Not only did D.J. Domangue steal the show, but he added his name to the 2010 world title discussion with his performance Saturday night.

The Wharton, Texas, cowboy put up back-to-back 90-point rides in front of a raucous crowd to win the two-head average and a whopping $21,094 on the night, an enormous boost for a man who entered the weekend 16th in the PRCA World Standings.

“(The season) isn’t over yet, but I’m going to see this win for what it is: a great accomplishment,” Domangue said. “But, it’s not over until the end of the month. It’s a great boost, though. I’m tickled to death with this victory.”

Domangue’s opening round 90 on Corey & Horst Rodeo’s Blue Northern – a ride where the bull exploded out of the chute jumping and spinning to the left before reversing course and spinning right at the 5.5-second mark – was good enough to take first place in the 40-man round. His short-round ride on Corey & Horst’s King of Hearts capped an outstanding final round that saw six scores of 88 points or better, led by Bobby Welsh’s 92.5 on Burns Rodeo’s Kid Twist.

Welsh was still listed as an alternate 90 minutes before the start of the event and went on to ride three bulls on the evening. After getting the option for a reride on his first round bull, Welsh earned an 83 to qualify for the short round, where Kid Twist popped Welsh’s hand out of his rope, forcing him to ride hands-free just before the whistle.

“Fred (Boettcher) called me at 6:30 or 6:45 and said, ‘Hey, you want a bull?’” Welsh said. “‘Yeah, I want a bull.’ Praise God, it worked out.”

Welsh’s surprise night netted him $14,462, which will be a big boost as he pushes for his sixth consecutive Wrangler NFR appearance.

Although his night was very brief, Wesley Silcox did leave Ellensburg with the 2010 Xtreme Bulls year-end title. The Santaquin, Utah, cowboy was quickly discarded by Burns Rodeo’s Rockin Wolf, but his $37,758 in Tour earnings held up to give him his first season championship over Clayton Williams, who finished with $36,359.

• Gray extends lead in world standings with double win: Just when Ryan Gray was starting to feel a little pressure from Steven Dent in the bareback riding world standings, the Cheney, Wash., cowboy returned home to his native Northwest for a banner weekend. Gray shared the title at the Canby (Ore.) Rodeo and won the Moses Lake (Wash.) Roundup outright. With round money at Caldwell, Idaho, he banked $6,403 to increase his lead in the standings to more than $19,000.

• Steamboat Springs (Colo.) Pro Rodeo Series comes to end: Bull rider Lonny Graham and barrel racer Julie Haskins posted wins in the Aug. 20-21 season finale of the Steamboat Springs (Colo.) Pro Rodeo Series, helping them secure the season championships in their events. Other season champions were all-around cowboy Cole Dorenkamp, bareback rider Craig Wisehart, steer wrestler Shawn Mills, team ropers Clay Norell and Caleb Anderson, saddle bronc rider Jake Griffin and tie-down roper Darnell Johnson.

• Parker, Lyman find outlet for competitive needs: Bill Parker, the only Montana cowboy ever to qualify for the Wrangler NFR in tie-down roping (1980) and also an NFR qualifier in team roping, came out of retirement Aug. 19-21 to join forces with 15-time NFR steer wrestling qualifier Rod Lyman and compete in the team roping at the Yellowstone Stampede Pro Rodeo in Billings, Mont. They roped their steer in 11.4 seconds and earned $406 each for finishing fifth. “We didn’t embarrass ourselves,” a smiling Parker told the Billings Gazette. While Lyman had competed as recently as three years ago, it had been 17 years since Parker, 56, had been in a PRCA arena, and he took the task seriously. “We didn’t drive over just to have a good time at the fair,” Parker said. “These kids can laugh at us all they want; we’re here to rope.”

Feild makes triumphant return to PRCA competition: Sidelined for two months while recovering from a broken right arm, bareback rider Kaycee Feild made a triumphant return to competition Aug. 13-14 by earning a share of the title at the Cache County Fair & Rodeo in Logan, Utah. Feild’s 85-point ride on Bar T Rodeo’s Pocahontas tied him with Paul Jones and Matt Bright, and they each earned $953. Feild was injured during an incident in the chute June 12 in Livermore, Calif., and had surgery two days later in Bountiful, Utah, to insert a plate and screws into his arm. Despite the long layoff, he remains seventh in the PRCA World Standings.

Masters takes over team roping lead: And then there were four. Chad Masters and Jade Corkill paired to finish second at Hermiston, Ore., and sixth at Missoula, Mont., and the $5,253 they each banked was enough to send Masters ahead of Turtle Powell into first place among team roping headers. Powell is the third cowboy who won the $50,000 Shootout Round at RodeoHouston to fall out of first place, following tie-down roper Stran Smith and saddle bronc rider Rod Hay. Corkill remains second in the team roping heeling standings, nearly $7,000 behind leader Cory Petska.

