Tryan, Petska big winners at California Rodeo Salinas
Things are certainly looking up for the tandem of Clay Tryan and Cory Petska. The team ropers got a big lift in the PRCA World Standings with a victory at California Rodeo Salinas, which ran July 16-19.
The duo won the average with a time of 45.2 seconds on five head and collected $11,706 each. Roping five steers over the long score was fun, not daunting, for the team, according to Tryan. In Salinas, both the header and heeler come from the same box and behind the barrier, making it more of a “cowboy event,” said Tryan, a header from Billings, Mont. At most rodeos, the heeler comes from the other side of the chute and not behind the barrier.
“It was exciting,” Tryan said. “(California Rodeo Salinas) has been around forever. There is a lot of tradition there.”
It was Tryan’s fifth team roping victory at Salinas and the second with Petska, as the duo also won Salinas buckles in 2004.
Tryan moved from 33rd to 15th place in the heading standings with $33,674, while Petska jumped from 23rd to 14th with $37,775.
“We didn’t have a very good Fourth of July or the week after, so we needed Tour money,” Tryan said. “Nowadays, it seems like the world championships and a lot more is determined by what happens at Tour finales, so if you’re not at them, it is hard to even make the National Finals (Rodeo) sometimes.”
The nearly $400,000 California Rodeo Salinas was a gold-tier stop on the Wrangler Million Dollar Tour presented by Justin Boots. Bareback rider Ryan Gray was among those who took advantage of the rich purse. Gray, from Cheney, Wash., won the two-head average with 168 points and pocketed $7,709. It was the third career win at Salinas for Gray, who won back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005.
In other events, two-time and reigning World Champion Steer Wrestler Luke Branquinho won his event with a time of 21.5 seconds on three head, edging Brad McGilchrist (21.6 seconds). Josh Reynolds and Louie Brunson tied for first in the saddle bronc riding. They scored 166 points each on two head. The tie-down roping title was won by Mike Johnson in a time of 35.1 seconds on three head, while Brittany Pharr, the 2007 world champion barrel racer, completed four runs in 64.91 seconds to take home Salinas’ top honors. Dustin Larson and Jarrod Craig tied for the top spot in bull riding with scores of 170 points each, and Josh Peek claimed the all-around title by winning $5,802. He competed in steer wrestling, tie-down roping and team roping. (For complete results, visit ProRodeo.com.)
Attendance for California Rodeo Salinas was up nearly 10 percent over last year, drawing 45,470 fans, according to The (Monterey County) Herald.
Plans for the 100th California Rodeo Salinas, set for 2010, are well under way, according to rodeo Board President John Cunha. “A lot of people who have been a part of this rodeo will be coming back for this,” Cunha told The Herald. The Salinas centennial committee has unveiled a commemorative logo and is planning to create a Hall of Fame. Also in the works are a centennial gala and parade. For more information on California Rodeo Salinas, visit www.carodeo.com.
Cheyenne Frontier Days under way
There has already been a 90-point ride in the bull riding, and more highlights are expected, as the 113th Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days runs through July 26. Performances are at 12:45 p.m. daily.
Bull rider Lonnie Carpenter from Haysville, Kan., scored 90 points on Four L Rodeo & Diamond S Rodeo’s Velvet Elvis on July 18 to kick off action in the gold-tier stop on the Wrangler Million Dollar Tour presented by Justin Boots. The ProRodeo Sports News, THE Voice of ProRodeo, will have in-depth coverage of Cheyenne Frontier Days in its Aug. 7 edition. Daily results are available on ProRodeo.com.
Contestants and rodeo fans in Cheyenne are coming together to help a PRCA cowboy this week. There will be a benefit auction for bareback rider and four-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier Tom McFarland at 6 p.m. Friday at the Buckin-A Saloon at Cheyenne Frontier Park. McFarland sustained 26 fractures in his right wrist and arm from injuries sustained June 25 at the West of the Pecos (Texas) Rodeo.
McFarland was in the chute and had his riding (right) hand in the rigging when a bucking horse flipped over on him twice, essentially “shattering” his wrist. The Wickenburg, Ariz., cowboy underwent surgery on July 1 in Scottsdale, Ariz., where doctors removed a damaged tendon in his wrist and inserted 22 pins and two plates. McFarland is wearing a full-arm cast and is expected to be out of competition the rest of year.
“Hopefully, I’ll be ready to go by the beginning of next year,” McFarland said. “That is what (the doctors) were thinking.”
Fellow contestants have donated items for the auction, such as a bareback rigging signed by 2008 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifiers, and 2007 World Champion Saddle Bronc Rider Taos Muncy has donated his first bronc riding saddle.
“I get to spend some time with my family,” said McFarland, who with wife, Ashley, has three daughters. “There is a good part to every bad situation.”
ProRodeoLive.com to broadcast from Cheyenne, July 23-26
ProRodeoLive.com, the official Internet and radio broadcast provider for the PRCA, will provide a live Webcast from Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days, July 23-26, from Frontier Park. Broadcasts begin at 12:30 p.m., MDT. To listen, click on the Webcast link at www.prorodeolive.com.
