Rodeo's Gold Rush: The Stories Behind the Greatest 30 Years in Rodeo History. Las Vegas 1985-2014

Las Vegas Events Publisher

Michael Mack

Project Manager

Neal Reid

Author, Editor

Christa VanDyke Art Director

DD DeLeo

Advertising Consultant

Eric Berner

Cover, timeline design

About the Author A graduate of Auburn University with a degree in journalism, Neal Reid has been a published writer for more than 20 years. He spent five years as editor of the ProRodeo Sports News and is a veteran of 10 Wrangler National Finals Rodeos. Reid has written more than 100 “NFR Insider� columns for NFRExperience.com and has been published in American Cowboy, Western Horseman, The Ketchpen and Persimmon Hill and on PBR.com. He covered the 2014 Olympic Winter Games and Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, as a member of the Olympic and Paralympic News Service and has also written for USA Today, Newsday, MLB.com, the Denver Post, Colorado Springs Gazette, Las Vegas ReviewJournal and Oakland Tribune. A longtime Associated Press contributor, Reid is a member of the Rodeo Historical Society, and his writing has also appeared on ESPN.com, ESPNW.com, WashingtonPost.com and in Colorado Springs Style magazine. Follow him on Twitter @NealReid21.

Acknowledgements Special thanks to Lisa Jacob of the Las Vegas News Bureau, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Media Department, Shawn Davis and Ann Bleiker.

COVER PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE PRCA AND TOM DONOGHUE

Hello rodeo fans, This year’s Wrangler National Finals Rodeo is truly a special occasion.

Thirty years ago, Las Vegas leaders banded together to bid for the chance to host the world’s richest rodeo in a move that would forever change the course of the sport. The bid succeeded, the Finals moved to our great city, and the years since have seen an amazing transformation for both the rodeo and the “Entertainment Capital of the World.”

The Wrangler NFR and the city of Las Vegas have evolved together the past three decades, and the partnership has been a happy marriage that will continue on well into the future. Recently, LVE and the PRCA signed a new contract that secured the Finals’ future in Las Vegas for another decade, and we believe strongly the event will continue to thrive and grow here.

This collector’s edition book is a look at the Wrangler NFR’s history in Las Vegas, from the vote that moved it from Oklahoma City in 1985, to thoughts on what the future may hold. These pages will celebrate the rodeo’s past at the Thomas & Mack Center, while pointing to what lies ahead for us all down the road.

The Wrangler NFR gave Las Vegas a much-needed boost in December when it arrived in 1985, and more and more people come to town for the rodeo each year. Las Vegas has been transformed from an exotic gambling town to a burgeoning metropolis that features more entertainment options than virtually any other city in the world.

Rodeo has a rich and compelling history in Las Vegas, and this book chronicles the years the sport has enjoyed in the ever-evolving city, from the men who have made the Wrangler NFR great, to the event’s top moments of all time. Every aspect of the Wrangler NFR, including the Cowboy Christmas Gift Show, Cowboy FanFest, the Miss Rodeo America pageant and every contestant who has won a world title in our nation’s entertainment Mecca, is highlighted in this commemorative book.

We hope rodeo fans will treasure it always, as history is an integral and important part of the sport we all love. Enjoy this year’s rodeo, and we can’t wait for the next 30 years!

Sincerely,

Pat Christenson President Las Vegas Events

Pat has been a part of the National Finals Rodeo since it moved to Las Vegas in 1985, first at the Thomas & Mack Center and currently as president of Las Vegas Events.

hirty years.

This book will chronicle the It can seem evolution of the world’s richest like a lifetime or rodeo and its relationship with flash by in the blink of an eye. one of the world’s most illustrious The passage of time endears us to cities, from 1985 – when moving the event the past, while to Las Vegas pointing toward was deemed a what may lie gamble by many “There’s not another sporting event in the ahead in – to present day, world that turns a whole city into a certain the future. when the two That is where are thriving in kind of place for two weeks.” –Ty Murray the Wrangler record fashion.

National Finals There have been Rodeo stands now, as Las Vegas prepares to host ups and downs and hurdles and obstacles along the “Super Bowl of Rodeo” for the 30th time. In the way, but the dynamic duo of Las Vegas and the the decades that have come and gone, world Wrangler NFR have survived the test of time and champions have been crowned at the Thomas & weathered the storm and now provide rodeo fans Mack Center every December as ProRodeo’s best with a fabulous extravaganza of epic proportions and brightest realize lifelong dreams and flirt they clamor for every year. with immortality.

Perhaps Hall of Fame cowboy Ty Murray, who From humble beginnings following a won all seven of his all-around gold buckles in Las controversial move from Oklahoma City in 1985, Vegas, said it best: to the spectacle it has become, the Wrangler NFR “There’s not another sporting event in the has transformed, evolved and reinvented itself in world that turns a whole city into a certain many of the same ways as its host, Las Vegas. Las kind of place for two weeks,” Murray said. “It’s Vegas has morphed from a sleepy gambling town really become something of legend, it really into the entertainment star of the world, while has. It’s grown into something that’s bigger the Wrangler NFR has gone from being an event than everything. with an uncertain future to an unparalleled sports “It’s bigger than the sport, and it’s a entertainment experience. monumental legend.”

very story has a beginning, and for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, that means the summer of 1958.

For it was then when the Rodeo Cowboys Association’s Board of Directors met in Cheyenne, Wyo., and voted to create a season-ending championship that would change the sport forever. Finishing the season with a culminating event was a notion that had been kicked around and pushed hard for by ProRodeo Hall of Famer Casey Tibbs and Texas PR guru John VanCronkhite for years, but that windy July 24 afternoon in Wyoming was officially where the National Finals Rodeo was born.

“Harley May had to vote in favor of it, otherwise they would have knocked it on the head right there,” said Bob A. Robinson, who was the RCA’s executive secretary from 1959-62.

The first NFR took place Dec. 26-30, 1959, with VanCronkhite serving as the rodeo’s general manager.

Lex Connelly, Willard Combs, Lynn Beutler, Harry Nelson, May and Tibbs joined VanCronkhite on the inaugural NFR Committee, with Deb Copenhaver serving as alternate.

After two days of deliberations in San Francisco in November 1958, the NFRC chose Dallas as the host city for the inaugural event, with the Texas metropolis edging Louisville, Ky., and Pecos, Texas, for the honor. Organizers put together a $50,000 purse, and contestants would do battle twice a day at the Dallas Coliseum at the State Fairgrounds over the course of the five-day rodeo, with a total of 10 performances deciding world championships.

ProRodeo had crowned world champions since 1929, but this was the first culminating event in the sport’s

history. VanCronkhite, Jim Shoulders and May presented U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower with a solid gold ticket to the 1959 Finals during a visit to the Oval Office on Sept. 29, 1959, and the rodeo was off and running.

The NFRC tinkered with the format during the NFR’s three years in Dallas, with the 1960 Finals switching to a seven-day program with just three matinees among the 10 performances. Then, in 1961, the format changed again as the rodeo was shortened to eight performances over a five-day span.

Inspired by nominal success in Dallas, or perhaps by a desire to inject a new energy into the rodeo, the NFR moved to Los Angeles in 1962, where it stayed for three years. Team roping was added as an official NFR event the first year there after being held at separate sites, but not even that addition could draw people in the gates.

“It had a momentum in Dallas, and in my opinion, they should have left it there,” said Robinson, a NFR bull riding qualifier in 1962 and 1964. “They had three good rodeos in Dallas, and it was a success and made money.

They thought they could just take it and move it to Los Angeles right away.”

While the rodeo itself was competitive and entertaining, the NFR floundered and nearly collapsed in Los Angeles. Simply put, it was just not a good fit for the sport or the event.

“Warner Buck put it on along with Lex Connelly,” ProRodeo Hall of Fame stock contractor Cotton Rosser said. “They went broke there and couldn’t even pay a lot of it off.”

Format changes – including a move to eight rounds over six days from 1963-64 – and perhaps the nation mourning the loss of President John F. Kennedy kept people away from Los Angeles Sports Arena.

“It probably sat 15,000 or 20,000 people, but we only had 7,000 or 8,000 there,” Robinson said. “It just didn’t have the momentum there.”

ProRodeo Hall of Fame stock contractor Harry Vold remembers it as well.

“I was not on the Board at that time, but I would say it was very questionable in Los Angeles if it would go on or not,” he said. “It just didn’t do well there.”

Luckily for the NFR, the RCA found a savior – Oklahoma City.

“We had no place to go, and there wasn’t anybody looking for it then like they are now,” Rosser said. “So, we went (to Oklahoma City) with our hat in our hand. We were broke and didn’t have any place to go.

“The Oklahoma City Cowboy Hall of Fame picked it up as a sponsor. A lot of people remember how Oklahoma City picked it up from nothing and saved it.”

Pat Scudder served as GM for the NFR’s first two years in Oklahoma City, 1965-66, but the addition of a beloved Oklahoma politician that would go on to have a ProRodeo Hall of Fame career as an announcer gave the Finals the shot in the arm it so badly needed.

“Clem McSpadden, he was the godfather of it all out there,” ProRodeo Hall of Fame roper Roy “Super Looper” Cooper said. “He’s the one who put it together and got the help of senators and the Chamber of Commerce. Oklahoma was where it was, and that’s where they made it.”

The NFR added a ninth performance in 1967, the same year barrel racing was added to the rodeo’s event list after being held at separate venues. A 10th performance came along in 1970, and that format would remain, except for the anomaly of an 11-performance rodeo in 1978.

The rodeo took place at the Jim Norick Arena from 1965-78 before moving to the Myriad Arena in 1979, an improvement for the growing event. McSpadden and his staff worked diligently to improve the rodeo’s production, eliminating lingering debt and making the NFR a success on a variety of levels.

“I think you can thank Clem McSpadden,” Vold said. “He was a very strong promoter and very well-

known in Oklahoma and Oklahoma City, and he did a lot of work to get the thing turned around.”

McSpadden served as GM through the Finals’ last year in Oklahoma City in 1984, and the rodeo’s purse increased from $47,027 in 1965 to $117,070 in 1984. The work he did to transform the rodeo from a possible flameout into a nationally acclaimed event was evident to everyone.

“We were very pleased with (Oklahoma City), and they’d done a hell of a job,” Wrangler NFR General Manager and ProRodeo Hall of Famer Shawn Davis said.

“They’d taken a dead horse and made a winner out of it.”

Davis joined the organizational team while serving as PRCA president during the rodeo’s final years in Oklahoma City, and he implemented many of the changes that helped the NFR make more strides forward.

“You had all these people in the arena – and back then, anybody who had a card could get in the arena – and there were some times when there were 150 people standing around the fences,” Davis said of the NFR in Oklahoma City. “The team ropers would come in and circle, and there was just no control over the rodeo whatsoever.”

Davis’ adjustments added professionalism to the rodeo and helped organizers streamline and shorten the rodeo to a more fan-friendly length. What the rodeo needed most from that point was an exotic and dynamic home that offered everything fans and contestants could ever dream of.

That would come in the Nevada desert in 1985. Its name was Las Vegas.

Single vote changed course of Wrangler NFR history forever t all began with a single phone call.

In the spring of 1983, Shawn Davis – president of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association – returned a call to Las Vegas businessman Harry Wald, former president of the Nevada Resort Association and president of Caesar’s Palace, and was surprised by the question Wald asked.

“Harry asked me if I’d be interested in moving the rodeo to Las Vegas,” Davis said of the National Finals Rodeo. “I said, ‘I’d be interested, and I’ll call you back.’”

Davis hung up and immediately called his good friend, Benny Binion, who had been looking for a way to bring the Finals to Las Vegas for years. Binion assured Davis that Wald’s interest was legitimate and intentions genuine, and the three agreed to meet in Las Vegas to discuss it further.

“We got there and met, and everything went really well,” Davis said. “They wanted to know the background, and I said, ‘We’ve got a very good relationship with Oklahoma City. We’re not very interested in leaving, because it’s been very successful.’

“I said, ‘It will cost something to be able to do this.’ So, I took it back to the Board of Directors

and mentioned it to them, and in the mean time, they organized in Las Vegas. They came back and communicated with us, and that fall, they came to Oklahoma City and met with us on the Board and just let us know they were interested in us coming there.”

More discussions followed in 1984, and representatives from Las Vegas made a trip to Colorado Springs, Colo., to illustrate the seriousness of their desire to move the world’s preeminent rodeo.

“They came and met with us in Colorado Springs and made a tentative proposal to let us know they were interested in moving the rodeo,” Davis said.

“There were some suggestions of prize money and different things at that time, but there was no formal proposal. It was just a discussion to let us know they were serious about it.”

ProRodeo Hall of Fame stock contractor Mike Cervi remembers Binion’s desire to bring the rodeo to Las Vegas.

“I was around him a lot in those years, and we’d be sitting around, and he’d be asking questions, directly and indirectly, about the business, the cowboys, the

conditions financially and different things,” Cervi said.

“I could tell he was prodding at something. Then, one day, he was at (daughter) Becky’s house and made a phone call to Harry Wald at Caesar’s.

“He hung up and said, ‘Let’s get after it.’ That was a statement he never said, so when he said that, I thought, ‘This is going to be a lot bigger than anybody anticipates.’ It was the duo to make it happen. Benny Binion knew who to call, and he called Harry Wald.”

Las Vegas leaders had been looking for a way to revitalize the month of December in the “Entertainment Capital of the World,” as the month had customarily been a dead spot for area casinos and businesses.

“From Thanksgiving to Christmas, the town really slowed down,” LVCVA President and CEO Rossi Ralenkotter said. “In fact, many of the hotels closed their showrooms, didn’t have entertainment, would close some of their rooms for remodeling, and it was just a slow period. The convention business at that time hadn’t grown to the level it is today.

“So, a lot of the hotel guys were thinking about what was out there that we could bring to Las Vegas.”

Oklahoma City officials were notified of Las Vegas’ intentions, and parameters were established regarding official proposals that would be made to the PRCA Board of Directors following the 1984 NFR. “Both committees would come in and make their presentations, and then we’d have a straw vote,” Davis said. “Then, after the straw vote, we’d bring the committees back in, giving Oklahoma City the last go.

Then, we’d have another straw vote and anybody who had any questions could ask those questions directly.

“After Oklahoma City made its final presentation, we’d make a final vote.”

Meanwhile, alliances formed on both sides among PRCA members, with contestants, contractors and other members aligning on opposing fronts. Fans and virtually everyone involved in the rodeo industry got involved with the debate about which city was best for the rodeo.

“It was kind of comical, because the people in Oklahoma City had these buttons made that said, ‘Don’t gamble. Stay in Oklahoma City,’” ProRodeo Hall of Fame bull rider Tuff Hedeman said. “They were passing them out, and people were wearing them around. Then, the Vegas crew made some that said, ‘$1.7 million ain’t no gamble.’”

Oklahoma City brass cited tradition and the rodeo’s success from previous years as reasons to keep the rodeo right where it was, while Las Vegas leaders promised to nearly double the prize money and provide a larger venue and lauded the allure of hosting the NFR in such an illustrious city.

“The presentation was that this truly is the Super Bowl of rodeos, and it should have that recognition,” Ralenkotter said. “The way to raise that level of awareness was to bring it to a city like Las Vegas that has brand awareness. So, it was a perfect match. It was really a winning combination of those two brands.”

A move to Las Vegas would mean going from the 12,500-seat Myriad Arena to the 16,500-seat Thomas & Mack Center and increasing the total prize money from $900,000 to $1.79 million. Before they could make a formal presentation, however, the Las Vegas contingent had to line up support within the city from some key players.

“I welcomed the changes. The fact that you were going to get to ride for twice as much money from one year to the next was a no-brainer.” –Tuff Hedeman

That included University of NevadaLas Vegas head basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian, who had begun to build a national powerhouse with his Runnin’ Rebels at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Hosting the rodeo in December would mean Tarkanian and his team would have to give up their facility for at least two weeks.

The coach ultimately said yes, and the bidding process proceeded along.

On Dec. 12, 1984, as snow blanketed the Pikes Peak region, delegations from Las Vegas and Oklahoma City convened at PRCA Headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo., to make their cases to the PRCA Board of Directors. The Oklahoma City group included Oklahoma Gov. George Nigh, Clem McSpadden and Stanley Draper Jr., while the Las Vegas contingent counted Las Vegas Events President Herb McDonald, Ralenkotter, Wald and Nevada Gov. Richard Bryan among them.

The deliberations were lengthy and heated.

“There were certainly some tense moments,” said Bryan, a U.S. Senator from 1989-2001. “The governor of Oklahoma had made a pitch. We got there, and the people were all lined up.

“So, I was asked to participate in making the pitch, and I did so.”

The result of the straw vote, which included one abstention from the 10-member PRCA Board, did not look good for Las Vegas.

“The straw vote came out six to four in favor of Oklahoma City,” Davis said. “An abstention counted as a vote for Oklahoma City, so it was six to four.”

The meeting – which was also attended by PRCA attorney John Coombe, ProRodeo Hall of Famer Larry Mahan and PRCA Executive Vice President Bob Eidson – broke, and the groups reorganized. Oklahoma City had vowed to match Las Vegas’ total prize figure, but Davis had already made up his mind that Las Vegas was the best place for the NFR. “Oklahoma City’s proposal was dependent on a mill levy that never passed,” Davis said. “I caught that and brought it to the attention of the Board.

There were a certain amount of votes we were never going to change no matter if Las Vegas put up $10 million. They weren’t going to move.

“There were a certain amount of votes that were going to go to Las Vegas. There were some swing votes, and in that discussion, we swung one vote.”

Las Vegas representatives got on the phone with their fellow organizers back in the desert city, and they approved more money for the bid.

“Frank Sain, who was president of the LVCVA, called back here to each of us Board members and said, ‘We’ve got to increase our offer,’” LVE Board Member Berlyn Miller said. “We all agreed to increase the offer.”