Patterson takes aim on steer roping record: What’s that old line, life begins at 40? After 15 years of being near the top of the steer roping hierarchy, Rocky Patterson seems to have caught another gear. He won his first world title last year at the Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping in Guthrie, Okla., at age 43, and he’s doing all he can to build an insurmountable lead going into this November’s NFSR. With wins over the Aug. 11-15 weekend in Sonora, Texas, Coffeyville, Kan., and Poteau, Okla., plus a second-place finish in Ponca City, Okla., Patterson added $11,381 to his bank account. He now has $70,019 for the year and a lead of more than $26,000 over second-place Vin Fisher Jr. Patterson is in position to break the single-season earnings record for his event and become the first steer roper ever to surpass $100,000 in a single season. Never during his 18 world championship seasons did Guy Allen earn more than the record $99,132 he did in 1998. Patterson is nearly $30,000 ahead of his own pace of a year ago and more than $13,000 ahead of Scott Snedecor’s leading pace at this stage in 2009.

Harris fighting to extend his reign: Nevermind the slow start to his season, J.W. Harris is pushing hard to become the first bull rider to win three consecutive world championships since Don Gay in 1979-81. Harris, of Mullin, Texas, had three wins over the Aug. 11-15 weekend – in Lawton, Okla., Ponca City, Okla., and Coffeyville, Kan. – to earn $8,160 and move from eighth in the world standings to fourth. The biggest check came at the Lawton Rangers Rodeo, where Harris earned $4,874 for his devilishly good 87-point ride on Beutler & Son Rodeo’s No. 666.

Ohl edges toward 16th Wrangler NFR qualification: Fred Whitfield is not the only legendary tie-down roper making a late-season push. Cody Ohl, winner of five world championships, banked $6,391 over the weekend with a win at the Omak (Wash.) Stampede, a shared title at the Missoula (Mont.) Stampede and a check at the Sikeston (Mo.) Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo. The Hico, Texas, cowboy started the week on the bubble at No. 15 in the world standings and ended it in 14th place, about $3,000 back of Tyson Durfey (13th) and Clint Cooper (12th).

Mesquite (Texas) Championship Rodeo telecast regionally by Fox Southwest

The Mesquite Championship Rodeo series is back on Fox Sports Southwest.

Eight-time World Champion cowboy Joe Beaver hosts the weekly broadcasts from Resistol Arena, which air at 10:30 a.m. Saturdays and are rebroadcast Thursday afternoons (times vary) on a regional network that cover Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

Former Miss Rodeo Texas Joanna Blackwell provides interviews from the arena.

News and notes from the rodeo trail …

Riata Ranch International of Exeter, Calif., home to the PRCA specialty act The Riata Ranch Cowboy Girls since 1977, will be honored with a Cowboy Culture Award Sept. 9-12 in Lubbock, Texas. Jennifer Welch Nicholson, Brandi Phillips and Spencer Elizabeth Rose will be on hand to accept the award …

Twelve recent Bexar County high school graduates, all members of San Antonio-area 4-H clubs, will receive a total of $192,000 in scholarships from the San Antonio Livestock Exposition (SALE) to aid in their pursuit of a degree in agriculture, agribusiness, life sciences or a related field …

After more than 50 years in the Freeman Coliseum, the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo has relocated to a new corporate headquarters at 723 AT&T Parkway … Rodeo Austin (Texas) awarded $370,000 in scholarships to 46 central Texas students Aug. 12 at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum …

The 3rd annual Chicks ‘n Chaps Women’s Only Rodeo Clinic in Missoula, Mont., drew 225 participants Aug. 12 to learn about the sport from PRCA cowboys and to raise money for breast cancer victims in the community …

Team ropers Tyrell Gordon and Kolton Schmidt won back-to-back PRCA rodeos in Grimshaw, Alberta, and La Crete, Alberta, but you are not going to see them show up in the PRCA World Standings any time soon. Neither Gordon, 18, nor his 16-year-old header Schmidt, is a PRCA permit holder; Schmidt is too young to even apply. They were both competing in these rodeos because they were co-sanctioned by the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA), which has no age restriction for timed-event contestants.

Gunnison, Colo., may be a community of about 5,000, but the people there raise money like a big city. The Cattlemen’s Days committee and its community has raised more than $500,000 in the past five years for the Tough Enough To Wear Pink program.

The committee pushed past the mark during the 110th annual Cattlemen’s Days celebration, which was held July 9-18. The rodeo was held July 15-17.

The committee was honored for its efforts to fight breast cancer at the 2008 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, where they received a matching funds check from Wrangler for $210,000.

