First Ever Rodeo Related Club on Clubhouse - That Rodeo Life

Saturday, March 6, 2021 - The That Western Life team is so excited to announce that we officially have the FIRST rodeo related club on Clubhouse - That Rodeo Life! While we love our That Western Life name, our blog operated under a variety of different names depending on whether the topics are related to agricultural, ranching, fashion, advocacy, etc. This Club will play host to some amazing rooms dedicated to networking, growing your brand name, marketing your rodeo, and event-specific room breakdowns!

Join us on the app today and shoot us a message either on here or at That Western Life on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook to start a conversation about a room collaboration today!

Riled Up With Ryle Smith

Texas (June 19, 2019) - Join us for episode 12 of the That Western Life podcast where hosts Lisa, Rachel & Katie chat with National Finals Rodeo steer wrestler and tie-down roper Ryle Smith. Originally from California, Ryle and his beautiful wife & daughter now live in Texas where they are chasing the rodeo dream! Balancing rodeo and family life isn’t easy though and Ryle takes us through some great stories about living the western lifestyle with his beautiful family!

If you enjoyed Ryle’s episode of the That Western Life podcast, we recommend that you listen to:

• Ep. 9 - Steer Wrestler Jesse Brown

• Ep. 11 - Live With Lucia’s Anthony Lucia

• Ep. 3 - JJ Harrison

Live With Lucia's Anthony Lucia [Podcast]

Live With Lucia is one of the premier shows to watch during Cowboy Christmas of the National Finals Rodeo and we have none other than Anthony Lucia himself on the show! From his career in entertainment as a child, following his father and Whiplash the Cowboy Monkey to some of the biggest international venues, to announcing rodeos, hosting his own talk show, and being a team roper - Anthony Lucia is a God-Fearing and Texas loving cowboy! Oh, did we mention he just married the former Miss Rodeo America and That Western Life podcast co-host Lisa (Lageschaar) Lucia?

Do you love team roping? We recommend Episode 5 with X-Factor’s Pace Freed!

Interested in the world of rodeo entertainment? We recommend Episode 3 with JJ Harrison!

PRCA Futures; New Year's Resolutions for Professional Rodeo

During the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo held in Las Vegas, Nevada, every December, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) takes the time to meet, present and educate rodeo committees and employees throughout the country at the PRCA’s Annual Convention. Join the That Western Life Podcasting team as they dig deeper into new hires and unofficial resolutions of the PRCA in 2019!

PRCA Convention

The PRCA Convention starts with the Chief Executive Office, George Taylor, giving his first ever address. His vision is very big, bringing in new people to help grow the PRCA, members and fans.

• Numbers were down last year.
  This concerning with the PRCA’s membership, the PRCA rodeos, even.

• Money was up from PRCA’s sponsors.
  This is exciting as this is what adds purse monies into our finals and into individual rodeos which, in turn, increases contestants.

• There were more fans here and there.
  New areas where we can watch rodeo such as the ProRodeo TV streaming app.

• Returning permits are going up.
  We aren’t losing out on contestants that are getting injured and moving forward.

Prediction: Membership will increase with the semi-retirement of Trevor Brazile, the King of the Cowboys.

George Taylor definitely comes across as more CEO, whereas his predecessor, Karl Stressman, came across as more cowboy. Both gentleman have worked very hard in their positions to promote the professional sport of rodeo. TWL Host Rachel was our on the ground correspondent at the convention thanks to the Lakeside Rodeo of San Diego.

George Taylor; the CEO’s Address at the PRCA Convention

For his first time addressing the entire membership that he’s been at the helm of, George Taylor is taking PRCA and his job as CEO by storm. He appears and looks to be fearless, one foot in front of the other to get things done. While there may have been a lot of conversation and uncertainty on social media as Taylor doesn’t come to the CEO position as a former rodeo athlete.

Just like the NFL or NBA, whose commissioners didn’t compete at the professional level for the sports that they have, Taylor can walk the walk and talk the talk. He’s coming in with an outside perspective it is giving him the ability to think outside of the box to the future of the PRCA.

Karl Stressman; Career in Review

Karl Stressman’s initiatives were to support contestants being able to stay local or regional and making it less of a financial burden to be a PRCA cardholder and have success. He promoted the 12 regional Circuit Finals and the National Circuit Finals.

A champion of the All American ProRodeo series, which was an association in the rodeo heavy states of Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, Stressman was able to get larger purses for those finals. For a rodeo to count, it must be $30,000 or less added money to any rodeo in the country. Contestants got 50 points for competing in an All American ProRodeo and then a point for every dollar won at those. Their finals, held in Waco, Texas, the second week in October but 2018 was the last year of those finals.

Finals dollars from the 12 Ram Circuit Finals, the Ram National Circuit Finals, and the All American ProRodeo Series counted in the world standings as of the 2017 seasons, but will no longer count in 2019. The 2018 season was the last of the two seasons that the finals money counts toward the world standings making it a very small “wink in time.”

These smaller finals allowed contestants to win more money to gain access to the limited-access rodeos like Rodeo Houston.

Mexican Rodeo Federation Addition

Stressman assisted creating the Mexican Rodeo Federation into the Ram National Circuit Finals as if they are their own circuit. When Stressman left office last year, he had Rodeos sanctioned in Brazil, Mexico and Canada that counted towards the world standings. Two contestants from each event came to Kissimmee, Florida, to compete for those finals.