In the end, the Thomas & Mack Center agreed to turn over its customary share of merchandise sales to the PRCA, and the Las Vegas group added another $90,000 to its original offer. They did not know it at the time, but the impromptu conference call could have gotten the Las Vegas crew in hot water.

“Nevada has a law that requires open meetings, and you have to post public meetings ahead of time,” said Miller, who was vice chairman of the LVCVA at the time of the vote. “It’s a violation of the law to do anything in secret or not in public with the governmental bodies. We did that

all by phone with no notice or anything, so we in effect violated the Open Meeting Law when we did that.

“But Gov. Bryan was back there with them, and he was the former Attorney General, and it would be the Attorney General who would prosecute cases of violations of the Open Meeting Law. Fortunately, the Attorney General never did anything about it, and we can talk about it now because the statute of limitations has long

since run out on it. We knew we were violating the Open Meeting Law, but we knew it was important enough for Las Vegas that we were willing to take the chance to go ahead and do that.”

The second vote ended in a 5-5 tie, and Davis was tasked with making the ultimate call. His vote in favor of Las Vegas is now the stuff of lore.

Many contestants were thrilled with the announcement of the move to Las Vegas.

“I welcomed the changes,” Hedeman said. “The fact that you were going to get to ride for twice as much money from one year to the next was a nobrainer. There were people who were skeptical on both sides and the city of Las Vegas was unsure how it was going to go and what it was going to be like, and certainly the cowboys were too.

“But I knew enough about Benny Binion that I knew the money was going to be good. I wasn’t

concerned. I was actually excited about it going to Vegas, and as they say, the rest is history.”

Only a few of the PRCA’s stock contractors were in favor of the move.

“You were getting $350 a head in Oklahoma City and 10 cents a mile, and out there (in Las Vegas), you were going to get 20 cents a mile and $1,000 a head,” said ProRodeo Hall of Famer Bennie Beutler, who serves as Wrangler NFR assistant general manager. “It was tough on Oklahoma City, but it was the best thing that ever happened to the rodeo business.”

Fellow Hall of Famer Cotton Rosser agreed.

“Bob Eidson was the one running (the PRCA), and he said, ‘What do you think about moving it to Las Vegas?’” Rosser said. “I said, ‘It’d be the smartest thing you could ever do. It’s the entertainment capital of the world. It’d be 10 times better in Las Vegas.’”

Not only did Davis’ vote make him the mosthated man in Oklahoma and among a number of PRCA members, but others involved with the move caught the ire of Oklahoma loyalists. Miller will never forget one U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Advisory Council meeting he attended in particular.

“We would meet every quarter, and before one of our meetings, I was sitting talking to Bud James, who was chairman of the board of Sheraton Hotels at the time,” Miller said. “Gov. Nigh walks into the room, walks across the room, grabs me by the lapel, shook me and said, ‘You son of a bitch, you stole my rodeo!’ There were some real bitter feelings in Oklahoma about that.”

Despite knowing his popularity would take a big hit after casting his deciding vote, Davis yearned for the chance to do what he knew was right.

“I just hoped I could get that one vote, because I’d already had my mind made up and there was no doubt where the rodeo was going if it was left up to me, which it was,” he said.

In the end, it only took him a few seconds to end any and all suspense.

“They said, ‘OK Mr. President, it’s your call,’” Davis said. “I said, ‘We’re going to Las Vegas.’”

With those words, the course of the rodeo’s history would be forever altered. There was perhaps no more important phrase uttered in a ProRodeo board room before or since.

Benny Binion, center, was instrumental in the push to get the National Finals Rodeo to Las Vegas. He worked alongside, Herb McDonald, left, and Ralph Lamb, among others, to get the deal done.

Binion’s belief in rodeo helped bring Wrangler NFR to Las Vegas enny Binion grew up in a time when Las Vegas hotels had their own identity, their own brand, their own men.

Men like Jackie Gaughan, Sam Boyd, Steve Wynn, Bill Bennett and so many more. At the Horseshoe, there was no bet too small, and there were few customers Mr. Binion did not know or help.

Binion’s Horseshoe was all gambling, no show.

No Follies or comedians or singers, just low, lowpriced great food, drinking and gambling.

The big-hearted Texan helped revolutionize the city of Las Vegas after arriving there in the 1950s and was instrumental in bringing two of its most prestigious annual events to the city: the World Series of Poker and the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. The former began in 1979 after Binion and son Jack were looking for a way to bring in some gamblers and get some publicity.

This year’s Main Event field boasted nearly 7,000 players competing for the $10 million winner’s share of a $62.8 million prize pool and the coveted World Championship bracelet.

The Wrangler NFR followed six years later, turning the glum first two weeks of December into streets and hotels full of cowboy hats, jeans and boots.

When Benny Binion wanted something done, it usually got done.

“The guy who brought the NFR to Las Vegas was Benny Binion, all by himself,” South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa owner Michael Gaughan said. “Benny wanted to do it and got a lot of people involved in it, but it was really all him. Mr. Binion never said no to me, and I never said no to him.”

Mr. Binion.

That’s what people still call him to this day, 25 years after his death. A member of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, Binion earned people’s respect and lives on as one of the most revered personalities in the history of ProRodeo.

Mr. Binion never turned a cowboy away.

“Benny Binion was larger than life and was probably the biggest single reason the rodeo came to Las Vegas,” Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins said. “The power he had and the opportunity we got because he loved rodeo made bringing it here so important.”

Buoyed by his belief in the event and impassioned by his love of rodeo, cowboys and the Western way of life, Binion spearheaded the push to get the Wrangler NFR to Las Vegas.

“Benny Binion loved cowboys. He was a cowboy and appreciated cowboys,” ProRodeo Hall of Fame saddle bronc rider Clint Johnson said. “He tried to help them any way he could, and moving the Finals he knew was good for Las Vegas, but he felt like the cowboys could stand to make a little more money, too.”

ProRodeo Hall of Famer and Wrangler NFR General Manager Shawn Davis knew he could count on Binion to help smooth out problems during the rodeo’s first years in Las Vegas.

“The thing I had going then was Benny Binion had a lot of control in that town,” Davis said. “There were a lot of challenges. He’d call me and ask if anything was going wrong, and if there was, I’d tell him and it would be fixed.”

“He’d get it done, and I wouldn’t have to get into it with personalities or politics, and it was all fixed. That’s what really made the rodeo work.”

Binion, the 1985 ProRodeo Man of the Year, had an unwavering belief that the Finals would work in Las Vegas.

“Mr. Binion was very shrewd,” ProRodeo Hall of Fame stock contractor Bennie Beutler said.

“He was very smart and very shrewd, and he knew that the National Finals would work there.”

After all, Binion had a pretty darn good track record of success in the city.

“He’s the man who started all of the gaming features that are there today,” good friend and ProRodeo Hall of Famer Mike Cervi said. “He’s the one who initially brought them to town and helped make the gambling business what it is in Las Vegas. Mr. Binion, in the early ‘50s in his first entry into that town is what made Las Vegas change.”

Cervi remembers Binion peppering him with questions about rodeo and the Wrangler NFR. “He’d be asking questions, directly and indirectly, about the business, the cowboys, the conditions financially and different things,” Cervi said. “I could tell he was prodding at something. Then, one day, he was at (daughter) Becky’s house and made a phone call to Harry Wald at Caesar’s.

“He hung up and said, ‘Let’s get after it.’ That was a statement he never said, so when he said that, I thought, ‘This is going to be a lot bigger than anybody anticipates.’

It was the duo to make it happen. Benny Binion knew who to call, and he called Harry Wald.”

The rest, as the saying goes, is history.

Born in 1901, Binion was nicknamed “Cowboy.” He moved to Las Vegas from his native Texas, where he had raised some of the best bucking horses and bulls in rodeo.

For his longtime support of the sport of rodeo, Binion will be honored at the seventh annual Wrangler Gold

Buckle Gala on Dec. 1 with the 2014 Legend of ProRodeo Award at Gaughan’s South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa. “He’d get a big kick out of it, and he’d be proud,” Brenda Michael, one of Binion’s five children, told the PRCA Communications Department when the award was announced.

“He didn’t watch any sports; rodeo was the only entertainment he liked.

“He liked livestock and bucking horses. He liked the cowboys.”

Feared by some, Binion was revered by cowboys and the rodeo world.

“He’d do anything in the world for you,” ProRodeo Hall of Fame stock contractor Cotton Rosser said. “He was the finest gentleman I ever met. He was a great, great man and gave a lot to the rodeo business.”

His power was evident, but Binion never wielded it with a lot of noise or boisterous behavior.

“He was one of the best judges of other people’s personalities and probably the most unassuming brilliant man I’ve ever been around,” Cervi said. “Mr. Binion was the farthest from airing something and was one of the most humble men I’ve been around. He wouldn’t let you know it, but inside, he’d be so proud, he’d be popping those gold buttons.

“I don’t think people realize what he’s done for the cowboys and the industry the last 50 years. This man had a heart bigger than the Thomas & Mack.”

Wrangler NFR grows into thriving entertainment experience in Las Vegas

ime changes all things, and it is fair to say that Father Time has been kind to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

Since it arrived in Las Vegas in 1985, the world’s preeminent rodeo has thrived and evolved, much in the same way as the city it calls home, and the two have grown up together the last 29 years. The evolution the Wrangler NFR and the “Entertainment Capital of the World” have experienced the last three decades is nothing short of a transformation, and the sport of rodeo and those who love it have been the beneficiaries.

“It’s a very good relationship, and they need each other,” ProRodeo Hall of Famer and Wrangler NFR General Manager Shawn Davis said. “The city has really changed since we first got there. When we first went there, it was just a nice, little Western town.”

Calling it “little” may be a bit of a stretch, as Las Vegas had begun its boom in the decades before the Finals arrived. Known more as a gambling hub than an entertainment metropolis, the city was beginning to change as it attracted more visitors year after year.

“As the rodeo came to Las Vegas, the reinvention of Las Vegas started,” Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority President and CEO Rossi Ralenkotter said. “At that time, we had about 53,000 rooms as a destination and have grown now to over 151,000. Those 100,000

rooms that were added, along with those came world-class shopping, restaurants, entertainment, the sightseeing, the spa experience and countless memorable golf courses.”

Hotel properties and casinos began to buy into the belief that the rodeo could be a huge boost to their December numbers, figures that were customarily bleak before the Wrangler NFR moved from Oklahoma City.

After all, December had traditionally been furlough time, when casinos renovated and replaced carpets and the like and cut back on staff after shutting down their showrooms.

“It took time to build the momentum, and we knew that would happen,” Boyd Gaming President Bill Boyd said. “But, it was so important to have something going on that time of year in December that we certainly were patient enough to be able to wait through a few (lean) years for that momentum to build. It did build, and as you know today, the tickets are hard to get.”

The first few years the rodeo was held in Las Vegas, Finals organizers had trouble filling the stands, especially for the weeknight performances.

“We had a pretty big crowd on the weekend, but on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday – with the exception of behind the chutes and in the arena – you couldn’t have started a good fight in the grandstands,” ProRodeo Hall of Fame bull rider Don Gay said. “There wasn’t anybody there.

But with Las Vegas and our good-quality

rodeo, we got people who before had not gone to Las Vegas in December.”

The rodeo was a professional and well-run event from the start, thanks to Davis and his dedicated staff, and their commitment to excellence impressed a number of high-ranking Las Vegas leaders.

“My wife (Paula) is a horse person, and she dragged me to the first rodeo,” Las Vegas Events Board member and South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa owner Michael Gaughan said. “I got there halfway through the bareback riding, and it was run so well, I went back the next night just to see it. I told my wife, ‘Man, the stock was good, the cowboys were good and it just moved.’

“I went three or four nights in a row, and I’ve got to say that, in the 29 years that the rodeo’s been here, I’ve only missed six performances. When the rodeo came here, I had bought 300 tickets and I gave 250 tickets back, because I couldn’t give them away. It was one of the worst mistakes I ever made.”

The rodeo’s effect on the burgeoning city was evident.

The casinos have made great efforts to give fans and visitors a variety of activities to enjoy from sunup to sundown, including those who aren’t lucky enough to get a ticket to the rodeo.

“When we brought the rodeo in, it didn’t fill up the town, but it opened up the town,” Las Vegas Events Board member Berlyn Miller said. “Showrooms started to open, restaurants opened and we started booking meetings and conventions in December. So, it really made a big difference.

“It was a perfect win-win situation for both. A lot of people have said it was the best thing to happen to rodeo, and it was, in my opinion, the best thing that ever happened to Las Vegas.

It was just the perfect marriage and the perfect partnership with the rodeo in Las Vegas.”

Infused by the energy and fan support the NFR brought with it, Las Vegas began to bloom like a desert flower, morphing year by year and bit by bit as December slowly became a big positive on the balance sheet. Despite a couple of lean years at the beginning, there was little doubt the rodeo would grow in popularity and find its place in “Sin City.”

“The first year, it didn’t look like it was a mistake, and you never had a feeling of, ‘Oh no, we’re doomed!’” said ProRodeo Hall of Famer Lewis Feild, who won the first three allaround championships in Las Vegas from 1985-87.

ProRodeo Hall of Fame stock contractor Cotton Rosser agrees.

“It wasn’t about to fail,” Rosser said. “We had a hell of a rodeo, but just couldn’t get the folks in there.

Vegas was so plum happy with it, and as Vegas grew, so did the Finals.”

In the early days, contestants were headquartered on Fremont Street, home to Benny Binion’s flagship property, Binion’s Horseshoe, as well as at Boyd Gaming’s Sam’s Town. The move to Las Vegas, coupled with the hospitality and nightlife, was a thrill for the contestants.

“Between the Frontier and Binion’s, we’d be down there ‘til the sun came up, then I’d go back to the Hacienda,” Gay said of 1985. “I’d sleep all day, get ready and go out there and ride. I had the worst Finals, as far as riding and bulls I rode.

“I rode five out of 10, but I won more money than I’d ever won at the NFR, and I’d won (the average) twice. It was the first time that I ever felt like we were big time, and by ‘we,’ I mean the PRCA.”

The landscape of Las Vegas changed in the late 1980s, when the first of the mega casinos took root on Las Vegas Boulevard in 1989.

“What Steve Wynn did, by building The Mirage, was demonstrate there was a tangible value in creating an experience beyond gaming, which changed the paradigm of Vegas,” Las Vegas Events President Pat Christenson said. “Back in those days, if you looked up and down The Strip, there weren’t any Cirque shows, no Celine (Dion) or venues beyond showrooms.”

The city’s reinvention coincided with the rodeo’s growth, as prize money increased every year and fans began flocking to Las Vegas every December. A $1.79 million purse in 1985 has ballooned to $6.5 million in 2014 and will jump to $10 million next year.

Davis and others have worked tirelessly through the years to streamline the NFR and keep it current with the times. That commitment to constant improvement has paid off in big ways for the event.

“I enjoyed it for 11 years,” former PRCA Commissioner Lewis Cryer said. “It was always a pleasure to go to the community and always a pleasure to deal with the people. We worked hard and didn’t always agree, but in the end, everybody came to the same

table to do what was best for the event and what was best for the city. That’s what I was always very proud of.”

A major contributing factor to the rodeo’s success in Las Vegas has been the cooperation and commitment put forth by the city’s casinos and hotel properties.

“They’ve done a really good job of incorporating the casinos into this,” current PRCA Commissioner Karl Stressman said. “At one point in time, we were pretty much just the Gold Coast area. The rest of these casinos like MGM, Mirage and all of them have bought into the fact that the experience is here and they need to raise the experience level at their hotel properties and entertain.

“It’s not a bad deal for the PRCA, not a bad deal for Vegas and certainly not a bad deal for those properties. All of these pieces came together, and it’s tremendous compared to what it was 14, 15 or 20 years ago.”

The evolution of the rodeo experience and promotion of the event has been paramount, with Las Vegas casinos and hotels implemented satellite feeds – now known as “Beyond the Dirt” – in 1997. This year, 42 properties are participating and 15 properties are hosting viewing parties.

In addition, NFRExperience. com was launched in 2002, Wrangler NFR social media efforts came along in 2009, 2010 brought about the Wrangler NFR phone app, Cowboy FanFest was added to the rodeo experience in 2012 and NFRSocialArena.com began giving rodeo fans a chance to stay connected and win prizes all year long when it was launched earlier this year.

“There can be 100,000 people in Las Vegas every night, but only 18,000 people can go to the rodeo each night.”

–Scott Sibella, MGM Grand President and CEO With seemingly endless entertainment options for rodeo contestants and fans – including a number of Western-themed activities and promotions like Cowboy Christmas – going to the rodeo in December has become much more than about watching a horse buck or a cowboy rope.

“Las Vegas continues to evolve and reinvent itself and provide the entertainment experience and the attractions for visitors,” Ralenkotter said. “Not only did we get the event we wanted, we got the experience we wanted. It’s all about the experience people get when they come here.”

The casinos have made great efforts to give fans and visitors a variety of activities to enjoy from sunup to sundown. That group grows larger every year, so there is a greater need for more activities and ancillary events.

“It didn’t take long to realize that there are more people coming than people who have tickets to go to the rodeo,” MGM Grand President and CEO Scott Sibella said. “It’s about

how the properties can produce experiences so you can still come to the rodeo over the 10 days and have a different kind of experience. The properties have all played their part of catering to that clientele.

“There can be 100,000 people in Las Vegas every night, but only 18,000 people can go to the rodeo each night. We want to make people feel comfortable and know that, when they’re here, they’re part of the rodeo even though they don’t have a ticket in their hand.”

Now, the Wrangler NFR thrives as it shines as the pinnacle of the sport, a treasured experience without parallel.

“I’ve watched this town grow so much that it’s unreal,” ProRodeo Hall of Famer Fred Whitfield said. “From 25 years ago, the first year I made the National Finals, to watch it now (is amazing). It’s dang sure the crowning jewel for rodeo, without a doubt.”