Colorado bullfighter of the Year gets street named in his honor

Cory Wall, the reigning PRCA Bullfighter of the Year, takes a lot of pride in helping put on a first-class rodeo in his hometown of Burlington, Colo. The Kit Carson County Fair & Rodeo committee and the community showed their pride and appreciation for Wall by surprising him with an announcement that a Burlington street will be named in his honor – Cory Wall Way. In addition, signs will be placed on the outside of town saying “Home of 2009 Bullfighter of the Year Cory Wall.”

Wall, and wife, Nikki, recently took over the reins at the Burlington rodeo and feel blessed to have so much support.
“It meant the world to me that people recognize how much work we’re doing, and not to pat us on the back, but that we’re doing it for the community,” Wall told the PSN.

Organizers also announced that a savings bond was being arranged for Wall and Nikki’s new baby. Saylor was born on July 12 during festivities for the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo Days in Colorado Springs, Colo., where Wall was a bullfighter and Nikki worked in public relations.

McFarland injured again, out 4-5 months

Tom McFarland’s remarkable comeback from what many thought might be a career-ending arm injury in 2009 has been put on hold, just as he was mounting a charge to return to the Wrangler NFR.

His win at Salt Lake City July 24 paid $4,161 and moved him from 17th to 15th in the PRCA World Standings, but he suffered a ruptured biceps tendon in his right arm during that ride, an injury that will end his season.

McFarland underwent surgery on July 26 and is expected to be sidelined for four or five months. McFarland was out for nearly six months in 2008 after he suffered 26 fractures in his right wrist and arm in June when a bucking horse flipped over on him in the chute at the West of the Pecos Rodeo in Pecos, Texas.

Injury updates:

Injury updates: Bareback rider Kaycee Feild had the cast removed from his broken arm three weeks ago and spent two weeks working with physical therapist Keith Klevin in Las Vegas to accelerate the healing process. Klevin has worked with Tiger Woods and other top athletes; he taught Feild techniques to not only strengthen his arm, but also his core. Feild will return to PRCA competition Aug. 13-14 at rodeos in Hermiston, Ore., and Logan, Utah. “I’m craving it like crazy,” he said. Feild was second in the world standings at the time of the injury in Livermore, Calif., last June, and has only dropped to fifth with earnings of $64,626 …

Idaho bull rider Mason Michaelis, younger brother of 2007 Wrangler NFR qualifier Marcus Michaelis, is sidelined for at least 30 days after suffering a dislocation of his right shoulder at Nampa, Idaho …

Fellow bull rider Nathan Klassen had a groin strain and a concussion at Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days and is out indefinitely …

Bareback rider Jared Keylon suffered a fractured clavicle and fractured fibula in addition to a concussion after a wreck during the July 31 performance. Bull rider Shawn Harris suffered a broken nose, fractured orbital bone and a concussion as the result of a wreck, and Friday Wright II also sustained a concussion. Steer wrestlers Matt Cupp (right shoulder) and Riley Johnson (concussion) are also out for an indefinite period.

New home for Dodge Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo

The Dodge Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo has a new home.

The annual championship rodeo for PRCA members in Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma will be held at Hartman Arena in Wichita, Kan., Oct. 29-30, with a performance Friday night and two performances on Saturday.

“The very first circuit final was held at the Kansas Coliseum,” said Circuit President Bronc Rumford. “Basically, the finals are moving back home to where they originated. The Hartman Arena is a beautiful complex, and we’re really pleased. The staff is super to work with.”

The Dodge Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo is the regional championship where the top 12 contestants in each event seek to qualify for a spot in the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo, held annually in Pocatello, Idaho.

“We have all the ingredients to be successful,” Rumford said. “I think it will build and work into a good home. I know it can work here, because it has worked here before.”

Prior to Wichita, the rodeo was held in conjunction with the American Royal at Kemper Arena in Kansas City.

Iraqi students attend “Daddy of ‘em All”

Twenty-five Iraqi students attended the July 24 performance of the Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days Rodeo as part of the World Learning exchange program, an experience medical student Kayth described as “a dream come true.”

“I really want to see America and mix with U.S. culture,” Kayth told the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle. “I want to someday make my country better.”

He said that he and his fellow students in the program have found the Americans they have encountered in Washington, D.C., Fort Collins, Colo., and Wyoming as helpful, friendly and kind.

“They’re always smiling in our faces,” Kayth said with a laugh. “It’s very cool.”

The students have created a Facebook page as a means to spread their message – that Americans aren’t “the worst people in the world.”

