News and Notes from the Rodeo Trail, April 27
by ProRodeo.com | Apr 27, 2015
ProRodeoLive will be calling all of the action live from the Guymon (Okla.) Pioneer Days Rodeo May 1-3. Steve Kenyon will provide complete coverage of all four performances of the rodeo at ProRodeoLive.com.
Four-time Bull Riding World Champion J.W. Harris will be out of action for a while after suffering a herniated disc (C6-7) in his neck. Harris has been dealing with numbness in his riding hand and met with Dr. Tandy Freeman early last week for additional analysis.
Earl W. Bascom, who competed in all three roughstock events and steer wrestling from 1916-1940, will be inducted into the Canadian Sport Legends Class wing of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame June 17. In addition to winning many all-around titles during his rodeo career, Bascom was also a rodeo announcer and is credited with designing the modern bucking chute in 1916. In 1926, he designed and built the modern rodeo riding chaps, and in 1928, invented a rodeo exerciser made of spring steel. After retiring from the sport, Bascom became an internationally-known artist and sculptor, recording his rodeo experiences in bronze and works of fine art. He died in 1995 at the age of 89.
Steve Ernest Bruning, a Phillipsburg Rodeo Association board member for Kansas’ Biggest Rodeo as secretary (1989-1991 and 2007-2015), and rodeo timer for several years in the early 1980s, passed away April 17 after a brief courageous battle with brain cancer. He was 72.
Bret Franks, a three-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo saddle bronc riding qualifier, has been hired as the new rodeo coach at Clarendon (Texas) College. Franks will also continue coaching the ranch horse program and serving as director of the college’s Livestock and Equine Center.
For the second year, the Woodlake (Calif.) Lions Rodeo held a blood drive April 25 to help the Central California Blood Center. Those who gave blood received a ticket for the two-day rodeo May 9-10. This year is the 62nd annual Woodlake Lions Rodeo.
Eleven-time National Finals Rodeo bareback riding qualifier Mickey Young and his wife, Lori, will be presented with a special award May 8 for their contributions to the College of Southern Idaho (Twin Falls) equine program.
Rodeo writer Mary McCashin’s new book “Bulls, Broncs, & Buckles” will be available June 15. The book is a collection of 41 stories from 41 of rodeo’s most influential cowboys, stock contractors, and performers.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“I’ve heard his name a handful of times about how tough he is, especially for how little he is. I’ll be really excited if I’m still around and I can compete against him. It will be really fun then to look back on this day.”
-Four-time World Champion Bareback Rider Kaycee Feild taking about Wyatt Johnson, a Payson, Utah, cowboy who was named Sports Illustrated’s High School Athlete of the Month.
Courtesy of PRCA