A crown jewel that sparkles bright in the desert sun and under the bright lights of the magical city it calls home.

Davis’ guidance as general manager has streamlined, improved Wrangler NFR ProRodeo Hall of Famer Shawn Davis cast the deciding vote that moved the NFR to Las Vegas and has been instrumental in its evolution through the years.

e has been called everything from “The General” to “Little Napoleon.”

Wrangler National Finals Rodeo General Manager Shawn Davis is the captain at the wheel when it comes to the “Super Bowl of rodeo.” He guides and directs every aspect of the rodeo production, from in-the-arena action to all of the moving pieces in the belly of the Thomas & Mack Center and outside in the livestock pens.

There is no detail too small for him to address, no aspect of the world’s richest rodeo he has not considered, choreographed or scrutinized.

“I know where every security guard goes,” said Davis, a 1979 ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductee. “I know if someone slips over his ladder. I know who’s brushed their hat.

“The good thing is, I have a TV camera, so I can tell you who’s getting on their bull, who’s wasting time and who should be fined and shouldn’t be fined. In order to do all that, you have to have a background so you know what you’re looking for.”

And background is something Davis has in spades. He grew up breaking horses for various ranchers and became one of the top saddle bronc riders of his era, winning world titles in 1965, 1967 and 1968.

Davis went on to become immensely successful as the rodeo coach at the University of Southern Idaho, where he learned to conduct, promote and streamline rodeos and their productions during his 29 years there.

Davis’ rodeo teams won 24 regional and three national titles in his years at the helm.

He also learned a lot working for some heavyweights in the rodeo business.

“I used to do a lot of publicity work for people like Lex Connelly and Tommy Steiner,” Davis said.

“I listened to everything they said, because I was always interested in making the sport better. I realized there had to be a timeframe, you had to be organized and you had to keep your crowd intense and excited.”

Davis is an admitted perfectionist who is a master tactician, and you won’t find him mingling with friends or fans in the stands during the rodeo.

He’s anchored in his seat behind the announcer’s stand, watching everything like a hawk, taking notes and keeping track of every second of the rodeo with his trusty stopwatch.

Like a general leading troops, Davis governs a staff of approximately 150 people who are tasked with putting on the sport’s premier event on a grand stage in front of nearly 18,000 screaming fans and a worldwide television audience. It is a job he has made into a science the last 30-plus years, one he takes extremely seriously.

“I’ve always maintained that your personnel – whether they’re just opening a gate or whatever – must always look like it’s the most important job they’ve ever had,” Davis said. “When they go out there, I don’t want them talking, their hat dirty or not dressed well.

They need to be alive, because the whole appearance of the rodeo is important.”

Davis began fine-tuning the rodeo in Oklahoma City while he was PRCA president, and he helped the late Clem McSpadden streamline the rodeo’s production. Davis worked to make it shorter and tighter and imposed new rules about who was allowed access to the arena and other key areas.

“It’s a fabulous production, and you have the top stock and the top cowboys. You don’t get bored watching it.”

–Michael Gaughan

Most rodeos meander along at a leisurely pace, with roughstock and timed-event contestants having an exorbitant amount of time to nod their heads. That was the case in Oklahoma City before Davis revised the format, and now timed-event contestants have just 45 seconds to get ready and go and roughstock riders must nod their heads when they are “competition ready.”

Many of the changes made Davis downright unpopular with rodeo traditionalists, but he was never worried about winning any popularity contests.

The man who cast the deciding vote to move the Finals to Las Vegas had a job to do, and his sense of duty to provide fans with a professional product that was worth the price of admission outweighed anything else.

“Shawn explained to us that, when we ride, it’s our time in the spotlight and then after our ride is over, we’re going to be out of the arena and the only person who’s going to be in there is the person competing,” said 10-time Wrangler NFR bull rider Cody Lambert.

“We thought, ‘Well, that’s going to be strange.’

“It didn’t take but a couple of days to realize that that’s a way better look and a way more professional way to produce rodeo.”

Some people balked at Davis’ selection for the position, but he has certainly proven any doubters wrong, and many rodeos have begun to attempt and mimic the Wrangler NFR’s streamlined format.

Longtime stock contractor John Growney is one who knew from the early days that Davis was the man for the job.

“Shawn was one of those guys who paid attention, he was the president of the PRCA at the time, and everything was lined up for him to be a great leader,” Growney said. “Shawn Davis was politically the guy for that job, and it was because he was friends with Benny Binion already. He knew Shawn was capable of doing it.

“He was the only choice, and it turned out he was the right choice.”

The event’s Las Vegas leaders have supreme confidence in Davis and his abilities.

“We’ve always given him free reign, and he runs it like a military operation,” Las Vegas Events board member and South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa owner Michael Gaughan said. “Over the years, the rodeo has had very, very few problems. What really made this rodeo were Benny Binion and Shawn Davis.

“It’s a fabulous production, and you have the top stock and the top cowboys. You don’t get bored watching it.”

Having a finely tuned rodeo production, one that meshes with the constraints of live television, is crucial for the success of the Wrangler NFR, and Davis has made it all work to the ultimate level.

“Shawn Davis is such a great rodeo producer, and I don’t think there’s anybody who can compare to Shawn in producing a rodeo,” Las Vegas Events Board member Berlyn Miller said. “He’s always had that knack for making it move and the timing of it, and I think television has helped it.”

Preserving the event’s integrity and keeping it true to its initial design – which was to pit the best against the best on a huge stage – and those ideals are something Davis thinks about often.

“The main thing I think is important – and I’ve always tried to maintain it for this rodeo – is that this rodeo has to have a signature dignity and class,” Davis said. “John VanCronkhite’s original idea was to have the best against the best, and they had their two minutes of glory inside the arena with all of the attention focused on them. That’s why we’ve always kept the arena clean, and the attention is focused on that contestant who’s competing.”

Dignity and class. That pretty much sums up the Wrangler NFR’s general manager.

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Thomas & Mack Center has been great venue for Wrangler NFR

hen the Thomas & Mack Center was conceived, there were no visions of cowboys roaming the halls or bulls beating them up on 2,000 tons of dirt.

The Thomas & Mack Center was built for basketball, but the University of Nevada-Las Vegas could not afford its palace. It had to find events to pay its way and complete more than $15 million in finishes originally left out to make room for 3,000 more seats.

“The Thomas & Mack Center was originally constructed with permanent seats on both ends, making it unusable for anything but basketball. The cement had just been poured when its new director, Dennis Finfrock came aboard,” said current Las Vegas Events President Pat Christenson. “Two weeks later, he was in front of the Nevada legislature, asking for $250,000 to rip it out.”

The rest is history.

In 1985, the NFR became the venue’s biggest event, and 29 years later, it still is. The storied facility has become synonymous with the world’s richest rodeo.

Millions of fans have filed through its doors the last three decades to see their favorite rodeo superstars win gold.

“The bottom line is that Las Vegas badly needed this type of venue,” said Christenson, who worked for the Thomas & Mack Center from its inception in 1983. “Once we opened the doors, we did every event imaginable. Every show we did generated revenue that paid the bills and allowed us to complete the building.”

Named for Las Vegas bankers E. Parry Thomas and Jerome Mack, the facility has played host to championship basketball, massive concerts featuring the likes of Garth Brooks, Mariah Carey, Elton John and U2 and championship boxing matches including some of the greatest names in the sport, from Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis, to Floyd Mayweather and Julio Cesar Chavez. Throw in events such as Disney on Ice, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the Harlem Globetrotters, WWE Raw and Professional Bull Riders World Finals, and the facility’s history broadens even more.

The largest venue of its type in a budding city like Las Vegas, the Thomas & Mack Center was a natural choice to host the Wrangler NFR. With 270 consecutive sellouts filling 17,600 seats each night, it is a partnership that has thrived through the years.

For rodeo fans, the building offers great sight lines and is a convenient distance from anywhere on the strip.

“The Thomas & Mack Center only has 30 suites and one concourse, which translate into the best sightlines in the country,” Christenson said. “There’s not another seat that’s as good in sports as the Gold Buckle seats.

You’re right there, and how often can you look a bull right in the eye?”

Contestants love competing there every December.

“Oh, every time the excitement of riding there doesn’t wear off,” four-time World Champion Bareback

time World Champion Team Roper Rich Skelton.“There’s Rider Bobby Mote said. “When we go in there before the rodeo starts, it’s exciting, and you’ve been waiting (for lot of electricity in that building,” Skelton said. “One thing that) all year. After all of the late-night drives and all of about that rodeo that’s different than a lot places like the sacrifices you’ve made, finally you’re there and you Houston or Cheyenne is, when you get in that building, get to take care of business.” everything is close to you. That’s a big building, but Hall of Fame roper Joe Beaver won his first gold buckle everything’s close.” there in 1985 as a rookie, and the Thomas & Mack Center Hall of Fame Tie-Down Roper Fred Whitfield “raised became known to some as “The House that Joe Built.” the roof ” at the T&M for years.

“That’s the place that made me famous and “I’ve made a pretty good name for myself in the that I tried to make famous, and we’ve got a loveThomas & Mack, and the fans over the years have been hate relationship,” said Beaver, an eight-time world so receptive and so welcoming to me, even when I’m champion. “I love that place, and I hate not roping in it, not competing,” he said. “I get a standing ovation when but I love being a part of it.”

I show up at a performance, so it means a lot to still be a The rodeo arena measures just 100 by 150 feet, so it is part of such a great sport and to be as well-respected and a tight setup for timed-event cowboys. Hall of Fame Steer perceived so well by the fans.”

Wrestler Ote Berry, who won world titles there in 1985, When contestants walk into the building and see the from 1990-91 and 1995, remembers how the move to Las yellow chutes glistening in the bright lights, they know Vegas and the Thomas & Mack Center changed things for they are stepping upon hallowed ground. his event.

“Nobody really knew what to expect going to a new venue,” Berry said.

“We all heard how small a building it was compared to Oklahoma City arenawise, so we went and prepared for that. We went and practiced in a smaller building, and it was probably easier for me competing there being that I had never competed in Oklahoma City.

“I think some of the veterans and the guys who competed in Oklahoma City had a hard time adjusting to the quicker start, score and setup in Las Vegas. The younger guys and some of us who’d never been there, that’s “It’s probably like Madison Square Garden or Boston Garden what we prepared for. When the biggest to cowboys, because this is the only place in the last 30 rodeo of the year is set up like that, you’d years where they have competed. For a contestant, there is better adjust to it, or you’re going to have nothing better than having those 17,000 fans cheering for a hard time.” them after they’ve scored a 90 on a bull.” –Pat Christenson The small confines add excitement to the Wrangler NFR, according to eight-

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Sharp becomes first bull rider to cover all 10 bulls

No. 1

Hall of Fame bull rider Jim Sharp will remember Dec. 11, 1988, for as long as he lives.

That was the day he forever etched his name in the history books by becoming the first bull rider in Wrangler National Finals Rodeo history to ride all 10 bulls. Sharp made it look easy, as he was known to do, won the average title and his first world championship in arguably the greatest performance in Wrangler NFR history.

Just 23 years old at the time, Sharp held on to Beutler and Sons’ Skoal Cyclone for eight seconds in Round 10 to make history.

His ride garnered just 79 points for a split of fourth place, but it gave the Kermit, Texas, cowboy so much more.

“That was the best year I ever had in ’88 when I rode all 10 bulls,” said Sharp, a 2006 ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductee. “I’d never won the world, and that was my first world title. I won the NFR average and rode all 10 bulls.

That was pretty exciting for me.”

It was exciting for a packed house at the Thomas & Mack Center, as the more than 17,000 fans realized they had just witnessed something that had never been accomplished in ProRodeo. The 10th-round ride was Sharp’s second or third time covering the bull in 1988 and capped an amazing 10 days in Las Vegas for the Texan.

“It was a smooth 10 days,” Sharp said. “That was when I was in my prime, so I rode pretty well. It wasn’t really that big of a deal back then that I rode all 10 bulls, because I’d ridden 10 bulls in a row many a times.”

Once Sharp got past 1988 PRCA Bull of the Year Skoal’s Pacific Bell of the Western Rodeo Company in Round 1, he was off and running.

“There probably were bulls that could buck me off, but I didn’t feel like there were,” Sharp said. “I felt like I could ride anything you could run in there.”

Fellow Hall of Famer and traveling buddy Tuff Hedeman also covered all 10 of his bulls that year, but received a no-score in Round 4 after slapping the horn of Myers-Bar T Rodeo’s Hillstreet Skoal.

What makes Sharp’s accomplishment even more impressive is the fact that those 10 bulls in 1988 were part of 23 consecutive successful rides for the two-time world champion at the Wrangler NFR. He rode his last four in 1987 and covered his first nine in 1989 before being bucked off Hal Burns’ Mr. T in the 10th round.

“I still remember that like it was yesterday,” Sharp said of his 1989 buck-off. “That was like the most disappointing thing in the world. That was probably the most disappointing ride of my life.”

But he will forever have the perfect slate from 1988, and Sharp now realizes just how special his accomplishment is.

“When I first did it, I didn’t think much about it, but now I realize that was a pretty good accomplishment,” he said. “I was the first one to do it, and it hasn’t been done but just a couple times after that.”

The feat would be repeated by Norman Curry in 1990 – the year Sharp won his second gold buckle – and again in 1994 by Adriano Moraes, but has not been replicated since.

There can only be one “first” for an achievement of that magnitude, and it will forever belong to Jim Sharp.

“I felt like I could ride anything you could run in there.”

Brazile sets records en route to Triple Crown No. 2 Not only did Trevor Brazile earn his second career Triple Crown in 2010, but his eighth all-around title broke the previous ProRodeo record set by the great Ty Murray.

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finish nearly $30,000 ahead of Tuf Cooper for that gold Just when the rodeo world thought Trevor Brazile buckle. Cooper came to Las Vegas in second place in could never top his Triple Crown year from 2007, the the world standings and pushed Brazile by finishing 2010 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo rolled along. second in the average.

Brazile arrived in Las Vegas a bit disappointed The team roping was nothing short of spectacular for after finishing second to Rocky Patterson at the Clem Brazile and Smith. They placed in the first five rounds, McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping for the second then earned checks in Rounds 7-9 to finish second in the consecutive year, and he was in good shape in only one average and vault to the top of the standings. of his other events. The talented Texan entered Wrangler Brazile finished $16,653 clear of Clay Tryan for the NFR atop the tie-down roping standings, but ninth in the team roping with partner Patrick Smith, so a second Triple heading gold buckle, while Smith picked up the heeling hardware after finishing $16,305 ahead Crown was never on the radar screen. of Travis Graves. The miraculous run “I was back in the team roping from ninth to first gave Brazile his (standings), so nobody ever even second Triple Crown. considered a Triple Crown conversation “I was back in “It’s nothing you can ever plan,” until probably about the eighth or ninth the team roping Brazile said. “The circumstances just round,” Brazile said. “I never set out to kind of have to happen for you to even win a Triple Crown, and you can tell (standings), so a legitimate chance at it. I feel from history that they’re too rare to set nobody ever even have blessed to have two and even more as goals.” considered a blessed to have the opportunity for A record eighth all-around gold another one this year.” buckle was a little more than a formality, Triple Crown.”

He joined Everett Bowman (1935, and he secured it after Round 2, 1937) and Jim Shoulders (1956-58) as eclipsing the previous mark of seven the sport’s only multiple Triple Crown set by his friend and idol Ty Murray.

Murray was on-hand to congratulate Brazile for breaking winners and set earnings records for the Wrangler NFR ($211,509) and for a single season in ProRodeo ($507,921). his record, a gesture that meant a lot to Brazile.

The Triple Crown also came the same year his “He didn’t have to be like that, but luckily for the sport, he was that kind of champion,” Brazile said of Murray. “He daughter, Style, was born, continuing an interesting trend Brazile began in 2007 when he won his first just and those other guys who were so great in the all-around weeks after his son, Treston, was born. are the reason it’s so cool to win the all-around.”

“They were both special, but they were both different, With the all-around record secure, Brazile set out on a quest to pile up as much money as he could the rest of too,” he said of the Triple Crowns. “It was cool, because it was the same year my daughter was born, but it was the 10 days. And oh, how the money poured in. so different and a different combination of events, which Brazile placed in four rounds of the tie-down makes it even cooler.” roping en route to the Wrangler NFR average title to

Murray sets all-around mark with 10th-round ride

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At the National Finals Rodeo in 1995, Ty Murray had his sights set on breaking Larry Mahan’s record of seven all-around world titles. It would have to wait.

Murray’s knee problems had worsened when he jumped on Butterfly that year. Halfway through the ride, he heard and felt a pain like never before.

Two months later, he underwent surgery to repair both knees.

Six weeks into the 1996 season riding Bad Moon, he felt a pop in his shoulder, but finished the ride and scored an 84. The pain didn’t go away, and two months later, he was again on the operating table.

Then, riding a bull named Bar Fly in February 1997, Murray got thrown high and landed hard on a fully extended arm. Something had to give.

It was his other shoulder. It would be another round of surgery, another round of therapy and another lost season.

“I was hurt, mad, frustrated, depressed and determined all at the same time,” Murray said. “After every injury, I believed I would come back. This one had me questioning myself.”

Once again, Murray got up, dusted himself off and set a new course. This one would involve a non-traditional training program with a karate instructor who Murray described, “Would make a good instructor on Paris Island.”

He hired Jesse Marquez Lomalli to train him two hours a day, five days a week for as long as it took. Lomalli’s workouts made Rocky Balboa’s look like nap time – burning calisthenics, murderous up-downs, punishing crunches – all in sauna-like room.

“He almost killed me,” Murray said. “But, when 1998 rolled around, I had Jesse Marquez Lomalli to thank for my return to rodeo.”

Murray entered the 1998 NFR with a $40,000 lead in the all-around and qualified in both bull riding and saddle bronc riding. After all that, it would all come down to eight seconds.