News and notes from the rodeo trail …

Former Rodeo Cowboys Association bull rider Steve Giddings died in Phoenix, Ariz., July 12 after a lengthy illness. He was 66. The Two Harbors, Minn., native joined the RCA at 17 and placed in the Grand National Rodeo in San Francisco as a rookie …

ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductee Tee Woolman and his wife, Jacque, have just opened the Cherry Creek Equestrian Center in Mont Belvieu, Texas, where they will teach roping, barrel racing and basic equestrian skills, along with providing private horse training. The facility has 48 stalls to accommodate full-service boarding, a 150×250-foot covered arena and 250 acres of wooded trails. Woolman, who was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2004, had a record 42 National Finals Rodeo qualifications (19 in steer roping and 23 in team roping); Jacque also was an NFR qualifier as a barrel racer …

Saddle bronc rider Howard Hunter, who qualified for the National Finals Rodeo three times (1976, 1979-80) was honored in the arena July 31 at the Deadwood (S.D.) Days of ’76 Rodeo. Hunter, a Sioux who grew up on the Pine Ridge Reservation, will be the first in a series of bronc riders to be immortalized with a Tony Chytka statue at the new Deadwood Days of ’76 Museum …

The Pendleton (Ore.) Round-Up is marking a Let ‘Er Buck Cologne and, no, it is not a fragrance you would expect to find out in the pens. Troy LeGore, the licensing committee chairman of the rodeo, says that instead of dust, sweat and manure, the $69-a-bottle cologne will smell more like “white amber, sensuous musk and warm sandalwood.” …

Last weekend’s 53rd annual Deep South PRCA Rodeo was dedicated to the memory of James Marvin “Daddy Bo” Fletcher, who played a pivotal role in bringing the rodeo to Winnsboro, La. Fletcher died Dec. 31, 2009, at the age of 69 …

Each of the pickup men at the Cowtown Rodeo won an event on Saturday night held at Woodstown Pilesgrove, N.J. Clay Harp won the steer wrestling (5.1 seconds) and David Rubel won the saddle bronc riding (70 points on Cowtown Rodeo’s Hang ’em High) …

The Star of Texas Fair & Rodeo’s 2010 Scholarship Reception Ceremony has been scheduled for Aug. 12 at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin. Rodeo Austin is distributing a record $372,000 in scholarships this year, bringing its total to $4.5 million.

In Country Television has notified the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association that it has been unable to reach a fair and reasonable agreement with DirecTV for continued airing of their ProRodeo coverage.

Officials at In Country remain optimistic that they will find a suitable resolution for both parties, but until that time, the Wrangler Million Dollar Gold Tour and the All American ProRodeo Finals will be seen exclusively on Dish Network.

The PRCA continues to work with In Country regarding potential solutions for expanding coverage.

Dish has a special phone line to assist PRCA fans who would like to convert to their service at 888.216.9987.

ProRodeoLive signs two-year extension with PRCA to air Wrangler NFR audiocasts

Steve Kenyon has signed a two-year contract extension with the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association to air live audiocasts of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo on his ProRodeoLive.com website.

Kenyon, recipient of the 2009 PRCA Media Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism, is entering his fourth year of providing live audio coverage of each round of the Wrangler NFR, Dec. 2-11. Clint Corey, the 1991 world champion bareback rider, and Wade Wheatley, an NFR qualifier in team roping, will again provide color commentary.

ProRodeoLive.com also broadcasts live audio webcasts from the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo in Pocatello, Idaho, the San Antonio (Texas) Stock Show & Rodeo, the Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days Rodeo, the Pendleton (Ore.) Roundup, the Ellensburg (Wash.) Rodeo, the Justin Boots Playoffs in Puyallup, Wash., and the Justin Boots Championships in Omaha, Neb.

Rodeo clown Nash rolls out the barrel to celebrate National Day of the Cowboy

In an effort to bring national attention to his Bullying Hurts program, veteran rodeo clown Marvin Nash has started walking his 160-pound barrel the 130 miles from Washington, D.C., to the Cowtown Rodeo, where he works each week at Woodstown Pilesgrove, N.J.

Nash departed the nation’s capital July 14 and will average 12-15 miles a day so that he arrives at Cowtown on July 24 to celebrate National Day of the Cowboy, passing through Baltimore and Philadelphia on Highway 1 along the way.

The Bullying Hurts program, in its eighth year, enlists local organizations (such as Rotary, Kiwanis or local law enforcement) to act as sponsors for teenagers who mentor elementary school students about the danger of bullying and how to combat it if someone starts bullying them.

PRCA contract personnel make visit to children’s hospital

A couple of PRCA contract personnel brightened the day for a western Minnesota youth during the Hamel (Minn.) Rodeo and Bull Ridin’ Bonanza.

