IN THIS RELEASE YOU'LL FIND:
1. Capital gains: Wrangler Tour moves to Rodeo Austin
2. Swamp thing: Dodge Xtreme Bulls heads to Okeechobee
3. Southeastern Livestock Expo celebrates 50th anniversary
4. Legendary coach Davis hangs ’em up
5. Parsons tandem makes DNCFR a family affair
6. Rodeo News and Notes: Prairie Circuit Finals finds new home; RodeoHouston attendance record; CNBC program rescheduled
1. ‘Capital’ gains: Wrangler Tour moves to Rodeo Austin
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Rodeo fans and athletes in the capital of Texas are just days away from the 70th annual rodeo extravaganza Rodeo Austin, March 11-24, at the Travis County Expo Center. Rodeo Austin is the seventh stop on the 2007 Wrangler ProRodeo Tour.
Cowboys and cowgirls alike are waiting to pocket a portion of the more than $300,000 available at this year’s event. Rodeo Austin paid out $308,033 last year, which was highlighted by a committee purse of $120,000, 21st among PRCA-sanctioned events in 2006.
This year’s Wrangler ProRodeo Tour consists of 21 rodeos from January to August. Contestants will choose 15 out of the 21 rodeos to count toward their official Tour Rodeo count and will compete for money this year versus points like in years past.
At the conclusion of the 21st rodeo, the top 35 contestants in total Tour money and the “wild card,” event champions from the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo, will move on to the first Tour Championship event. From there, the top 22 in total Tour money, as well as the wild card from the DNCFR and the champion from the first Tour Championship event will advance to the field of 24 to the second Tour Championship event. At the conclusion of that rodeo, the field will be cut to 12, then to eight and finally to four. The Championship sites will be released at a later date. Fox Sports Network and CBS are scheduled to televise the Championship events only.
Last year, Trevor Brazile of Decatur, Texas, firmly entrenched himself as the cowboy to beat after winning the tie-down roping average title and $8,332 in Austin, capping a month where he won more than $101,000 in PRCA and other pro events. Brazile ultimately claimed his fourth world championship all-around cowboy title.
The Dodge Xtreme Bulls Tour will be bucking fans out of the stands with a Division II qualifying event with one performance on March 10 at 7 p.m. CT.
Adding to the rodeo thrills and spills will be more than 5,000 junior livestock participants, a chuckwagon cookoff, which was started in 1985 and continues to grow strong, a carnival and commercial exhibits.
For more information and a schedule of events, visit www.rodeoaustin.com.
2. Swamp thing: Dodge Xtreme Bulls heads to Okeechobee
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Dodge Xtreme Bulls Tour presented by B&W Trailer Hitches heads south to the Okeechobee, Fla., as part of the Okeechobee Cattlemen’s Spring Rodeo. Fans in this small south Florida town – located about two hours north of Miami – will see the top 40 PRCA bull riders in the world matched with the best bulls vying for a shot at the title at Fred Smith Rodeo Arena on March 10 at 8 p.m. ET.
Reigning world bull riding champion B.J. Schumacher of Hillsboro, Wis., and 2004 World Champion Dustin Elliott of North Platte, Neb., headline the list of riders. Also competing are 2000 World Champion Cody Hancock of Taylor, Ariz., and Zeb Lanham of Sweet, Idaho, the Dodge Xtreme Bulls overall champion in 2006, as well as 2007 Dodge Xtreme Bulls Tour earnings leader Kanin Asay of Powell, Wyo.
Highlights of the Okeechobee tour stop will air on ESPN2 on April 14 at 4 p.m. ET.
In Okeechobee, each rider competes for part of the $50,000 purse and placement in the Xtreme Bulls rankings.
In Xtreme Bulls, every contestant competes in the semifinal round, with the top 15 performers advancing to the final round. The winner of the two-head average wins that stop’s title. Dodge Xtreme Bulls Tour earnings count toward the world standings, which determines qualifiers for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, Dec. 6-15 in Las Vegas.
3. Southeastern Livestock Expo celebrates 50th anniversary
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – It will be very clear to folks in Alabama's capital city when it is time for the PRCA rodeo to get under way this year. The 50 longhorn steers parading through downtown Montgomery past the Capitol Building will be an obvious sign that the Southeastern Livestock Exposition Championship Rodeo can now begin.
The 100-mile cattle drive that concludes in Montgomery is one of four special events being held to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Southeastern Livestock Exposition that features the four-performance SLE Championship Rodeo.
The longhorns are expected to arrive in Montgomery in the afternoon on March 8, to kick off the rodeo that begins that night.
"It will be the longest cattle drive in Alabama history, that we know about since the Civil War and that goes back about 100 years," said Billy Powell, executive vice president of the Alabama Cattlemen's Association for 25 years and the executive director of the SLE Championship rodeo since 1994.
Southeastern Livestock Show Exposition activities run through March 11, with PRCA action beginning on March 7 with slack. Nightly rodeo performances are at 7:30 March 8 and March 9, while a double dose of rodeo is at 4 and 8 p.m. on March 10.
Along with the cattle drive, other special events for the 50th celebration include a commemorative wagon train trek, a welcome home event for former Miss Rodeo Alabama queens and a ceremony to recognize participants of the first Southeastern Livestock Exposition. Cowboys and cowgirls from the 1958 event will be recognized during the second performance on March 10. In addition, former Alabama rodeo queens will be honored during the March 9 performance.
