News and Notes from the Rodeo Trail, September 10
• The American Quarter Horse Association and the PRCA are looking for the outstanding registered American Quarter Horse in each of the PRCA’s timed-event categories. The owner of the PRCA/AQHA/WPRA “Horses of the Year” in each category will be awarded $5,000 and an AQHA bronze trophy. All nominations must be received by Sept. 14. Here’s the link form: http://bit.ly/AQHA2018Nom. Anyone can nominate. Horse must be AQHA registered. Owner must be an AQHA member.
• The final PRCA Rodeo Camp of 2018 is scheduled for Sept. 30 in San Bernardino, Calif. Registration is required at www.prorodeo.com/prorodeo/rodeo/youth-rodeo.
• The second annual Sowing Good Deeds initiative is under way and open to all PRCA-sanctioned rodeo committees. One PRCA rodeo committee will win a Massey Ferguson® tractor valued at $35,000 for the good work they do. Congratulations to the inaugural AGCO/PRCA Sowing Good Deeds award winner, Clovis (Calif.) Rodeo. Enter today, and your rodeo committee could be the winner of a Massey Ferguson tractor in 2018. As a proud sponsor of the PRCA, AGCO® Corporation, through its brands Hesston® and Massey Ferguson, recognize that PRCA-sanctioned rodeos contribute significant support for local, regional and national charities and organizations. These charitable efforts by rodeo committees are making a positive impact on members of the various communities. Hesston and Massey Ferguson, through the Sowing Good Deeds initiative, want to raise awareness of these local efforts and each year reward one PRCA committee whose impact goes above and beyond. For more information or to apply visit www.hesston.com/sowinggooddeeds. The deadline is Sept. 15.
• The second annual Coy Lutz Memorial Rodeo takes place Sept. 21-22 at 7:30 p.m. ET in Centre Hall, Pa. Lutz passed away while competing at the Cowtown Rodeo in Woodstown Pilesgrove, N.J., May 28, 2016. He was 19. Lutz’s family puts on the Coy Lutz Memorial Rodeo in his memory and uses the money raised for a scholarship fund. “We were able to give out more than $10,000 in scholarship funds last year,” said Doug Lutz, Coy’s father. “In my heart, I want to build up this rodeo and make it good for the cowboys and good for the people, good for everybody, and to bring his name out there is a good thing as well.”
• Farmers Ending Hunger gathers Oregon’s agricultural resources to help feed the hungry. The Pendleton Round-Up joined with the farmers group and will be espousing the motto “Let’s Buck Hunger!” Sept. 12 when Farmers Ending Hunger Day kicks off for a second year Sept. 12. That performance at the Round-Up and Happy Canyon Night Pageant will be dedicated to bringing awareness to the critical fight against hunger in Oregon and Umatilla County, according to a release. Farmers Ending Hunger works directly with farmers growing and harvesting food for donation and utilizing the distribution systems of the Oregon Food Bank. To support the nonprofit, the Pendleton Round-Up adopted 20 acres of farmland in the fight against hunger. The money raised by adopting acres is used for transportation, food processing and packaging costs. In addition, with assistance from NW Farm Credit Services and River Point Farms, Pendleton Round-Up will match donations by attendees and fans at this year’s Round-Up. “The issue of hunger is one that hits close to home for the Pendleton Round-Up and members of our community,” said Bill Levy, past president of the Pendleton Round-Up, in a press release. “Farmers Ending Hunger is fighting back against this growing issue in our state, and we are proud to support and invest in this great cause to better the city of Pendleton, surrounding region and great state of Oregon.” Last year, Farmers Ending Hunger donated more than six million pounds of local food to the Oregon Food Bank; 85 percent of which comes from Umatilla and Morrow counties.
• The Pendleton (Ore.) Round-Up, which takes place Sept. 12-15, will again participate in the national Tough Enough To Wear Pink campaign, an initiative to raise awareness and money for programs that support breast cancer patients and survivors in the local community. The Round-Up has designated Sept. 13 as Tough Enough To Wear Pink (TETWP) day at the rodeo and encourages rodeo participants and visitors to wear pink to show their support. This high-profile event not only raises awareness of breast cancer to the thousands of visitors who come to Round-Up, but 100 percent of the proceeds stay in the local community. The 12th anniversary 2017 event raised more than $18,000 for local programs. The 2018 proceeds will be divided between the St. Anthony Cancer Care Clinic and the Kick’n Cancer New Beginnings program. “We encourage everyone to show their support by wearing pink so that we have a ‘pink-out’ in the stands and around the grounds,” said Casey White-Zollman, co-chair of the Round-Up’s TETWP campaign in a press release. “It means so much to cancer survivors to see this kind of support from the community, and we’re so thankful the Round-Up has continued this campaign for 13 years.”
• Through the Red Bluff (Calif.) Round-Up’s 2018 Tough Enough to Wear Pink campaign, $47,118 was donated to Mercy Foundation North to support Dignity Health St. Elizabeth Community Hospital. The 2019 Red Bluff Roundup is scheduled for April 19-21.
PRCA Stat of the Week
As of Sept. 10, there have been 598 rodeos during the 2018 season paying out a total of $35,821,611.
Courtesy of PRCA