Thirteen-year-old Luke Savage of Murdock, Minn. has acute myelogenous leukemia and will be confined to Amplatz Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis for six months. On July 9, PRCA announcer Davie Kimm and PRCA bullfighter Anthony Moore took time from working the Hamel rodeo to visit him in the hospital.

His mother and father, Emmy and Doug, said Luke was touched by their visit. “It was a great inspiration to him,” Emmy said. “Being cooped up has been hard. He has family coming in and out, but to have some role models and really great people come in and take the time to share what they do. That’s special.”

Kimm and Moore, along with Hamel committeeman Dennis Vee, brought Luke a Hamel rodeo t-shirt, belt buckle, autographed poster and other rodeo memorabilia.

The eighth-grade student just began learning to rope through the 4-H Western Heritage program and loves rodeo. “He’s always dreamed of doing this kind of stuff,” Emmy said. “He loves rodeo and watching it, so to have these guys come in was fun for him.”
– Courtesy of Ruth Nicolaus

News and notes from the rodeo trail …

On parallel paths: Jake Wright of Hurricane, Utah, leads the PRCA rookie standings in saddle bronc riding, the early favorite to claim the event’s Rookie of the Year Award won last year by his twin brother, Jesse …

More brother stuff: ProRodeo Hall of Famer Roy Cooper’s three sons, Clint, Clif and Tuf, are 14th, 15th and 16th in the Wrangler Million Dollar Tour standings in tie-down roping, separated by $936 …

Brothers III: Utah team roping brothers Kaden and Rhen Richard won their third PRCA title together July 12-18, capturing the Central Wyoming Fair & Rodeo in Casper with a time of 11.5 seconds on two head …

After a down year in 2009, attendance at the St. Paul (Ore.) Rodeo rebounded for its 75th anniversary, drawing about 43,000 fans for its Fourth of July week spectacle …

The World’s Oldest Rodeo in Prescott, Ariz., and the Tucson Rodeo Parade were the only two events in the state to receive Special Recognition awards from Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer July 13 during the 30th annual Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Tucson, Ariz. …

The Tucson Rodeo Committee has elected Bill Schurg chairman of its board of directors. Schurg, a professor and equine specialist at the University of Arizona, has been a volunteer board member on the Committee since 2003. He will serve a three-year term as chairman …

The Monterey County (Calif.) Historical Society has introduced limited edition note cards honoring the 100th anniversary of California Rodeo Salinas. Each $12.50 packet contains an assortment of 12 California Rodeo photos from the Society’s collection with envelopes. For further information, call 831.757.8085 …

The Wyoming State Museum in Cheyenne is displaying 50 photos and posters on the history of the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo through Aug. 28. For additional details visit the website wyomuseum.state.wy.us …

A new exhibit at Tamastslikt Cultural Institute in Pendleton, Ore., “Tall in the Saddle: 100 Years of the Pendleton Round-Up,” will be on display through January 2011. It features more than 400 artifacts. For more information, call 541.966.9748 or visit www.tamastslikt.org …

Former Reno (Nev.) Rodeo director and secretary/treasurer John Rhodes died June 24 at age 80…

Canadian roughstock rider Logan Hodson picked up a rare double at the Taber (Alberta) Pro Rodeo, July 15-17, earning wins in both bucking-horse events. Hodson, 25, won the bareback riding with an 84.5-point score on Kesler Championship Rodeo’s Alley Ways and topped the saddle bronc riding with 82.5 points on Kesler Rodeo’s Instant Request.

Injury report: Jason Miller, the 2007 world champion steer wrestler, has a July 26 appointment with Dr. Tandy Freeman to determine when he will be able to return to competition. “He’s either going to release me (to go back to work) or fix me,” Miller said. Miller fractured a bone in his left shoulder and suffered a partially torn rotator cuff June 11 and was instructed by Dr. Freeman to take at least four weeks off during which he should not even ride a horse …

Rod Hay, who leads the PRCA World Standings in saddle bronc riding, had staples removed from his left leg July 12 in a Calgary, Alberta, hospital and his recovery from a shattered femur seems to be on schedule. “I’ll go back and see (the doctor) in three or four weeks, and hopefully I can start putting some weight on it. I can start bending it now.” …

Bull rider Kris Newman suffered a concussion at the Central Wyoming Fair & Rodeo in his hometown of Casper, Wyo., July 15 and doctor released out of the Sheridan WYO Rodeo the following night.

ProRodeoLive.com Britten Banners Montana Silversmiths

Mayor Mike Moncrief has declared May 4 as W.R. Watt Day in Fort Worth.

Watt became secretary and general manager of the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show in 1973, and then took over as president and general manager in 1978, when his father, W.R. Watt Sr., died after 31 years at the helm.

