor and really did some damage to himself.”
Physical therapists took him through a course of rehab at the hospital before he was released to return home. The healing process is expected to last at least six weeks.
Boatright competed in the National Finals Rodeo 14 times from 1979 to 1998, finishing second in the world standings in 1997 and third in 1984. He also qualified for the National Steer Roping Finals in 1992 and finished his career with $821,177 in earnings.
Upcoming PRCA Rodeos
Badlands Circuit: Range Days Rodeo, Aug. 21-23, Rapid City, S.D.
California Circuit: Norco Mounted Posse Rodeo, Aug. 22-24, Norco; Rancho Mission Viejo Rodeo, Aug. 23-24, San Juan Capistrano
Columbia River Circuit: Kitsap County Fair & Stampede, Aug. 20-23, Bremerton, Wash.; Horse Heaven Round-Up, Aug. 20-23, Kennewick, Wash.; Lynden PRCA Rodeo, Aug. 22-23, Lynden, Wash.; Salmon Stampede PRCA Rodeo, Aug. 22-23, Salmon, Idaho; North Idaho Fair & Rodeo, Aug. 22-24, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Dodge Xtreme Bulls Tour, Aug. 24, Bremerton, Wash.
First Frontier Circuit: Painted Pony Championship Rodeo, Aug. 20, 22, Lake Luzerne, N.Y.; Harford Fair Rodeo, Aug. 22, Harford, Pa.; Cowtown Rodeo, Aug. 23, Woodstown Pilesgrove, N.J.
Great Lakes Circuit: Lorain County Fair Pro Rodeo, Aug. 20, Wellington, Ohio; Stephenson County Fair Pro Rodeo, Aug. 21, Freeport, Ill.; Cattleman Days Rodeo, Aug. 22-23, Ashland, Mo.
Montana Circuit: Eastern Montana Fair & Rodeo, Aug. 22, Miles City
Mountain States Circuit: W; Steamboat Springs Pro Rodeo Series, Aug. 22-23, Steamboat Springs, Colo.; Colorado State Fair & Rodeo, Aug. 22-26, Pueblo, Colo.; Hyde Merritt Memorial/Mountain States Circuit Finals Steer Roping, Aug. 23-24, Laramie, Wyo.
Prairie Circuit: Great Plains Stampede Rodeo, Aug. 21-23, Altus, Okla.
Southeastern Circuit: Imboden PRCA Rodeo, Aug. 22-23, Imboden, Ark.
Texas Circuit: Athens MDA Benefit Pro Rodeo, Aug. 22-23, Athens
Wilderness Circuit: Box Elder County Fair and Golden Spike Rodeo, Aug. 21-23, Tremonton, Utah
Canada: Whoop-Up Days Pro Rodeo, Aug. 21-23, Lethbridge, Alberta; Kamloops Outdoor Pro Rodeo, Aug. 22-23, Kamloops, British Columbia
Learn more at www.prorodeo.com
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