All that stood between him and his dream was a Harper & Morgan Rodeo bull named Hard Copy in Round 10. It was the defining moment of Murray’s ProRodeo Hall of Fame career.

“I had a real sense of calm come over me when I climbed down in the chute on that 10th bull, and he was a big, dangerous bull,” Murray said. “He was a bull that weighed about 2,200 pounds, and I’d seen him jerk some

guys down and knock their heads off. I saw him stick a horn in Chris Shivers’ mouth.

“I just remember when I got down in that chute, I knew I had to ride him.”

And ride him he did, scoring 79 points to split fifth place in the round to win the bull riding gold buckle and, with it, a record seventh all-around championship. Murray finished with $264,673, $36,112 ahead of the multitalented Herbert Theriot, to eclipse the record set by his idol, Larry Mahan, and Tom Ferguson.

It was a watershed moment for the Phoenix native.

“When the whistle blew, I knew I was the seven-time all-around world champion, and I jumped off that bull and put my hands above my head,” Murray said. “That was the moment I’d spent a lifetime working toward. It was an unbelievable moment for me.

“It was reaching a benchmark that I’d set for myself and had been working toward for a lifetime.”

The first man to congratulate him? His idol himself.

“I walked out of the arena, and Larry Mahan was the first person that shook my hand,” Murray said. “It felt great, and it felt like a relief. To come out of that arena and have my all-time hero shake my hand for eclipsing his record, that was a pretty special moment.”

That’s partly why Murray was on-hand in 2010 to watch Trevor Brazile set a new record that he’s still building upon today.

Murray will forever remember the ride that gave him the ProRodeo record that stood for a dozen years.

“That ride in Round 10 was nowhere close to the best bull ride I ever made or the best bull I ever got on, but I’ll remember that ride forever,” he said. “I can remember everything about it, the smell of the air, everything.

“I remember thinking about the second jump that I couldn’t have been blown off that bull with a cannon.”

“When the whistle blew, I knew I was the seven-time all-around world champion, and I jumped off that bull and put my hands above my head. That was the moment I’d spent a lifetime working toward. It was an unbelievable moment for me.” –Ty Murray

A Triple Crown for Trevor Trevor Brazile became the first man since Roy "Super Looper" Cooper 25 years before to win a Triple Crown with his trio of world titles in 2007.

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Winning a world title is a tough task, and claiming two gold buckles in the same year is a feat of epic proportions.

But a Triple Crown? That borders on ridiculous.

Only 10 men in the history of ProRodeo have ever won three world titles in the same year, and eight of those men pulled it off before the first National Finals Rodeo in 1959. That leaves two in the modern era – Roy “Super Looper” Cooper and Trevor Brazile.

Cooper’s trifecta came in 1983 in Oklahoma City and was the first Triple Crown in the sport in 25 years.

Twenty five years later at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, it was Brazile’s turn to make rodeo fans shake their heads in admiration.

Brazile entered the 2007 season with five gold buckles – including four in the all-around – on his resume, and he would add to that in a huge way. The Decatur, Texas, cowboy had secured his second career steer roping championship in November and entered the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo with a chance to win gold buckles in the tie-down roping and team roping.

A fifth all-around crown was a virtual lock, but the other two events would be dogfights. Brazile ultimately finished fifth in the team roping heading standings after starting 10th with partner Patrick Smith, and he would have to hold off a monumental charge from multiple cowboys to keep his top spot in the tie-down roping.

Brazile did just that, finishing fifth in the average to nip Houston Hutto by a mere $4,277 to earn his first tie-down roping title. Cody Ohl won the Wrangler NFR average to make things interesting, but finished out of the money in Round 10 and ultimately third “Me being a Roy in the final world standings, Cooper fan growing $6,803 shy up and him being of Brazile.

“I’ve never one of my heroes, it won a calf was cool to be able roping title I didn’t have to do something I’d to earn, and watched him do.”

I don’t think I got it done

until the 10th round,” said Brazile, who would win Triple Crown No. 2 three years later. “I had already had one world championship from the Steer Roping Finals when I showed up in Vegas that year and was winning the tiedown roping. That was the first year it ever really sank in that I could sure enough pull it off.”

Brazile and wife, Shada, had their first child, Treston, in 2007, making the accomplishment extra special. But Shada and the newborn stayed at home in Texas while Brazile made history in Las Vegas.

“Treston was only a few days old when I left, and it was the first time my wife had never been out there in Vegas with me,” said Brazile, who set a ProRodeo record at the time of $425,115 in earnings that season. “It was like, ‘I’m out here away from my family, so I might as well make it count.’”

Becoming the first man in 25 years to win a Triple Crown was one thing, but to be the first since one of his idols made the feat even better for Brazile.

“Me being a Roy Cooper fan growing up and him being one of my heroes, it was cool to be able to do something I’d watched him do,” he said. “I knew how hard it was to win one, much less three in the same year, so as far as accomplishments in the arena, that was one of the coolest moments ever.”

Eight gold buckles in a row for Speed, Rich Speed Williams, right, and Rich Skelton set a PRCA record with their eighth team roping world title after this 10th-round run in 2004.

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They always said “To get Rich, you’ve gotta have Speed,” and the duo of Speed Williams and Rich Skelton definitely needed each other to set one of ProRodeo’s most impressive records.

In 2004, the ProRodeo Hall of Fame team ropers did something most rodeo fans thought would never happen – break Jake Barnes and Clay O’Brien Cooper’s record of seven world championships. The record, established in 1994, seemed insurmountable in most people’s eyes, but that was before Williams and Skelton embarked on one of the most illustrious streaks in rodeo history.

Their first gold buckle came in 1997, and they would not relinquish the top spot for eight consecutive years, a stretch most contestants could never even dream about. By the time 2004 rolled around, Williams and Skelton were steely veterans who had become fathers for the first time.

With their priorities shifting, 2004 was ultimately the last year they would commit themselves fully to chasing gold buckles all season long. Williams and Skelton “To get Rich, would overcome a slow start to you’ve gotta the year, horsepower problems and a roller-coaster 10 days in have Speed.” Las Vegas, and fans would not be disappointed.

After winning the first round at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, the tandem had a no-time in the second round that took them out of the average race.

They won Round 5, placed in the eighth and split first in the ninth to set up a Round 10 showdown in which five teams – including ones that had Barnes and O’Brien Cooper as members – had a shot at the gold buckle.

When Williams had to go to his second loop and Skelton missed a leg in the 10th, it seemed their chances of making history were done after a 20.3-second run.

But fate was smiling upon them, and a fourth-place finish in the average was just enough to keep them in the No. 1 spot.

Williams won the heading gold buckle by $5,982 over Clay Tryan, while Skelton finished $13,380 clear of Britt Bockius for the heeling championship. History was theirs.

“That last world title, man, it was rough,” Williams said. “I don’t believe we ever led the world until the very last cow of the National Finals Rodeo. I remember an overwhelming feeling of, ‘Ahh, we got it done!’”

The triumph took time to set in for the humble Skelton.

“I remember thinking that nobody would ever break Jake and Clay’s record, much less me,” he said. “I was in disbelief that it did happen, because growing up, they were the guys who roped the greatest. There were a lot of times we almost got beat and everything went our way, and we were just really fortunate that happened.”

Cody Ohl collapsed in pain after completing a 40.9-second run in Round 9 of the 2001 NFR despite tearing the ACL and MCL in his right knee, and the perseverance paid off in the form of an all-around gold buckle.

Injured Ohl finishes run to seal all-around title

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It was the longest 40 seconds of Cody Ohl’s life.

The Texas was well on his way to the 2001 allaround title and another tie-down roping gold buckle when something went wrong in the ninth round of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Everything about the run was off.

Ohl had to go to his second loop after missing a quick-running calf, then hit the Thomas & Mack Center arena fence and dirt wrong on his dismount and went down in pain. He struggled back to his feet, hopped to the calf, cut his rope and somehow managed to hold on and flank and tie the calf before collapsing.

Ohl would find out later he had torn the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his right knee, but finishing his 40.9-second run to secure the all-around championship and his third tie-down roping title has become the stuff of legend.

“It was pretty grueling, and I felt like I was fixing to pass out,” Ohl said. “There’s so many things I would have done differently, and I would have gotten by that calf easier than I did. But it was like I was looking at the Copenhagen Skoal video board and it was saying ‘You lost, you lost, you lost!’

“I was so give out, all the pain shot down my leg and everything kind of hit me at one time.”

Ohl sat out the 10th round and clinched his lone allaround championship after Jesse Bail failed to make qualified rides in the saddle bronc and bull riding. Video of Ohl’s memorable run can still be found on YouTube today, and it’s an experience he will never forget.

“I just remember it like it was yesterday,” he said.

“I’d never want to go through it again, but it instilled in people’s minds how cowboys really are and how we’ll do whatever it takes to get a job done.”

Tuff Hedeman honors Lane Frost

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The rodeo world was dealt a cruel twist of fate on July 30, 1989, when beloved World Champion Bull Rider Lane Frost died in the arena in Cheyenne, Wyo. The crushing blow rocked the sport, and his family and friends were devastated, including traveling partner and good buddy Tuff Hedeman. At the 1989 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, Hedeman was in the thick of a world title battle with Jim Sharp and needed a good ride aboard Beutler & Gaylord’s No. 4 in the 10th round to win his second world title.

Hedeman covered the bull to finish second in the round and secure his second gold buckle after Sharp was bucked off for the first time in 24 NFR attempts, but it was what he did after the whistle that people will remember. In honor of Frost, Hedeman rode past the whistle for another eight seconds and fanned his hat in tribute of his fallen friend.

“Once Jim got bucked off, I ended up making the whistle and rode him a little further than normal,” Hedeman said. “It was a relief, and it was just a good ending to a really, really tough year for me.”

Jake, Clay make history

Charmayne, Scamper win 10 in a row

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Naming the greatest barrel racer of all time is one of the easiest trivia answers in ProRodeo.

Her name is Charmayne James.

No barrel racer – and perhaps no one in rodeo history besides Trevor Brazile – has ever dominated in Las Vegas the way James and her prized horse, Scamper, did in the 1980s and 1990s. Not only did James win a record 11 world championships, but 10 of those came on Scamper in successive seasons from 1984-93.

Brazile is in the driver’s seat for his ninth consecutive all-around crown and 12th in 13 years, and ProRodeo Hall of Fame Steer Roper Guy Allen won 11 of his 18 gold buckles in a row from 1991-2001, but no one has ever traversed the cloverleaf pattern in a more dominating fashion than James and Scamper.

Just a tiny teen when she claimed gold buckle No. 1 in 1984, James won the first nine barrel racing crowns at the Thomas & Mack Center aboard her legendary steed.

She stood on the world champions’ stage again in 2002 thanks to a mount named Cruiser, but she and Scamper will always be revered in Las Vegas.

James and Scamper overcame obstacles in 1993 en route to the title. The horse was aging and became sick during the early rounds, causing James to give him a rest in Round 7.

A second-place finish, coupled with Kristie Peterson knocking over a barrel, in the eighth round helped seal the 10th straight title for the famous pair. It was the last year the ProRodeo Hall of Fame horse would make a run at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, and he went out a winner.

“When I look in there (at the Thomas & Mack Center), I know that that’s somewhere where Scamper won so much and had his heyday, so it’s special,” James said.

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For the longest time in team roping, four was a magical number.

That number signified the record for most gold buckles won in the history of the event, but that would all change in 1989 in Las Vegas. For it was then when Jake Barnes and Clay O’Brien Cooper would make history by claiming world championship No. 5 in front of a packed house at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Barnes and O’Brien Cooper, one of the best and most decorated tandems in the history of team roping, surpassed Allen Bach, Leo Camarillo and Jim Rodriguez Jr. They won their fifth consecutive world title that year to raise the bar in their event to new heights.

They would go on to win championships again in 1992 and 1994 to push the record to seven. That mark that would stand until 2004, when Speed Williams and Rich Skelton won their eighth in a row.

What makes their 1989 triumph even more impressive is the fact that Barnes was dealing with a big obstacle during that Wrangler NFR. “The most memorable part of it was that I was short horsepower there,” said Barnes, a 1997 ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductee. “I went to the USTRC Finals and was just watching horses and ran across this one horse I liked, so I went and asked the guy if he’d sell him. Coincidentally, he was from New Mexico, and I went to his house, tried the horse and bought him. So, I took him cold turkey up to the Finals.”

Barnes and O’Brien Cooper placed in each of the first four rounds in Las Vegas that year, survived a lean stretch in the middle rounds and added two more checks in the final three rounds to finish second in the average and jump Bobby Hurley and Dennis Gatz for the title.

“We got in a groove there and did well, and the record stood for a long time,” Barnes said.

Jake Barnes, left, and Clay O’Brien Cooper were one of the best team roping tandems in ProRodeo history.

Mary Walker completed a magical and improbable run to the world title in 2012 just more than a year after suffering a pair of huge personal setbacks.

Walker completes Cinderella run in style

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There have been few storybook endings in the sport of ProRodeo that could compare to Mary Walker’s magical 2012 season.

The veteran barrel racer overcame amazing obstacles to qualify for her first Wrangler National Finals rodeo at the age of 53, just more than a year after shattering her pelvis in a nasty wreck in the arena. That qualification, on her prized gelding Latte, also came just more than a year after she lost her son, Reagon, in an automobile accident, further adding to the emotions of her time in Las Vegas.

Walker and Latte caught fire on the cloverleaf pattern

at the Thomas & Mack Center, winning four rounds and placing in four more to earn an NFR-best $146,941 and claim the world championship. A year after losing her son and being unsure if she would ever be able to ride again, Walker was the world champion.

She also earned the RAM Truck Top Gun Award that year for earning the most money in Las Vegas and finished the year with $247,233. It truly was a fairytale ending for the tough barrel racer.

“It was such a whirlwind, and the whole 10 days were just so exciting,” Walker said. “You always dream of going to the Finals and excelling there, and to actually do it was a dream come true. It was an amazing experience and something I’ll never forget.”

Honorable mention

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t is nearly impossible to choose just 10 moments that stand as the best in the Wrangler NFR’s 29-year history in Las Vegas, so here are a host of others just as worthy as the ones that made the top 10, starting with the most recent.

• Shane Hanchey breaks Fred Whitfield’s tie-down roping average record that had stood since 1999 with an 80.1-second total in 2013.

• Sherry Cervi sets the Wrangler NFR barrel racing average record of 138.15 seconds for her 10 runs en route to the 2013 gold buckle.

• Kaycee Feild and Tuf Cooper follow in their fathers’ footsteps as world champions for the first time in 2011; Feild sets several money records along the way and sets the Wrangler NFR bareback riding average record with a total of 860.5 points on 10 head.

• Jesse Wright establishes a new Wrangler NFR saddle bronc riding average record with his 10-head total of 848.5 points in 2011.

• Chad Masters and Jade Corkill set the team roping world record with a 3.3-second run in 2009.

• Dan Mortensen ties Casey Tibbs’ saddle bronc riding record with his sixth world title in 2003.

• Billy Etbauer sets the NFR record with a 93-point saddle bronc ride on Kesler Championship Rodeo’s Cool Alley Dip in 2003; he repeats the feat again in 2004.

• Cody Ohl sets an NFR record with a 6.5-second tiedown roping run in 2003.

• Cody Hancock breaks a 25-year-old NFR bull riding record with his 96-point ride on Diamond G Rodeo’s Mister USA in 2001.

• Rope Myers sets the Wrangler NFR steer wrestling average record with his 37.4-second 10-head total in 2001.

• Bryan Fields ties the Wrangler NFR steer wrestling record with a 3.0-second run in Round 6 in 2001.

• Cody Hancock becomes the first roughstock competitor to go from 15th to the world title in 2000.

• Ty Murray wins his sixth consecutive all-around title in 1994.

• Jake Barnes and Clay O’Brien Cooper set the Wrangler NFR team roping average record of 59.1 seconds on 10 head on their way to the 1994 world title.

• Adriano Moraes rides all 10 of his bulls in 1994.

• Norman Curry rides all 10 of his bulls in 1990 and establishes the Wrangler NFR’s bull riding average record of 800 points.

• Allen Bach is the first cowboy to go from 15th to first at the Wrangler NFR to win a world title in 1990.

• Ty Murray becomes the youngest all-around champion of all time (20) in 1989.

• Steve Duhon sets the Wrangler NFR steer wrestling record with a 3.0-second run in the fifth round in 1986.

• Joe Beaver wins tie-down roping world title as a rookie in 1985.

VEGAS HEAVYWEIGHT Las Vegas Events boasts stellar history of conducting big-time events f it’s a major event that has been held in Las Vegas the last 30 years, chances are Las Vegas Events played a role in making it happen.

The Wrangler National Finals Rodeo’s co-producer, Las Vegas Events has established an impeccable track record of bringing top-notch sporting and entertainment events to “The Entertainment Capital of the World” the last three decades. The non-profit organization serves as the major special events agency for the city and has organized and produced some of Las Vegas’ most memorable events since its creation in 1983.

Formed following a Las Vegas plea to Nevada Gov. Richard Bryan, Las Vegas Events was tasked with capitalizing on the city’s allure and elevating its entertainment portfolio. With men like Herb McDonald and Phil Arce leading the way, LVE grew into a major player in the burgeoning city, and the Wrangler NFR was a huge part of that.

“In April of 1983, the Nevada legislature enacted a law to create Las Vegas Events for the purpose of producing events that promote tourism,” Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins said. “I am proud to be a member of a non-public entity that has confidentially negotiated for events that bring visitors to Southern Nevada, the first and one of the biggest is the National Finals Rodeo.

“The beginnings of (the rodeo) were a great boom to our economy, and the way it has expanded and grown has just made it bigger and more important.”

