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Last updated May 5, 2008

UPCOMING RODEOS

WRANGLER PRO RODEO TOUR SCHEDULE & CURRENT STANDINGS

Outdoor Channel to air coverage of six PRCA rodeos in 2008

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – All of the drama from last week’s wrap-up of the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo in Pocatello, Idaho, presented by U.S. Smokeless Tobacco, and the $1.3 million Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo will be aired nationally during the next three months on the Outdoor Channel, along with four other PRCA rodeos. The Outdoor Channel, in the second year of an agreement with the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, will air rodeo coverage twice weekly through June 28. Each hour-long show will debut at 11 p.m. Eastern Time (8 p.m. PST) on Wednesday nights and repeat at 2:30 p.m. ET (11:30 a.m. PST) on Saturdays, although viewers are advised to check their local listings for changes to the schedule. The Dixie National Rodeo in Jackson, Miss., will air on March 29, followed by a second show from Jackson on April 2 and 5 and then the Arkansas-Louisiana-Mississippi Stampede Days Rodeo in Monroe, La., which will be shown on April 9 and 12. Coverage of the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo begins April 16 and 19 in a four-week arc that ends May 10. RodeoHouston will be broadcast in three segments over the last three weeks in May (see complete schedule below) before the series concludes with rodeos in Bandera, Texas, and Cañon City, Colo. PRCA announcer Andy Stewart and Terry Holland, a PRCA judge and former ProRodeo bull rider, will serve as the voices of the Outdoor Channel's coverage, which is available in 30 million households in the United States in high-definition format.

OUTDOOR CHANNEL SCHEDULE OF PRCA COVERAGE FOR 2008

May 7 – Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo, Pocatello, Idaho IV

May 10 – Repeat May 14 – RodeoHouston I

May 17 – Repeat May 21 – RodeoHouston II

May 24 – Repeat

May 28 – RodeoHouston III

May 31 – Repeat

June 4 – Cowboy Capital Pro Rodeo, Bandera, Texas I

June 7 – Repeat

June 11 – Cowboy Capital Pro Rodeo, Bandera, Texas II

June 14 – Repeat

June 18 – Royal Gorge Rodeo, Cañon City, Colo. I

June 21 – Repeat

June 25 – Royal Gorge Rodeo, Cañon City, Colo. II

June 28 – Repeat

Rodeo Austin breaks ground with first live Internet pay-per-view broadcasts

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Rodeo Austin is breaking new ground in marketing the sport this year by offering live pay-per-view coverage of every session of the March 1-15 event on the Internet at www.RodeoAustin.com. Rodeo Austin general manager Bucky Lamb reports that the Webcast has already logged in viewers from 15 states and Canada. Coverage of the final four sessions -- including the Saturday March 15 final -- will be aired at 7 p.m. (CT) each night with a per-session charge of $6.99. RodeoHouston has aired pay-per-view television coverage of its performances for 13 years and will do so again this year through DirecTV with live broadcasts over the last four days, March 19-22. The first three days of live coverage are priced at $9.95 each, and the March 22 final is $12.95. Free live coverage of RodeoHouston is being offered nightly on ESPN360.com through March 17. ESPN360.com is available in 26 million households nationwide and all military bases through a variety of carriers, including AT&T, Verizon, Charter and Media General.

ProRodeo.com launches new DNCFR page

Keeping up with the 22nd annual Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo, presented by U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co., is just a mouse click away. ProRodeo.com has launched a new page for the championships, set for March 19-22 in Pocatello, Idaho. The special page may be found by clicking on the DNCFR logo on the homepage or by clicking on the letters D-N-C-F-R in the masthead. Along with the contestant and contract personnel listings, the page includes fan interactive content. Fans will be able show to support for their circuit by participating in a poll and e-mailing in a photograph of the back of their favorite rodeo jacket. Action and candid photographs by DNCFR photographer Larry Smith will again be a big part of the DNCFR page. Along with daily coverage on ProRodeo.com, the ProRodeo Sports News will have in-depth stories and analysis of the DNCFR in its April 11 edition.

Online video highlights

Rodeo fans can log on to www.prorodeo.com and click on the RodeoUp! section of the site to watch daily highlights of the winning rides and runs from top-notch PRCA rodeos such as the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo and RodeoHouston. Highlights from San Antonio were posted during the rodeo, which ran from Feb. 1-16, and are still available for fans’ enjoyment. In addition, highlights from RodeoHouston will be posted daily beginning March 4, with footage from each night’s performance available the following day. The PRCA’s only million-dollar regular-season rodeos, San Antonio and Houston begin a trend of video highlights on www.prorodeo.com that will continue throughout the year.

