News and Notes from the Rodeo Trail, Oct.20
Dudley Barker, who earned the 2009 PRCA Media Award for Excellence in Rodeo Photography, has produced a coffee table book titled 5 Decades of Rodeo, which features 256 pages and more than 700 images of everything rodeo. The book will be ready for delivery on Dec. 10, and can be ordered at www.dudleydoright.com.
Billie Harrison, the 2-year-old daughter of John and Carla Harrison, passed away Oct. 17 at the Children’s Hospital in Oklahoma City, Okla. John has been selected to perform three times as a barrelman/specialty act at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo and seven times has been nominated for PRCA Comedy Act of the Year. The Harrisons live in Soper, Okla., and they have two other children, a daughter, Addison, and son, Cazwell.
Bob Tallman, who’s been in 11 movies, announced more Wrangler National Finals Rodeos than anyone else and has been voted the PRCA’s Announcer of the Year eight times, will be the featured speaker at the Oct. 28 Decatur, Texas, Chamber of Commerce luncheon. Decatur’s own Trevor Brazile, 11-time All-Around World Champion Cowboy, will introduce his longtime friend at the 11:30 a.m. luncheon in the Decatur Civic Center. Luncheon reservations at $12 per person can be made by calling the Chamber office at 940.627.3107.
Randy Corley, the 11-time PRCA Announcer of the Year, underwent back surgery Oct. 20. There’s no timetable on when he’ll return to the announcer’s booth.
A tentative agreement has been reached in negotiations among the city of St. George, Utah, Dixie State University and the Washington County School District regarding a proposed land swap arrangement between the three entities. If approved, the agreement will allow DSU to expand its campus, the school district to build a brand new elementary school and ensure that the historic Dixie Sun Bowl, the site of the annual Dixie Round-up Rodeo, will remain in downtown St. George for years to come.
The Cowboy Capital PRCA Rodeo in Stephenville, Texas, held an event on Sept. 23 to support local charities and rodeo, while showcasing the clothing offered by boutiques in Erath County. “The Show” was a fashion show, dinner and evening of entertainment in Bluff Dale, Texas, which drew more than 300 people. “We raised around $30,000,” said Jodi Clements, committee member for The Show. “That is incredible for our first year. Now our problem will be raising the bar higher for next year.”
The Washington State Fair, in Puyallup, drew more than a million people during its Sept. 5-21 run. Fair CEO Kent Hojem confirmed that this year’s numbers were up from last year. “We aren’t reporting our specific attendance numbers, but we did have more than a million people visit this year’s fair,” Hojem said.
The California Rodeo Association added two new Directors to the Board during the annual Stockholders Dinner and Meeting on Oct. 16. The two Directors are Kathy Donnelly, who chairs the Bull X-ing Committee, and Pat Hitchcock, who chairs the Director’s Patio Barbecue Committee.
Courtesy of PRCA