The Arena

By Ed Knocke

Tie-down roper Clint Robinson is heating up the action at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. On Saturday night, the Spanish Fork, Utah, cowboy won the third round with a sizzling 7.3-second run, his third consecutive time in the 7-second range.

He placed second with a 7.7 run on Friday and he recorded a 7.8 on opening night to split third place. His Saturday night first-place check of $17,139 has given him $37,964 in earnings here after only three days.

Now can Robinson continue his sizzling pace?

“Out here, if you hit the start, you’ve got a good horse and the calves want to cooperate, you can tie them in seven pretty easily every time,” he said. “If things work out right, and there are no mistakes, you’re liable to get seven with that short score.”

Robinson, who is competing in his third NFR, has yet to win a title here, but he likes his chances this year.

After his Saturday night victory, he moved within $7,642 of event leader Trevor Brazile, who cashed his first check at the NFR this year on Saturday when he earned $4,423 for a fifth-place finish.

“I came here and I was a little back from Trevor, but I knew there was so much money to win out here,” Robinson said. “I’m just going to go at them every night and don’t do anything stupid, you know, like break a barrier or miss. I’m going to try to tie them down as fast as I can, and hopefully the average can take care of itself.”

Robinson also is in the world all-around race, but there he has a huge deficit to overcome.  He currently trails Brazile by $113,861.

He says he’s just going to keep roping and not concern himself with the standings. “If you do your part, it usually works out in the end,” he said.

He claims he didn’t change anything in his preparation for the finals this year.

“This is my third time here, and I’m kind of getting things figured out,” he said. “There’s $17,000 a night, so you’ve got to go for it.  There’s no sense in backing off. I’m taking advantage of the calves I’ve had. You’re not liable to draw 10 great calves, but the ones you get you’ve got to take advantage of out here.”

Check back during the NFR for more updates from Western Horseman columnist Ed Knocke.

By Ed Knocke

Kaycee Feild says his goal is to win the average at this year’s Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. On Friday night at the second round of the NFR, he got on the right road to accomplishing that feat

The 22-year-old son of five-time world champion Lewis Feild rode Harry Vold’s Dusty Dan for 89 points to set the pace for the evening and in the process take over the lead in the average with 171.5 points on two horses.

Feild said he was thrilled when he found out he had drawn the horse, because he had some success on her before.

“I’ve actually had her twice,” he said. “One time at Houston last year, and I won the Super Series on her, and in the short round in Cheyenne and ended up second in Cheyenne.”

And on Friday night, Dusty Dan came through with flying colors although Feild had encountered some problems in the chute with the horse.

“They said she hadn’t been bucked in three or four months, so she was antsy in the chute,” he said. “But, when she left, she fired, and I just marked her out and just let it roll. If you try muscling through it with her, she will over power you and pull you over, so you just have to kind of flow with her. Jump for jump you just have to keep going.”

The victory was his second one at the NFR after qualifying last year in his rookie season.  He won the sixth round in 2008.

With his victory on Friday night, he moved to fifth place in the world championship race, but he is still $115,926 behind leader Clint Cannon, who set a season earnings record this year with $235,900.

Feild, however, just wants to make a strong showing on the national stage here at the Thomas and Mack Center. With his talent, his turn in the championship circle is definitely in sight.

His father, who was his coach at Utah Valley State College, was present to see his performance Friday night. He said watching his son ride makes him more nervous than when he was competing.

So with Kaycee’s bright future, it appears there will be a long stretch of nervousness ahead for pop.  “I can stand that,” he said.

By Ed Knocke

A great horse can play a vital role in steer wrestling.

Curtis Cassidy discovered that fact Thursday night at the opening of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. The Donalda, Alberta, cowboy had no knowledge of the steer’s running style he had drawn.  And to make matters worse, no one else seemed to know much about him, either.

But, Cassidy had one thing working for him. He owns one of the best steer wrestling horses around in Willy, a 24-year-old gelding. And did Willy help out his owner in this crucial situation.  The two combined for a sizzling 3.6-second run in the tight Thomas and Mack Center arena that put him at the head of the class for the night.

“When the steers run in a short building like this, it takes a great horse to get you there,’’  he said. “And Willy did his job tonight.’’

Willy, the only horse Cassidy has ever ridden, has incredible credentials.  He’s carried four cowboys to world steer wrestling championships—Rope Myers in 2001, Lee Graves in 2005, Jason Miller in 2007 and Luke Branquinho in 2008.

The horse also was named the PRCA/AQHA steer wrestling horse of the year in 2008 and was named the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association steer wrestling horse of the year in 2002-03 and 2005-08.

“What separates a great horse from a good horse is heart,’’ Cassidy said. “And he has that. He really did the trick tonight.