Under Bob Watt’s leadership, the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo experienced record growth, expanding from 12 to 24 days at the Will Rogers Coliseum. Livestock entries have increased by more than 50 percent, going from 14,560 animals shown in 1978 to more than 22,000 in 2010.

The number of livestock auctions has grown from seven to 17, with sales receipts increasing more than six fold from $744,000 to more than $5 million.

The Stock Show currently hosts nearly 1 million visitors each year, up from 610,000 in 1978.

Watt is a native of Fort Worth. He grew up at the Stock Show under the guidance of his father, who was president of the show from 1946 until his death in 1977.

“Bob’s leadership skills along with his passion for the Stock Show and the city of Fort Worth have left a legacy for future leaders of the show,” said Stock Show Chairman Edward P. Bass. “His contributions will help guide the organization to continued success. He is a true friend of the city, of agriculture and rodeo.”

Bradford Barnes takes over as the new president and general manager of the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo.

World champion saddle bronc rider McLean honored with statue

Kenny McLean, the 1962 world champion saddle bronc rider, will be honored posthumously by his hometown of Okanagan, British Columbia when city officials unveil a life-size bronze statue of him May 8 in Centennial Park.

McLean qualified for the National Finals Rodeo nines times as a saddle bronc rider (1961-65, 1967-69, 1971) and once as a tie-down roper (1972), winning the saddle bronc average title three times (1964, 1968, 1971).

Considered one of Canada’s greatest all-around cowboys, McLean had 13 major Canadian national titles in his career, second only to Rod Warren’s 14. He won four all-around championships and individual titles in saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping and steer wrestling.

McLean is a member of the Canadian Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame and received the Order of Canada.

Funding for the statue is being derived from the sale of 100, 18-inch replicas and a limited edition painting by First Nation artist Roy Henry Vickers.

McSpadden added to Claremore (Okla.) Wall of Fame

ProRodeo Hall of Fame announcer Clem McSpadden will be honored with a place on the Claremore (Okla.) Wall of Fame when it is opened to the public April 26 at the J.M. Davis Arms and Historical Museum.

The grand opening of this permanent exhibit is part of Destination Claremore Week, April 23-May 1, which is designed to promote the city and its attractions.

McSpadden was a state legislator and U.S. Congressman in addition to being a legendary rodeo announcer and general manager of the National Finals Rodeo for 18 years (1967-84).

He is joined on the Wall of Fame by such notables as Will Rogers, singer Patti Page, past CEO of JC Penny W.R. Howell and playwright Lynn Riggs, who wrote Green Grow the Lilacs, the inspiration for Rogers and Hammerstein’s musical Oklahoma!

Barnes’ son accepts basketball scholarship from University of Hawaii

Shooting guard Bo Barnes, the son of seven-time World Champion Team Roping Header Jake Barnes, has signed a letter of intent to play basketball for the University of Hawaii.

Bo Barnes averaged 17 points, seven rebounds and two steals a game last season while leading Westwind Prep International in Phoenix to a 30-3 record and a spot in the state 2A finals.

Before attending Westwind, the 6-foot-4 Barnes starred at Scottsdale (Ariz.) Christian, where he averaged 19 points a game and shot 55 percent from three-point range.

Barnes chose Hawaii over Iowa State and became the fifth recruit signed by first-year Rainbow Warriors coach Gib Arnold.

Former Xtreme Bulls Tour champion Mike Moore will be featured on a national telecast of Athlete 360 on the FOX Network next month. The series, which aired regionally last year, takes an inside look at sports medicine and the procedures that are often required to allow athletes to continue competing. Moore’s segment will air May 24-30.

Broadcast schedule (.pdf)

Dr. Mark Adickes, a Super Bowl-winning offensive lineman and Harvard-educated orthopedic surgeon, will host the show, explaining how surgery techniques have improved. He will interview past and current elite athletes about their bodies, and give weekend warriors and parents alike a true inside look at sports.

For more details about the Athlete 360 and Serious Fun Productions visit their Web site at www.seriousfun.tv and to view a preview of the show go the production company’s Facebook page at http://alturl.com/n4xd
Gray sets knee surgery for April 27

Ryan Gray, the bareback riding world standings leader and co-world record holder, is scheduled to undergo surgery on his right knee April 27 in Dallas. Dr. Tandy Freeman will repair tears in the meniscus and extract any loose particles he discovers in the joint. Dr. Freeman will also set a program of rehabilitation for the torn tendons in Gray’s hand. Gray expects he will miss only 1-2 weeks of competition as a result of the knee procedure. His traveling partner, three-time and reigning World Champion Bareback Rider Bobby Mote, will undergo a second battery of tests this week in Dallas before Dr. Freeman determines a course of treatment for Mote’s foraminal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal cord opening). Mote won the first two rounds of the April 7-10 Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo in Pocatello, Idaho, before the acute whiplash he suffered riding Kesler Championship Rodeo’s Spanish Pair in the semifinals pinched nerves in his neck.

