1. Masters to undergo knee surgery, out 6-8 months
Two-time and reigning World Champion Team Roper Chad Masters injured his left knee March 1 while steer wrestling at the Timed Event Championship of the World in Guthrie, Okla., and will be out 6-8 months.
Masters will undergo surgery March 5 in Dallas to repair a ruptured patellar tendon, a torn MCL, and medial and lateral meniscus tears. A subsequent ACL surgery will be scheduled at a later date.
Dr. Tandy Freeman delivered the verdict to Masters on March 4 after examining the MRI taken earlier in the day, and will be performing the surgery.
Masters had hoped for better news, but understood from the moment of the injury that it was going to have serious implications.
“My knee started swelling up immediately,” Masters said, “and it’s still pretty swollen. I’m not in a lot of pain. I’m good as long as I sit still.”
Masters, of Cedar Hill, Tenn., won his second gold buckle as a team roping header last December paired with Clay O’Brien Cooper; they won the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo average championship with a time of 73.4 seconds on 10 head.
For the 2013 season, Masters returned to Jade Corkill, the current world champion heeler, with whom he had partnered in 2009-10.
It is not known what Corkill will do about enlisting a new partner while Masters recovers. Corkill roped with Kaleb Driggers a year ago and Driggers has just recently returned to action after missing more than a month due to a broken right leg. Driggers finished just $1,211 behind Masters in the final 2012 heading standings.
2. Gillespie’s consistency paying big dividends
George Gillespie IV worked for seven years clearing land for the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management in the high forests of southwest Oregon, which is to say he knows a long uphill climb when he sees one.
At 32, he is a bit more than a decade removed from his days at Eastern Oregon University and yet he is steadfastly working his way up the trail toward his ultimate goal, summiting at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.
“It is what I have always wanted,” Gillespie said. “It was my original plan out of college to go hard and try to make the NFR, but I got a job as an excavator, then I got married for a couple of years, bought a house; my life went a different direction.
“When the marriage ended I just decided that I would go back to rodeo. If I didn’t make it, well that was OK. At least I’d know I’d given myself a chance to do what I loved. The last couple of years I’ve started riding better and winning more. Now I feel like if I can stay healthy there’s no reason why I can’t make a run at the NFR.”
With a bareback riding win at the March 2-3 Parada del Sol Rodeo in Scottsdale, Ariz. – his second title there in four years – and a second-place result at the Avi River Stampede in Fort Mohave, Ariz., Gillespie is 17th in the world standings and climbing.
It has been a season built on consistency. Since the 2013 PRCA season began last October, Gillespie has competed in 21 rodeos and earned checks in 14 of them.
Consistency? In Scottsdale, Gillespie tied Tyson Thompson for a share of the bareback riding title with a 79-point ride on Salt River Rodeo’s North Star, and he was second in Fort Mohave with another 79-pointer on Honeycutt Rodeo’s Hangin Tree.
This is all a wee bit of a surprise from a guy who didn’t buy his PRCA card until he was 26 and didn’t start pressing his competitive campaign much out of the California Circuit until 2010. But he is truly after it now.
Gillespie has moved up the world standings in each of the last three years, from 102nd in 2009, to 42nd in 2010, to 34th in 2011, to 29th a year ago – when he had 12 wins at PRCA rodeos – and now the Placerville, Calif., cowboy is at his highest point yet.
“I got a new rigging for this season and I’m working on fine tuning a few things,” Gillespie said. “Even when you get low on funds you can’t allow yourself to focus on the money. Every once in awhile you have to step back and remind yourself why you are doing this. If I wanted to be rich, I guess I should have gone to medical school.
“You have to stay balanced and keep your mind on what you need to do to be successful, so when an opportunity does present itself, you can take advantage of it. You can’t be sporadic in your approach. The really great riders like Bobby Mote and Kaycee Feild are great every time they compete.”
The other champions at the $58,263 rodeo in Scottsdale were steer wrestler Trey Nahrgang (3.9 seconds), team ropers Shawn Bessette and Sid Sporer (4.9 seconds), saddle bronc rider Cody Taton (79 points), tie-down roper Cort Smith (8.4 seconds), bull rider Cody Samora (86 points) and barrel racers Kassidy Dennison and Megan Lewis (17.70 seconds each).
