News and Notes from the Rodeo Trail, July 5
by ProRodeo.com | Jul 06, 2016
Nominations are being sought for the PRCA Donita Barnes Contract Personnel Lifetime Achievement Award. The award was created to recognize PRCA members who have dedicated their lives to the rodeo industry for their commitment, work and contributions. Any active member (or active life member) of the PRCA may nominate eligible contract personnel members for the award. Nominees must have been a PRCA member for a minimum of 15 years, and may not have won a yearly contract personnel award within 15 years of the date of nomination (life members may be nominated even if they are not actively renewed). Nomination letters of 500 words or less can be mailed to the PRCA, 101 ProRodeo Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80919 or e-mailed to bsorenson@prorodeo.com between now and Aug. 1. All nominations will be reviewed by an external selection panel. The top five nominees will be voted on by any contract personnel members who have participated in at least one rodeo within that rodeo year. For more information, contact Brandy Sorenson at 719.593.8840.
With the $12,443 he won over Cowboy Christmas, team roping heeler Brady Minor surpassed the $1 million mark in career earnings. He is the 138th cowboy to reach that number.
ProRodeo Hall of Fame bullfighter Miles Hare and the Rodeo Grandmas and will be inducted into the Ellensburg (Wash.) Rodeo Hall of Fame Sept. 1. The induction banquet will take place at 5:30 p.m. at Central Washington University’s student union recreation center ballroom. The induction will also spotlight a “Guitars of Fame” art auction and raffle for an autographed Toby Keith guitar to raise money for ERHOF’s permanent museum fund. Hare, who worked the Wrangler NFR six times, also fought bulls for many years in Ellensburg before retiring in 2008. The Rodeo Grandmas of Ellensburg – Lorraine Plass, Peggy Hunt, Janis Anderson, Judy Golladay and Chloe Weidenbach – were all Kittitas Valley ranch women when they filmed a series of 1990s commercials for Washington Mutual Bank. The humorous commercials caught fire and the “Rodeo Grandmas” became regional celebrities, including performances at the Ellensburg Rodeo for many years.
The Oakley Independence Day Rodeo in Oakley City, Utah, held a benefit concert for the Buck Cancer Foundation after its July 2 performance. The concert featured Nashville recording artists Tim Gates and Josh Kelley, with all of the proceeds going to the Buck Cancer Foundation – which was founded in honor of the late five-time World Champion Lewis Feild – to help those who are afflicted with cancer, and their families.
For the sixth straight year, the St. Paul Rodeo held a “Beyond the Boots” night to show appreciation for the Justin Sportsmedicine Team and raise funds for the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund (JCCF). This year, Beyond the Boots night was July 2 before a sold out crowd of more than 9,800 rodeo fans. The committee donated $1 from each ticket, as well as the tips from the beer stands and the Tack Room Saloon during the rodeo. In addition, a drawing was held at the annual St. Paul Trail Ride, and an auction took place at the St. Paul Hall of Fame barbeque, which kicks off rodeo week each year. While the numbers are still being tallied for the 2016 donation, prior to this year the donations from St. Paul totaled more than $66,000, and the auction this year netted $5,600 for the JCCF.
Stock contractor Bronc Rumford was injured at the Greeley (Colo.) Stampede June 26 when the horse he was riding fell on him. “I was there helping out Bennie (Beutler) before the rodeo,” said Rumford. 64. “I was trying out a new saddle horse and we were sortin’ steers and he reared over backwards on me. All of sudden, I went to turn him around and he reared right over backwards. When he landed on me, he separated my pelvis and bruised me up pretty good.” Dr. Chris Miller, who works out of the Kansas Orthopedic Center in Wichita, performed surgery on Rumford July 1. “The surgery went really well,” Rumford said. “They pulled my pelvis back together and put a plate in it. I can get around with crutches, but I can’t put any weight on my left leg for a while. It will probably take me about three months to recover.” Rumford is the father of Justin Rumford, who has won PRCA Clown of the Year four consecutive years, and Haley Bridwell, eight-time PRCA Secretary of the Year.
More than 5,000 kids from summer and youth groups filled the stands at the Bergeron Rodeo Grounds in Davie, Fla., June 24, to take in a performance of the Davie Pro Rodeo. Over the past 30 years, more than 170,000 kids from Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties have attended the rodeo. “We are proud to show them our cowboy heritage and expose them to the sport of rodeo,” said Troy Weekley, producer of the Davie Pro Rodeo. “We hope they become fans for life and share the experience with their family and friends.” For more information, visit www.davieprorodeo.com.
Two-time World Champion Saddle Bronc Rider Cody Wright heads a class of eight men and one woman who will be inducted into the Utah Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum Hall of Fame. Wright, a Milford native, will be inducted at 7 p.m. July 8 at Ogden’s Union Station. He’s joined by Marvin Dunbar, Mary Shaw Drake, Don Kennington, Norman “Shorty” Thompson, Kenneth Woolstenhulme, the Bascom Family, Charles Redd and Albert Scorup. For more information, visit www.utahcowboymuseum.org/.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“I was ecstatic because I had another shot to win. I grabbed Clay (Elliott) and shook him and we were both excited. That’s the kind of stuff you live for in rodeo, that head-to-head competition in the finals at a great rodeo with great bucking stock.”
-Reigning Saddle Bronc Riding World Champion Jacobs Crawley after he was notified he had a ride-off at the Ponoka Stampede with Elliott. Crawley won the ride-off with an 87-point ride on C5 Rodeo’s Black Hills
Courtesy of PRCA