From the Wrangler NFR and NASCAR’s Sprint Cup events to the Las Vegas Bowl and FEI World Cup™ Finals,

Academy of Country Music Awards Barrett-Jackson Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas Bowl Life is Beautiful Monster Jam World Finals MWC Basketball Tournament

the list of signature events LVE has produced through the years is staggering. Just to name a few, LVE has been involved with such events as the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon, USBC Championships, the Mint 400 and the Mountain West Conference and Pac 12 Conference basketball championships.

Add new events like the Priefert World Series of Team Roping, 2015 World Wrestling Championships, and Rock in Rio and LVE’s portfolio continues to grow. Since its inception, LVE has done exactly what it was designed to do: bring major events to Las Vegas to enhance the city’s appeal and pedigree as a worldleading entertainment destination.

Through its network of Las Vegas casinos and experience in marketing, sponsorship securement and operations, LVE has established a reputation as a leader in the local community and as a top-flight organization capable of making any event an unparalleled success.

“The ultimate goal of every event is to maximize visitors and ensure a good experience for them,” Las Vegas Events President Pat Christenson said. “The uniqueness of how we operate, versus any other organization, is that our job just begins when the event is secured.”

Now, with a new 10-year contract signed with the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association that will keep the Wrangler NFR in Las Vegas for the foreseeable future, LVE can work to continue to enhance the fan experience surrounding the world-famous rodeo. The sky is the limit, especially with LVE and the PRCA aligned together to lead the event forward.

NASCAR Champions Week NASCAR Weekend NBA Summer League NHRA Nationals Pac-12 Basketball Championships PBR World Finals Rock in Rio

Rock ’n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon Supercross Series Finals USBC Open Championships USA Basketball USA Sevens World Series of Team Roping Wrangler National Finals Rodeo

BUILDING A BEHEMOTH Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has helped transform city t may be hard for today’s Las Vegas visitors to believe, but the city hasn’t always been the buzzing metropolis it is today.

Sure, it’s always been an exciting and exotic locale for gamblers to visit and try their skills, but the transformation the Clark County city has undergone in the last 30 years has been nothing short of astounding. When the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo first arrived in Las Vegas in 1985, the city was a gambling hub that featured a number of glitzy traditionally designed casinos.

Now, the “Entertainment Capital of the World” is a buzzing metropolis filled with sky-scraping mega casinos and more entertainment options than a visitor could possibly dream of experiencing in a dozen visits, much less one. All along the way during this transformation, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has been there leading the charge, working tirelessly to attract people to the desert oasis that is a fantasy theme park for the senses.

The city of Las Vegas had a $45.2 billion impact in tourism in Southern Nevada in 2013, and its more than 150,000 hotel rooms and casino properties are expected to host more than 40 million visitors this year. That’s a far cry from the 53,000 rooms and 14 million visitors

during the Wrangler NFR’s first year in 1985, and the rodeo has played a large role in that expansion.

“As the rodeo came to Las Vegas, the reinvention of Las Vegas started,” LVCVA President/CEO Rossi Ralenkotter said. “So, those 100,000 rooms that were added, and along with those came worldclass shopping, the restaurants, the entertainment, the sightseeing, the spa experience and countless memorable golf courses. The rodeo kind of grew up with what was happening with the destination itself, so now there were more things for people to do in addition to all of the activities of the rodeo itself.”

With roots dating back to the mid-1950s, the LVCVA is the city’s official destination marketing organization that is tasked with extending the Las Vegas’ influence as a leader in tourism and hospitality while driving the tourism engine that powers the Southern Nevada economy. The Wrangler NFR has become a large piece of that puzzle, and the LVCVA has worked with the PRCA and Las Vegas Events to make the rodeo the spectacle it is today.

“Not only did we get the event we wanted, we got the experience we wanted,” Ralenkotter said of the rodeo. “It’s all about the experience people get when they come here.”

FOR ALL OF RODEO “This is, by far, the biggest event we have. To have it be as successful as it has been, first of all, financially it’s important to the PRCA. It has been very effective for our contestants to run at that kind of money.”

–PRCA Commissioner Karl Stressman PRCA Headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo., was the site of the infamous Board vote that moved the Wrangler NFR to Las Vegas in 1985.

PRCA propelled by success of Wrangler NFR hen John VanCronkhite and other Rodeo Cowboys Association leaders came up with a plan to have a season-ending finale in the late 1950s, the never could have dreamed what it some day would become.

Now the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, the world’s leading rodeo association, considers the wildly popular Wrangler National Finals Rodeo its crown jewel. The Wrangler NFR has helped the PRCA raise its status and exposure in the sports realm through the years, and the association cherishes those 10 days every December when the best and brightest of the sport of ProRodeo showcase their skills on the ultimate stage.

“This is, by far, the biggest event we have,” PRCA Commissioner Karl Stressman said. “To have it be as successful as it has been, first of all, financially it’s important to the PRCA. It has been very effective for our contestants to run at that kind of money.”

A rising tide raises all ships, as the saying goes, and the Wrangler NFR’s evolution in Las Vegas no doubt has influenced the PRCA’s overall success. When the event moved to Las Vegas in 1985, the PRCA’s rodeos combined

to offer $15,087,776 in prize money, and that number ballooned to $39,596,501 last year.

Just as the Wrangler NFR can mean the difference between a contestant losing money or making a profit, it does the same thing for the PRCA. “I think the NFR is going to keep growing,” ProRodeo Hall of Fame stock contractor Cotton Rosser said.

“It’s holding the PRCA together. It’s the pot of gold at the end of the year.”

Contestants sure have taken notice of the event’s overall impact on the association through the years.

“The sport of rodeo would be so much different right now if the National Finals wasn’t in Las Vegas,” ProRodeo Hall of Fame Saddle Bronc Rider Dan Mortensen said.

“I couldn’t even imagine rodeoing for 17 years and not being able to look forward to the National Finals being in Las Vegas in December because of what they did monetarily and how they treated the cowboys.”

With a new contract securing the next 10 years of the Wrangler NFR in Las Vegas, and along with it, the PRCA’s financial stability, the association is set on a path of continued growth and success.

UNWRAPPING YOUR INNER COWBOY

Cowboy Christmas ats, buckles, boots, clothing, food, entertainment, fun, autographs and even rodeo competition – it’s all available at one place in Las Vegas.

If there’s one event during the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo that most resembles a Western festival, it’s the Cowboy Christmas Gift Show. Laid out over more than 300,000 square feet of open space at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Wrangler NFR’s Cowboy Christmas is a spectacle for the senses.

If it’s available in the rodeo or Western industry, rodeo fans can find it at Cowboy Christmas. A mainstay at the Wrangler NFR for more than 25 years, the one-of-a-kind shopping and entertainment experience offers everything under the sun for visitors.

Whether it’s getting Christmas shopping done early, buying new duds to wear to the rodeo that night, catching Flint Rasmussen’s daily talk show or grabbing a beverage and some tasty food, the show has it all. A rodeo fan could spend hours exploring the massive layout on multiple days and still not experience everything that is offered, especially considering Cowboy FanFest has now become part of the extravaganza.

Cowboy Christmas is just one of the facets of the Wrangler NFR that makes it much more than just a rodeo.

“It’s a country Western cowboy festival that has the world’s best cowboys and the world’s best rodeo for 10 days as part of it,” Las Vegas Events Board member Tom Jenkin said. “There are so many other components, and it’s a major event.”

Visitors to Cowboy Christmas never know who they might run into on any given day. With former and current world champions, legends and Hall of Famers coming in and out of the Convention Center to sign autographs on a daily basis, a fan could run into the likes of Don Gay, Roy Cooper, Trevor Brazile, Luke Branquinho, Tuf Cooper or Kaycee Feild at virtually any turn.

With concerts featuring up-and-coming country Western artists, a full rodeo arena resembling the Wrangler NFR’s at the Thomas & Mack Center at Cowboy FanFest and a multitude of other entertaining options, Cowboy Christmas will leave every visitor wanting more.

“It’s a country Western cowboy festival that has the world’s best cowboys and the world’s best rodeo for 10 days as part of it.”

–Tom Jenkin, Las Vegas Events Board member

The spectacle has mushroomed from an attendance of 31,433 and 32 exhibitors at Tropicana’s tennis pavilion in its inaugural year in 1986 to a crowd of 196,856 and more than 300 vendors last year. The gift show moved to Cashman Field in 1987 at the urging of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority’s Rossi Ralenkotter, then relocated to its current home at the Las Vegas Convention Center in 1998, and it has thrived there ever since.

“I think about Cowboy Christmas and how that has changed and how it was last year with all of the different FanFest things at the Convention Center,” PRCA Chairman of the Board Keith Martin said. “That is really a huge thing. Way early on, it was back at Cashman Field and was really just a shopping deal. Now, it’s so much more than that.”

Not only has Cowboy Christmas thrived at the Convention Center, but its success has inspired other gift shows to open at The Sands, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand and the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa. The 200,000 visitor mark is now in the bull’s eye, and there’s no reason to think it won’t continue to grow from there.

Debuting in 2012, Cowboy FanFest has been a highly successful addition to Cowboy Christmas at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

QUITE THE FESTIVAL Cowboy FanFest adds extra dimension for rodeo fans he NBA has Fan Jam, the NFL, the NFL Experience and Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game, like rodeo, has FanFest.

You might think Cirque du Soleil and Terry Fator, not to mention more 200 country-related experiences, would be enough for Las Vegas visitors. It’s not.

“The NFR Experience is in perpetual motion. It will never rest,” Las Vegas Events President Pat Christenson said. “As long as more fans continue to travel to experience the NFR, we will create new experiences.”

Debuting at the 2012 Wrangler NFR, Cowboy FanFest was a hit with the more than 175,000 visitors who stride through Cowboy Christmas at the Las Vegas Convention Center each year. Featuring a rodeo arena, a Westernthemed street, an entertainment stage, interactive booths, several food options and autograph sessions galore, Cowboy FanFest gives rodeo fans a plethora of activities to enjoy in a 100,000-square-foot layout before they head to the rodeo each night.

“It was Las Vegas saying, ‘Let’s continue to elaborate on the experience,’” PRCA Commissioner Karl Stressman said of the addition of Cowboy FanFest in 2012. “Man, if you can’t find something to do during Vegas’ run, you never will.”

And this year, the options have expanded to include a wedding chapel. Yes, any fans feeling frisky enough to tie the knot can do so, thanks to the Little Church of the West at the Rope ‘Em In Wedding Chapel, powered

by Zappos.com.

You won’t catch Kobe Bryant at the NBA Fan Jam or Aaron Rodgers at the NFL Experience, but you will see Kaycee Feild, Trevor Brazile and most of the Wrangler NFR’s contestants at either Cowboy Christmas or Cowboy FanFest.

Fans begin the experience with a walk down Lucas Oil Rodeo Way – an old Western town featuring some of the top rodeos, including Houston, Calgary and San Antonio.

Exit Rodeo Way and enter the Boot Barn Saloon, where fans can wet their whistle, grab lunch and catch the show next door.

Oh yeah, the show. Flint Rasmussen’s “Outside the Barrel” is featured on the Houston Rodeo Live Stage, as well as Alexis Bloomer’s show and daily live entertainment at Rodeo Live Unplugged.

Cowboy Christmas is the retail, while Cowboy FanFest is the experience. Like free stuff? Fans will find plenty.

Like beautiful women? Last year, the Miss Rodeo America Pageant moved its horsemanship competition to the Arena – which resembles the Wrangler NFR arena inside the Thomas & Mack Center.

“FanFest is picking up and growing, and as we tune that up and it gets more user-friendly, that’s going to continue to grow,” Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins said.

Fans have responded, with a record crowd of 196,856 visiting Cowboy Christmas and Cowboy FanFest last year.

No city rolls out the red carpet for its fans like Vegas does for rodeo. The experience is unparalleled in professional sports, and Cowboy FanFest is the latest notch in its belt of fun.

OLE! Wrangler Bullfights provided chance for bullfighters to showcase talents rom 1985 until 2000, few fans left the Thomas & Mack Center early. That’s because they would miss the human-animal collision that was the Wrangler Bull Fight Tour’s Finale. The challenge to score high was using a mix of both athleticism and risk to come as close to annihilation without suffering bodily harm.

The sport of bullfighting dates back to the early 1700s in Spain, and its presence in the rodeo world can be traced to the early 1980s. Rodeo stock contractors have long raised fighting bulls to use as entertainment during breaks in rodeo performances.

Smaller, leaner and more diabolically meaner than bigger rodeo bulls, fighting bulls generally had sharper horns, were quicker than their “cousins” and were raised to chase down anyone stepping foot in an arena. Bred to charge and hook more so than to buck, fighting bulls offer bullfighters a whole different set of challenges.

The sport’s top bullfighters squared off against the nastiest and meanest fighting bulls at the Thomas & Mack Center on an annual basis. World champions were crowned each year, and fans were delighted to catch a glimpse of the style of bullfighting that has been wildly famous in Europe for centuries.

ProRodeo Hall of Famer Rob “Kamikaze” Smets won the first two world championships in Las Vegas in 1985 and 1986.

“It was a great opportunity, the fans loved it and I won four of my five world championships there, so Viva Las Vegas!” Smets said of the Wrangler Bullfights at the Thomas & Mack Center. “When you walk into that

building, the Thomas & Mack Center, and you walk down that hallway, the hair on the back of your neck is standing up because there’s 17,000 people that are loving it. It’s a feeling like no other.”

The biggest wrecks of Smets’ illustrious career involved fighting bulls. He twice broke his neck at Wrangler Bull Fight Tour events and ended up wrapped around a television camera at the Thomas & Mack Center one year.

“It was playing a game of tag with a heat-seeking missle,” said Smets, who also won world titles in 1983, 1988 (with Miles Hare) and 1994. “It’s playing for keeps.”

One stock contractor’s rank bulls stands out in Smets’ memory.

“Harry Vold’s pen of bulls – Crooked Nose, 141 and Black Panther – if it was that pen, there wasn’t a lot of joking around in the locker room that night,” he said.

“You knew if you stubbed your toe, you were going down.

It was that tough of a competition.”

Smets and other bullfighting backers have since put on open bullfights across the country, but none resemble the battles from the Thomas & Mack Center. They may be a thing of the past now, but the Wrangler Bullfights have a long and storied history that will forever be a part of the Wrangler NFR’s tenure in Las Vegas.

“It was playing a game of tag with a heat-seeking missile.

It’s playing for keeps.”

–Rob Smets

MISS RODEO AMERICA

MRA pageant, program have come long way in Las Vegas The Miss Rodeo America Pageant has evolved and thrived since moving to Las Vegas for good in 1990.

isa Poese Jamison will always remember winning the title of Miss Rodeo America 1991.

The Nebraskan earned that distinction at The Flamingo in December of 1990, the year the pageant moved to Las Vegas for good, and she was impressed by the glitz and glamour of the city and the host casino.

“It was a little bit of a shock, because the year before, I had gone to watch the pageant at the Lazy E in Guthrie,” Jamison said. “(Las Vegas) was just a lot more of a showcase and quite a bit more glamorous than the pageant I’d gone to watch the year before. We worked a lot of rehearsals so the pageant would have a great stage appearance, and it really did.

“It was phenomenal.”

When the Miss Rodeo America Pageant first moved to Las Vegas in 1958, its productions were not much better than the average college theater play. But all that changed thanks to Las Vegas’ influence, and Jamison and other past queens reaped the benefits.

Fast-forward to the modern day, and the pageant has evolved into a dizzying spectacle in the “Entertainment Capital of the World” that resembles a top-flight Las Vegas stage show. After shifting between Las Vegas and Oklahoma City in the 1980s, the Miss Rodeo America Pageant became a mainstay in Las Vegas in 1990.

Returning the pageant to Las Vegas was the best thing for Las Vegas and Miss Rodeo America.

“I can’t see one without the other,” Las Vegas Events Board member Berlyn Miller said. “To me, they’re just integral and go together.”

Finding a permanent home in the illustrious city has created an atmosphere for the event to thrive.

“Las Vegas Events and Herb McDonald were really instrumental in helping me make that move to get the pageant back in Las Vegas and have it affiliated with the National Finals Rodeo,” Miss Rodeo America Executive Director Raeana Wadhams said. “The city of Las Vegas has just embraced the Miss Rodeo America pageant, and it has a lot to do with what this pageant is today and how professional it is.”

Now held at the MGM Grand, the pageant is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2014, 25 years after calling Vegas home for good. The pageant has evolved from a novelty with rudimentary stage shows to a big-time Las Vegas mainstay that attracts quite a crowd.

The pageant grew by leaps and bounds at The Flamingo from 1990-2004 before moving to The Orleans, where it continued to progress until 2011. That’s when it moved to its current home at one of the city’s mega casinos.

Not only is the pageant entertaining, but its scholarship program provides a leg up for young women to succeed in life and in the Western industry.

“I’m so impressed with the program and the training they give to these ladies,” Miller said. “We offer over $100,000 in scholarships each year, and I’d like to see that amount doubled or tripled. It’s a great program that builds a lot of abilities in these ladies and help them learn the talents they need to succeed.”

LEADING LADIES

WPRA thriving as top women’s rodeo association

hen most people think about barrel racing in Las Vegas, one name immediately comes to mind.

Charmayne.

Few contestants have had more success at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo than Charmayne James, who won the final nine of her 10 consecutive world championships at the Thomas & Mack Center from 1985-93, then added No. 11 in 2002. When James and her prized horse Scamper were making runs at the NFR, everyone stopped and watched.

“In Vegas, and then some of the other rodeo towns that you go to throughout the year, you definitely have special memories,” James said. “You just keep all those memories with you, and you’re like, ‘Ah, Vegas!’

“The conditions have improved. They work on better setups, and it seems to get a little better each year.”

James and Scamper helped put barrel racing on the map and contributed a great deal toward making it one of the most popular rodeo events. Barrel racing had a long and established history before they came on the scene – beginning in 1948 with the creation of the Girls’ Rodeo Association – but it would never be the same afterward.