The Southeastern Livestock Exposition has had wagon trains associated with its event for many years. Along with this year's special wagon train, three other wagon trains will arrive in Montgomery during the celebration. Two of the wagon trains have been making a trip to Montgomery during expo time for almost 30 years, traveling 160-plus miles in eight days.
Spectators line the streets of Montgomery each year to view the tribute to early settlers. This year, plans are underway to try to include Alabama Gov. Bob Riley and Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright among the wagon train participants, so the dignitaries can arrive in Montgomery to greet spectators.
4. Legendary coach Davis hangs ’em up
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – After 29 years, College of Southern Idaho rodeo coach and ProRodeo Hall of Fame member Shawn Davis has announced his retirement from coaching. A retirement ceremony for Davis, 66, will be held during the 31st Annual CSI Intercollegiate Rodeo on March 10 at the Eldon Evans Expo Center on North College Road. The rodeo begins at 8 p.m. (MT), and CSI President Jerry Beck will be among those on hand to honor Davis.
Davis led the Golden Eagles to national men's team titles in 1996 and 2001-02. A Davis-led team has never finished lower than 11th at the College National Finals Rodeo, and CSI won the NIRA Rocky Mountain Region team title 23 out of 26 times under his command.
Davis has been involved in rodeo since the age of 5. While competing for Western Montana College in Dillon, he won national championships in bareback riding, saddle bronc riding and all-around. He was a reserve champion in bull riding.
In professional rodeo, Davis claimed three saddle bronc riding world championships in 1965, 1967-68. He qualified for the National Finals Rodeo 11 times. Davis was the PRCA president from 1982-85. He also was a judge at the National Finals Rodeo and administrator, and has served as the general manager of the Wrangler NFR, held annually in Las Vegas, since 1985.
Davis' future plans include spending time with family at his home in Filer, Idaho, and ranch in Whitehall, Mont., and to pursue his passion for horse racing throughout the West and Southwest.
5. Parsons tandem makes DNCFR a family affair
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Parsons family is taking a vacation together, to the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo. Joe Parsons and his son, Joseph, both qualified for the elite rodeo during the Dodge Turquoise Circuit Finals, presented by U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co., making the 2007 DNCFR a family affair.
For the Parsons family, which also includes Joe’s younger brother, Cutter, competing against one another is a regular thing in the Turquoise Circuit. And at the Circuit Finals, when Joseph clinched the year-end tie-down roping title and Joe took home the tie-down roping average crown, it was no different.
“I had a goal to try and win the average,” Joe said. “My son already had the circuit finals made, so it was kind of like a wish or a dream. But it was also kind of bittersweet. If Joseph would have won the average, then Cutter would have qualified second and gone to the DNCFR, instead of me. It’s a tough thing.”
Even though Cutter didn’t qualify, Joe said he’s excited to compete alongside his son at the DNCFR. He hasn’t been to the DNCFR since the early 1990s. In fact, he retired several years ago, but started roping again a little to help keep some horses in shape. Then, he entered a few rodeos and got the bug again.
At age 50, though, roping is a little different than it was when he was his son’s age.
“I kind of went through a relearning process of what I can and can’t do at 50,” he said. “You can’t rope like you did when you were 30. Your mind writes checks that your body can’t cash, so to speak.”
His relearning process worked, however, and Joe started off the Turquoise Circuit Finals with a bang, winning the first round with a 9.1-second run. He remained consistent, placing fourth in the second round in 10.4 seconds, and just out of the money in the third round. His efforts were enough to put together an average time of 31.0 seconds on three head, seven-tenths of a second quicker than Joseph’s combined time.
6. Rodeo News and Notes
· Prairie Circuit Finals finds new home. The American Royal Rodeo announced recently that it has entered into a three-year agreement to host the Dodge Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo. This year’s event is set for Oct. 24-27.
American Royal officials anticipate that the Dodge Prairie Circuit Finals will include an opening reception, four evening rodeo performances with a championship celebration on Oct. 27, as well as a convention of rodeo committee members and a variety of public appearances and promotional events by cowboys and cowgirls competing in the event.
Ticket information and regular updates about the Prairie Circuit Finals events will be available at www.americanroyal.com.
· RodeoHouston attendance record. The RodeoHouston Super Series II Championship Round performance featuring a concert by Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana and the Cheetah Girls, Sunday, March 4, broke the Show’s all-time Rodeo attendance record with a paid attendance of 73,295.
The March 4, 2007, RodeoHouston paid attendance broke the previous record of 72,867, set in 2006 at RodeoHouston with a performance by Brooks and Dunn.
Elsewhere, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo inducted Reba McEntire into the Show’s Star Trail of Fame on March 1.
The country music legend was on hand to unveil the plaque that is on display at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo offices in Reliant Center in Houston. After the presentation, she took the rotating stage at RodeoHouston for her 16th performance. Her first performance at the Rodeo was in 1984. She is one of only three performers to have performed in front of 1 million RodeoHouston fans. She joins George Strait and Charley Pride with this honor. Also seen in the Star Trail of Fame are Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and Elvis Presley.
· CNBC program rescheduled. Due to programming changes, the CNBC show On the Money, featuring La Fiesta de los Vaqueros in Tucson, Ariz., has been rescheduled. Tune in this Friday, March 9 from 7-8 p.m. (ET) for the show. During the second half of the show, reporter Mike Hegedus interviewed 2004 World Steer Wrestling Champion Luke Branquinho in Tucson, Ariz., about the economic impact generated from the rodeo.
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