News & Notes From the Rodeo Trail, June 16
by ProRodeo.com | Jun 16, 2014
Canadian rodeo legend Jack Daines announced during last week’s Daines Ranch Pro Rodeo in Innisfail, Alberta, that he would be stepping down after 54 years at the helm of one of the country’s most prestigious rodeos. In remarks to the crowd, Daines said he did not want to start preparing for the 2015 rodeo in case his health – which has been an issue in recent years – took a turn for the worse, leaving someone else to finish what he started. “I would rather have everyone come out to my last rodeo, than to my funeral,” Daines said in the arena. A plaque of appreciation from the rodeo community was presented to him by bareback rider Chris Harris on June 15, acknowledging his tireless work in building his rodeo into a marquee event and the many contributions he has made to the sport throughout his life. A saddle bronc rider in his youth, Daines was also an announcer and a notable builder of the sport. He was inducted into both the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame and the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame …
The Wrangler Network (www.wranglernetwork.com) will provide updates all week from the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyo., utilizing an RSS feed from the Cody Star Tribune embedded on the site which will produce Twitter updates and a blog from Chuck Coon …
Manuel Albert “Pecos” Trujillo, the father of 1981 World Champion Bareback Rider and ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductee J.C. Trujillo, died June 6 in Prescott, Ariz., at the age of 99. Manuel Trujillo competed as a bareback rider himself in his youth, including a memorable ride on Man O’ War at his hometown Prescott Frontier Days in 1936, while working on area ranches and occasionally acting in some of the Tom Mix and Tex Ritter Westerns that were filmed in Arizona. During World War II, he served in Gen. George Patton’s 3rd Army 807th Tank Destroyers Division, where he was trained as a medic, and went on to a posting at Prescott’s Fort Whipple, helping to run the powerhouse. He worked at the Veterans’ Administration until he retired after 29 years of service …
The Flathead County Fairgrounds in Kalispell, Mont., will be receiving some much-needed renovations this summer. The venue will see improvements to its grandstands and utility lines to upgrade the space and improve the experience for visitors. The project will be carried out in three phases. Phase one is going on now and includes upgrades to the main grandstands, which include the addition of handicapped seating. “It’s also getting new lighting, LED lights with a battery backup, emergency exit system to it,” Fairgrounds Manager Mark Campbell told KECI-TV. “We’re getting new paint on the under-structure. The building is 1928-era, so 80-plus years old. It needs a new coat of paint on that metal to prevent rust buildup.” …
National Finals Rodeo veterans Clint Cooper and Britt Bockius were among the ProRodeo cowboys who took part in the June 7-8 SAYiWON’T Rope-N-Ride event – a wakeboarding, skeet shooting and roping event in Whitesboro, Texas, to raise money for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. The CCFA is a non-profit organization dedicated to finding a cure for Crohn’s disease, which affects 400,000 to 600,000 people in North America …
The Wrangler National Patriot-American Mountain Cowboys Tour is set for July 2-6 with five-time World Champion Lewis Feild and three-time World Champion John W. Jones Jr. traveling to the United States Marine Mountain Warfare Training Center in Pickel Meadows, Calif., along with Atlanta Falcons tight end Bear Pascoe and 2013 Miss Rodeo Florida Jenna Smeenk.
Courtesy of PRCA