Norco Rodeo Draws a Crowd

By Staff Report October 1, 2011

Times may be tough, but cowboys aren’t cutting back on their rodeo, according to Nancy Shannon, chairwoman of the 27th Norco Mounted Posse PRCA Rodeo. Exhibitor participation was up about 15%  at the Aug. 26-28 event at the George Ingalls Equestrian Center, said Shannon, estimating 10,000 fans showed up to cheer their favorite ropers and riders ― the best crowd in three years.

“The Ingalls Center seats 6,700, and Saturday night we were at capacity,” Shannon said, noting, “People were yelling and screaming. Hearing that, I knew there were a lot of good rides, because I was too busy to watch much of the show!”

Among the competitors were national and world Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association champions. World standings leaders Chad Masters of Clarksville, Tenn. and Jade Corkill of Fallon, Nev. won the team roping, getting the highest payout ($1,967 each) for their time of 4.9 seconds.

Masters was the PRCA’s 2007 world champion header and is headed to his eighth Wrangler National Finals Rodeo  Dec. 1-10, while Corkill was reserve world champion heeler in 2008 and is set for his fourth NFR. They have been leading the world standings all summer and their Norco winnings widened their leads over the team of Clay Tryan and Travis Graves.

Header Coleman Proctor, of Pryor, Okla., and heeler Caleb Twisselman, of Santa Margarita were second at 5.7 seconds and each made $1,710. C.R. Wilken, of Templeton and Evan Arnold, of Santa Margarita, were third with a time of 7.7 seconds, which earned them $1,454.

A pair of California steer wrestlers contending to make the Wrangler NFR – Stan Branco and Ethen Thouvenell – finished 1-2 at Norco to help their cause. Branco, of Chowchilla, is trying to make it to his first Wrangler NFR with a late-season charge. He is 19th in the world standings (only the top 15 go to Vegas) and Thouvenell, of Napa, who made his NFR debut last year, is 23rd.

For the past two years, the Norco hasn’t had a bull-rider make it to the qualifying eight seconds, but this year Texan Dalton Votaw of Hill College scored 82 points on Diamond G Rodeos’ CrushBoss III, earning $1,241.

Jared Ferguson of Cottonwood took home $2,396 and the Best All Around Cowboy title after competing in steer wrestling and tie-down roping.

Courtney Cline, of Arroyo Grande, won barrel racing with a time of 17.44 seconds, good for  $1,040. Rachael Myllymaki, of Simi Valley, took second place with a time of 17.61, pocketing  $892. Brittany Kelly, of Paso Robles, was third with 17.78 and $747.

Fun for the kids included Mutton Busting, with lil’ cowpokes 3-9 showing off their sheep riding skills.  On Sunday, the Challenged Children’s Rodeo teamed special needs children with cowboys to partake in mock-rodeo events.

The event, sponsored by Quality Toyota, was hosted by the Norco Mounted Posse. Originally formed in 1964 as the Norco Mounted Police, the group provided law enforcement services to the community. In 1979 the city incorporated and those duties were assigned to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

Since then, the Mounted Posse has become an all-volunteer organization that continues to work closely with the Norco Sheriff’s Department, providing services including patrolling the more than 90 miles of  horse trails that parallel the city’s streets.

Times may be tough, but cowboys aren’t cutting back on their rodeo, according to Nancy Shannon, chairwoman of the 27th PRCA Rodeo. Exhibitor participation was up about 15%  at the Aug. 26-28 event at the George Ingalls Equestrian Center, said Shannon, estimating 10,000 fans showed up to cheer their favorite ropers and riders ― the best crowd in three years.

“The Ingalls Center seats 6,700, and Saturday night we were at capacity,” Shannon said, noting, “People were yelling and screaming. Hearing that, I knew there were a lot of good rides, because I was too busy to watch much of the show!”

Among the competitors were national and world Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association champions. World standings leaders Chad Masters of Clarksville, Tenn. and Jade Corkill of Fallon, Nev. won the team roping, getting the highest payout ($1,967 each) for their time of 4.9 seconds.

Masters was the PRCA’s 2007 world champion header and is headed to his eighth Wrangler National Finals Rodeo  Dec. 1-10, while Corkill was reserve world champion heeler in 2008 and is set for his fourth NFR. They have been leading the world standings all summer and their Norco winnings widened their leads over the team of Clay Tryan and Travis Graves.

Header Coleman Proctor, of Pryor, Okla., and heeler Caleb Twisselman, of Santa Margarita were second at 5.7 seconds and each made $1,710. C.R. Wilken, of Templeton and Evan Arnold, of Santa Margarita, were third with a time of 7.7 seconds, which earned them $1,454.

A pair of California steer wrestlers contending to make the Wrangler NFR – Stan Branco and Ethen Thouvenell – finished 1-2 at Norco to help their cause. Branco, of Chowchilla, is trying to make it to his first Wrangler NFR with a late-season charge. He is 19th in the world standings (only the top 15 go to Vegas) and Thouvenell, of Napa, who made his NFR debut last year, is 23rd.

For the past two years, the Norco hasn’t had a bull-rider make it to the qualifying eight seconds, but this year Texan Dalton Votaw of Hill College scored 82 points on Diamond G Rodeos’ CrushBoss III, earning $1,241. Jared Ferguson of Cottonwood took home $2,396 and the Best All Around Cowboy title after competing in steer wrestling and tie-down roping.

Courtney Cline, of Arroyo Grande, won barrel racing with a time of 17.44 seconds, good for  $1,040. Rachael Myllymaki, of Simi Valley, took second place with a time of 17.61, pocketing  $892. Brittany Kelly, of Paso Robles, was third with 17.78 and $747.

Fun for the kids included Mutton Busting, with lil’ cowpokes 3-9 showing off their sheep riding skills.  On Sunday, the Challenged Children’s Rodeo teamed special needs children with cowboys to partake in mock-rodeo events.

The event, sponsored by Quality Toyota, was hosted by the Norco Mounted Posse. Originally formed in 1964 as the Norco Mounted Police, the group provided law enforcement services to the community. In 1979 the city incorporated and those duties were assigned to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

Since then, the Mounted Posse has become an all-volunteer organization that continues to work closely with the Norco Sheriff’s Department, providing services including patrolling the more than 90 miles of  horse trails that parallel the city’s streets.

Funds raised from the annual rodeo are donated Norco’s equestrian non-profits and other community non-profits.

For information on the annual Norco Mounted Posse PRCA Rodeo, click
here.

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