 

Pozzi-Pharr's "Stitch" claims AQHA honor for best horse

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The dream season continues for barrel racer Brittany Pozzi-Pharr. Pozzi-Pharr, of Victoria, Texas, who earlier this year broke the regular-season record for earnings in professional barrel racing, recently earned another honor when her horse, Stitch, was named American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) Barrel Racing Horse of the Year. "You can't script a year like this"; Pozzi-Pharr said. "This is a fairytale season. Stitch is so amazing. When you have him, he's like guaranteed money, as long as I don't screw up. He's a natural, for sure. I really hoped he would win. Now that he has, we've got to live up to it now".

Pozzi-Pharr – ranked No. 1 in the world standings by more than $30,000 thanks in part to 11 victories, including Cheyenne (Wyo.), Denver, Fort Worth and Tucson – is headed to her fourth Wrangler NFR with her first world title in mind. She narrowly missed last year, finishing only $2,567 behind World Champion Mary Burger. Toward the end of her rookie season in 2003, Pozzi-Pharr bought Stitch, a horse new to the rodeo scene. The horse performed well in three rounds at the 2003 Wrangler NFR, but lacked the maturity and experience needed to become a consistent winner. Then, the calendar turned to 2007, and nothing has been the same since. "He was getting better and better, but I couldn't wait until he turned 10 years old,"; Pozzi-Pharr said. "I knew that would be his year. He's 10 this year, and he's grown up. Before, it was culture shock, but this year, the maturity hit, and he's learned to handle the different types of ground. At first, he had problems with noise, and he'd get riled up from the crowds. That really doesn't bother him anymore."

The ringbone that nearly ended the career of Walt, the 17-year-old team roping heading horse owned and ridden by Travis Tryan, doesn’t bother the horse anymore, either. Four years after winning his first AQHA Horse of the Year award, Walt topped the list again this year after a miraculous recovery. "He was injured all of last year, and with ringbone, it can be a career-ending injury," Tryan, of Chico, Texas, said. "He's not only come back from the injury, he's worked this year better than ever." Instead of surgery, Tryan and his veterinarian opted for joint fusion to treat the ringbone, which is a lameness disease of the pastern and coffin joints and a degenerative disorder that has no known cure. "He gives you a chance to win any time," Tryan said. "You can take him to Cheyenne (Wyo.) and to the (Wrangler) NFR the next day, and he'll still feel the same at either place. It doesn't matter to him." Tryan bought Walt at the end of the 2000 season. The following year, Tryan reached the Wrangler NFR for the first time. And thanks to Walt, he hasn’t missed since.

Lee Graves hasn’t missed the Wrangler NFR much either, especially with trusty steer wrestling horse Jessie under him. Jessie, a 12-year-old black gelding who finished third in AQHA voting last year, earned the top honor in 2007 as Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year. Graves owns Jessie and lets several bulldoggers, including Shawn Greenfield, ride him as well and estimates that some $360,000 has been won on the horse this year. Jessie’s win ended a record three-year reign by Jim Burks’ star horse, Zan, who won the award from 2004-06. "This horse has gradually been getting better and better since I bought him two years ago," Graves, of Calgary, Alberta, said. "This year has been phenomenal. There haven't been too many rodeos where one of us hasn't earned a check. When I'm not winning, the horse is."

Since 1989, the AQHA has annually honored the top three steer wrestling, tie-down roping, team roping, steer roping and barrel racing horses in the PRCA. Horse owners receive a bonus and a bronze statue for their accomplishment. The top PRCA and Professional Women's Barrel Racing (PWBR) timed-event contestants conduct the voting. Cowboys had equal respect for Diesel, the heeling horse owned and ridden by Randon Adams, of Logandale, Nev., and Amigo, ridden by Patrick Smith of Midland, Texas, and owned by Smith and his wife, Christi. The voting ended in a first-place tie for top heeling horse. Diesel claimed top honors in 2006, while Amigo is a first-time winner. Like Jessie, the two other horses are first-time honorees as well. AQHA honors in tie-down roping went to Flip, owned by Paige Maass of Giddings, Texas, and ridden by her husband, Justin Maass, and Scott Kormos. Shep, owned by Scott Shepard and ridden by C.A. Lauer, of Buffalo, Okla., topped the list in steer roping.

AQHA Horses of the Year

Steer Wrestling 1. Rocks Eye Opener (Jessie), owned by Lee Graves, ridden by Lee Graves and Shawn Greenfield 2. FF Zans A Baron Jack (Zan), owned by Jim Burks, ridden by Rodney Burks 3. Docs Otoe Peppy (Smarty), owned and ridden by Billy Bugenig

Team Roping (Heading) 1. Precious Speck (Walt), owned and ridden by Travis Tryan 2. Lite My Dynamite (Sic Em), owned by Trevor and Shada Brazile, ridden by Trevor Brazile 3. (tie) Go Fish Burner (Blow Fish), owned and ridden by Brandon Beers PC Lonewood Ike (Frisco), owned by Colter and Carly Todd, ridden by Colter Todd