The champions at the $52,987 rodeo in Fort Mohave were bareback rider Jared Bain (80 points), steer wrestler Trevor Duhon (4.0 seconds), team ropers Kyle Roberts and Johnny Salvo (5.4 seconds), saddle bronc rider Levi Berry (84 points), tie-down ropers Jordan Ketscher and Blake Hirdes (8.4 seconds each), bull rider Tag Elliott (82 points) and barrel racer Fallon Taylor (15.42 seconds).
• Odd stat of the week: Ketscher and Hirdes shared the all-around title in Scottsdale, based on their second-place finish in the team roping (and having competed in tie-down roping). They then shared the tie-down roping title in Fort Mohave (while winning no money in team roping).
3. No gray area in assessing Adam’s roping
It’s probably a good thing when a rodeo cowboy can keep his perspective and adopt a philosophical point of view.
If you have just won two rodeos in the same weekend for the first time in nearly six years, set an arena record and earned more than $3,000 – in rodeos that you have unofficialed – well, philosophical might seem like the only decent strategy.
“Unofficially, it will help me pay my bills,” tie-down roper Adam Gray said with a chuckle. “You have to decide when you enter whether to count them (toward the 75- rodeo limit a tie-down roper has to determine his world standings placement). You try to go where the money is.
“A couple of years ago (2011) I qualified for Wrangler National Finals Rodeo without winning a single (regular-season) rodeo and in 2010 I won a bunch of rodeos but ended up 19th and didn’t make it to the NFR.”
More of a glass-half-full guy anyway, Gray chose to see his wins at the Matagorda County Fair & Rodeo in Bay City, Texas, and the Glen Rose (Texas) PRCA Rodeo as a sign of good things to come (apart from that bill paying), after what he characterized as “a rough start to the season.”
Gray has official earnings of $4,648 which has him just outside the world standings top 50, a bit of a disappointment after he won the Wrangler NFR average title last December.
His winning time of 7.6 seconds (with two full wraps) in Bay City broke the arena record and he shared the title in Glen Rose with Colton Childs – each of them completing their run in 8.5 seconds.
“The last time I won two rodeos in the same weekend was my second weekend on my permit back in 2007,” Gray said. “I won in Greenville and Mesquite (both in Texas).”
There is a certain pattern here: Of the 24 PRCA rodeos Gray has won since he bought his permit, 15 of those have been in his home state of Texas. He was born in Wichita Falls, went to college at Texas Tech in Lubbock and now resides in Seymour.
And Gray was not the only Texas cowboy to leave Bay City with an arena record in his possession. Caleb Mitchell of Pollock and Tyler McKnight of Wells combined for a record run of 3.8 seconds to win the team roping.
The other champions at this $40,986 rodeo in Bay City were bareback rider Clint Cannon (89 points), steer wrestler Nick Guy (3.7 seconds), saddle bronc rider Hardy Braden (83 points), bull rider Bonner Blue Bolton (88 points) and barrel racer Lauren Cox (14.67 seconds).
The champions at the $42,391 rodeo in Glen Rose were bareback riders Caine Riddle and Bill Tutor (80 points each), steer wrestler Hunter Cure (4.2 seconds), team ropers Turtle Powell/Dugan Kelly, Clay Tryan/Travis Graves and Calvin Brevik/Travis Woodard (4.6 seconds each), saddle bronc rider Ty Kirkland (81 points), bull riders Elliot Jacoby and Bryce Barrios (85 points each) and barrel racer Tasha Welsh (15.70 seconds).
• For full results of last week’s PRCA rodeos, visit www.prorodeo.com.
