The road begins again: Wrangler Tour’s new 2008 schedule starts in Odessa

By Courtesy PRCA
Posted Monday, January 7, 2008

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The 2008 edition of the Wrangler ProRodeo Tour officially got under way Jan. 4 at the SandHills Stock Show and Rodeo in Odessa, Texas. The Odessa rodeo gives cowboys and cowgirls their first chance to count earnings toward qualification into the Ariat Playoffs series that was introduced to overwhelming approval in 2007.

The 2008 Wrangler ProRodeo Tour consists of a series of 26 stops. The top cowboys and cowgirls at the conclusion of the Tour season earn a berth into the first of four Tour championship playoffs. Three of the top four prize money rodeos sanctioned by the PRCA – Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days, San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo and the Reno (Nev.) Rodeo will highlight the Tour. For the second year in a row, the Tour will culminate with an elimination playoff system that will play out at four elite PRCA events. Contestants will be able to count 15 of those 26 rodeos toward qualification for the Ariat Playoffs system.

Money made at Tour rodeos will be used to determine the Tour standings, starting with Odessa. Overall, the Tour will hit 13 states – including five each in Texas and California – in its seven-month run. The regular-season Tour concludes with the Dodge City (Kan.) Roundup Rodeo in early August.

The first Wrangler ProRodeo Tour playoff event will take the top 35 cowboys from the Tour standings in terms of prize money, along with the “Wild Card” qualifiers, champions from March’s Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo, in the first Ariat Playoffs event at Caldwell, Idaho.

From there, the top 22 in total Tour money in each event, as well as the Wild Card and the champion from the first Ariat Playoffs event will advance to a 24-person (24 teams in team roping) second playoff event in Puyallup, Wash. The field will then be cut to 12, with those contestants moving on to the next event in Omaha, Neb., then to 10 for the final round in the Ariat Playoffs in Dallas. Fox Sports Network and CBS are scheduled to televise the four Ariat Playoffs events.

"We're very excited about the new playoff series for the Wrangler ProRodeo Tour," said Keith Martin, Chairman of the PRCA Board. "This system provides great opportunities for PRCA and PWBR contestants to compete at the highest level and to do so in front of a nationally televised audience. The playoff series will put the perfect finishing touches on another successful Wrangler ProRodeo Tour season and will build excitement for rodeo fans heading into the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo."

Odessa held its first two performances Jan. 4-5. Then, after a three-day break, the rodeo concludes with four nights of action at the Ector County Coliseum, starting Jan. 9. All performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT.

ProRodeo Hall of Fame stock contractor Harry Vold is bringing his legendary livestock to Odessa. Vold, an 11-time PRCA Stock Contractor of the Year, had three bareback horses selected to perform at the 2007 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.