PRCA Rodeo News and Notes August 11, 2008 and Upcoming Rodeos

By Courtesy PRCA
Posted Monday, August 11, 2008

Brazile, Beaver snag all-around honors in weekend action
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Joe Beaver and Trevor Brazile, who have combined to win eight all-around world championships, took home all-around honors this weekend at the Farm-City Pro Rodeo in Hermiston, Ore., and the Lea County Fair & Rodeo in Lovington, N.M., respectively.

Beaver, of Huntsville, Texas, who is a member of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, earned $3,981 in team roping and tie-down roping. Brazile, of Decatur, Texas, bagged $6,239 in team roping, tie-down roping and steer roping. Brazile also won the all-around crown at the Lawton (Okla.) Rangers Rodeo with $1,835 in team roping and tie-down roping.

Veteran tie-down roper Jeff Chapman, of Athens, Texas, won average titles at the Omak (Wash.) Stampede and in Hermiston, and his earnings bumped him over the $1 million plateau to become the 73rd PRCA cowboy to accomplish that feat.

Saddle bronc rider Rusty Allen of Lehi, Utah, also earned a pair of victories over the weekend, winning top honors at the Sikeston (Mo.) Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo and in Lovington.

Allen, a four-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier, earned $11,307 after an 88-point ride aboard Rafter H Rodeo’s Deer Creek in Sikeston and a 90-point effort on Carr Pro Rodeo’s Ginger Snap in Lovington.

Other highlights from last weekend included six-time World Champion Cody Ohl, of Hico, Texas, who won the tie-down roping title in Lovington; eight-time World Champion Team Roper Speed Williams, of De Leon, Texas, joining forces with four-time World Champion Team Roper Allen Bach to take the two-head average title in Hermiston; reigning and two-time World Champion Bareback Rider Bobby Mote, of Culver, Ore., scoring 88 points aboard Rafter H Rodeo’s High Country to take the title in Sikeston; and 2006 World Champion Steer Wrestler Dean Gorsuch, of Gering, Neb., winning the two-head average title in Sikeston.

Miss Amerititle suffers fatal injury
Miss Amerititle, one of ProRodeo’s top bareback horses, was humanely euthanized Saturday after suffering a fractured left hind foot following an accident at the Omak (Wash.) Stampede.

According to Don Hutsell, co-owner of Flying Five Rodeo Company and Big Bend Rodeo Company, the 8-year-old mare slipped prior to being loaded into the chutes for Saturday’s performance and her leg went through a gate. The fracture then occurred when she attempted to free herself.

“It was just a freak accident, and it makes you sick,” Hutsell said. “There was no way to save her, and if there was a way, we would have done it.”

The horse, which finished third in PRCA Bareback Horse of the Year voting in 2007, was buried the next day at the Hutsell ranch in Ritzville, Wash., next to Big Bend bull Dog Face.

Miss Amerititle produced a pair of 85-point rides in her last trips – Chris Harris in the final round of the Reno (Nev.) Rodeo, and Ben Londo at the Molalla (Ore.) Buckeroo. Earlier this year, Miss Amerititle helped Jessy Davis of Payson, Utah, to an arena-record 92-point ride in the final round of the San Antonio Livestock Show & Rodeo, then teamed with Canadian Dusty LaValley for 89 points and a second-place finish at RodeoHouston’s Shootout Round.

The horse, who weighed 1,250 pounds and measured 15.2 hands, made her ProRodeo debut in 2005, at the age of 5, and she quickly made her presence known at rodeos contracted by the Big Bend and Flying Five outfits.

At the 2006 Reno Rodeo, she was underneath two cowboys who won round titles – Kyle Bowers in the second round and Andy Martinez in the Wrangler ProRodeo Tour Round. Later that year, Miss Amerititle earned the first of two trips to the Wrangler NFR.

“I’ve seen it happen before, but it always seems like it happens to the best ones,” Hutsell said. “You don’t get ones like her very often. All we can do is move on and hope we get another like her.”

College finals on ESPNU
Action from the final round of the College National Finals Rodeo will air on ESPNU at 10:30 p.m. ET on Aug. 12 and 6 p.m. ET on Aug. 19 with rebroadcasts throughout the month.

The 2008 CNFR was held June 14-20 in Casper, Wyo., with several PRCA members competing.
ProRodeo Hall of Famer Bob Tallman and 2007 PRCA Announcer of the Year Boyd Polhamus anchor the coverage along with Angie Burton. The broadcasts also include feature stories, interviews and a portion of the awards ceremony, along with lots of a rodeo action.

ESPNU is channel 609 on DIRECTV and channel 148 on Dish Network. Check cable listings for the ESPNU channel in your area.

Upcoming PRCA Rodeos

Badlands Circuit: Dacotah Stampede Rodeo, Aug. 11-12, Aberdeen, S.D.; Riverboat Days PRCA Rodeo, Aug. 15-16, Yankton, S.D.

California Circuit: Tehachapi Mountain PRCA Rodeo, Aug. 16-17, Tehachapi
Columbia River Circuit: Canby Rodeo, Aug. 12-16, Canby, Ore.; Moses Lake Roundup, Aug. 14-16, Moses Lake, Wash.

First Frontier Circuit: Painted Pony Championship Rodeo, Aug. 13, 15, Lake Luzerne, N.Y.; Cowtown Rodeo, Aug. 16, Woodstown Pilesgrove, N.J.

Great Lakes Circuit: Juneau County Fair Pro Rodeo, Aug. 13-14, Mauston, Wis.; Red Horse Ranch PRCA Rodeo, Aug. 14-16, Fergus Falls, Minn.; Brown County Fair, Aug. 16-17, De Pere, Wis.

Montana Circuit: Northwest Montana Fair & Rodeo, Aug. 14-16, Kalispell; Fallon County Fair & PRCA Rodeo, Aug. 15-16, Baker; Chouteau County Fair & Rodeo, Aug. 16, Fort Benton

Mountain States Circuit: Wyoming State Fair & Rodeo, Aug. 15-16, Douglas, Wyo.; Sand & Sage Roundup, Aug. 15-16, Lamar, Colo.; Steamboat Springs Pro Rodeo Series, Aug. 15-16, Steamboat Springs, Colo.

Prairie Circuit: Inter-State Rodeo, Aug. 13-16, Coffeyville, Kan.; Phil Gardenhire PRCA Rodeo, Aug. 15-16, Poteau, Okla.

Texas Circuit: 80th North Texas State Fair & Rodeo, Aug. 15-17, Denton
Turquoise Circuit: 124th Annual World’s Oldest Continuous Rodeo, Aug. 15-17, Payson, Ariz.
Wilderness Circuit: Caldwell Night Rodeo, Aug. 12-16, Caldwell, Idaho; Cassia County Fair & Rodeo, Aug. 13-16, Burley, Idaho; Gooding Pro Rodeo, Aug. 14-16, Gooding, Idaho; Davis County Fair & PRCA Rodeo, Aug. 15-16, Farmington, Utah

Canada: Jasper Heritage Rodeo, Aug. 13-16, Jasper, Alberta; Pincher Creek Fair & Rodeo, Aug. 15-17, Pincher Creek, Alberta