News and Notes from the Rodeo Trail, Sept. 21
Steve Kenyon of ProRodeoLive will broadcast both performances of the Justin Boots Championships Sept. 24-25, and also provide coverage of the Wrangler Champions Challenge Finale, presented by Justin Boots, Sept. 26. All three broadcasts live from Omaha, Neb., begin at 7 p.m. (CT) and can be heard on www.prorodeolive.com.
Brady Tryan, a two-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifying team roping header, suffered severe injuries to his left leg and ankle while competing at the Pendleton (Ore.) Round-Up Sept. 17 during a second-round run. “I don’t really remember, but when I headed the steer my horse must have slipped,” said Tryan, who qualified for the WNFR in 2010 and 2011. “It happened at the click of a finger and she fell down and landed on my left leg. I dislocated my ankle because it was bent off to the left and I broke my tibia and fibula. If the swelling goes down, I’m supposed to have surgery (Sept. 22 in Billings). I also tore a bunch of ligaments in my ankle. The doctors told me I wouldn’t be able to put pressure on my ankle or leg for six to eight weeks.” Tryan was using his older brother Clay Tryan’s horse, Sadie, during the run. The horse – which was named the 2015 Pendleton Head Horse of the Year – was uninjured. Clay rode the horse in the finals, and with his partner, Jade Corkill, tied Trevor Brazile and Patrick Smith for the average win in Pendleton Sept. 19 with a 20.0-second time on three head. Brady Tryan is 37th in the Sept. 21 Windham Weaponry High Performance PRCA World Standings. He was roping with heeler Logan Medlin.
California Rodeo Salinas and Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System will co-host a social event called “Toast to the Tatas” Oct. 21 to create awareness and funds for the Wrangler Tough Enough to Wear Pink campaign. The evening of food and fun will take place from 5-7 p.m. in the Exhibition Mall at the Salinas Sports Complex at 1034 N. Main Street. The cost to attend the event is $10 per person; there will be a no-host bar and complimentary appetizers provided by BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse. Guests are encouraged to wear pink, and each guest will be eligible to win a door prize. Register by calling 831.775.3100 or by visiting www.carodeo.com/events/2015/toast-to-the-tatas.
The Pendleton Round-Up celebrated its 10th anniversary of partnering with Tough Enough to Wear Pink. The Round-Up designated Sept. 17 as TETWP day at the rodeo, and encouraged rodeo participants and visitors to wear pink to show their support. The 2014 event raised more than $27,000 for local programs. The 2015 proceeds will be divided between the St. Anthony Cancer Care Clinic and the Kick’n Cancer New Beginnings program.
It hasn’t been put to an official vote yet, but stakeholders in the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center have made up their minds to postpone moving the Umatilla County Fair and Farm-City Pro Rodeo until 2017 and hope to raise an extra $2.3 million for construction in the meantime. After 21 meetings with stakeholders in the past three weeks, EOTEC board member Dan Dorran came to the conclusion it was the right decision. The EOTEC board, fair board, rodeo board, local hoteliers, city of Hermiston, Hermiston School District and Umatilla County met Sept. 16 for a work session and presentation by John Frew, president and CEO of Frew Development Group, which is in charge of the construction. Frew said a hard look at the numbers lately, including recent bids submitted, show that EOTEC is at least $2.3 million short of what it needs to build what stakeholders want. The biggest portion of that number comes from the barns, which were budgeted at $500,000 even though the lowest bid that came in this month was for more than $2 million.
The family of five-time Wrangler NFR steer wrestler Todd Boggust – a Saskatchewan cowboy who died 15 years ago – is offering a reward for the return of several championship buckles that were stolen in August. The break-in happened near the town of Paynton, and the thieves made off with a 1995 Canadian champion steer wrestling buckle, three WNFR go-round buckles, a 1995 Cheyenne Frontier Days champion buckle, Canadian Finals go-round buckles and a CFR average winner buckle. A total of eight Championship buckles, rings, knives and a money clip were stolen. The Boggust family is offering a $5,000 reward for any information that leads to the recovery of the items. If anyone has information regarding the theft, they can contact the RCMP at 306.893.4800 or Crime Stoppers at 1.800.222.8477.
Several PRCA members who were working the Lions Dixie Roundup in St. George, Utah, toured area schools last week to promote the rodeo. Rodeo clown Randee Munns explained the finer points of bull riding and team roping, while bullfighters Aaron Ferguson and Joe Butler shared the dynamics of working as a bullfighting team. Dixie Roundup Queen Sarah Kemp and Princess McKinley Drake brought some glamour to the show, sharing their experiences as rodeo royalty.
The Pendleton Round-Up Children’s Rodeo took place Sept. 16 at the rodeo grounds, with 41 special needs kids participating in Western events including riding a horse, roping a steer made of hay and barrel racing, while the children’s parents watched and cheered from the stands. Along with trophies from the Pendleton Rotary Club, children received donated trophy belt buckles and other swag. Princess Emily Sorey and the rest of the Round-Up royal court dropped by to sign autographs, chat with the children and pose for pictures with them.
Special needs students also got a taste of rodeo action Sept. 16 in North Platte, Neb., at the Partner Up Rodeo at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds. Numerous community organizations joined forces to host the annual event, which sees children come from as far away as 200 miles. Students watched a rodeo and saw cowboys from the Mid-Plains Community College rodeo team participate in tie-down roping and steer wrestling contests. The students then participated in activities similar to those the rodeo contestants performed in. They rode an artificial bull pulled by ropes, trying to remain on the machine as long as they could, and practiced their roping skills while seated on a metal horse.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Pendleton is a shrine for rodeo, and to be the fastest to ever rope a steer on the grass is an absolute dream come true for me.”
-Team roping heeler Travis Woodard after he and David Key established a new Pendleton Round-Up Arena record with a time of 4.6 seconds Sept. 17. The old record was 4.8 seconds, set by Colter Todd and Cesar de la Cruz in 2008.
Courtesy of PRCA