GUYMON, Okla. – The Masters has the green jacket. Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo has Carr Pro Rodeo’s Dirty Jacket.
Either way, it’s a winning combination. Charl Schwartzel earned the green jacket at Augusta National Golf Course in April; Matt Bright and Dirty Jacket danced across the Henry C. Hitch Pioneer Arena dirt Sunday, May 8, to win the 79th edition of the Guymon rodeo and more than $2,700. It was the fourth straight year cowboys have won bareback riding at this rodeo on Dirty Jacket.
“That’s an awesome horse,” said Bright of Azle, Texas, a qualifier to the 2010 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. “As many years as I’ve been coming to Guymon, they’ve won that rodeo on that horse. That’s one of the best horses in the world.”
Dirty Jacket is owned by the Dallas-based livestock firm, the primary stock provider in Guymon. The 7-year-old bay gelding has been to the NFR each of the past two seasons.
“It’s the match-up that makes the difference,” said Pete Carr, owner of Carr Pro Rodeo. “You’ve got a horse from the 10th round of the National Finals Rodeo, the TV pen, and you’ve got one of the top 15 cowboys in the world, an NFR qualifier.
“It’s supposed to be good.”
There were a lot of great rides and phenomenal bucking action over the four performances in the region once known as No Man’s Land. In bareback riding, for example, the top eight placers included seven NFR qualifiers. Results were similar in every event, from Louie Brunson’s hat-whipping and winning ride in saddle bronc riding to Seth Glause’s spinning victory in bull riding.
“This arena is a good setup,” said Carr, who solicited four other stock contractors to bring their best bucking animals. “It’s a sideways delivery, and there’s a lot of room for everything to circle around.
“It also draws the best cowboys in the country, so that makes a lot of difference in what happens here, too.”
Pioneer Days Rodeo has been recognized as one of the best events in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and is an annual stop for the very best ProRodeo has to offer. But having great animals on which to compete is a major drawing card for the cowboys who make their livings riding bucking beasts.
“Pete’s got a ton of good horses,” Bright said. “When you go to one of his rodeos, it doesn’t matter what horse you have to get on, you have a chance to win, for sure.
“Right before the rodeo, I talked to Pete Carr’s livestock superintendent, John Gwatney, and he reminded me that a lot of guys get strung out on that horse because he just keeps getting stronger. He said I just need to keep going, ride all the way through the whistle. So I was just focused on that, and I think that helped as much as anything.”
Fourteen-time world champion Trevor Brazile, who won his record-setting eighth all-around championship in 2010, won the Guymon all-around title and pulled off a mini-Triple Crown – he also won the steer roping and team roping (with two-time world champion heeler Patrick Smith) to collect more than $14,000.
“Guymon has always been a great rodeo that wants to make things better for the cowboys,” Carr said. “I like being associated with people who have that mentality because I think we can really do some great things. We had great crowds all four performances, and the fans got to see a great rodeo.”