4. News and notes from the rodeo trail
Oakdale, Calif., cowboy Daniel Green earned his third Timed Event Championship of the World title on March 3, completing the 25-run marathon in Guthrie, Okla., with a time of 313.6 seconds and earnings of $52,000. “Mission accomplished,” said Green, 40, who also won in 2002 and 2008. “It wasn’t perfect by any means. Many times it’s not, but that’s the Timed Event Championship. It’s adapt, adjust and overcome. It’s the guy that perseveres, and I just kept my mind set. These kids were coming in here and roping fast, and I just kept solid. I’ve been here enough to know.” Green, competing in his 17th TEC, finished 30.3 seconds ahead of runner-up Paul David Tierney with six-time TEC champion Trevor Brazile in third place. Tierney and Brazile each earned $25,000 in this 29th annual event in which each man competes in all five timed-event disciplines: team roping-heading, team roping-heeling, tie-down roping, steer wrestling and steer roping … A memorial service for David Glover, a four-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo bull riding qualifier, is scheduled for 4 p.m. on March 16 at the Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum in Claremore, Okla. Donna McSpadden, Sharon Shoulders and Marvin Paul Shoulderswill officiate at the ceremony with Bobby Steiner and Don Endsley. Memorial contributions may be made to HANDS, P.O. Box 317, Chelsea, OK 74016 or St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105 … Pueblo, Colo., cowboy Josh Peek, a six-time qualifier for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, has just launched a new fee-based digital training platform through Ingrained Media. Rodeo competitors can submit video footage of themselves to http://joshpeekprotips.com for Peek to review and critique so that they can continue to improve their skills … Four-time World Champion Bareback Rider Bobby Mote conducted a three-day clinic in Helena, Mont., March 1-3 … For the second consecutive year, the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo broke its record for attendance on the grounds, jumping from 1.5 million people a year ago to 1.67 million in 2013. This includes 17 sold out performances of the rodeo/concert in the AT&T Center … Three-time World Champion Saddle Bronc Rider, television actor and musician Monty “Hawkeye” Henson was the headliner at the Feb. 23 North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame Celebration and Expo, in Mandan. His flamboyant riding style (www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLZeCwSjcPU) and daring dismounts prompted rodeo fans to compare Henson to the likes of Casey Tibbs. “I am tickled to be a part of this event preserving rodeo and the cowboy way,” Henson said. “I’m a cowboy and North Dakota likes cowboys!” Former PRCA bull rider Tom Solberg is one of four modern-era rodeo cowboys nominated for induction into the NDCHOF; the ceremony is scheduled for June 22 in Medora … Steer wrestler Austin Courmier of Oakwood, Texas, the son four-time Wrangler NFR qualifier Dan Courmier, is out for 4-6 months following surgery to repair a torn ACL in his right knee … The California Six Pac Rodeos are offering a $4,000 bonus and a silver buckle to the competitors in each event who have the best overall results in Oakdale (April 13-14), Red Bluff (April 19-21), Clovis (April 26-28), Redding (May 15-18), Hayward (May 17-19), Livermore (June 8-9) and Reno, Nev. (June 20-29). Second-place finishers in the series point system receive a $2,000 bonus. To be eligible, contestants must compete in all seven rodeos. For further information, contact Russ Fields at 510.915.0575 or Gerry Beckerdite at 209.847.6425.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“I love that moment just before the gate cracks, when you don’t know what’s going to happen. Your heart starts beating fast and it goes real quiet in your head. The crowd starts yelling and just at that moment is when you have to get up and perform.”
– PRCA bullfighter Clint Hopping, telling KWTX-TV of Waco, Texas, what it’s like to do his job.