“I knew absolutely nothing about the steer. I asked a few guys, some said those red steers were good average steers. But, then I asked the other guys, and nobody had any lists on him, so, I jut backed in like you would at any other rodeo where you don’t know about a steer.  You just back in and go at him.’’

He encountered a similar situation earlier this year in Houston.  Willy also came through for him there, winning the event at RodeoHouston and a $50,000 bonus. Their performance at the WNFR also boosted Cassidy right into the middle of the world championship race. His $17,139 first-place check moved him within $11,276 of fellow Canadian Lee Graves, who led the world standings coming into the WNFR.

With the large payoffs that are offered at the finals, he can make up that deficit in a short time. Especially, with a great horse like Willy in his corner.

Check back during the NFR’s 10-day run for more from Western Horseman columnist Ed Knocke.

Canadian Professional Rodeo Association Press Release

Edmonton, Alberta—“I’m not gonna lie, I was nervous,” laughs Zane Hankel, still a little breathless from splitting first with leading Canadian steer wrestling leader Cody Cassidy during the first performance of the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) on Wednesday.

Both Hankel and Cassidy clocked a time of 4.3 seconds during the first performance, but there was just one go-round buckle to be had, and the guys were told they would have to flip for it.

“I gave it to Zane,” Cassidy confirms, when asked about the burgandy buckle box in Hankel’s left hand.

“I remember the first time I won at CFR,” he continues. “I split it with Ryan Guest (in 2004) and it was both our first (CFR) buckles. I think they ended up giving us both buckles, but this time they said there was only going to be one and we could flip for it.”

Cassidy fondly recalls getting that first buckle, “and, the first one means a lot.”

Hankel is glowing, and completely thrilled at the gesture made by his fellow bulldogger.

“That’s pretty awesome,” he says.

“My goal coming in here was to win a round,” Hankel grins, then sighs with what is surely relief, admitting that this win sure takes the pressure off for the rest of the week. It is, afterall, the Redcliff, Alberta, bulldogger’s first trip to the Canadian Finals Rodeo, and to win in the first go-round?

“It’s an unexplainable feeling, just to be at CFR.”

More than 12,000 rodeo fans filled the seats at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alta as the 36th CFR kicked off five days of high-octane rodeo action, following a heartfelt opening ceremonies in honour of Remembrance Day.

For complete results, visit rodeocanada.com.

From the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association:

The voice of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, December 3-12 in Las Vegas, Nevada, is going to have a very familiar ring to it.

The announcers–Boyd Polhamus, Bob Tallman and Randy Corley–have worked the “World Series” of professional rodeo a combined 46 times. This is the 14th appearance in a row for Polhamus and the 14th in 15 years for Tallman and 22nd overall. Corley, a 10-time PRCA Announcer of the Year, will work the Wrangler NFR for the 10th time. All three of them are on the short list for the 2009 PRCA Announcer of the Year award, which they have won a combined 20 times.

Sunni Deb Backstrom of Congress, Ariz., will serve as the rodeo secretary for the Wrangler NFR for the seventh time and the fourth in succession.

Wrangler National Finals Rodeo Contract Personnel

Announcers:  Boyd Polhamus, Brenham, Texas; Bob Tallman, Poolville, Texas, and Randy Corley, Silverdale, Wash.

Secretary: Sunni Deb Backstrom, Congress, Ariz.

Assistant Secretary: Debi Davis, Nine Mile Falls, Wash.

Office Manager: Vickie Shireman, Elk City, Okla.

Timers: Cynthia Barnes, Sutherland, Iowa; Dollie Riddle, Vernon, Texas, and Kathy McCloy, Ottumwa, Iowa

Timed Event Chute boss: John Farris, Addington, Okla.

Livestock Superintendent: Ted Groene, Pahrump, Nev.

Assistant Livestock Superintendent: John Barnes, Sutherland, Iowa

Barrelman: Keith Isley, Goldston, N.C.

Alternate Barrelman: Donnie Landis, Gooding, Idaho

Bullfighters: Darrell Diefenbach, Azle, Texas; Dusty Tuckness, Meeteetse, Wyo., and Clay Collins, Garland, Texas

Pick-up Men: Paul Peterson, Southland, Texas, and Bobby Marriott, Woods Cross, Utah

Alternate Pick-up Man: Gary Rempel, Fort Shaw, Mont.

Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping Contract Personnel

Announcers: Charlie Throckmorton, Grandview, Texas, and Doug Mathis, Cleburne, Texas

Secretary: Irene Singer, Calhan, Colo.

Timers: Danna McFarland, Okeechobee, Fla., and Melissa Navarre, Weatherford, Okla.

Chute Boss: Art Alsbaugh, Alamosa, Colo.

Todd Bergen qualified four horses for the open finals at the 2009 National Reined Cow Horse Association Snaffle Bit Futurity. But he undoubtedly left Reno, Nevada, wondering what might have been. A 221 in the reining left Bergen and Smart Luck with a 2.5-point lead going into the fence work.

