News and Notes from the Rodeo Trail, July 20
Daniel Taylor Roach, a PRCA steer wrestler who also team roped, died July 12 in Winona, Texas. He was 28. Roach was a member of the Texas High School Rodeo Association, where he excelled in both team roping and steer wrestling. He went on to Panola (Texas) Community College, where he qualified for the College National Finals Rodeo. The pall bearers at Roach’s funeral included WNFR bull riders Cole Echols and Clayton Foltyn, as well as WNFR bareback rider Tilden Hooper.
David Crank, a popular Lawton, Okla., cowboy and former Lawton Rangers president, died July 13. He was 61. For the past 10 years, Crank served as a Lawton Ranger and was the organization’s president from 2013-14.
Jim Rogers, a PRCA and college rodeo judge and former saddle bronc rider, died July 12 in Torrington, Wyo. He was 60. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Eastern Wyoming College Rodeo Team.
The Man Up Crusade, an organization to bring awareness to domestic violence, made the July 19 performance of California Rodeo Salinas “Purple Day” in which competitors and fans wore the color to promote the end of domestic violence.
The High School National Finals Rodeo will remain in Rock Springs, Wyo., through 2019, and then is tentatively scheduled to move back to Springfield, Ill., for the 2020-21 rodeos. The event last took place in Illinois’ capital city in 2007. “Anytime you can bring a convention of that size, with thousands of people and families, it’s always good for Springfield, especially the restaurants, hotels and merchants,” Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder said. “We would have liked ’18 and ’19, but better late than never.”
The Board of Directors for the National Day of the Cowboy organization selected seven people from the Western and rodeo communities to receive the annual Cowboy Keeper Awards. The award is given to those who make a significant contribution to the preservation of cowboy culture and pioneer heritage. This year’s winners are Sheila Carlson, Waddie Mitchell, Ernie Sites, David Stoecklein, Bud Young, and the husband-wife team of Lyman and Alaire Tenney. For more information on all the winners, visit www.nationaldayofthecowboy.com. National Day of the American Cowboy is July 25, and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City will be celebrating with a variety of festivities, including live music, crafts, roping lessons and the announcement of the 2015 Miss Rodeo Oklahoma.
For the second year in a row, the 55th annual Last Chance Stampede PRCA Rodeo in Helena, Mont., is awarding a unique, elk ivory ring to the rodeo’s all-around cowboy. This year’s ring is valued at $2,699 and will be custom-made by Jensen Jewelers and its goldsmith, Mark Rubio. It will feature 14-karat yellow gold with elk ivory. The Last Chance Stampede PRCA Rodeo takes place at the Lewis and Clark Fairgrounds July 23-25.
The Rodeo Clown Reunion will take place Aug. 12-15 in conjunction with the Inter-State Fair and Rodeo in Coffeyville, Kan. The rodeo clowns will sign autographs and create some laughs for the audience. More information can be found at www.fairandrodeo.com.
The Ellensburg (Wash.) Rodeo Hall of Fame Association unveiled painted drums as part of a fourth annual art fundraiser July 10 at the Clymer Museum and Gallery. A crowd of more than 75 people showed up to view the painted drums that will be auctioned off at the Hall of Fame induction banquet later this year.
The Phillipsburg (Kan.) Rodeo grounds sport two improvements that fans will notice July 30 through Aug. 1. There is a brand new concessions and restroom building on the west side of the arena, measuring 50 feet by 60 feet, which increases the amount of bathroom stalls for rodeo fans. On the east side of the arena, fans will notice new bucking chutes, which were installed in May. The old chutes will be donated to the Mid-Plains Community College rodeo program in McCook, Neb.
The Bull Riding Hall of Fame has reached an agreement with the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District to house the BRHOF in the legendary Cowtown Coliseum – the home of the world’s first indoor rodeo, in 1918. A formal announcement is expected at the American Cowboy Gala in Fort Worth July 23
The Denver Post Cheyenne Frontier Days Train made its 24th journey north from Denver to Cheyenne July 18. More than 500 passengers had a full day of activities, including the Frontier Days parade. This year’s train of vintage cars was pulled by the Union Pacific Railroad’s sleek 1950s-era E-9 diesel streamliner. The first Denver Post train to Frontier Days ran from 1908 to 1970. Proceeds from the CFD Train, supported by corporate sponsors MDC/Richmond American Foundation and Anadarko Petroleum Corp., benefit the Denver Post Community Foundation, which assists area nonprofits.
After an absence of 55 years, the NFL made an appearance at the Pendleton (Ore.) Round-Up arena when the Seattle Seahawks raised a 12th Man flag to recognize the community’s support of the Seahawks July 16 at the Round-Up Plaza. In 1960, the expansion Dallas Cowboys played their first exhibition game in the Pendleton Round-Up stadium against the Los Angeles Rams.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“We are the Secret Service of the rodeo business. If someone is supposed to get run over, it’s supposed to be us.”
– PRCA bull fighter John Copsey telling the Miami Herald his job description at the Davie (Fla.) Pro Rodeo last month
Courtesy of PRCA