With roots in Texas, the GRA had 74 members and held 60 events across the country in its inaugural year. It was not until 1967 in Oklahoma City that barrel racing was added to the NFR, but it has been a staple and a fan-favorite ever since.

In 1981, the association reorganized as the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association and set about to improve the sport and continue growth enjoyed in the 1970s. As the WPRA solidified itself in the rodeo realm and worked hard to expand its reach, the women began to demand more from themselves and others.

In 1998, the WPRA barrel racers joined the PRCA team ropers in threatening to strike at the NFR because of a lack of equal money in their events. That resulted in a change for the 1999 Finals, where team roping and barrel racing received equal money as the other events for the first time.

Fast-forward to the current day, and barrel racing is as strong as ever under the guidance of the WPRA, which also conducts a women-only season-ending event for its rodeo competitors. With more than 2,500 members and 1,300 sanctioned events, the WPRA is enjoying new heights of success, and that is evident no place more than at the Wrangler NFR. “Every year, it seems like the competition in the barrel racing gets tougher and tougher,” four-time and reigning World Champion Sherry Cervi said. “More people are breeding horses specifically for barrel racing, and it’s tough competition.”

R

odeo is an intensely visual sport, and the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo has been a treat for the senses since moving to Las Vegas in 1985. These pages offer a sampling of the sights from the rodeo’s first 29 years in the “Entertainment capital of the world.”

1. Las Vegas was thrilled to welcome the NFR to the city in 1985.

2. Lewis Feild, center, won the first three all-around championships in Las Vegas from 1985-87.

3. Ote Berry, center, won four steer wrestling gold buckles in Las Vegas.

4. Legendary gambler Amarillo Slim, right, helped Ty Murray celebrate his 1989 all-around crown.

5. The 1986 NFR bull riders outside The Sands.

–PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE LAS VEGAS NEWS BUREAU

1. Joe Beaver won his first gold buckle in Las Vegas during his rookie year in 1985 and enjoyed great success inside the Thomas & Mack Center.

2. Cody Ohl also loves competing in Las Vegas, where he has won six world titles.

3. Billy Etbauer was a fan favorite and tied his Wrangler NFR arena record of 93 points with this 10th-round ride aboard Kesler Rodeo’s Cool Alley Dip in 2004.

4. Fred Whitfield raised the roof in Las Vegas on numerous occasions.

5. Ty Murray was the king of the cowboys in the 1990s.

6. Scott Breding tried his best to tame ProRodeo Hall of Fame bull Bodacious here in 1995.

–PHOTOS NO. 1 & 6 ARE PRCA PHOTOS BY DAN HUBBELL, NO. 3 & 4 ARE PRCA PHOTOS BY MIKE COPEMAN, NO. 2 IS A PRCA PHOTO BY GREG WESTFALL AND NO. 5 IS A PRCA FILE PHOTO.

1. The American flag is always presented with class at the Wrangler NFR. 2. Team ropers get this view of the Thomas & Mack Center arena before nodding their heads.

3. No contestant has been more dominant in Las Vegas than Trevor Brazile.

4. Las Vegas truly becomes a “cowboy town” for two weeks every December.

5. Taylor Swift performed outside the Thomas & Mack Center in 2006 before she became a household name and global superstar.

6. The Fremont Street Experience has been a favorite for rodeo fans since 1985.

7. Barrelmen like Flint Rasmussen have entertained crowds at the Wrangler NFR for decades.

8. Flag girls help present the rodeo’s sponsors inside the arena on a nightly basis.

–PHOTO NO. 1 IS A PRCA PHOTO BY GREG WESTFALL, AND PHOTOS 2-8 ARE COURTESY OF THE LAS VEGAS NEWS BUREAU.

1. Contestants love the thrill of riding in the grand entry every night.

2. The Wrangler NFR Exceptional Rodeo has been a mainstay at the Finals in Las Vegas.

3. Wrangler NFR stock is kept close to the Thomas & Mack Center.

4. Bullfighters put their bodies on the line to save bull riders on a nightly basis.

5. Celebrities like Shania Twain, who attended the rodeo last year, routinely find their way to the Thomas & Mack Center during the Finals.

6. Pyrotechnics and entertainers are part of the pageantry of the Wrangler NFR. 7. Las Vegas casinos have begun to host immensely popular watch parties for fans who don’t have tickets to the rodeo.

–PHOTOS NO. 1 AND 3 ARE PRCA PHOTOS BY TOM DONOGHUE, NO. 2 IS A PRCA PHOTO BY KERRI ALLARDYCE, NO. 4 & 5 ARE PRCA PHOTOS BY GREG WESTFALL AND NO. 6 IS COURTESY OF THE LAS VEGAS NEWS BUREAU.

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All-Around Cowboy 1985 Lewis Feild, Elk Ridge, Utah 1986 Lewis Feild, Elk Ridge, Utah 1987 Lewis Feild, Elk Ridge, Utah 1988 Dave Appleton, Arlington, Texas 1989 Ty Murray, Stephenville, Texas 1990 Ty Murray, Stephenville, Texas 1991 Ty Murray, Stephenville, Texas 1992 Ty Murray, Stephenville, Texas 1993 Ty Murray, Stephenville, Texas 1994 Ty Murray, Stephenville, Texas 1995 Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas 1996 Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas 1997 Dan Mortensen, Manhattan, Mont.

1998 Ty Murray, Stephenville, Texas 1999 Fred Whitfield, Hockley, Texas 2000 Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas 2001 Cody Ohl, Stephenville, Texas 2002 Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas 2003 Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas 2004 Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas 2005 Ryan Jarrett, Summerville, Ga. 2006 Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas 2007 Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas 2008 Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas 2009 Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas 2010 Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas 2011 Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas 2012 Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas 2013 Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas

Steer Wrestling 1985 Ote Berry, Gordon, Neb. 1986 Steve Duhon, Opelousas, La. 1987 Steve Duhon, Opelousas, La. 1988 John W. Jones Jr., Morro Bay, Calif.

1989 John W. Jones Jr., Morro Bay, Calif.

1990 Ote Berry, Checotah, Okla.

1991 Ote Berry, Checotah, Okla.

1992 Mark Roy, Dalemead, Alberta 1993 Steve Duhon, Opelousas, La. 1994 Blaine Pederson, Amisk, Alberta 1995 Ote Berry, Checotah, Okla.

1996 Chad Bedell, Jensen, Utah 1997 Brad Gleason, Touchet, Wash.

1998 Mike Smith, Baton Rouge, La. 1999 Mickey Gee, Wichita Falls, Texas 2000 Frank Thompson, Cheyenne, Wyo. 2001 Rope Myers, Van, Texas 2002 Sid Steiner, Bastrop, Texas 2003 Teddy Johnson, Checotah, Okla.

2004 Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif.

2005 Lee Graves, Calgary, Alberta 2006 Dean Gorsuch, Gering, Neb. 2007 Jason Miller, Lance Creek, Wyo. 2008 Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif.

2009 Lee Graves, Calgary, Alberta 2010 Dean Gorsuch, Gering, Neb. 2011 Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif.

2012 Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif.

2013 Hunter Cure, Holliday, Texas

Saddle Bronc Riding 1985 Brad Gjermundson, Marshall, N.D. 1986 Bud Munroe, Valley Mills, Texas 1987 Clint Johnson, Spearfish, S.D. 1988 Clint Johnson, Spearfish, S.D. 1989 Clint Johnson, Spearfish, S.D. 1990 Robert Etbauer, Ree Heights, S.D. 1991 Robert Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla.

1992 Billy Etbauer, Ree Heights, S.D. 1993 Dan Mortensen, Manhattan, Mont.

1994 Dan Mortensen, Manhattan, Mont.

1995 Dan Mortensen, Manhattan, Mont.

1996 Billy Etbauer, Ree Heights, S.D. 1997 Dan Mortensen, Manhattan, Mont.

1998 Dan Mortensen, Manhattan, Mont.

1999 Billy Etbauer, Ree Heights, S.D. 2000 Billy Etbauer, Edmond, Okla.

2001 Tom Reeves, Eagle Butte, S.D. 2002 Glen O’Neill, Didsbury, Alberta 2003 Dan Mortensen, Billings, Mont.

2004 Billy Etbauer, Edmond, Okla.

2005 Jeff Willert, Belvidere, S.D. 2006 Chad Ferley, Oelrichs, S.D. 2007 Taos Muncy, Corona, N.M. 2008 Cody Wright, Milford, Utah 2009 Jesse Kruse, Great Falls, Mont.

2010 Cody Wright, Milford, Utah 2011 Taos Muncy, Corona, N.M. 2012 Jesse Wright, Milford, Utah 2013 Chad Ferley, Oelrichs, S.D.

Bareback Riding 1985 Lewis Feild, Elk Ridge, Utah 1986 Lewis Feild, Elk Ridge, Utah 1987 Bruce Ford, Kersey, Colo.

1988 Marvin Garrett, Gillette, Wyo. 1989 Marvin Garrett, Belle Fourche, S.D. 1990 Chuck Logue, Decatur, Texas 1991 Clint Corey, Kennewick, Wash.

1992 Wayne Herman, Dickinson, N.D. 1993 Deb Greenough, Red Lodge, Mont.

1994 Marvin Garrett, Belle Fourche, S.D. 1995 Marvin Garrett, Belle Fourche, S.D. 1996 Mark Garrett, Spearfish, S.D. 1997 Eric Mouton, Weatherford, Okla.

1998 Mark Gomes, Hutchinson, Kan. 1999 Lan LaJeunesse, Morgan, Utah 2000 Jeffrey Collins, Redfield, Kan. 2001 Lan LaJeunesse, Morgan, Utah 2002 Bobby Mote, Redmond, Ore. 2003 Will Lowe, Canyon, Texas 2004 Kelly Timberman, Mills, Wyo. 2005 Will Lowe, Canyon, Texas 2006 Will Lowe, Canyon, Texas 2007 Bobby Mote, Culver, Ore. 2008 Justin McDaniel, Porum, Okla.

2009 Bobby Mote, Culver, Ore. 2010 Bobby Mote, Culver, Ore. 2011 Kaycee Feild, Spanish Fork, Utah 2012 Kaycee Feild, Spanish Fork, Utah 2013 Kaycee Feild, Spanish Fork, Utah

Team Roping 1985 Jake Barnes, Bloomfield, N.M. Clay O’Brien Cooper, Chandler Heights, Ariz.

1986 Jake Barnes, Bloomfield, N.M. Clay O’Brien Cooper, Chandler Heights, Ariz.

1987 Jake Barnes, Bloomfield, N.M. Clay O’Brien Cooper, Gilbert, Ariz.

1988 Jake Barnes, Bloomfield, N.M. Clay O’Brien Cooper, Gilbert, Ariz.

1989 Jake Barnes, Bloomfield, N.M. Clay O’Brien Cooper, Gilbert, Ariz.

1990 Allen Bach, Merced, Calif.

1991 Bob Harris, Gillette, Wyo. Tee Woolman, Llano, Texas 1992 Jake Barnes, Higley, Ariz.

Clay O’Brien Cooper, Gilbert, Ariz.

1993 Bobby Hurley, Ceres, Calif.

1994 Jake Barnes, Cave Creek, Ariz.

Clay O’Brien Cooper, Gilbert, Ariz.

1995 Bobby Hurley (hdr), Ceres, Calif.

Allen Bach (hlr), Toltec, Ariz.

1996 Steve Purcella (hdr), Hereford, Texas Steve Northcott (hlr), Odessa, Texas 1997 Speed Williams (hdr), Jacksonville, Fla. Rich Skelton (hlr), Llano, Texas 1998 Speed Williams (hdr), Jacksonville, Fla. Rich Skelton (hlr), Llano, Texas 1999 Speed Williams (hdr), Jacksonville, Fla. Rich Skelton (hlr), Llano, Texas

2000 Speed Williams (hdr), Jacksonville, Fla. Rich Skelton (hlr), Llano, Texas 2001 Speed Williams (hdr), Jacksonville, Fla. Rich Skelton (hlr), Llano, Texas 2002 Speed Williams (hdr), Jacksonville, Fla. Rich Skelton (hlr), Llano, Texas 2003 Speed Williams (hdr), Amarillo, Texas Rich Skelton (hlr), Llano, Texas 2004 Speed Williams (hdr), Llano, Texas Rich Skelton (hlr), Llano, Texas 2005 Clay Tryan (hdr), Billings, Mont.

Patrick Smith (hlr), Midland, Texas 2006 Matt Sherwood (hdr), Queen Creek, Ariz.

Allen Bach (hlr), Weatheford, Texas 2007 Chad Masters (hdr), Clarksville, Tenn.

Walt Woodard (hlr), Stockton Calif.

2008 Matt Sherwood (hdr), Pima, Ariz.

Randon Adams (hlr), Logandale, Nev. 2009 Nick Sartain (hdr), Yukon, Okla.

Kollin VonAhn (hlr), Durant, Okla.

2010 Trevor Brazile (hdr), Decatur, Texas Patrick Smith (hlr), Midland, Texas 2011 Turtle Powell (hdr), Stephenville, Texas Jhett Johnson (hlr), Casper, Wyo. 2012 Chad Masters (hdr), Cedar Hill, Tenn.

Jade Corkill (hlr), Fallon, Nev. 2013 Clay Tryan (hdr), Billings, Mont.

Jade Corkill (hlr), Fallon, Nev.

Tie-Down Roping 1985 Joe Beaver, Victoria, Texas 1986 Chris Lybbert, Argyle, Texas 1987 Joe Beaver, Victoria, Texas 1988 Joe Beaver, Victoria, Texas 1989 Rabe Rabon, San Antonio, Fla. 1990 Troy Pruitt, Lennox, S.D. 1991 Fred Whitfield, Cypress, Texas 1992 Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas 1993 Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas 1994 Herbert Theriot, Wiggins, Miss.

1995 Fred Whitfield, Hockley, Texas 1996 Fred Whitfield, Hockley, Texas 1997 Cody Ohl, Orchard, Texas 1998 Cody Ohl, Orchard, Texas 1999 Fred Whitfield, Hockley, Texas 2000 Fred Whitfield, Hockley, Texas 2001 Cody Ohl, Stephenville, Texas 2002 Fred Whitfield, Hockley, Texas 2003 Cody Ohl, Stephenville, Texas 2004 Monty Lewis, Hereford, Texas 2005 Fred Whitfield, Hockley, Texas 2006 Cody Ohl, Hico, Texas 2007 Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas 2008 Stran Smith, Childress, Texas 2009 Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas 2010 Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas 2011 Tuf Cooper, Decatur, Texas 2012 Tuf Cooper, Decatur, Texas 2013 Shane Hanchey, Sulphur, La. Barrel Racing 1985 Charmayne James, Clayton, N.M. 1986 Charmayne James, Clayton, N.M. 1987 Charmayne James, Clayton, N.M. 1988 Charmayne James, Galt, Calif.

1989 Charmayne James, Galt, Calif.

1990 Charmayne James, Galt, Calif.

1991 Charmayne James, Galt, Calif.

1992 Charmayne James, Galt, Calif.

1993 Charmayne James, Galt, Calif.

1994 Kristie Peterson, Elbert, Colo.

1995 Sherry Cervi, Marana, Ariz.

1996 Kristie Peterson, Elbert, Colo.

1997 Kristie Peterson, Elbert, Colo.

1998 Kristie Peterson, Elbert, Colo.

1999 Sherry Cervi, Midland, Texas

Barrel Racing (continued)

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Janet Stover, Rusk, Texas Charmayne James, Athens, Texas Janae Ward, Addington, Okla.

Kelly Kaminski, Bellville, Texas Kelly Kaminski, Bellville, Texas Mary Burger, Pauls Valley, Okla.

Brittany Pozzi-Pharr, Victoria, Texas* Lindsay Sears, Nanton, Alberta Brittany Pozzi, Victoria, Texas Sherry Cervi, Marana, Ariz.

Lindsay Sears, Nanton, Alberta Mary Walker, Ennis, Texas Sherry Cervi, Marana, Ariz

*Professional Women’s Barrel Racing champion.

Bull Riding 1985 Ted Nuce, Manteca, Calif.

1986 Tuff Hedeman, Gainesville, Texas 1987 Lane Frost, Lane, Okla.

1988 Jim Sharp, Kermit, Texas 1989 Tuff Hedeman, Bowie, Texas 1990 Jim Sharp, Kermit, Texas 1991 Tuff Hedeman, Bowie, Texas 1992 Cody Custer, Wickenburg, Ariz.

1993 Ty Murray, Stephenville, Texas 1994 Daryl Mills, Pink Mountain, B.C. 1995 Jerome Davis, Archdale, N.C. 1996 Terry Don West, Henryetta, Okla.

1997 Scott Mendes, Weatherford, Texas 1998 Ty Murray, Stephenville, Texas 1999 Mike White, Lake Charles, La. 2000 Cody Hancock, Taylor, Ariz.

2001 Blue Stone, Ogden, Utah 2002 Blue Stone, Ogden, Utah 2003 Terry Don West, Henryetta, Okla.

2004 Dustin Elliott, Tecumseh, Neb. 2005 Matt Austin, Wills Point, Texas 2006 B.J. Schumacher, Hillsboro, Wis. 2007 Wes Silcox, Payson, Utah 2008 J.W. Harris, May, Texas 2009 J.W. Harris, May, Texas 2010 J.W. Harris, Mullin, Texas 2011 Shane Proctor, Grand Coulee, Wash.

2012 Cody Teel, Kountze, Texas 2013 J.W. Harris, Mullin, Texas

Earnings $30,529 $46,620 $75,212 $64,724 $58,031 $72,818 $101,242 $86,268 $124,821 $33,259 $31,116 $35,898 $83,228 $107,899 $86,438 $123,356 $89,858 $65,609 $79,539 $55,774 $114,718 $127,914 $139,614 $149,098 $113,802 $211,509* $106,250 $82,841 $170,823

Steer Wrestling Seconds Head 1985 Ote Berry, Gordon, Neb. 49.3 10 1986 Butch Myers, Welda, Kan. 44.3 10 1987 Steve Duhon, Opelousas, La. 48.1 10 1988 John W. Jones Jr., Morro Bay, Calif.