5. Next Up
March 7 Marshall (Texas) ProRodeo begins
March 8 Arcadia All-Florida Championship Rodeo begins
March 8 Roots N’ Boots Queen Creek (Ariz.) ProRodeo begins
March 9 Okeechobee (Fla.) Cattlemen’s Spring Rodeo begins
March 9 North Dakota Winter Show, Valley City, begins
March 9 Rodeo Austin (Texas) begins (WRANGLER MILLION DOLLAR TOUR)
6. 2013 PRCA World Standings leaders
AA: Trevor Brazile………………$25,445
BB: Kaycee Feild…………………$37,601
SW: Casey Martin………….……..$31,753
TR-1 Landon McClaugherty.……..$30,128
TR-2 Tommy Zuniga……….…….$30,128
SB Cody Wright………….…….$31,835
TD Sterling Smith………………$31,021
BR Josh Koschel………………..$47,741
SR Chet Herren…………………$22,415
7. 2013 PRCA WORLD STANDINGS
Through March 4, 2013
All-around
1. Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas $25,445
2. Rhen Richard, Roosevelt, Utah 22,588
3. JoJo LeMond, Andrews, Texas 22,357
4. Justin Thigpen, Waycross, Ga. 11,593
5. Blake Hirdes, Turlock, Calif. 11,043
6. Payden Emmett, Ponca, Ark. 9,873
7. Jess Tierney, Hermosa, S.D. 7,468
Bareback Riding
1. Kaycee Feild, Spanish Fork, Utah $37,601
2. Bobby Mote, Culver, Ore. 21,726
3. J.R. Vezain, Cowley, Wyo. 21,122
4. Wes Stevenson, Lubbock, Texas 20,069
5. Austin Foss, Terrebonne, Ore. 18,617
6. Ty Breuer, Mandan, N.D. 17,291
7. Jared Smith, Cross Plains, Texas 16,155
8. Ryan Gray, Cheney, Wash. 16,071
9. Will Lowe, Canyon, Texas 16,058
10. Jessy Davis, Power, Mont. 13,927
11. R.C. Landingham, Pendleton, Ore. 13,379
12. Clint Cannon, Waller, Texas 13,185
13. Winn Ratliff, Leesville, La. 11,902
14. Casey Colletti, Pueblo, Colo. 10,334
15. Tim O’Connell, Zwingle, Iowa 10,215
16. Matthew Smith, Leesville, La. 10,108
17. George Gillespie IV, Placerville, Calif. 9,582
18. Evan Jayne, Marseille, France 9,111
19. Clint Laye, Odessa, Texas 8,108
20. Mac Erickson, Sundance, Wyo. 8,108
Steer Wrestling
1. Casey Martin, Sulphur, La. $31,753
2. Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif. 27,042
3. Straws Milan, Cochrane, Alberta 19,288
4. Jule Hazen, Ashland, Kan. 18,903
5. Les Shepperson, Midwest, Wyo. 18,162
6. Jason Miller, Lance Creek, Wyo. 17,874
7. Trevor Knowles, Mount Vernon, Ore. 15,618
8. Clayton Moore, Pouce Coupe, British Columbia 15,311
9. Stan Branco, Chowchilla, Calif. 14,835
10. Sean Mulligan, Coleman, Okla. 14,542
11. Tyler Pearson, Louisville, Miss. 13,623
12. Cooper Shofner, Huntsville, Texas 12,106
13. Tyler Waguespack, Gonzales, La. 10,818
14. Wade Sumpter, Fowler, Colo. 10,566
15. Curtis Cassidy, Donalda, Alberta 9,495
16. Wyatt Smith, Rexburg, Idaho 8,335
17. Dean Gorsuch, Gering, Neb. 7,825
18. Casey McMillen, Redmond, Ore. 7,296
19. Jake Rinehart, Highmore, S.D. 7,245
20. Jason Thomas, Benton, Ark. 7,162
Team Roping (header)
1. Landon McClaugherty, Tilden, Texas $30,128
2. Erich Rogers, Round Rock, Ariz. 20,540
3. Drew Horner, Plano, Texas 19,104
4. Dustin Bird, Cut Bank, Mont. 16,115
5. Brock Hanson, Casa Grande, Ariz. 14,854
6. Turtle Powell, Stephenville, Texas 14,775
7. Nick Rawlings, Stephenville, Texas 14,257
