News and Notes from the Rodeo Trail, Jan.3
by ProRodeo.com | Jan 03, 2017
Doug Wall, a former PRCA bareback rider, steer wrestler and pickup man, and a member of the Montana Cowboy Wall of Fame, passed away Dec. 31. He was 74. Wall worked as a pick-up man for the Montana Pro Rodeo Circuit Finals for nine years and the Miles City Bucking Horses Sale for 17 years along with numerous circuit rodeos. He also helped with the roughstock at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas for 20 years.
Wayland Houston Evans, of Batesville, Texas, a PRCA Gold Card member, passed away Nov. 28. He was 83. Evans was a tie-down roper and steer roper.
Tex Flynn, a PRCA Gold Card member and former saddle bronc rider and pickup man, passed away Dec. 16. He was 83.
The annual kick-off parade for the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colo., scheduled for noon, Jan. 5 has been canceled due to cold and the likelihood of snow. “After several hours of gathering facts, we have decided to cancel the parade – the risk of animal injury and injury to people is far too great with the 4 to 8 inches of snow predicted and six-degree temperatures,” Stock Show president Paul Andrews said in a statement Jan. 3.
The Douthit families of St. Francis, Kan., represented by Douthit Herefords and 4V Ranch Douthit Herefords, will be recognized Jan. 12 as the 2017 Friend of the National Western by the Red Meat Club of Denver. A perennial fixture as Yards exhibitors, 2017 will mark the families’ 74th year exhibiting purebred Hereford cattle at the National Western.
Two anonymous donors have agreed to match up to $200,000 in donations to make sure the Farm-City Pro Rodeo in Hermiston, Ore., has a completed arena this August. The new arena is part of the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center, which will house the rodeo and the Umatilla County Fair beginning in 2017. Bids for the rodeo arena came in above budget, so the board scaled back the project by removing arena lighting and some seating. If donors match the $200,000 to the nonprofit Friends of the Fair and Rodeo, the $400,000 will cover the seating and lighting. Contact Dennis Barnett at 541.567.5215 with questions or if you are interested in making a contribution.
On Dec. 22, the Ranchman’s Cookhouse and Dancehall in Calgary, Alberta, celebrated Canada’s accomplishments at the 2016 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, which concluded Dec. 10 in Las Vegas. Two of Canada’s three world champions – saddle bronc rider Zeke Thurston and team roping header Levi Simpson were scheduled to make appearances at the event. Collectively, Canadians earned in excess of $1.01 million at the 2016 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.
The Bonner County Rodeo in Sandpoint, Idaho, was recently awarded 2016 Small Rodeo of the Year for the PRCA’s Columbia River Circuit. The Pendleton (Ore.) Round-Up won 2016 Large Rodeo of the Year in the circuit. The Columbia River Circuit doesn’t select a Medium Rodeo of the Year.
Oklahoma State Rep. Mark Lepak and State Sen. Marty Quinn recently made a special appearance at the Claremore (Okla.) City Council meeting to show appreciation to organizers of the Will Rogers Stampede Rodeo. Lepak read a citation from the Oklahoma Legislature before he and Quinn presented the honor to Rodeo Chairman David Petty and Will Rogers Round Up President Steve Peck. The Will Rogers Stampede Rodeo celebrated its 70th anniversary this past year. It also has been awarded the PRCA’s Best Small Rodeo of the Year in each of the past three years.
The Ellensburg (Wash.) Rodeo Arena seating project has increased to $10.3 million, according to information presented at a design meeting with ALSC Architects in mid-December. Kittitas County owns the arena, and Commissioner Obie O’Brien sat down with the design team, members of the rodeo board and the Kittitas Valley Event Center to discuss the project. The estimated cost of the project has increased to $10.3 million from an initial estimate of $4 million due to building code requirements. The project was estimated at $9.9 million in July. The rodeo arena was first built in the 1970s so it will need significant work to meet building code requirements. The board will lobby the state for half the money this coming legislative session and ask local entities, such as the city of Ellensburg, for assistance. The rest will be paid for through county bonds.
The Black Hills Round-Up Special Needs Rodeo is an event made possible by the local community, and Ty Moncur, of Camp Crook, S.D., stepped up to do his share. This fall, Moncur organized a raffle, selling tickets for $100 each with the chance to win 10 heifers or $5,000, both completely funded and offered by Moncur. Fifteen percent of the ticket proceeds, in the amount of $1,485, was directly donated to BHRU Special Needs Rodeo. The special needs rodeo hosted its first event last year in conjunction with the South Dakota High School Rodeo Finals in June, and plans to do the same event this year, as well as adding an event at the South Dakota 4-H Finals in August. Gene Keil, the winner who had the choice between 10 heifers or $5,000, chose to take the cash and donate it back to BHRU Special Needs Rodeo. The special needs event falls under the umbrella of the PRCA-sanctioned Black Hills Roundup in Belle Fourche, S.D. each year. The 2017 Black Hills Roundup takes place June 30-July 4.
Edward Mashburn, the man who ran through the rodeo arena twice on Aug. 25 at the Range Days Rodeo in Rapid City, S.D., before being tackled by rodeo clown Justin Rumford is apparently on the run from the law. Court documents say Mashburn has not paid any of the $166 in fines and court costs that were part of his sentence after he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in September. Mashburn was supposed to pay at least $50 per month beginning in October. Fifteen days in jail were suspended from his sentence on the condition that he make the payments, but the jail time could now be imposed.
New Rodeo Austin (Texas) CEO Rob Golding is putting an emphasis on visibility, heritage and growth at Rodeo Austin. Golding envisions wide-reaching changes when the rodeo’s home at the Travis County Exposition Center grows into a multi-purpose arena with grounds developed to link one of Austin’s oldest cultural outfits with the rest of a 21st century city. “We are sitting on 126 acres of prime real estate in the middle of explosive growth,” Golding said in an article published Dec. 31 in the Austin American-Statesman. “How better to link Austin’s past to today?” Golding also is proposing to replace or completely renovate the drafty, gritty, outdated Expo Center. The 2017 Rodeo Austin is scheduled for March 11-25 …
The Tucson (Ariz.) Rodeo Parade Museum will provide limited funding to help schools tour the museum. Schools can apply to receive help with transportation cost, though the program will not be offered during Tucson Rodeo week, which starts on Feb. 16. The rodeo takes place Feb. 18-26. The program was made possible through funding from the Bert W. Martin Foundation. The museum provides an opportunity for students to learn about the history of Tucson and southwest Arizona. To apply, visit www.tucsonrodeoparade.org.
Asphalt Cowboys and Redding (Calif.) Rodeo Parade Co-Chairs Tom Spade and Brian Walton announced the 2017 Rodeo Parade Theme Contest, which began Jan. 1. Each theme entry must be short and create a “subject” to guide decoration for parade entries and all rodeo week events. More than one theme suggestion may be submitted, but all entries must be on one page as one submission. All entries should be sent to the Asphalt Cowboys, P.O. Box 992211, Redding, CA 96099-2211. Entrants are encouraged to enter as soon as possible as the earliest postmark will be recognized in the event of a tie. The winner of this year’s contest will be awarded $100 cash, and will be a special guest of the cowboys in the parade.
Barrel racer Sarah Rose McDonald posted on Facebook Jan. 3 that her beloved horse, Bling, died unexpectedly Jan. 2 of kidney failure. McDonald won rookie of the year in 2014 while competing on the horse and she also won more money than any other barrel racer at the 2015 WNFR with the horse, earning $139,827.
Courtesy of PRCA