Miss Congeniality is a Two-Timer!
Gold card member Hill dies at age 79
Arnold Hill, a gold card member who rode bulls when the PRCA was still known as the Cowboys’ Turtle Association, died Nov. 13 in Canadian, Texas. Hill started riding bulls at the age of 12, following in the footsteps of older brothers Clinton and Clayton Hill. His riding career took him through the short grass country of the Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma. Arnold was an avid cowboy who also worked for the Beutler Brothers hauling the rodeo stock and working on the ranch in Elk City, Okla. The family suggests memorial gifts be made to the Hemphill County Hospice, 1020 S. Fourth St., Canadian, TX 79014.
PRCA tie-down roper Miller dies in truck accident
PRCA tie-down roper Spencer Miller, 24, died Nov. 15 from injuries suffered when his Ford truck went off the road 19 miles east of Pueblo, Colo. Miller, a resident of Calhan, Colo., was the son of Bill Miller, Penrose Equestrian Center General Manager and a member of the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo committee in Colorado Springs.
PRCA signs multi-year agreement with Pro Fantasy Rodeo
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) has entered into a multi-year agreement and endorsed Pro Fantasy Rodeo as the Official Fantasy Rodeo Game of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.
“The collaboration with Pro Fantasy Rodeo is a great marketing tool to increase our fan base and give fans a connection to the contestants,” said Sean Daniels, vice president, PRCA Properties, Inc. As the Wrangler NFR has been sold out for more than 20 years, Pro Fantasy Rodeo is another method for fans to become a part of the event without physically being in Las Vegas.
Since its inception six years ago, Pro Fantasy Rodeo has paid out more than $660,000 and averaged more than 3,000 players the past few years. The payout for the 2009 Wrangler NFR game is $109,500.
The object of the game is to pick a team that will earn the most money during the Wrangler NFR. With a salary cap of $550,000, players must recruit a team with a contestant from each event. Players can also recruit multiple teams or become a promotional partner and recruit other players. The promotional partner with the most teams will win a trip to the Wrangler NFR. Players must be 18 years or older, and entries are accepted online at profantasyrodeo.com or can be mailed or faxed or follow the link on prorodeo.com.
Tom Thumb Texas Stampede has familiar faces in winner’s circle
While the $80,000 Tom Thumb Texas Stampede in Dallas was not a PRCA event this year, it managed to stand as a pretty good summing up of what happened in the 2009 PRCA regular season, which concluded a month ago.
The Nov. 13-14 event at the American Airlines Center featured only roughstock events and barrel racing. All of the four-head roughstock titles were won by the PRCA regular-season leaders – bareback rider Clint Cannon (342 points), saddle bronc rider Jesse Kruse (332) and bull ruder J.W. Harris (264.5, edging Bobby Welsh by a half-point). Two-time World Champion Sherry Cervi won the barrel racing.
Johnson’s Canadian Finals draw proves more congenial this time
EDMONTON, Alberta – Wyoming saddle bronc rider Chet Johnson had mixed feelings when he learned he drawn legendary Miss Congeniality for the last round of the $1.27 million Canadian Finals Rodeo, Nov. 12-15.
On the one hand: Miss Congeniality is a two-time USSTC Saddle Bronc Riding Horse of the Year (2005, 2007), a horse capable of giving him the just the sort of big score he needed to win his first CFR.
On the other hand? Miss Congeniality had knocked him silly at the 2008 CFR.
“I had a flashback to last year,” Johnson told the Canadian Press, “to when I was about two jumps out of the chute and laying there in the dirt and watching her buck away. So, I was a little nervous, yeah.”
This time, Johnson made it all the way to the eight-second whistle, scoring 86 points to finish second to Dustin Flundra (86.75) and put the finishing touches on the six-head average title.
Kyle Bowers edged fellow Canadian Dusty LaValley and 2004 World Champion Kelly Timberman for the bareback riding championship despite suffering a separated shoulder during his 84-point ride in the final round.
The other champions in the Rexall Arena were steer wrestler Cody Cassidy, team ropers Travis Gallais and Kevin Schreiner, tie-down roper Alwin Bouchard, barrel racer Gaylene Buff and bull rider Brett Thompson.
Lane Frost documentary selected for Digital Film Festival
Producer/Director David Wittkower’s film about World Champion Bull Rider Lane Frost and the legendary bull Red Rock will be the Official Selection, kicking off the 2nd annual Digital Film Festival in Paso Robles, Calif., Nov. 20-24.
The Challenge of Champions: The Story of Lane Frost and Red Rock is an 82-minute documentary film that covers the great duel between Frost and Red Rock. Their special seven-match series in 1988 captured the attention of die-hard rodeo fans and those totally new to the sport. Tragically, Frost, who was an iconic rodeo athlete and personality, was killed in the arena following a bull ride at Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days 20 years ago this past July. He was 25.
The film won distinction as the Best Western Documentary at the 48th Wrangler Awards in Oklahoma City earlier this year. Commentary in the film is provided by Lane’s parents, Clyde and Elsie Frost, rodeo stock contractor and owner of Red Rock John Growney, sportscaster George Michael, Frost’s traveling partner, Tuff Hedeman, author Jeff Coplon, journalist Kendra Santos, photographer Sue Rosoff and actor Luke Perry, who portrayed Frost in the 1994 feature film 8 Seconds.
Wittkower’s other films have won more than 24 awards. His titles include Drive of a Champion: The Joe Beaver Story and Cowboy Up: Inside the Extreme World of Bull Riding.
There will be a Q&A after the 7:30 p.m. (PT) showing of the film. Guests will include Wittkower, Growney, Santos, Rosoff and Perry. More information about the festival can be found on the Web at: www.thePDFF.com.