8. Nick Sartain, Dover, Okla. 13,822
9. Clay Tryan, Billings, Mont. 13,753
10. Chace Thompson, Munday, Texas 12,555
11. Caleb Mitchell, Mason, Texas 11,469
12. Jake Cooper, Monument, N.M. 11,223
13. Garrett Tonozzi, Fruita, Colo. 11,156
14. Luke Brown, Stephenville, Texas 10,404
15. Calvin Brevik, Durango, Colo. 9,972
16. Ty Blasingame, Ramah, Colo. 9,804
17. Charly Crawford, Prineville, Ore. 9,743
18. Manny Egusquiza Jr., Madison, Ga. 9,560
19. Justin Van Davis, Madisonville, Texas 9,320
20. Bradley Massey, Perry, Fla. 9,245
Team Roping (heeler)
1. Tommy Zuniga, Centerville, Texas $30,128
2. Cory Petska, Marana, Ariz. 21,939
3. Kory Koontz, Sudan, Texas 20,023
4. Buddy Hawkins II, Columbus, Kan. 19,104
5. Paul Eaves, Lonedell, Mo. 16,115
6. Travis Graves, Jay, Okla. 15,446
7. Rich Skelton, Llano, Texas 15,391
8. Dugan Kelly, Paso Robles, Calif. 13,082
9. Tyler McKnight, Wells, Texas 13,028
10. Jim Ross Cooper, Monument, N.M. 11,853
11. Chad Williams, Stephenville, Texas 11,362
12. York Gill, Stephenville, Texas 10,971
13. Kollin VonAhn, Blanchard, Okla. 10,404
14. Travis Woodard, Stockton, Calif. 9,606
15. Ryan Motes, Weatherford, Texas 9,592
16. Shane Hester, Lakeland, Fla. 9,245
17. Matt Zancanella, Aurora, S.D. 8,236
18. Rhen Richard, Roosevelt, Utah 8,150
19. Will Woodfin, Marshall, Texas 8,124
20. John Robertson, Polson, Mont. 7,816
Saddle Bronc Riding
1. Cody Wright, Milford, Utah $31,835
2. Tyler Corrington, Hastings, Minn. 30,035
3. Brad Rudolf, Winnemucca, Nev. 21,626
4. Jesse Wright, Milford, Utah 18,247
5. Cole Elshere, Faith, S.D. 17,237
6. Troy Crowser, Whitewood, S.D. 14,674
7. Cort Scheer, Elsmere, Neb. 14,227
8. Taos Muncy, Corona, N.M. 14,058
9. Spencer Wright, Milford, Utah 10,966
10. Sterling Crawley, Stephenville, Texas 10,942
11. Luke Butterfield, Ponoka, Alberta 10,286
12. Jesse Bail, Camp Crook, S.D. 9,696
13. Isaac Diaz, Desdemona, Texas 9,531
14. Bradley Harter, Weatherford, Texas 9,426
15. Cody Taton, Corona, N.M. 9,419
16. Jesse Kruse, Great Falls, Mont. 9,397
17. Heith DeMoss, Heflin, La. 9,394
18. Chad Ferley, Oelrichs, S.D. 9,039
19. Jeremy Melancon, Huntsville, Texas 8,931
20. Will Smith, Marshall, Mo. 7,727
Tie-down Roping
1. Sterling Smith, Stephenville, Texas $31,021
2. Justin Maass, Giddings, Texas 28,490
3. Clint Robinson, Spanish Fork, Utah 22,528
4. Randall Carlisle, Castor, La. 20,236
5. E.J. Roberts, Stephenville, Texas 17,358
6. Cade Swor, Winnie, Texas 15,428
7. Rhen Richard, Roosevelt, Utah 14,439
8. Stetson Vest, Childress, Texas 13,970
9. Ryan Jarrett, Comanche, Okla. 12,788
10. Matt Shiozawa, Chubbuck, Idaho 12,751
11. Tuf Cooper, Decatur, Texas 12,663
12. Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas 12,579
13. Blair Burk, Durant, Okla. 12,339
14. Timber Moore, Aubrey, Texas 12,121
15. Houston Hutto, Tomball, Texas 11,563
16. Jade Conner, Iowa, La. 11,398
17. Cody Ohl, Hico, Texas 11,353
18. Shane Hanchey, Sulphur, La. 11,299
19. Marty Yates, Stephenville, Texas 11,082
20. Jerome Schneeberger, Ponca City, Okla. 10,662