ProRodeoLive.com's coverage is anchored by PRCA announcer Steve Kenyon of Pendleton, Ore., and features analysis from ProRodeo Hall of Famer and 1991 World Champion Bareback Rider Clint Corey.
Cheyenne Frontier Days features a total of nine performances that began July 18, with the final round set for 1 p.m. July 26. ProRodeoLive.com's broadcast of Cheyenne Frontier Days is part of a schedule which includes the Justin Boots Playoffs, Sept. 11-13, in Puyallup, Wash., the Justin Boots Championships, Sept. 24-26, in Omaha, Neb., and the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, Dec. 3-12, in Las Vegas.
ProRodeoLive.com provided rodeo fans live coverage of the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo and the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo, presented by U.S. Smokeless Tobacco.
Upcoming PRCA Rodeos July 20, 2009 Days of ’47 Rodeo, Salt Lake City, Utah, begins
July 20 Ogden (Utah) Pioneer Days Rodeo begins
July 20 Days of ’47 Rodeo, Salt Lake City, Utah
July 22 Spanish Fork (Utah) Fiesta Days Rodeo begins
July 22 Green County (Wis.) Fair Pro Rodeo begins
July 22, 24 Painted Pony Championship Rodeo, Lake Luzerne, N.Y.
July 22 Chief Joseph Days Rodeo, Joseph, Ore., begins
July 23 Deadwood (S.D.) Days of ‘76 Rodeo begins
July 23 Delaware State Fair Pro Rodeo, Harrington, begins
July 23 Brown County PRCA Rodeo, Brownwood, Texas, begins
July 23 Nebraska’s Big Rodeo, Burwell, begins
July 23 Last Chance Stampede, Helena, Mont., begins
July 23 Kaw Valley Rodeo, Manhattan, Kan., begins
July 23 Medicine Hat (Alberta, Canada) Stampede begins
July 23 Red Desert Roundup, Rock Springs, Wyo., begins
July 23 Wahoo (Neb.) Saddle Club PRCA Rodeo begins
July 23 Allegheny Mt. Championship Rodeo, Kellettville, Pa., begins
July 24 Barber County Fair and Rodeo, Hardtner, Kan., begins
July 24 PRCA Kootenai River Rodeo, Libby, Mont., begins
July 24 Mesquite (Texas) Championship Rodeo begins
July 24 Neshoba County Fair Rodeo, Philadelphia, Miss., begins
July 24 Steamboat Springs Pro Rodeo Series begins
July 24 San Luis Valley Ski-Hi Stampede, Monte Vista, Colo., begins
July 25 Cowtown Rodeo, Woodstown Pilesgrove, N.J., begins
July 25 Truckee (Calif.) Championship Rodeo begins
July 26 Cecil County Fair Pro Rodeo, Fairhill, Md., begins
July 26 Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days ends
July 29 Dodge City, Kan., begins
Rodeo News and Notes
ProRodeo Hall of Famer Corey receives recognition
Dr. Doug Corey, who has served on the PRCA’s Advisory Council on Animal Welfare for more than 25 years, was awarded the American Veterinary Medical Association’s (AVMA) President’s Award for his service to animals and the veterinary profession last week. He received the award at the 146th AVMA Annual Convention in Schaumberg, Ill., on July 11 along with two other veterinarians. It is the second honor for Corey in the past two months, as he was elected vice chairman of the Unwanted Horse Coalition on June 15. He was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2007 for his ongoing service to the PRCA.
Ellensburg Rodeo HOF Association names 2009 inductees
Charles Sampson, Butch Lehmkulher and the Big Bend/Flying 5 Rodeo Company will be inducted into the Ellensburg (Wash.) Rodeo Hall of Fame Sept. 3 at Central Washington University’s Student Union Recreation Center Ballroom. Sampson, the 1983 world champion bull rider and ProRodeo Hall of Famer, will be inducted in the National Competitor category, while Lehmkuhler, a clown and acrobat, and Big Bend/Flying 5 Rodeo will be inducted as Participants. Hall of Fame festivities lead off the Ellensburg Rodeo, a gold-tier stop on the Wrangler Million Dollar Tour presented by Justin Boots, which runs Sept. 4-7. Ellensburg also is the site of the Seminole Hard Rock Xtreme Bulls Tour Finale, Sept. 5. For more information about the Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame, visit www.ellensburgrodeohalloffame.com.
July 25 is National Day of the American Cowboy
The National Day of the American Cowboy will be observed on Saturday with various activities and celebrations throughout the country. The day is annually recognized on the fourth Saturday of July to pay homage to cowboys and Western heritage, as well as honor working cowboys and cowgirls, rodeo athletes, Western musicians, cowboy poets, Western artists, ranchers and others who contribute to cowboys and Western culture.
Wyoming Senator Craig Thomas was approached by American Cowboy magazine staff about a national day, and in 2004 magazine staff also launched a campaign to seek recognition for cowboys and cowgirls. Thomas, who got resolutions passed from 2005-2007, died in 2007. Others in office have since offered their support, including former President George W. Bush. Organizations, such as the National Cowboy Museum in Oklahoma City, Okla., will be among those participating with special activities. Communities and groups may e-mail photos of their National Day of the American Cowboy events to the American Cowboy Web site by visiting www.cowboyday.com.
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