64.1 10 1989 Marty Melvin, Holabird, S.D. 57.7 10 1990 Ivan Teigen, Camp Crook, S.D. 72.2 10 1991 Blaine Pederson, Amisk, Alberta 59.1 10 1992 Mark Roy, Dalemead, Alberta 58.0 10 1993 Steve Duhon, Opelousas, La. 49.3 10 1994 Blaine Pederson, Amisk, Alberta 55.3 10 1995 Rooster Reynolds, Twin Bridges, Mont.

64.3 10 1996 Mark Roy, Dalemead, Alberta 44.8 10 1997 Butch Myers, Athens, Texas 43.3 10 1998 Mike Smith, Baton Rouge, La. 44.3 10 1999 Mickey Gee, Wichita Falls, Texas 42.0 10 2000 Chad Biesemeyer, Stephenville, Texas 50.7 10 2001 Rope Myers, Van, Texas 37.4* 10 2002 Sid Steiner, Bastrop, Texas 41.8 10 2003 Mickey Gee, Wichita Falls, Texas 47.3 10 2004 Ronnie Fields, Oklahoma City, Okla.

43.2 10 2005 Lee Graves, Calgary, Alberta 39.2 10 2006 Dean Gorsuch, Gering, Neb. 47.8 10 2007 Jason Miller, Lance Creek, Wyo. 42.7 10 2008 Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif.

41.9 10 2009 Lee Graves, Calgary, Alberta 45.1 10 2010 (tie) Dean Gorsuch, Gering, Neb. 45.7 10 Billy Bugenig, Ferndale, Calif.

45.7 10 2011 Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif.

41.9 10 2012 Les Shepperson, Midwest, Wyo. 48.6 10 2013 Bray Armes, Gruver, Texas 44.8 10

Bareback Riding Points Ridden 1985 Chuck Logue, McKinney, Texas 752 10 1986 Lewis Feild, Elk Ridge, Utah 734 10 1987 Bruce Ford, Kersey, Colo.

774 10 1988 Dave Appleton, Arlington, Texas 757 10 1989 Marvin Garrett, Belle Fourche, S.D. 775 10 1990 Chuck Logue, Decatur, Texas 768 10 1991 Wayne Herman, Dickinson, N.D. 783 10 1992 Deb Greenough, East Helena, Mont. 783 10 1993 Ty Murray, Stephenville, Texas 769 10 1994 Brian Hawk, Azle, Texas 769 10 1995 Marvin Garrett, Belle Fourche, S.D. 775 10 1996 Mark Garrett, Spearfish, S.D. 786 10 1997 Eric Mouton, Weatherford, Okla.

796 10 1998 Mark Gomes, Hutchinson, Kan. 786 10 1999 Lan LaJeunesse, Morgan, Utah 813 10 2000 Jeffrey Collins, Redfield, Kan. 816 10 2001 Clint Corey, Powell Butte, Ore. 811 10 2002 Jason Jeter, Fort Worth, Texas 839 10 2003 Cody Jessee, Prineville, Ore. 839 10 2004 Kelly Timberman, Mills, Wyo. 836.5 10 2005 (tie) Kelly Timberman, Mills, Wyo. 837.5 10 Cimmaron Gerke, Fort Worth, Texas 837.5 10 2006 Will Lowe, Canyon, Texas 821.5 10 2007 Will Lowe, Canyon, Texas 846 10 2008 Justin McDaniel, Porum, Okla.

859 10 2009 Bobby Mote, Culver, Ore. 847 10 2010 Justin McDaniel, Porum, Okla.

836.5 10 2011 Kaycee Feild, Payson Utah 860.5* 10 2012 Kaycee Feild, Spanish Fork, Utah 834 10 2013 Kaycee Feild, Spanish Fork, Utah 823 10

Team Roping Seconds Head 1985 Jake Barnes, Bloomfield, N.M. Clay O’Brien Cooper, Chandler Heights, Ariz. 87.8 10 1986 Paul Petska, Carlsbad, N.M. Monty Joe Petska, Carlsbad, N.M. 90.2 10 1987 (tie) Tee Woolman, Llano, Texas Bob Harris, Voca, Texas 77.2 10 and Jake Milton, Torrington, Wyo. Walt Woodard, Stockton, Calif.

77.2 10 1988 Charles Pogue, Ringling, Okla.

Rickey Green, Burbank, Calif.

99.7 10 1989 Bret Boatright, Conway Springs, Kan. Steve Northcott, Odessa, Texas 78.0 10 1990 Tee Woolman, Llano, Texas Bobby Harris, Gillette, Wyo. 78.8 10 1991 David Motes, Fresno, Calif.

Bret Tonozzi, Fruita, Colo.

85.9 10 1992 Mark Simon, Florence, Ariz.

Bret Tonozzi, Fruita, Colo.

80.8 10 1993 Kevin Stewart, Glen Rose, Texas Jacky Stephenson, Charlotte, Texas 100.5 10 1994 Jake Barnes, Cave Creek, Ariz.

Clay O’Brien Cooper, Higley, Ariz.

59.1* 10 1995 Kermit Maass, Snook, Texas Tyler Magnus, Manor, Texas 62.9 10 1996 Steve Purcella, Hereford, Texas Steve Northcott, Odessa, Texas 70.9 10 1997 Bret Boatright, Mulhall, Okla.

Kory Koontz, Sudan, Texas 83.0 10 1998 Jimmy Tanner, Tifton, Ga. Brad Culpepper, Sylvester, Ga. 68.0 10

All-Around

1985 Tee Woolman, Llano, Texas 1986 Lewis Feild, Elk Ridge, Utah 1987 Lewis Feild, Elk Ridge, Utah 1988 Lewis Feild, Elk Ridge, Utah 1989 Ty Murray, Stephenville, Texas 1990 Ty Murray, Stephenville, Texas 1991 Ty Murray, Stephenville, Texas 1992 Ty Murray, Stephenville, Texas 1993 Ty Murray, Stephenville, Texas 1994 Ty Murray, Stephenville, Texas 1995 Tee Woolman, Llano, Texas 1996 Herbert Theriot, Poplarville, Miss.

1997 Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas 1998 Herbert Theriot, Wiggins, Miss.

1999 Cody Ohl, Orchard, Texas 2000 Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas 2001 Jesse Bail, Camp Crook, S.D. 2002 Jesse Bail, Camp Crook, S.D. 2003 Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas 2004 Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas 2005 Ryan Jarrett, Summerville, Ga. 2006 Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas 2007 Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas 2008 Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas 2009 Josh Peek, Pueblo, Colo.

2010 Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas 2011 Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas 2012 Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas 2013 Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas

(continued on next page)

Team Roping (continued)

1999 Jimmy Tanner, Tifton, Ga. Brad Culpepper, Poulan, Ga. 2000 Charles Pogue, Ringling, Okla.

Britt Bockius, Claremore, Okla.

2001 Speed Williams, Jacksonville, Fla. Rich Skelton, Llano, Texas 2002 J.D. Yates, Pueblo, Colo.

Bobby Harris, Gillette, Wyo. 2003 Matt Tyler, Dennis, Texas Patrick Smith, Midland, Texas 2004 Clay Tryan, Billings, Mont.

Michael Jones, Stephenville, Texas 2005 Tee Woolman, Llano, Texas Cory Petska, Lexington, Okla.

2006 Chad Masters, Adams, Tenn.

Allen Bach, Weatherford, Texas 2007 Jake Barnes, Scottsdale, Ariz.

Clay O’Brien Cooper, Morgan Mill, Texas 2008 Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas Patrick Smith, Midland, Texas 2009 Nick Sartain, Yukon, Okla.

Kollin VonAhn, Durant, Okla.

2010 Luke Brown, Rock Hill, S.C. Martin Lucero, Stephenville, Texas 2011 Turtle Powell, Stephenville, Texas Jhett Johnson, Casper, Wyo. 2012 Chad Masters, Cedar Hill, Tenn.

Clay O’Brien Cooper, Gardnerville, Nev. 2013 Luke Brown, Stephenville, Texas Kollin VonAhn, Blanchard, Texas

83.9 10 73.3 10 92.8 10 96.6 10 62.3 10 77.8 10 71.7 10 88.5 10 72.6 10 60.1 10 59.2 10 65.5 10 57.5 9 73.4 10 56.2 9

Saddle Bronc Riding Points 1985 (tie) Bud Pauley, Shepherd, Mont. 755 Monty Henson, Mesquite, Texas 728 1986 Dave Appleton, Arlington, Texas 698 1987 Butch Knowles, Hermiston, Ore. 728 1988 Brad Gjermundson, Marshall, N.D. 746 1989 Clint Johnson, Spearfish, S.D. 746 1990 Bud Longbrake, Dupree, S.D. 752 1991 Robert Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla.

766 1992 Billy Etbauer, Ree Heights, S.D. 714 1993 Tom Reeves, Stephenville, Texas 725 1994 Dan Mortensen, Manhattan, Mont. 791 1995 Robert Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla.

750 1996 Billy Etbauer, Ree Heights, S.D. 805 1997 Scott Johnston, DeLeon, Texas 781 1998 Rod Warren, Water Valley, Alberta 755 1999 Charley Gardner, Ruby Valley, Nev. 757 2000 Ryan Mapston, Geyser, Mont.

721 2001 Scott Johnston, Gustine, Texas 719 2002 Glen O’Neill, Didsbury, Alberta 825 2003 Rod Warren, Big Valley, Alberta 805 2004 Rod Warren, Big Valley, Alberta 757.5 2005 Rod Warren, Big Valley, Alberta 798 2006 J.J. Elshere, Quinn, S.D. 723 2007 Rod Hay, Wildwood, Alberta 826 2008 Cody Taton, Newell, S.D. 720.5 2009 Shaun Stroh, Dickinson, N.D. 732.5 2010 Cody Wright, Milford, Utah 847 2011 Jesse Wright, Milford, Utah 848.5* 2012 Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La. 798.5 2013 Jacobs Crawley, Stephenville, Texas 778.5

Ridden 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 9/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 9/10 9/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 9/10 10/10 9/10 9/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10

Tie-Down Roping Seconds Head 1985 Mike McLaughlin, Fort Worth, Texas 102.6 10 1986 D.R. Daniel, Okeechobee, Fla. 102.6 10 1987 Joe Beaver, Victoria, Texas 112.3 10 1988 Joe Beaver, Victoria, Texas 117.1 10 1989 David Bowen, Yoakum, Texas 110.6 10 1990 Herbert Theriot, Wiggins, Miss. 106.8 10 1991 Fred Whitfield, Cypress, Texas 91.7 10 1992 Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas 96.8 10 1993 Troy Pruitt, Minatare, Neb. 96.4 10 1994 Tod Slone, Canyon Lake, Texas 99.5 10 1995 Roy Cooper, Childress, Texas 101.8 10 1996 Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas 101.9 10 1997 Fred Whitfield, Hockley, Texas 84.0 10 1998 Cody Ohl, Stephenville, Texas 91.6 10 1999 Fred Whitfield, Hockley, Texas 87.0 10 2000 Brent Lewis, Piñon, N.M. 86.9 10 2001 Jerome Schneeberger, Ponca City, Okla. 109.6 10 2002 Fred Whitfield, Hockley, Texas 88.8 10 2003 Mike Johnson, Henryetta, Okla. 86.4 10 2004 Monty Lewis, Hereford, Texas 87.8 10 2005 Ryan Jarrett, Summerville, Ga. 89.0 10 2006 Cody Ohl, Hico, Texas 84.3 10 2007 Cody Ohl, Hico, Texas 90.8 10 2008 Stran Smith, Childress, Texas 87.1 10 2009 Tuf Cooper, Decatur, Texas 84.5 10 2010 Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas 88.6 10 2011 Matt Shiozawa, Chubbuck, Idaho 88.3 10 2012 Adam Gray, Seymour. Texas 87.8 10 2013 Shane Hanchey, Sulphur, La. 80.1* 10

Cody Ohl is a two-time Wrangler NFR average champion who holds the Thomas & Mack Center tie-down roping arena record of 6.5 seconds and also has made a 6.6-second run.

Earnings by event

Bareback Riding $179,327, Kaycee Feild, 2011 Steer Wrestling $146,779, Luke Branquinho, 2011 Team Roping $125,625 each, Turtle Powell/ Jhett Johnson, 2011 Saddle Bronc Riding $160,962, Jesse Wright, 2011 Tie-down Roping $134,766, Shane Hanchey, 2013 Barrel Racing $155,899, Sherry Cervi, 2013 Bull Riding $158,738, J.W. Harris, 2010 Two events $211,509, Trevor Brazile, in team roping and tie-down roping, 2010 Three events $239,586, Trevor Brazile, in team roping, tie-down roping and steer roping, 2010 Career, all events $1,702,937, Trevor Brazile

Barrel Racing Seconds Runs Bull Riding Points 1985 Janet Powell 145.38 10 1985 Ted Nuce, Manteca, Calif. 697 1986 Charmayne James, Clayton, N.M. 138.93 10 1986 Lane Frost, Lane, Okla. 678 1987 Charmayne James, Clayton, N.M. 143.51 10 1987 Tuff Hedeman, Bowie, Texas 637 1988 Marlene McRae, Ramah, Colo. 142.85 10 1988 Jim Sharp, Kermit, Texas 771 1989 Charmayne James, Galt, Calif. 146.33 10 1989 (tie) Tuff Hedeman, Bowie, Texas 709 1990 Charmayne James, Galt, Calif. 145.39 10 Jim Sharp, Kermit, Texas 709 1991 Kim West, Oklahoma City, Okla. 144.01 10 1990 Norman Curry, De Berry, Texas 800* 1992 Vana Beissinger, Lake Worth, Fla. 143.33 10 1991 Michael Gaffney, Lubbock, Texas 701 1993 Charmayne James, Galt, Calif. 145.14 10 1992 Jim Sharp, Stephenville, Texas 570 1994 Kristie Peterson, Elbert, Colo. 143.83 10 1993 Daryl Mills, Pink Mountain, B.C. 650 1995 Kristie Peterson, Elbert, Colo. 142.22 10 1994 Adriano Moraes, Keller, Texas 773 1996 Kristie Peterson, Elbert, Colo. 141.89 10 1995 Jerome Davis, Archdale, N.C. 736 1997 Kristie Peterson, Elbert, Colo. 143.28 10 1996 Adriano Moraes, Keller, Texas 724 1998 Kristie Peterson, Elbert, Colo. 141.58 10 1997 Scott Mendes, Weatherford, Texas 557 1999 Sherry Cervi, Midland, Texa 141.56 10 1998 Ty Murray, Stephenville, Texas 491 2000 Kappy Allen, Austin, Texas 140.01 10 1999 Mike White, Big Spring, Texas 518 2001 Kappy Allen, Austin, Texas 142.20 10 2000 Philip Elkins, Keller, Texas 665 2002 Charmayne James, Athens, Texas 141.75 10 2001 Blue Stone, Ogden, Utah 693 2003 Janae Ward, Addington, Okla. 140.50 10 2002 Blue Stone, Ogden, Utah 520 2004 Molly Powell, Stephenville, Texas 140.93 10 2003 Greg Potter, Whitt, Texas 502.5 2005 Liz Pinkston, San Antonio, Texas 142.65 10 2004 Paulo Crimber, Haltom City, Texas 500.5 2006 Brittany Pozzi,, Victoria, Texas 141.12 10 2005 Matt Austin, Wills Point, Texas 586.5 2007 Brittany Pozzi-Pharr, Victoria, Texas 140.18 10 2006 B.J. Schumacher, Hillsboro, Wis. 696.5 2008 Jill Moody, Letcher, S.D. 140.11 10 2007 Wes Silcox, Payson, Utah 596 2009 Sherry Cervi, Marana, Ariz. 139.01 10 2008 J.W. Harris, May, Texas 507 2010 Jill Moody, Letcher, S.D. 138.26 10 2009 Kanin Asay, Powell, Wyo. 434 2011 Lindsay Sears, Nanton, Alberta 139.50 10 2010 J.W. Harris, Mullin, Texas 714 2012 Brenda Mays, Terrebonne, Ore. 141.79 10 2011 L.J. Jenkins, Porum, Okla. 501 2013 Sherry Cervi, Marana, Ariz. 138.15* 10 2012 Beau Schroeder, China, Texas 423 2013 Cody Teel, Kountze, Texas 651.5 *Wrangler NFR record.

