SILVERTON, Texas – Fans in the Texas Panhandle know their stuff when it comes to rodeo.
Pete Carr knows that. He realizes true fans will be looking for an outstanding show when Silverton’s Buck Wild Days Rodeo plays before thousands during the three performances set for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 18-Saturday, Aug. 20.
It’s why some of the greatest bareback horses in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association will be some of the featured athletes in the community that boasts of a population around 700 people.
“We’ll have all the heat with us,” he said, referring to the best animal athletes wearing Carr Pro Rodeo’s Rafter C brand. “It should be really good.”
That might just be an understatement. This is the little rodeo that could, and now it’s a showcase of top rodeo talent. From Real Deal, the 2005 PRCA Bareback Riding Horse of the Year, to Riverboat Annie, the 2007 reserve world champion bareback horse, to Deuces Night, one of the great young bucking mares, the Carr pen is full of tremendous athletes.
“If you look at the NFR stock roster, you can see Pete Carr’s loaded,” D.V. Fennell said of the Carr Pro Rodeo owner. “That’s not just me saying that. That’s 16 of the top bareback riders in the world. He’s got superstars.”
On the surface, it looks like Silverton’s rodeo will definitely be Buck Wild. But horses of that caliber tend to draw the top cowboys to town. They crave the energized beasts. It’s how they make their livings; more importantly, it’s how they win world championships.
“To be successful, you’ve got to want to win,” said Justin McDaniel, the 2008 world champion bareback rider. “Pete goes all out. He tries really hard. You can go to any of Pete’s rodeos and win on any of his horses on any given day.”
Wes Stevenson is the reigning Silverton bareback riding champion, having scored an 88-point ride on Carr’s Alberta Child last August in the rodeo’s inaugural year with the PRCA, the top sanctioning body in the sport. The victory was a piece of the puzzle that led the Lubbock, Texas, cowboy to his sixth qualification to the NFR.
“The most important thing to me was that I got to get on some good bucking horses,” said Stevenson, who had just an hour and a half drive to compete. “The money I won there was the confidence-booster I needed. I knew we had a chance to get on some of Pete’s good bucking horses, and that helps me a lot down the road.”
Stevenson wasn’t the only area cowboy to fare well in Silverton. In fact, three-time world champion Will Lowe of Canyon finished second with an 85-point score on Dirty Jacket, a horse that has been a fixture at the NFR. It was the second time Lowe earned a good paycheck on that horse in 2010 – he also won the Guymon (Okla.) Pioneer Days Rodeo with an 87 on Dirty Jacket.
“He just likes to buck,” Lowe said. “He’s such a good horse. He’s in the TV pen at the NFR, so you know he’s the one guys want to get on. You usually draw good when you go to a Pete Carr rodeo, but that horse is one you’d want to get on every time.”
No matter which cowboy draws which horse, Carr likes the idea of having the best vs. the best.
“It’s the match-up that makes the difference,” Carr said. “It’s supposed to be good.”