BIG SPRING, Texas – History is a big part the sport of rodeo, but it’s the foundation of the Big Spring Cowboy Reunion and Rodeo.
The event bucked for the 79th time from June 21-23 at the Big Spring Rodeo Bowl, and fans witnessed an outstanding competition and a fantastic celebration.
“The highlight for me was in Saturday night’s opening,” said Pete Carr, owner of Dallas-based Carr Pro Rodeo, the stock contracting firm that produces the Big Spring rodeo. “We had a video about the history of rodeo, and after that played, we introduced Quail Dobbs and put him on a John Deere Gator with his son driving and his grandson on the back.”
Dobbs spent his career as a rodeo clown and is enshrined in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.
“It was cool because we watched all that history, and Quail was a part of that history,” Carr said. “He made his living making people smile. He is also in the history of that rodeo. The people acknowledged him, giving him a standing ovation. They were standing up as he drove by, so it really looked like a wave when they made it around the arena.”
The history continues in the west Texas town, and the Carr crew is excited to be part of next year’s 80th anniversary.
“It’s really the people you get to deal with there that’s so great,” Carr said. “You have second- and third-generation committee members. Quail has been on the committee forever, and his son is on the committee. Ace Berry is the chairman of that rodeo, and his son will be on that committee for a long time, just like Dane Driver; his dad, Skipper Driver, was a big part of that committee for a long, long time.
“There’s so much history and tradition there. It’s a great rodeo to be part of.”
Of course, ProRodeo’s best contestants helped make a good event even better. Take Cody Taton of Mud Butte, S.D., the average champion at the 2008 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. He matched moves with Carr’s High Lonesome for 84 points to win saddle bronc riding in Big Spring, worth $1,140 for Taton.
“That’s a young horse that won the futurity in Cody, Wyo.,” Carr said. “The first time we took him to a rodeo was at Fort Worth (Texas), and Cody had him there; he won a round on him there.”
Yes, he did. In fact, Taton won the average title in Fort Worth this past winter and remains in the top five in the world standings.
“After Fort Worth, we’ve been letting him just hang out,” Carr said. “We took horses that we’d picked for our futurity team to take to Cheyenne in a few weeks; we wanted to see how they’re going to be.”
Apparently, things looked pretty good for the 4-year-old bay gelding.
“Fortunately Cody drew that horse again,” Carr said. “In that arena, the sand is really deep, and some of the horses had trouble with it. He still rose to the occasion.”
Big Spring Cowboy Reunion and Rodeo
June 21-23
All-around cowboy: Chase Williams, $1,460, team roping and tie-down roping.
Bareback riding: 1. Jake Brown, 79 points on Carr Pro Rodeo’s Patron, $1,007; 2. Chad Rutherford, 78 on Carr’s Big Casino, $755; 3. Blake Dornak, 75 on Carr’s Colt 44, $504; 4. (tie) Bill Tutor on Carr’s Buck Wild, Wyatt Hancock on Carr’s Korczak and Tray Chambliss III on Carr’s Montana, 72, $84 each.
Steer wrestling: 1. Jack Hodges, 5.5 seconds, $944; 2. Chance Campbell, $781; 3. Brent Lassetter, 7.1, $618; 4. Chris Berry, 7.2, $456; 5. Sam Powers, 10.3, $293; 6. Brad Loesch, 11.4, $163..
Team roping: 1. Quisto Lopez/Boogie Ray, 7.9 seconds, $895 each; 2. Jackie Gillespie/Zane Bowers, 8.6, $741; 3. Paul Peterson/Keith Isley, 8.7, $587; 4. Casey Gattis/Seth Smithson, 8.8, $432; 5. Clint Singleton/Jed Middleton, 11.5, $278; 6. Cody Burney/Garrett Hale, 12.6, $154.
Saddle bronc riding: 1. Cody Taton, 84 points on Carr Pro Rodeo’s High Lonesome, $1,140; 2. (tie) Cody Horwedel on Carr’s Close Call and Nick Laduke on Carr’s Blue Jeans, 77, $713 each; 4. Travis Sheets, 71 on Carr’s Faded Blood, $285.
Tie-down roping: 1. Chase Williams, 9.5 seconds, $1,460; 2. Zane Waldrop, 9.6, $1,208; 3. Loagan Helton, 9.9, $957; 4. Vin Fisher Jr., 10.2, $705; 5. Matt Kenney, 10.3, $453; 6. Roy Harris, 10.4, $252.
Barrel racing: 1. Lisa Ogden, 16.78 seconds, $957; 2. Chasity Tamburro, 16.87, $820; 3. Tracey Austin-Ivy, 17.14, $683; 4. Caren Lamb, 17.17, $592. 5. Savanah Reeves, 17.24, $455; 6. Sarah Kieckhefer, 17.26, $364; 7. Julie Hardcastle, 17.28, $273; 8. Baily Bownds, 17.36, $182; 9. Robin Montague, 17.42, $137; 10. Joy McDaniels, 17.47, $91.
Bull riding: 1. Guthrie Long, 86 points on Carr Pro Rodeo’s Black Powder, $1,082; 2. (tie) Roy Dunn on Carr’s Backlash and Luke Haught on Carr’s Black Ice, 75, $705 each; 4. Cody Graves on Carr’s Just John, 72, $393.