The 2011 Wrangler PRCA National Finals Rodeo takes place Dec. 1-10 in Las Vegas. More than 140,000 people are expected to attend the event, which augments the traditional competition events with activities like the Cowboy Christmas Gift Show, the Spurs and Spikes Annual Golf Tournament and the Miss Rodeo Pageant. Rodeo rounds take place at […]
My mule Jester was born on April Fools’ Day, hence his name. But he has proven to be no joke. Jester was a two-and-a-half-year-old untouchable mule that the breeder had “left behind” at birth, due to lack of time and interest. He was parked in a large pasture with other John mules and became uneasy […]
When it comes to counting cowboys, not surprisingly Texas has it all over the competition with 54 headed to NFR Finals. Lone Star State residents dominated among the 169 North American riders to make the Professional Cowboy Rodeo Assn.’s list of top moneymakers for 2011. The top 20 in each of nine categories earns an […]
Mackenzie Cayford was crowned Miss Rodeo California 2012 on Oct. 6 in a ceremony at the Paso Robles Inn. The event took place as part of the RAM Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association’s Circuit Finals Rodeo in Paso Robles, CA. The Miss Rodeo coronation culminated three days of competition that began with an orientation lunch with […]
If some of the legends who have roped in the huge arena at the California Rodeo throughout its 101-year history were watching this year’s edition from above on July 24, the team roping winners made them proud and brought back fond memories of a bygone era. Team ropers and brothers Jay and Randon Adams from […]
Ron Emmons earned his second consecutive Magnificent 7 win aboard Olena Oak. The duo was awarded Best All-Around Stock Horse Champion honors at the Western States Horse Expo in Sacramento, claiming the lion’s share of the $25,000 purse. It was the third win for the Ione, California-based rider, who placed first and second (on Matt […]
Call it beginner’s luck! The first time he’s shown in the open reining division at the Del Mar National Horse Show’s Western Week, Bob Avila won the Pacific Coast Horseman’s Association Championship aboard Juarez Whiz. “He’s a very nice horse,” Avila said of the nine-year-old gelding, owned by Ken Banks of Chulenberg, Texas. “We don’t […]
The West winds were blowing up a gust. The posse was just riding in as tumbleweeds wheeled on the edge of town. As you turned the corner, the blacksmith’s hammer chimed over the noise of the crowds that gathered outside shops and meandering down Main Street. Santa Clarita, circa the 1800’s. None of those new-fangled […]
The second annual Palm Springs WestFest and Frank Bogert Memorial PRCA Rodeo, presented by Spa Resort Casino, rode into town on March 25-27. Former mayor Frank Bogert was a cowboy and a celebrated rodeo whose statue adorns the commons area in front of Palm Springs City Hall. WestFest and the rodeo in Bogert’s honor were […]
Waving one hand in the air, blood pumping with adrenaline, 21-year-old California cowgirl Kaylynn Pellam whirls astride a spinning bull. She doesn’t make the eight seconds required to qualify her for the next round, and flies to the ground. But she dusts herself off and prepares to ride another day. “God made dirt, and dirt […]