Steer Roping
1. Chet Herren, Pawhuska, Okla. $22,415
2. Tony Reina, Wharton, Texas 18,470
3. JoJo LeMond, Andrews, Texas 16,968
4. J. Tom Fisher, Andrews, Texas 15,721
5. Cody Lee, Gatesville, Texas 14,137
6. Vin Fisher Jr., Andrews, Texas 11,537
7. Mike Chase, McAlester, Okla. 10,951
8. Jarrett Blessing, Paradise, Texas 10,314
9. Brent Lewis, Pinon, N.M. 9,903
10. Brad Prather, Skiatook, Okla. 8,852
11. Dan Fisher, Andrews, Texas 8,435
12. Scott Snedecor, Fredericksburg, Texas 8,091
13. Kim Ziegelgruber, Edmond, Okla. 8,049
14. Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas 7,247
15. Bryce Davis, Ovalo, Texas 6,947
16. Joe Wells, Cisco, Texas 6,737
17. Shane Suggs, Granbury, Texas 6,070
18. Rocky Patterson, Pratt, Kan. 5,745
19. J. Paul Williams, Burbank, Okla. 5,280
20. Tim Abbott, Midland, Texas 4,475
Bull Riding
1. Josh Koschel, Nunn, Colo. $47,741
2. Cody Teel, Kountze, Texas 34,670
3. Kanin Asay, Powell, Wyo. 33,213
4. Corey Navarre, Weatherford, Okla. 30,445
5. Tyler Smith, Fruita, Colo. 30,434
6. J.W. Harris, Mullin, Texas 26,016
7. Trevor Kastner, Ardmore, Okla. 25,387
8. Tag Elliott, Thatcher, Utah 25,149
9. Friday Wright II, Moss Point, Miss. 18,149
10. Bobby Welsh, Gillette, Wyo. 18,093
11. Cooper Davis, Jasper, Texas 18,029
12. Cole Echols, Elm Grove, La. 17,963
13. Jeff Askey, Martin, Tenn. 17,449
14. Chandler Bownds, Lubbock, Texas 17,413
15. Scottie Knapp, Albuquerque, N.M. 15,996
16. Steve Woolsey, Payson, Utah 15,627
17. Tyler Willis, Wheatland, Wyo. 15,221
18. Ardie Maier, Timber Lake, S.D. 14,226
19. Dustin Elliott, North Platte, Neb. 13,132
20. Parker Breding, Edgar, Mont. 12,161
*2013 Barrel Racing (through March 4, 2013)
Barrel racing standings, provided by the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA), are unofficial, subject to audit and may change. Unofficial WPRA Standings are published by the PRCA as a courtesy. The PRCA is not responsible for the verification or updating of WPRA standings.
1. Fallon Taylor, Whitesboro, Texas $31,383
2. Jane Melby, Burneyville, Okla. 30,674
3. Mary Walker, Ennis, Texas 30,522
4. Taylor Jacob, Carmine, Texas 25,522
5. Lisa Lockhart, Oelrichs, S.D. 22,675
6. Sydni Blanchard, Albuquerque, N.M. 21,118
7. Shada Brazile, Decatur, Texas 19,580
8. Natalie Foutch, Eldora, Iowa 18,566
9. Sherry Cervi, Marana, Ariz. 17,297
10. Annesa Self, Sanger, Texas 16,321
11. Carlee Pierce, Stephenville, Texas 15,717
12. Kendra Dickson, Aubrey, Texas 14,899
13. Sabrina Ketcham, Yeso, N.M. 13,970
14. Cindy Smith, Hobbs, N.M. 13,565
15. Kenna Squires, Fredonia, Texas 13,372
16. Brittany Pozzi, Victoria, Texas 12,724
17. Lindsay Sears, Nanton, Alberta 12,609
18. Brenda Mays, Terrebonne, Ore. 12,306
19. Lee Ann Rust, Stephenville, Texas 10,055
20. Britany Fleck, Solen, N.D. 10,039
8. 2013 Wrangler Million Dollar Tour Standings
Unofficial through March 4, 2013
Bareback Riding
1. Kaycee Feild, Spanish Fork, Utah $17,030
J.R. Vezain, Cowley, Wyo. 17,030
3. Austin Foss, Terrebonne, Ore.