It’s almost time for the Reno (Nev.) Rodeo short go-round, which features the top 12 contestants (and teams) from the preliminary rounds in the western Nevada city. Tonight’s field is filled with world champions and regular qualifiers to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Payouts have been made in each of the first two go-rounds, so[...]

My phone dinged today, making that sound that identifies an incoming text message. It was my dear friend, Sandy Gwatney, and it was one of two. Now, I know Sandy is hanging out in Big Spring, Texas, for the three days of the Cowboy Reunion and Rodeo. As I open my little bundle, I get[...]

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. – T.J. Holgate wears many hats, and almost all of them are cowboy. Holgate is a Window Rock District Court judge, a cowboy and a proud Navajo. He ties it all together quite nicely as the volunteer chairman of the Navajo Nation Fourth of July PRCA Rodeo, set for 6 p.m. Wednesday,[...]

PECOS, Texas – When Paul Peterson leans over the chute to grab the strap wrapped around Dirty Jacket’s flank, the veteran cowboy knows there’s danger ahead. “When he leaves the chute, he’s trying to kick the flankman off the back of the chute,” said Kaycee Feild, the reigning bareback riding world champion who won the[...]

DUNCAN, Okla. – Over the course of his career, Stockton Graves has been one of those cowboys who battled every step of the way to play on the biggest stages of ProRodeo. Whether it’s qualifying for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo or the championship round of the Dodge City (Kan.) Roundup Rodeo, Graves competes for[...]

PECOS, Texas – The last time she performed, MGM Deuces Night helped rising star J.R. Vezain to the bareback riding victory in Guymon, Okla. The two athletes worked together quite well in the Oklahoma Panhandle community, posting an 89-point ride and sending another statement in the already rich resume of the 7-year-old bay/paint mare. Each[...]

When I first met Tanner Aus, he seemed to be a soft-spoken young man who was learning the ins and outs of the rodeo world with veteran cowboy D.V. Fennell. “He’s good, Ted,” is what D.V. told me last August as the two camped out in my basement for a couple of days. Yes, he[...]

Last year in my first venture to Lea County, N.M., I had no idea what to expect. I arrived in Lovington, home of the Lea County Fair and Rodeo, wondering about the little things that go into the community of 10,000 and why it’s host to a Wrangler Million Dollar Tour event in ProRodeo. Oh,[...]

CASPER, Wyo. – The score sheet doesn’t say much about what Tanner Braden did for the Northwestern Oklahoma State University men’s rodeo team during the College National Finals Rodeo. Braden, a senior heeler from Dewey, Okla., failed to record a qualified time in the opening two go-rounds of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association’s championship event;[...]

PECOS, Texas – ProRodeo’s best have made a statement: The West of the Pecos Rodeo is an important part of the schedule. More than 630 contestants have signed up to compete in the annual rodeo, set for 8 p.m. Wednesday, June 27-Saturday, June 30, at Buck Jackson Arena. That’s up nearly 10 percent from a[...]