PRCA for the Record: Vernal
There’s no way COVID-19 was going to stop the Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo in Vernal, Utah, from celebrating its 70th anniversary.
Vernal’s rodeo roots trace back to 1924 when it was originally known as Golden West Days before undergoing several name changes – the Blue Mountain Rodeo, the Uintah Basin Rodeo, the Vernal Rodeo, the Vernal Professional Rodeo, the Vernal Championship Rodeo and ultimately the Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo, a name that’s stuck for more than 60 years.
The rodeo’s name was inspired by the nearby Dinosaur National Monument, a 200,000-acre region between Utah and Colorado where thousands of dinosaur fossils were discovered in the early 20th century.
Although the rodeo’s been around for nearly a century, the Vernal ProRodeo record book begins in 1950, its first year as a sanctioned competition.
Tie-down roper Cimarron Boardman set Vernal’s record with a 7.0-second run in 2017 and went on to have the most lucrative season of his ProRodeo career with $73,267 to finish 19th in the PRCA | RAM World Standings.
The Missouri cowboy’s been in the running for a qualification to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo multiple times since his rookie year in 2001 and has won more than $830,000.
Although he’s not yet within the Top 50 of the world standings for 2020, Boardman has had some success this season. He placed second at the Dixie National Rodeo in Jackson, Miss., to earn $3,610 and scored $1,980 during Bracket 4 of the Fort Worth (Texas) Stock Show & Rodeo in February.
ProRodeo’s finest will help commemorate the 70th anniversary while trying to break Boardman’s record, and the rest, July 8-11.
Fans can catch the Vernal rodeo action on the PRCA on the Cowboy Channel Plus App, July 8-11 at 9:30 p.m. (ET).
Rodeo records
• Total payout: $213,629, 2005
• All-around: $7,269, Scott Johnston, 2000
• Bareback riding: 91 points, Royce Ford, 2006
• Steer wrestling: 3.0 seconds, Marvin Dubose, 1998
• Team roping: 3.7 seconds, Derrick Begay/Victor Aros, 2007
• Saddle bronc riding: 93 points, Kent Cooper, 1980
• Tie-down roping: 7.0 seconds, Cimarron Boardman, 2017
• Barrel racing: 16.81 seconds, Ann Scott, 2014
• Steer roping: *10.6 seconds, Brady Garten, 2005 (41.4/3, Trevor Brazile, 2005)
• Bull riding: 95 points, Cody Hancock, 2004; Steve Woolsey, 2005 (179/2, Cody Hancock, 2004)
*Steer roping was only held in Vernal twice, 2004 and 2005
Courtesy of PRCA