Bergen and Smart Luck were first up in the random draw. The two had a great run going when Bergen went to circle his cow. He was mere seconds away from establishing a score that would have left him nearly impossible to beat. But Smart Luck stumbled, went down and sent Bergen crashing to the arena floor–along with his championship dreams. The no-score left the door open for Zane Davis and Reymanator.

Up last in the fence work, Davis and Reymanator turned in a 220-point run and easily edged Todd Crawford on  Shiners Nickle and Boyd Rice on Picka Patcha Pepto. Quarter Horse News Editor Katie Tims described Reymanator as a “cage fighter.” The horse definitely excelled in the cow events. He turned in a 218.5 in the herd work–easily the highest score of the morning competition. And he did it despite being the last horse to work before the cattle change.

Congratulations to Davis and Reymanator owner John Semanik.

Former National Football League linebacker Junior Seau took a turn as a bullfighter at a Professional Bull Riders stop in Ontario, California. Given the outcome, I’m guessing he never lined up against a 2,000-pound running back. Junior needs to learn that running in a straight line isn’t the ideal path when trying to avoid a bull.

Rock Clark in Action

Now a mounted-shooting veteran, Rock Clark is coming off his best season in the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association. So far, this year hasn’t been too shabby either. But he’s got just one goal in mind for 2009, and that’s to win the world championship in Amarillo, Texas, this November.

Q: How did you get into the sport?
A: A buddy of mine came to me one day to look at a horse. He told me about mounted shooting and took me to a little backyard where they were practicing the sport. They put a set of guns on me and that’s how I got started. I’ve ridden horses all my life—ever since I was able to get to a stump or a fence post and climb on. I’ve hunted all my life, so the guns and horses kind of came naturally.

Q: What about the sport is most appealing?
A: I’ve never done any type of a sport that was this much fun and yet challenging at the same time. I’ve done barrel racing and pole bending, but this one is really humbling. I might be on top of my game this week, but the next week I can’t hit the broad side of a barn. But what I really like is my family does the sport with me. My 15-year-old son, Cody, is one of the top shooters in the nation. My wife, Terri, shoots with us too.

Q: You won the Eastern and National Championships in 2008. What goals do you have left?
A: I’m still after that world championship. I’ve been close several times, but it’s always been a little bit of bad luck that kept me from getting there—a missed balloon here or a dropped gun there. It’s just got to be your day to win against so many talented shooters. So I’m after the world championship. There’s no question that if I can go in and ride my ride, I’ve got a horse I truly believe no one can touch. He’s solid, fast and pretty special.

Q: What can you tell me about your horse?
A: Joker is a 9-year-old Paint. I’ve had him for two years now. His raw time is always in the top five at national events. There aren’t many horses that can run with him. He is so catty, which can be a problem if I’m not careful. He’s so catty that if I cue him just a touch, he goes. He is 16 hands or so, but very athletic.

Q: Does he work better in bigger arenas?
A: It’s funny you say that. I had a horse before him named Dragon who’s about a 15-hand Paint. I also won nationals and eastern on him. Joker is actually a better all-around horse than Dragon was. There are some smaller pens that Dragon should have excelled in and Joker is actually better in those pens than Dragon. Joker is better all-around horse than smaller horses. The patterns that have us running into the wall at an angle, he has problems with those. He doesn’t want to run into the smaller corners. But other than that, he’s rock solid.

Q: How much effort does it take to acclimate a horse to gun fire?
A: Learning the shooting part comes pretty easily. I ride them and they start trusting me. When I do train a horse to gunfire, I consider the horse and not me. When I ride a horse into the arena for the first time, I couldn’t care if I hit one balloon or all of them. I let the horse adapt to the gunfire, the balloons disappearing and the smoke. All my horses seem to have taken to it pretty good.

Q: How long before your son catches up to you as level 6 shooter?
A: The way he’s going right now, within the next year or two he should be a level 6. Everyone shoots in their own class, but everyone is also in the running for the overall title at our matches. He has won overall at some events and beaten the top guys. So in a sense we are shooting against him right now. As far as shooting against him, I look forward to it. I love watching him ride, love watching him shoot. I’d just as soon watch him as do it myself. This is our family time and our time together. As long as we’re able to do it, we’re all going to keep doing it.

Q: Did the top shooters intimidate you at your first national finals?
A: I remember thinking I was pretty good when I got to my first nationals. I quickly found out I was a very small fish in a big pond. There were guys outrunning me by two or three seconds per stage—not per match—per stage. It was a real eye-opener. So I had to sit back, watch and learn. I’ve learned little tricks from a lot of these guys through the years.