Ridden 9/10 9/10 8/10 10/10 9/10 9/10 10/10 9/10 7/10 8/10 10/10 9/10 9/10 7/10 6/10 6/10 8/10 8/10 6/10 6/10 6/10 7/10 8/10 7/10 6/10 5/10 8/10 6/10 5/10 8/10

Average records Highest-scored rides Bareback Riding 91.5 points, (tie) Justin McDaniel on J Bar J Rodeo’s Delta Ship, 2007; Will Lowe on Mosbrucker Rodeo’s Magic Wars, 2007; Bobby Mote on Classic Pro Rodeo’s Big Tex, 2008; Bobby Mote on Big Bend Rodeo’s Spring Fling, 2008 860.5 points on 10 rides, Kaycee Feild, 2011 Saddle Bronc Riding 93 points, Billy Etbauer on Kesler Championship Rodeo’s Cool Alley Dip, 2003, 2004 848.5 points on 10 rides, Jesse Wright, 2011 1,806 points on 10 rides, Jim Tescher, 1959 (from 1959 to 1963, bucking events were based on a perfect score of 210 points; Tescher’s average score would equal 860 points under today’s system of a 100-point perfect score) Bull Riding 96 points, Cody Hancock on Diamond G Rodeo’s Mister USA, 2001 800 points on 10 rides, Norman Curry, 1990; Adriano Moraes (773 points, 1994) and Jim Sharp (771 points, 1988) are the only other bull riders to ride all 10 bulls at the NFR

Fastest times Tie-Down Roping 6.5 seconds, Cody Ohl, 2003 80.1 seconds on 10 head, Shane Hanchey, 2013

Steer Wrestling

3.0 seconds, Steve Duhon, 1986; Bryan Fields, 2001 37.4 seconds on 10 head, Rope Myers, 2001

Team Roping

3.3 seconds, Chad Masters and Jade Corkill, 2009 59.1 seconds on 10 head, Jake Barnes/Clay O’Brien Cooper, 1994

Barrel Racing

13.37 seconds, Taylor Jacob, 2013 138.15 seconds on 10 runs, Sherry Cervi, 2013

Total number of rounds won

Number of national finals rounds won, overall 57 Trevor Brazile (TR, TD, SR) 52 Cody Ohl (TD, SR) 51 Billy Etbauer (SB) 47 Guy Allen (SR) 42 Tee Woolman (TR, SR) 40 Roy Cooper (TD, SR) 34 Rich Skelton (TR) 31 Jake Barnes (TR) 30 Allen Bach (TR) 29 Joe Beaver (TD, TR, SR) Clay O’Brien Cooper (TR) Doyle Gellerman (TR) 28 Speed Williams (TR) Mike Beers (TR) 25 Charmayne James (GB) Jim Rodriguez Jr. (TR, SR) 24 Dan Mortensen (SB) Leo Camarillo (TR) 23 Fred Whitfield (TD) Arnold Felts (SR, TR)

Most rounds won in consecutive years, any event 13 Gail Barrett Petska, barrel racing, 1972-73

Winner of most average titles 8–Roy Cooper, TD, 1976, 1979, 1983, 1995; SR, 1984-85, 1993, 1996 7–Olin Young, TD, 1959, 1962-63, 1971; SR, 1967, 1974, 1977 Winners of most National Finals titles (including the all-around at the Wrangler NFR) 11–Trevor Brazile, AA, 2003-04, 2007-08, 2010-13; TR, 2008; TD, 2010; SR, 2013 9–Roy Cooper, AA, 1983; TD, 1976, 1979, 1983, 1995; SR, 1984-85, 1993, 1996 8–Ty Murray, AA, 1989-94; BB, 1993; BR, 1998 Tom Ferguson, AA, 1974, 1976-79; SW, 1977-78, 1981 7–Olin Young, TD, 1959, 1962-63, 1971; SR, 1967, 1974, 1977 Joe Beaver, AA, 1997, 2000, 2006; TD, 1987-88, 1992, 1996 Winners of most average titles in a single event Bull Riding All-around 3–Denny Flynn, 1975, 1981-82 8–Trevor Brazile, 2003-04, 2007-08, 2010-13 Jim Sharp, 1988-89, 1992 6–Ty Murray, 1989-94 Winner of average in three events 5–Larry Mahan, 1967-70, 1973 Phil Lyne: BR, 1972; TD, 1972; SR, 1983, 1986 Tom Ferguson, 1974, 1976-79 Trevor Brazile: TR, 2008; TD, 2010; SR, 2012 Bareback Riding Winners of average in two events 4–Bruce Ford, 1979-80, 1982, 1987 Dave Appleton: SB, 1986; BB, 1988 3–Jack Buschbom, 1959, 1961, 1964 Bobby Berger: BR, 1969, 1971; SB, 1980 Jack Ward Jr., 1974-76 Ace Berry: BB, 1971-72; TR, 1967, 1972 Kaycee Feild, 2011-13 Roy Cooper: TD, 1976, 1979, 1983, 1995; SR, 1984-85, 1993, 1996 Steer Wrestling Sandy Kirby: BB, 1973; BR, 1974 4–John W. Jones Sr., 1965, 1968-70 Chris Lybbert: TD, 1980-81; SW, 1982 3–Tom Ferguson, 1977-78, 1981 Phil Lyne: BR, 1972; TD, 1972 Team Roping Don McLaughlin: TD, 1960; SR, 1960, 1964 6–Leo Camarillo, 1968-71, 1980, 1982 Ty Murray: BB, 1993; BR, 1998 5–Tee Woolman, 1980, 1982, 1987, 1990, 2005 Dennis Reiners: BB, 1965; SB, 1973 4–Jim Rodriguez Jr., 1959-60, 1966, 1973 Mark Schricker: SW, 1962; TD, 1969 Reg Camarillo, 1969-71, 1975 Tee Woolman: TR, 1980, 1982, 1987, 1990; SR, 1998 David Motes, 1977, 1981, 1984, 1991 Olin Young: TD, 1959, 1962-63, 1971; SR, 1967, 1974, 1977 Clay O‘Brien Cooper, 1985, 1994, 2007, 2012 Winners of two average titles in same year Saddle Bronc Riding Ace Berry: BB, TR, 1972 4–Monty Henson, 1976, 1982, 1984, 1985 Phil Lyne: BR, TD, 1972 Rod Warren, 1998, 2003-05 Don McLaughlin: TD, SR, 1960 3–Kenny McLean, 1964, 1968, 1971 Winners of most consecutive average titles Tom Miller, 1975, 1979, 1981 4 Leo Camarillo, TR, 1968-71 (also 1980, 1982) Tie-down Roping 3 John W. Jones Sr., SW, 1968-70 (also 1965) 4–Joe Beaver, 1987-88, 1992, 1996 Jack Ward Jr., BB, 1974-76 Olin Young, 1959, 1962-63, 1971 Rod Warren, SB, 2003-05 Roy Cooper, 1976, 1979, 1983, 1995 Kaycee Feild, BB, 2011-13 Fred Whitfield, 1991, 1997, 1999, 2002 Winners of NFR average titles in riding and timed events Barrel Racing Ace Berry: BB, 1971-72; TR, 1967, 1972 7–Charmayne James, 1984, 1986-87, 1989-90, 1993, 2002 Phil Lyne: BR, 1972; TD, 1972; SR, 1983, 1986

Top go-round winners in each event Bareback Riding 24 Bobby Mote 17 Marvin Garrett 16 Mickey Young 15 Wayne Herman Deb Greenough Jack Ward Jr. In one year: 6 Kaycee Feild, 2011 Steer Wrestling 22 Luke Branquinho 20 Ote Berry 19 Roy Duvall 17 Rod Lyman 15 John W. Jones Sr. In one year: 4 Roy Duvall, 1981 Luke Branquinho, 2006 Trevor Knowles, 2008

Team Roping (heading) 31 Jake Barnes 29 Doyle Gellerman 28 Speed Williams Tee Woolman 24 Jim Rodriguez Jr. In one year: 6 Speed Williams (roping with Rich Skelton), 1999 Team Roping (heeling) 33 Rich Skelton 30 Allen Bach 29 Clay O‘Brien Cooper 28 Mike Beers 24 Leo Camarillo In one year: 6 Rich Skelton (roping with Speed Williams), 1999

61

Saddle Bronc Riding 51 Billy Etbauer 24 Dan Mortensen 15 Mel Coleman 14 Mel Hyland Bill Smith Marty Wood In one year: 5 Billy Etbauer, 1992, 1999, 2005 Dan Mortensen, 1998 Tie-down Roping 49 Cody Ohl 23 Fred Whitfield 21 Joe Beaver 19 Roy Cooper 17 Ronnye Sewalt In one year: 5 Dave Brock, 1978 Cody Ohl, 2001, 2013

Barrel Racing 25 Charmayne James 23 Sherry Cervi 18 Janet Stover 14 Kristie Peterson Gail Barrett Petska Kay Blandford In one year: 7 Gail Barrett Petska, 1972 Bull Riding 18 Ted Nuce 16 Don Gay 15 Tuff Hedeman 14 Denny Flynn 12 Cody Custer In one year: 4 Bob Wegner, 1966 Denny Flynn, 1979 Cody Custer, 1992 Blue Stone, 2001 B.J. Schumacher, 2006 J.W. Harris, 2010

New 10-year contract will provide stability for Wrangler NFR, ProRodeo the marketplace, it kind of just opened a little bit of a fter 29 successful years basked in the glow of floodgate,” Stressman said. “People would go, ‘Wait a the bright lights of Las Vegas, the Wrangler minute. If they’ll go to Oklahoma City, what about us?

National Finals Rodeo was a blink away from Will you move here?’ It just kind of evolved, and there calling another city home. really was no intent to go select different venues for it.”

A tense roller-coaster negotiation period began in late Social media exploded with speculation, opinion 2013 and continued through January 2014, and nearly and rumors, PRCA contestants aligned themselves with half a dozen cities were rumored to be in the running for different cities and had the world’s richest rodeo. varying thoughts about Stress, innuendos, arguments, where the rodeo should be emotion, rumors, speculation, “Everybody’s looking at the same held and Las Vegas leaders misinformation – it was all part of the whirlwind that thing, and that’s, ‘How do we get stood firm against mounting to open the coffers surrounded the Wrangler NFR better results out of the Wrangler pressure and pour more money into contract negotiations that had the rodeo world wondering National Finals Rodeo? What do the rodeo. When a group from Osceola County, where the event would end up we do to incorporate the PRCA Fla., also got serious about in 2015. and help Las Vegas Events and the bidding for the Finals, Las Oklahoma City, the event’s home from 1965-84, was the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Vegas brass knew it had for concern. early frontrunner to challenge Authority? What do we do to put cause “We were very concerned, Las Vegas’ grip on the those things together and just keep because Orlando was in the illustrious rodeo. According mix and Dallas was in the to PRCA Commissioner Karl building this thing up?’” mix,” LVCVA President and Stressman, Express Ranches CEO Rossi Ralenkotter said. owner Bob Funk was part –PRCA Commissioner Karl Stressman “Dallas is cowboy country, of a group that was keenly so, we were concerned there interested in bringing the was a possibility that it Wrangler NFR back to the could move to another city.

“Sooner State.”

That’s why we, with the hotel industry, made sure we put Dallas, which hosted the first three Wrangler NFRs, was a proposal together that was going to convince the NFR the next rumored site, and Stressman said he had talks with and PRCA to stay in Las Vegas.” a group that included Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban Numbers in the hundreds of millions – from the total and executives at American Airlines about returning the purse of proposed deals and bids to economic impact rodeo to its original home. figures for Las Vegas – swirled in the media, and the Those cities’ interest put Las Vegas executives on notice discussions became heated and, at times, personal. and led to a host of other cities – including Orlando, “It kind of got a little rocky there for a little bit, but Nashville and New Orleans – to inquire about hosting the we stayed the course and never acknowledged that it Wrangler NFR. The sport of ProRodeo had a bidding war on got rocky,” Stressman said. “The negotiations and all of its hands. the bickering back and forth is just part of the game. I “Once we got it in the marketplace a little bit, and don’t think you put $165-million-dollar deals together by because of Oklahoma City and when it leaked out into

On Jan. 24, Las Vegas leaders joined PRCA Commissioner Karl Stressman, fifth from right, to announce the Wrangler NFR’s new 10-year deal that will keep the rodeo in Las Vegas for another decade. sitting down and having a glass of wine over a steak.”

Stressman was buoyed by an innate desire to do what was best for his membership and association, so he stuck to his guns throughout the ordeal.

“I’m a hired gun, so I was just doing what I do,” Stressman said. “That’s what my job was, to get our contestants the best we could get them, all things considered, go from there and make it work. They were just doing their job, and that’s how they negotiate.”

Ralenkotter and other Las Vegas executives felt they had a trump card that gave them an advantage over other cities.

“We had the strength of our brand, the history and evolution of it, the commitment from our hotel properties,” he said. “There is no other city anywhere that can put on the event and the 10-day experience we can.

When you look at the entertainment, the rodeo and all of the auxiliary things that go on, all of that package – and it is a package and an experience – somebody goes home from the NFR and says, ‘Wow, that was really great.’”

The Osceola County group reportedly turned in a proposal offering $16 million annually in payouts for the rodeo, and the PRCA Board of Directors – which in mid-December had previously rejected a Las Vegas bid reportedly offering $11-$12 million a year – had a decision to make. Las Vegas then stepped up to the plate with a new offer.

In the end, cooler heads prevailed, and on Jan. 24, the biggest deal in the history of ProRodeo was announced.

The world’s premier rodeo, with 270 consecutive sellouts at the Thomas & Mack Center, would remain in Las Vegas for another decade.

The 10-year, $165 million deal will provide a $10 million purse for the rodeo every year from 201519, with an additional $3 million going to PRCA stock contractors. Wrangler NFR contestants will be guaranteed $10,000 for qualifying for the rodeo, and cost-of-living increases will be factored into the event from 2020-24.

It was a watershed moment for the PRCA, the Wrangler NFR and the city of Las Vegas.

“To have all those things put to bed and have everybody signed, sealed and delivered and agreed-upon terms, I’m going to guarantee you the day we agreed to terms, the relationships came back and fell right back in place,” Stressman said.

“Everybody’s looking at the same thing, and that’s, ‘How do we get better results out of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo?

What do we do to incorporate the PRCA and help Las Vegas Events and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority?

What do we do to put those things together and just keep building this thing up?’”

Most people close to the issue believed it would have been a monumental mistake to move the rodeo from its home of the last 29 years.

“Maybe at first, there would have been a lot of people thinking it was good leaving Vegas and going to Dallas or elsewhere, but after they paid double for their room, didn’t have free transportation and got out after the performance and were doing nothing, all of that would have been a factor,” Las Vegas Events President Pat Christenson said. “The NFR is no longer just about that event. There’s so much opportunity to be entertained around it.”

Four-time World Champion Steer Wrestler Luke Branquinho saw both sides of the issue.

“From a cowboy’s perspective, I would go wherever the money was the greatest,” he said. “From a fan’s perspective, there’s no place better than Vegas. It accommodates everybody’s needs, it’s 24/7, and you don’t have to worry as a spectator about, ‘Where are we going to go eat after the rodeo?’ or ‘What are we going to do?’”

ProRodeo Hall of Fame team roper Clay O’Brien Cooper said what most were thinking about the situation.

“I think it needs to be there,” he said of Las Vegas. “I don’t think any other city really provides the whole atmosphere that Las Vegas can bring to the table, and now it has 30 years behind it, so it’s gone into (being) tradition. I know there were some factors involved and some back-and-forth, but at the end of the day, rodeo needs Vegas, and Vegas is good for rodeo.”

&

Onward Upward 1985 2014

The rodeo world sounds off about the future of the Wrangler NFR

“I think, with getting more money added to it for next year and the next 10 years, we just need to keep going down that path and keep the money up. Everybody likes to see people win a lot of money, so I think if we can keep cowboys winning a pile of it, people are going to keep coming and the money’s going to keep getting better and better.”

LUKE BRANQUINHO

Four-time world champion steer wrestler

“I don’t know why it wouldn’t continue to get better, because the support they get from the city is really what makes or breaks an event. The PRCA provides a great product, but Vegas is the one that makes it happen.”

TUFF HEDEMAN

Three-time world champion bull rider

“We have to be aware that we have to continue to be as excited about it and improve it, as we have the last 30 years. I think the future is very bright for the NFR, and I think it’ll go to where people in charge want to take it. It can go to all heights.”

SHAWN DAVIS

ProRodeo Hall of Famer, Wrangler NFR general manager

“I think it’s great, and the people and the sponsors and everyone are going to keep it going. It’s gotten better and better through the years, so hopefully it does just keep getting better.”

BILLY ETBAUER

ProRodeo Hall of Fame saddle bronc rider

“I think we all have to keep marketing it and finding new things each year to make it better and better and make sure all of our customers have a great time while they’re here. We’re looking forward to the next 30 years.”

BILL BOYD

Boyd Gaming chairman/CEO

“I think they continue to adapt, and they keep changing. The casinos getting involved personally has made a huge impact, and it’s made each property connect to certain fans. They just keep evolving and keep changing, and that helps.”

TREVOR BRAZILE

Twenty-time world champion

“I think it’ll keep growing, but you’ve got to keep improving your product.

You’ve got to keep having a two-hour show, and as long as we keep selling out, we’ll do fine.”

BENNIE BEUTLER

ProRodeo Hall of Fame stock contractor, Wrangler NFR assistant general manager

“I think everybody’s trying to make it as big and as fun and as exciting as they can so people, when they’re sitting down planning their year, say, ‘No matter what, we’re going to Las Vegas the first of December.’

I’m convinced it will continue to grow and get bigger and 10 or 15 years from now, you’ll be talking to somebody and they’ll be talking about how much bigger it is today than it was in 2014.”

TOM JENKIN

Member, Las Vegas Events Board of Trustees

“The rodeo will continue to grow.

There’s a lot of smart people who live there who are running that town and running that rodeo, and it’s just going to keep getting bigger and better.”

DAN MORTENSEN

ProRodeo Hall of Fame saddle bronc rider

“I don’t know what’s going to be next, but I’m sure it’s going to be changing and evolving as it goes.”

CLAY O’BRIEN COOPER

Seven-time world champion team roper

“I hope to see it grow. I hope to see it keep getting bigger. I wish nothing but the best for the National Finals Rodeo, and I hope to see it continue to get bigger and better and faster.”

SPEED WILLIAMS

Eight-time world champion team roper

“The sky is the limit, especially in that town. When they get a good idea, they go with it. They’re always raising the bar and trying to put a new twist on what they’re doing. That keeps it from ever getting boring.”

BOBBY MOTE

Four-time world champion bareback rider

“I think the NFR is going to keep growing, you bet. It’s holding the PRCA together. It’s the pot of gold at the end of the year.”

COTTON ROSSER

ProRodeo Hall of Fame stock contractor

“I think it’s absolutely tremendous, and I think it will keep growing.

Things weren’t quite as good two or three years ago as they could have been, but they’ve picked right back up. That’s a good signal and a good sign, and I think it’ll just keep on getting bigger and bigger.”

HARRY VOLD

ProRodeo Hall of Fame stock contractor