I’d been around rodeo quite a bit the first time I walked onto the grounds of the Dodge City Roundup Arena in 1994, but I took a major step in my career on that acreage. I was still a wet-behind-the-ears journalist trying to take in everything the newspaper game had to offer while working at[...]

This weekend we celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection, typically a time with family or others close to us. Typically, though, it’s not a time off the rodeo trail. Rodeo, as we know, is cyclical, meaning that seasons revolve around themselves. For instance, the 2012 season began in October, even though the 2011 season didn’t wrap until[...]

One of the great things about being behind the scenes at a big event like the Ram National Circuit Finals Rodeo is hearing the stories I can’t always report. Whether it’s about a late-night fight or an overserved cowboy, the tales are magnificent. Oftentimes they’re one-sided, so you have to take them for what they[...]

Professional basketball used to have the slogan, “NBA action is fantastic.” The reality is that no other sport is more FAN-tastic than rodeo, because most of the cowboys and cowgirls who make their living on the rodeo trail understand the common man; they know how much much hard work goes in to paying for those[...]

Over the past couple of years, I’ve gotten to know a little more about rodeo photographer James Phifer. He’s worked the Ram National Circuit Finals Rodeo, the Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping and the Timed Event Championship. There’s a great reason he works these prestigious events, along with countless other events throughout the year:[...]

OKLAHOMA CITY – It’s a cliché, but it’s true in ProRodeo: The cream rises to the top. No statement was more obvious than the final day of the 2012 Ram National Circuit Finals Rodeo, which crowned eight national champions on Sunday afternoon, seven of whom were part of the 2011 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Two-time[...]

OKLAHOMA CITY – Carlee Pierce and Rare Dillion have set the barrel racing world on fire over the last 12 months. The tandem upped the ante on Saturday night during the fourth performance of the Ram National Circuit Finals Rodeo, posting a 15.16-second run to win the second go-round and the two-run average title and[...]

Bareback riding: 1. (tie) Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, Minn., on Southwicks Rky Mtn Rodeo’s Hard Times, and Tyson Thompson, Bradley, Calif., on Carr Pro Rodeo’s Big Lights, 82 points, $3,976; 3. Mac Erickson, Sundance, Wyo., 81, $2,468; 4. Luke Creasy, Brownfield, Alberta, 80.0, $1,645; 5. (tie) Joe Gunderson, Agar, S.D., Kaycee Feild, Payson, Utah, and[...]

Reigning world champion bareback rider Kaycee Feild rode Bar T Rodeo’s Bitter Robin for 78 points on Saturday night, securing his spot in Sunday’s semifinals. The last time the two matched moves together was during the second round of the 2011 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. That was worth 89 points and the go-round victory. Feild[...]

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sometimes karma works out quite well; just ask Blair Burk. The Oklahoma cowboy returned to his old stomping grounds at Jim Norick Arena and found it to his liking on Saturday afternoon. Burk, of Durant, Okla., roped and tied his calf in 8.5 seconds to take the second-round lead in tie-down roping[...]