News and Notes from the Rodeo Trail, Oct.13
Tyler and Tif Robertson were given a heifer by the Dickinson, S.D., rodeo this year. The couple, which lives in Hermosa, S.D., was affected by winter storm Atlas last October, and the rodeo committee gave them the heifer because of their cattle losses. Tyler has worked as a pickup man at the Dickinson rodeo for 25 years.
Several Badlands Circuit rodeos and South and North Dakota organizations have banded together to raise funds for PRCA and WPRA contestants and personnel affected by winter storm Atlas, which hit the Badlands area in October of 2013. Approximately $8,000 has been raised to date for eight cowboys, cowgirls and rodeo personnel and their families to help offset the cost of the loss of livestock following the devastating storm which hit the area October 3-5. The project is the brainchild of Dickinson, N.D., rodeo committee member Lori Vernon. Vernon, who has served on the Roughrider Days Rodeo committee for 23 years, wanted to help those rodeo people who had been faithful in competing at and working at their rodeo. “It’s a small way we can give back to them, in appreciation for them always coming to our rodeo,” she said. “It may not make a big difference, but hopefully they know that we care.” The rodeos and entities contributing to the cause include the Roughrider Days Rodeo in Dickinson, the Mobridge (S.D.) Rodeo and the Minot (N.D.) Y’s Men’s Rodeo.
The Wrangler Network will be live streaming exclusive coverage of the NILE Stock Show & Rodeo, in Billings, Mont., on Oct. 18. Coverage of the rodeo – which is celebrating its 47th year – will begin at 7 p.m. MT on wranglernetwork.com.
Harrison Halligan, who qualified for the 1972 National Finals Rodeo as a steer wrestler, and who was inducted into the Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days Hall of Fame last month, died Oct. 12 at his home near North Platte, Neb. He was 76. Despite a relatively late start in ProRodeo – he bought his PRCA permit at 29 and his card at 31 – Halligan had a 20-year career as a bulldogger and team roper while also establishing himself as one of the most sought-after hazers in the sport. In his best year at Cheyenne, he hazed 182 steers during the week and worked alongside 12 of the 15 finalists. Halligan was also widely respected for the bulldogging horses he raised and trained. His Skip D Sack (Skippy) was the 1992 AQHA/PRCA Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year, and was a top bulldogging horse for 22 years. Funeral arrangements are pending through Carpenter Memorial Chapel in North Platte. When details become available, they will be posted on www.prorodeo.com.
Jay Sheets, a contestant during season 15 of the NBC show “The Biggest Loser,” will address the crowd Oct. 24 at Mineral Area College’s Fourth Friday program in Park Hills, Mo. The public is invited to attend his presentation beginning at 10 a.m. in the Fine Arts Theatre on MAC’s Park Hills campus. A Q&A session will follow. While at Murray State University in Kentucky, Sheets was an active member of the rodeo team, competing in team roping and steer wrestling. Following college, Sheets competed in the PRCA.
Before the second performance of the RAM Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo started Oct. 10, a check for $55,600 was presented to the Tough Enough to Wear Pink campaign. That amount recognizes the monies raised for this year of the campaign, with all funds going to the Trinity Cancer Exercise Rehab Center. Since the program began eight years ago, a total of $463,311 has been raised. Myron Feist, a cancer survivor and a member of the Minot Y’s Men, presented the check to Russell Gust, exercise physiologist for the Exercise Rehab Center.
Two-time World Champion Saddle Bronc Rider Chad Ferley will be among the honorees from across South Dakota who will be recognized at the annual Casey Tibbs Foundation Tribute Dinner, Nov. 1, at the Casey Tibbs Rodeo Center in Fort Pierre, S.D. Ferley, who just qualified for his eighth Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, will be honored along with barrel racer Nikki Steffes, Jack Alexander, Georgia and Harlan Gunville, Iris Day and the horse Pony Baroni. Dinner tickets can be purchased by phone or by visiting the Rodeo Center. Advance purchase is required and seating is limited to 250. Contact the Casey Tibbs Rodeo Center at 605.494.1094 for ticket information or visit www.caseytibbs.com.
The Levi Wisness Award was presented to steer wrestler Cameron Morman, of Glenullin, N.D., on Oct. 10 in honor of his work ethic and dedication to the sport. The award is given each year during the RAM Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo by Wisness’ parents, Milo and Julie, in honor of Wisness, a Keene, N.D., steer wrestler who died of cancer in 2008.
The Reno Rodeo Foundation is looking for businesses to be collection locations throughout Northern Nevada for the Reno Rodeo Denim Drive. The Denim Drive provides new jeans, socks and underwear to more than 1,500 abused and neglected children in protective custody and foster care who have been rescued from unsafe homes in 13 Northern Nevada counties. The deadline to register as a collection location is Oct. 27. It’s free to register, and the collection location registration form can be downloaded at www.RenoRodeoFoundation.org or by calling 775.322.9875.
The 2013 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo is nominated by SportsTravel Magazine for a 2014 SportsTravel Award in the category of Best Professional Multi-Sport or Multi-Discipline Event. The 2013 Reebok Crossfit Games, 2014 Dew Tour Beach Championships, 2014 ESPN X Games and 2014 GoPro Mountain Games are the other nominees in the category. The winner will be announced at the TEAMS ’14 Conference & Expo, Nov. 10-13, in Las Vegas.
The 2014 New Mexico State Fair drew 458,379 people to the Sept. 10-21 event – the largest year-over-year increase in at least a decade – according to preliminary attendance figures provided by State Fair officials. It was a 16.8-percent increase, and a good deal of the credit went to the six PRCA-sanctioned rodeo performances – two more than last year – which contributed to better attendance figures.
Courtesy of PRCA