Rodeos
The National Western Stock Show rodeo is among the biggest events on the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association tour. Annually a finalist for selection of the PRCA Indoor Rodeo of the Year, and a winner of the honor three of the last 11 years, the National Western rodeo had the ninth largest committee purse on the PRCA circuit in 2007, the committee providing a $225,500 payoff in addition to the money added from entry fees.
In addition to the traditional rodeo, the National Western also features a Mexican Rodeo Extravaganza on Saturday and Sunday, the Professional Bull Riders Tour on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and the Martin Luther King. Jr., African-American Heritage Rodeo on Jan. 21, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
What's the difference?
PRCA Rodeo: There are 23 rodeo performances during the National Western, capped off by the finals Sunday, Jan. 27, when the competitors with the top marks from the previous 22 rodeos are invited back to vie for the National Western championships. Each performance includes the traditional rodeo events — saddle bronc riding, bareback bronc riding, bull riding, team roping, steer wrestling, tie-down roping and barrel racing.
Professional Bull Riders Tour: This is a national tour featuring top bull riders. It's all bull riding, all night.
Martin Luther King, Jr. African-American Heritage Rodeo: This rodeo honors an overlooked western legacy. Few people realize that roughly one-third of the cowboys in the old west were African-Americans, many of them freed slaves looking for a new life. This rodeo features African-American cowboys in the traditional rodeo events plus a Pony Express relay and ladies' steer undecorating.
Mexican Rodeo Extravaganza: This event features bull riders and bareback riders, along with trick roping, mariachis, the Paso de la Muerte or "Death Jump." Jerry Diaz, a fourth-generation champion charro, will show off his roping and horsemanship skills.
National prestige
The top rodeo competitors in the country enter the National Western rodeo, including some defending world champions. Trevor Brazile is one of those such champs. Brazile is the world All-Around champion, tie-down roping champion and steer wrestling champion. He is only the second cowboy in 50 years to win three world titles in the same year, the first in 24 years.
Other 2007 world champions
Bobby Mote, Bareback riding
Jason Miller, Steer wrestling
Chad Masters, Team-roping header
Walt Woodard, Team-roping heeler
Taos Muncy, Saddle bronc
Wesley Silcox, Bull riding
Brittany Pozzi-Pharr, Barrel racing
Colorado connections
Pueblo's Josh Peek made big news by finishing second in the all-around competition at the National Finals Rodeo, but he isn't the only Coloradan making a name for himself in the Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association.
Jake Coletti: Like Peek, another up-and-coming calf roper and steer wrestler from Pueblo.
Heath Ford: The bareback rider and bull rider is the son of National Finals Rodeo finalist, Glen Ford, and the nephew of five-time world champion Bruce Ford.
Royce Ford: The son of Bruce Ford and cousin of Heath Ford, this Kersey native bareback rider placed second in the National Finals in 2003.
Clay Kobza: The Brighton cowboy is establishing himself as a top-notch tie-down roper.
Jeremiah Peek: The youngest Peek brother, 23, is the biggest at a solid 6-foot-3, 220 pounds. He is a calf roper, team roper and steer wrestler.
Jon Peek: At 27, the middle of three Peek brothers, he's a calf roper and team roper.
Wade Sumpter: A former University of Northern Colorado linebacker from Fowler, Sumpter has progressed as a steer wrestler.
The kids take over
While the rodeo, in general, is the daily attraction, there are special events for the kids worth seeing that are parts of different rodeo and PBR performances.
Catch a calf (morning and matinee rodeos Jan 19, matinee and evening rodeos Jan 20): 4-H members try to catch calves in the rodeo arena. Forty of them then spend the next year raising the calf and bring the animal back to the stock show the next year for judging.
Mutton bustin' (Tuesday, 6 p,m., and during 16 of the PRCA rodeo performances and both of the Mexican Rodeo Extravaganza performances): Children between the ages of 5 and 7, weighing less than 55 pounds, ride sheep in the rodeo arena for scores.
Payday
As world champ, Trevor Brazile has seen plenty of big paydays.
Among the top 10 PRCA rodeos ranked by committee purse, the National Western Stock Show ranks ninth with a $225,500 award. Here are the top five rodeos:
Rank, rodeo Purse
1. National Finals (Las Vegas) $5,500,500
2. Houston $999,999
3. San Antonio $712,500
4. Pro Rodeo Tour Championship (Dallas) $550,000
5. Cheyenne $432,000
Paul Willis contributed to this report
THE EVENTS
Professional rodeo consists of two type of events — roughstock and timed.
ROUGHSTOCK EVENTS
A contestant's score is equally dependent on the cowboy's performance and the performance of the animal. Two judges each score a qualified ride by awarding 0 to 25 points for the animal's performance and 0 to 25 for the rider's performance. The judges' scores are combined to determine the score. A perfect score is 100.
Bareback riding: Using only one hand on a rigging and with no saddle, riders try to balance themselves atop a bucking bronco for eight seconds. As with all roughstock events, the rider is disqualified if he touches the horse with his free hand.
Saddle bronc riding: Using a saddle, stirrups and one hand, cowboys try to ride an unbroken horse for eight seconds.
Bull riding: Holding onto only a rope tied around the girth of the bull, cowboys score points for control and the cunning of the animal during an 8-second ride.
TIMED EVENTS
The goal is to finish in the fastest time. Calves and steers get a head start. The cowboy, on horseback, starts in a three-sided fence area with the fourth side open to the arena. A rope barrier is stretched across that opening and tied to the calf or steer. Once the animal reaches the head-start point, the barrier is released. If a cowboy breaks the barrier before it's released, he is assessed a 10-second penalty.
Calf roping: A cowboy scores points based on the time it takes him to rope and tie a calf.
Steer wrestling: Jumping from his horse onto a running steer, a cowboys uses the steer's horns to twist it to the ground.
Team roping: Working together, one cowboy (the header) lassos a calf's head while the other (the heeler) ropes its hind legs.
Barrel racing: Cowgirls race their horses around barrels in a cloverleaf pattern and back to the gate.
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