The Brazile watch …

Despite a frustrating weekend at the Red Bluff (Calif.) Round-Up, Trevor Brazile remains in reach of breaking his own all-around cowboy record for surpassing $100,000 in earnings at the earliest point in the season. With his $741 in tie-down roping money at Red Bluff, Brazile has total all-around earnings of $91,553 and rodeos this week at Clovis, Calif., and Lufkin, Texas, to get him the $8,447 he needs to hit six figures. Brazile surpassed $100,000 in season earnings in Tulsa, Okla., on May 14, 2006, the earliest that any all-around cowboy has hit that milestone by a margin of five weeks (also Brazile, in 2008). A year ago, he reached April 20 with total earnings of $53,366. Brazile did manage to cut $232 off Stran Smith’s lead in the tie-down roping world standings and is now just $1,250 out of first place. And for those eagle-eyed fans who notice that Brazile’s total earnings in team roping, tie-down roping and steer roping come to $368 more than his all-around total – it is not a mistake. Brazile, limited to 70 all-around rodeos in his season count, as opposed to 100 in tie-down roping, opted to unofficial the all-around at Henderson, Texas, where he won, that’s right, $368 in the tie-down roping.

Rodeo Austin breaks 10 records despite down economy

The 73rd annual Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo shattered records in 10 categories last month despite a still-struggling economy. For the first time, both Rodeo Austin (with concerts) and carnival sales reached all-time highs. Rodeo Austin went up 10.2 percent with total attendance of 67,586, and carnivals grew by 6.2 percent. Other records were surpassed in overall fairgrounds attendance (up 13.1 percent), parking revenue (3.4), official concessionaire sales (17.9), commercial exhibit sales (15.2), fairground food and exhibit sales (48.8), trade sponsorship (34.5) and youth participation (5). The total contribution from all Star of Texas Fair & Rodeo sources to its education programs is anticipated to exceed $1.5 million this year.

Veteran PRCA pickup man honored with poster image at Mandan, N.D.

The Mandan (N.D.) Rodeo Days Committee publicity poster for the July 2-4 Cowboy Christmas event features veteran PRCA pickup man Jim Wilson, who has worked the rodeo for 14 years. The print of Wilson, with artwork by Deb Knuth, is the seventh in a series of posters over the years highlighting great moments, notable contestants and contract personnel. Wilson, of Alzada, Mont., started working as a pickup man when he was 18 years old and has been a PRCA member since 1994.

Kenny Stanton, a 15-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier as a bull rider and bareback rider, will be featured in an iconic 33-by-9-foot glass-and-porcelain tile mosaic on the new Western Heritage parking garage located at the Will Rogers Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas.

Artist Mike Mandel from the Boston area was commissioned to execute the art project which will feature six images meant to capture the spirit of Fort Worth’s heritage. The project is estimated to be completed by the middle of next month.

Stanton’s image was taken from a photo at the 1965 Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo in which he was riding stock contractor Tommy Steiner’s bull No. 19.

Pendleton (Ore.) Round-Up history lives within its grand marshals

The Pendleton (Ore.) Round-Up’s Westward Ho! Parade will be led by five men who represent families with 100 years of involvement with the rodeo. Jim Rosenberg, the oldest living president of the Round-Up Association, will mount up with Bill Burke, Gary Burke, Jesse Jones Jr. and Carl Sampson – the four chiefs of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation – to lead the centennial procession on Sept. 17.

The five men were introduced to the Round-Up and Happy Canyon Board of Directors April 3 at the annual Introduction Party held at Wildhorse Resort & Casino.

“When I look at these five men, one word comes to mind: greatness,” Round-Up Director Billy Lorenzen said. “I’m flattered and humbled that I am in the company of such greatness. As a small child, I remember my father always spoke of all of them with the utmost respect.”

First saddle bronc riding champion at Calgary Stampede honored

Tom Three Persons, the winner of the first Calgary Stampede saddle bronc riding competition in 1912, will be among a dozen new members inducted into the Lethbridge (Alberta) Sports Hall of Fame at its annual banquet on May 1.

After a lengthy competitive career, Three Persons became a wealthy rancher on the Blood Tribe reservation raising Hereford cattle, thoroughbred horses and supplying bucking stock to rodeos in southern Alberta until his death in 1949.

He was inducted into the Canadian Professional Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1983.

Economic impact of San Angelo (Texas) Rodeo may surpass $30 million

Estimates for the economic impact to the San Angelo, Texas, metro area from this year’s San Angelo Stock Show & Rodeo are expected to surpass $30 million.