Team Roping (Heeling) 1. (tie) Baileys Cooper Doc (Diesel), owned and ridden by Randon Adams Sunday Night Bingo (Amigo), owned by Patrick and Christi Smith, ridden by Patrick Smith 2. Owens Cub (Switch Blade), owned and ridden by Kory Koontz 3. Freckles Taz (Taz), owned and ridden by Kinney Harrell

Tie-Down Roping 1. Smash Par Fancy (Flip), owned by Paige Maass, ridden by Justin Maass and Scott Kormos 2. Leos Showtime (Scout), owned and ridden by Jake Hannum 3. High Little Sug (Boogie Man 2), owned and ridden by Mike Arnold

Steer Roping 1. River Lightning Bug (Shep), owned by Scott Shepard, ridden by C.A. Lauer 2. Foxy Duplicate (Pacific), owned by Shandon Stalls, ridden by Shandon Stalls and Guy Allen 3. Die Hard Romance (Roan Ranger), owned by Trevor and Shada Brazile, ridden by Trevor Brazile

PWBR Barrel Racing 1. Sixth Vision (Stitch), owned by Randy Pozzi and Brittany Pozzi-Pharr, ridden by Brittany Pozzi-Pharr 2. I Am Not TE (Slim), owned and ridden by Brandie Halls 3. (tie) Perryman Star (Amigo), owned by Tana and Marty Poppino, ridden by Tana Poppino Top Tally (Tally), owned by Nathan Williams, ridden by Darlene Kasper 10/11

Talented horse dies

Two-time AQHA/PRCA Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year Bad Motor Scooter (Scooter) died of natural causes on the Powers Ranch in Sonora, Texas, on July 27, 2007. He was 26. Scooter, won his two AQHA/PRCA Horse of the Year distinctions in 1998 and 2001. He carried Mike Smith to the world title in 1998, and Mickey Gee to the gold buckle in 1999. He weighed 1,000 pounds, and 500 of them were his heart, said Jimmy Powers, Scooter's owner. Scooter's heart was displayed at its best during the 1998 National Finals Rodeo. Though he stood just an inch taller than 14 hands, he carried five cowboys through all 10 rounds. Mike Smith, Herbert Theriot, Steve Duhon, Jeff Corbello and Kurt Goulding all rode Scooter at the 1998 NFR, and the quintet won three of the top five spots for the year and more than $255,000 in NFR prize money. Smith won the world championship, Theriot finished in the reserve spot, and Duhon finished fifth. Scooter was buried next to the practice arena on the Powers Ranch.

James makes history by cloning ProRodeo Hall of Fame horse Scamper

Courtesy PRCA, Wednesday, November 15, 2006. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. –Eleven-time World Champion Barrel Racer Charmayne James announced today her ProRodeo Hall of Fame horse, Scamper, now has a young twin thanks to cloning company ViaGen. The clone was born on August 8 at Paradise Farms in Boerne, Texas, and was named Clayton after her childhood home of Clayton, N.M. “We tossed around several different names but nothing really seemed to fit,” James said. “When we threw out the name Clayton it was a perfect fit, since that is where I was first introduced to Scamper and I got my start in the professional barrel racing world.” James, now of Athens, Texas, decided to clone the 29-year-old Scamper in order to continue to use his exceptional genetics in her breeding program. She hired ViaGen, the Austin, Texas, based world leader in animal cloning, to do the cloning work. A few months later Clayton was born. “The baby looks so much like Scamper, conformation-wise,” James said. “He’s so balanced, he’s got the same shoulder, the same bright eye and many of the same tendencies that Scamper did. I am really looking forward to seeing how this all turns out.” Cloning produces a later-born identical twin, thereby preserving and multiplying the genetics of superior animals. Many horse breeders, who already use assisted reproductive techniques such as in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer, view cloning as the next step in breeding. “We were honored but not surprised that Charmayne would seek to clone Scamper,” said ViaGen President Mark Walton. “Horse breeders increasingly recognize that cloning is an excellent tool for maximizing the value of their best genetics.” James had been researching the animal cloning process for the past 5 to 7 years before making this decision. “We are definitely in uncharted waters now, but it is exciting,” James said. “It is such a fascinating thing to me to have an opportunity like this to be able to carry on the breeding and bloodlines of such a horse like Scamper.” James and Scamper first got their start as a team when James was 11 and Scamper was 4. James’ father, Charlie James, was the manager at Clayton Cattle Feeders when he first encountered the young horse, a horse that had been passed around from person to person because no one could ride him. He paid $1,100 and took the horse home. They quickly became a dynamic duo and in 1984 at the age of 14, Charmayne rode him to her first world title. Little did she know she would win another nine consecutive world titles, becoming the first million dollar cowgirl and setting the record for most world barrel racing titles, before retiring the Hall of Fame horse. In 2002, James would win her 11th world title aboard another great horse Cruiser. James retired the following year from competition to spend more time building her horse breeding program and putting on barrel racing clinics across the United States. She married Tony Garritano in 2003 and on May 11, 2004, they had their first son, Tyler.