Q: What was the toughest part of learning to compete in mounted shooting?
A: Course management. I’ve been around horses and guns most of my life, so putting the two together wasn’t that difficult. But I couldn’t understand how to run the courses. I was running the course the same direction as the top shooters, but I was two or three seconds behind them. I soon found out there are ways to take each course that require a few less steps. Once I got that down, things got easier for me. It’s amazing that a stride here or there can make such a difference in one stage. Even today after so many years in the sport, I can run a stage and then watch someone run it a different way after me and wonder why I didn’t think of that. Little things you wouldn’t think of can make the difference between winning and losing.

To learn more about mounted shooting, visit cowboymountedshooting.com.

Arizona cowgirl Dema Paul won’t be among the contestants at the 2009 Snaffle Bit Futurity after sitting out much of the year following shoulder surgery and hip replacement. But that doesn’t mean reined-cow-horse fans have seen the last of the veteran hand.

“I’ll definitely be back. That event really gets into your blood. So I’m not ready to give up on it just yet. And I have to come back in 2012 when I’m scheduled to win again,” said the non-pro champion from 2004 and 2008.

Sidelined for much of the year, Paul says her young horses are behind schedule and she just won’t be able to show them at the futurity this season. She does have plans, however, to show her bridle horse and possibly compete in the hackamore class in the Snaffle Bit Futurity Horse Show.

“This will be the first time since 1999 that I haven’t shown at the Futurity,” she says. “I’m going to miss being out there, but I’ll still be hanging around.”

Paul told reporters after her 2008 victory that she’s not sure how much longer she’ll continue to show at the futurity. “Every year I keep thinking, ‘I’m going to quit and start colts and sell them for a living,’ and then this happens and I think, ‘Oh, I want to do it again!’”

Sitting out a year will probably nudge her in the direction of continuing to show, Paul says. “I’ve got a feeling I’ll want to be out there as soon as I get to Reno. But we’ll see what happens next year. I’ve got some nice 2-year-olds coming along, so I’m sure I’ll be back. My 3-year-olds are pretty nice too, but they’re a little behind after I had to lay off for six months.”

The Snaffle Bit Futurity runs September 20 through October 4 at the Reno (Nevada) Livestock Events Center. Other defending champions include John Ward in the open division, Ed Robertson in the intermediate open, Tommy Thompson in the limited open, John McCarty in the intermediate non-pro, Karey Franz in the amateur, and Sandra Collier in the ladies class.

For more information, visit nrcha.com.

Fall is in the air in most places, and for us at the Working Ranch Cowboys Association, that means one thing: the World Championship Ranch Rodeo is just around the corner!

The 14th annual WCRR will be November 12-15 at the Civic Center in Amarillo, Texas, with a special kickoff party November 11 featuring cowboy poet Baxter Black.

Baxter will be featured in a presentation November 11 in the Heritage Room at the Amarillo Civic Center. “An Evening with Baxter Black” coincides with the introduction of the 2009 WRCA competing teams. Baxter is a veterinarian who actually practiced the trade until 1982, when it became evident that his brand of cowboy poetry and public speaking made a better (and easier) way of living. Since then he has made presentations all over the country, appeared on the “Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson, has a weekly radio show broadcast on more than 200 stations and writes a syndicated column called “On the Edge of Common Sense” that appears each month in Western Horseman magazine.

Baxter lives on his ranch near Benson, Arizona, and says that he still doesn’t own a television or a cell phone. Tickets for the Baxter Black performance, which starts at 7 p.m. and also includes heavy hors d’oeuvres as well as the introduction of the rodeo teams, are available for $20. Tickets may also be purchased for a one-hour preshow, which includes a VIP meet and greet with Baxter along with the performance and rodeo team introduction, for $30.

Tickets are now on sale and may be purchased through the WRCA office, P.O. Box 7765, Amarillo, TX  79114 or by calling (806) 374-9722. All tickets must be purchased or reserved by Nov. 2.

This year’s championship rodeo will also feature a special salute to the women of ranching. Whether it’s behind-the-scenes support or working hard and getting dirty alongside the men, ranch women are an integral part of the industry. Look for special displays, entertainment and presentations throughout the WCRR.

If you’ve never been to the WCRR, you’re in for a treat. (And if you’re a veteran, we know you’re hooked, and we can’t wait to see you back again this year!) The events in ranch rodeo mirror the duties a working ranch cowboy might encounter in his daily work, including Ranch Bronc Riding, Stray Gathering, Team Penning, Wild-Cow Milking and Team Branding.

In conjunction with the ranch rodeo, the WRCA will host a top-notch ranch expo and cowboy trade & trappings show. If you’re looking for anything for your ranching operation—or maybe just Christmas gifts for the family – you can find it here.

Rodeo tickets range from $16 to $28 and are available by calling Panhandle Tickets at (806) 378-3096. For more information on the WRCA and the World Championship Ranch Rodeo, visit wrca.org.