The 10-day event in February drew a record number of stock show entries – nearly 10,300 – and had what is believed to be the largest field of rodeo competitors this season for a PRCA rodeo, said Justin Jonas, executive director of the San Angelo Stock Show & Rodeo Association.

“There’s no doubt we should be able to hit $30 million impact,” Jonas said.

“Last year we were at $26 million, and attendance for the events only grew.”

Jonas said there has been an upward trend of the economic impact to the city since 2007 because of the passing of the half-cent sales tax in 2004. The new buildings near the San Angelo Coliseum have allowed the stock show to increase its numbers, rivaling entry numbers from San Antonio and Houston – two of the biggest stock shows in the nation.

With a win in the steer roping average at the Young County PRCA Rodeo in Graham, Texas, on March 27, Bryce Davis took over the lead in the world standings for the first time in his career.

Davis, the son of two-time World Champion Steer Roper Jim Davis, finished second in the first round at Graham and had a time of 35.5 seconds on three head to defeat runner-up Dan Fisher by 2.0 seconds.

Davis, of Abilene, Texas, earned $2,964 at Graham and another $651 for finishing in a tie for third in the second round at the Walker County Fair & Rodeo in Huntsville, Texas. That was enough to push him past Vin Fisher Jr. into first place in the world standings.

Cruise, Witherspoon reportedly set to star in rodeo film

The Los Angeles Times has reported that Tom Cruise has entered into negotiations with Sony Pictures to star in the film Paper Wings as a rodeo champion who falls in love with a talented young country singer, to be played by Reese Witherspoon.

No writer or director has been attached to the project yet, but the Times reports that Will Smith will produce the film through his Overbrook Entertainment company and would like to hire Gabriele Muccino, who directed Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness and Seven Pounds.

Western Wishes celebrates 15th anniversary with song, events

Western Wishes is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year with special events in Texas and California.

The outreach program utilizes Western heritage stars and grants wishes to children and adults facing adversity. A Western Wishes tribute song, “Here in This Place,” by Brian Lumley, will be premiered at the events. A video of the song also is planned, starring Western industry stars.

The first event will be held May 19 at the Steiner Ranch Steak House in Austin, Texas, with the second event set for May 22 at the Fess Parker Vineyards, in Santa Ynez, Calif. The late Parker was a friend of Western Wishes and had planned to attend, but passed away on March 18.

Scheduled guests in Austin are Larry Mahan, Tuff Hedeman, Clyde and Elsie Frost, Kelly Frost Macy, Tuf Cooper, Stran and Jennifer Smith, Bobby Steiner and Sid Steiner.

Steve Ford, President Gerald Ford’s son, will be the keynote speaker at the Santa Ynez event, and Luke Perry also is scheduled to attend.

“I couldn’t write a check big enough to the great hearts in the rodeo, roping, bull riding and horse world who have given of themselves to Western Wishes,” said Donnalyn Quintana, Western Wishes president/founder. “This is the only way to pay tribute to them all.”

Visit westernwishes.org for more information, and check out Amazon.com to purchase “Here in This Place.”

Veteran saddle bronc rider Bradley Harter wasn’t about to let a little thing like a disappointment at RodeoHouston get in his head. He just got out on the road again March 19-21 and went about the business of winning paychecks.

After failing to make it out of his Super Series bracket at RodeoHouston, Harter won at the Rio Grande Livestock Show & Rodeo in Mercedes, Texas, and the Goliad County Fair PRCA Rodeo in Goliad, Texas. He also tied for second place at the DeRidder (La.) Lions Club PRCA Rodeo.

It all added up to $3,089, a little more than three times what he banked at Reliant Stadium in Houston.

Pendleton Round-Up seeking ex-champions to attend centennial rodeo

The Pendleton (Ore.) Round-Up committee is engaged in a little pre-rodeo roundup. They are trying to contact all former champions so they might consider attending this year’s centennial celebration, Sept. 15-18.

Past champions will receive a registration package, which will include admission to a welcome breakfast, four dinners with Western entertainment, a pair of tickets to all four days of the rodeo, two tickets to a night at Happy Canyon and a gift bag from Pendleton’s sponsors.

Contact Nancie Paxton at 541.276.6662 or 817.304.5888 for details.

Christophersen nominated for North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame

Steer wrestler Bob Christophersen, who qualified for the National Finals Rodeo six times in the 1970s and won the NFR average in 1971 and 1975, has been nominated for induction into the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame, along with long-time PRCA all-around hand Lee Selland, the late John “Buzz” Fredericks and the late Ralph Klein.

The NDCHF’s 200 trustees will begin voting in mid-April, and induction ceremonies will be held June 26 in Medora, N.D.