Marcus Costa was the first Brazilian to win the tie-down roping in the 2017 world title. He also won the Top Gun award that year, joining Junior Noguiera (team roping heeler) to push for Brazilian success in timed events. It’s great to see rodeo expand and to watch people find success in professional rodeo.

What’s next for Karl Stressman?

Currently working with USTRC, we are interested to see what he will do with that association. They have over 30,000 members and over 100 qualifying events. It’ll be fun to watch to see how that grows and changes in the future. They have already joined forces with the WSTR, proving that being united in the sport of rodeo is the way to grow exponentially, which you can see through their discount in getting the memberships together.

New Hires to the PRCA: Anthony Bartkowski

Anthony Bartkowski has announced a focus on recruiting the grass roots organizations into the professional ranks and athlete development. Being an educator, host Lisa Lageschaar is a former teacher and firmly believes in the youth as the future of the PRCA. This will go hand-in-hand with the PRCA’s youth camps.

Director of Athlete Development and Animal Welfare

Bartkowski comes from all the rough and tumble sports like boxing and wrestling, he’s an outside force to be reckoned with when it comes to professional athlete events. A unique thing for him, is that he’ll be overseeing the operations of the livestock welfare - it should be interesting to see how he handles protestors before Houston or the NFR. Protestors have been seen at a variety of rodeos, even smaller Texas circuit rodeos not just in large, typically liberal cities.

We know the great care our animals receive and having someone like Anthony to be taking care of it. As the new CEO, Taylor needs to stay on top of the avalanche as Ringling Brothers ended their over 100 year run. How do we make sure that this fate doesn’t fall to rodeo? Is rodeo facing the same fate?

Director of Athlete Development

What can professional rodeo do for their contestants?

Rodeo really wants to go into mainstream sports but, unlike mainstream sports, rodeo doesn’t have teams with individual public relations teams to help them. Will there be an online platform to help educate those contestants remotely to help them carry themselves into the new era of rodeo?

At the PRCA convention they talked about the new website with in-depth information on contestants, the bucking stock, and the analysis of what a match up could look like. These stats can help you have prediction and game analysis going into an event which allows fans to have more investment into each match-up or a loyalty to a competitor. A lot of work, but it’ll be well worth it.

PRCA Rodeo Additions

The American Goes PRCA

Thanks to George Taylor, the famous 2-day one million dollar rodeo is now sanctioned with the PRCA as of 2019. Slated for March 2nd and 3rd, it’s going to pay out a lot of money to now count for the world standings.

How will it count:

• Contestants can still qualify in through the qualifying events in all events.

• As a qualifications based rodeo, money won won’t count for the current Ram Texas Circuit Finals.

• If a cowboy has purchased a PRCA card before the American, they are now eligible to count their winnings at the American towards the world standings.

• Only $50,000 for first place will count for the world standings.

• Any place below that, all of their money earned will count towards the world standings.

• February 25 through March 1 is the qualifier; that isn’t a PRCA rodeo. AT&T Stadium winnings will count.

How does this factor in? Look at the event of steer wrestling, one of the most evenly distributed standings, the number 16 cowboy for 2018 was around $80,000 won for the year. Can you imagine what $50,000 is going to do right there? It’s almost going to solidify them a spot in the WNFR.

Prediction: It’ll take more money to qualify for the 2019 National Finals Rodeo.

Rodeo Houston (Texas) and Pike’s Peak or Bust (Colorado) rodeos have both come back to the PRCA.

New Permit Cardholders

JB Mauney and Jess Lockwood, two very successful Professional Bull Riders, got their permits for the 2019 season. Unfortunately, they can’t get in to these limited entry rodeos with big money. This will be the a heated Resistol Rookie of the Year battle. Once they have won the $1,000 on their permit to get their Rookie card, the money will count towards the world standings. Will they stick it out?

The follow the track of Shane Proctor who came back to PRCA full time with saddle bronc and bull riding after riding in the PBR. Increasing entries, he’ll be competing for the All Around title which is unique on the roughstock end. The last one to do so was Ty Murray, who won 7 all around titles and 2 bull riding championships, the last one in 1993.

PRCA’s New Safe Sport Initiative

Seventeen pages front and back, this is something that the PRCA is taking very seriously. A code of conduct of how you should be acting when you are representing the professional sport of rodeo and the PRCA, with the actions if you break those rules. Outlining all the types of misconduct, it allows the PRCA to take further action from there.

It’s not just PRCA members, it’s also contractors, volunteers, internal committee members, PRCA rodeo committee members, sponsors, event attendees, and more. The first case example may be the Cody Nite Rodeo Association with a story that broke right after the 2018 WNFR.

Wrangler Steps Down from Exclusive Clothing Sponsorship

In 2018, Wrangler was still the title sponsor of the PRCA and the NFR but they stepped down from the exclusivity clause. Competition is healthy and keeps us striving and working for the next level. This now gives us some room for growth, and gaining the partnership with Cinch and more, it opens up healthy competition shows that we are going to grow money and, in turn, grow the sport. It takes money to grow in every aspect.

Cinch jumped in to be a sponsor immediately, which has been fun to watch how that develops and changes the marketing schematic for prorodeo. Not just that, Cinch had six endorsees that became world champions in 2018.

If you could make one rule for the PRCA?

Lisa Lageschaar: Jerk down rule clarification.

Did Tuf Cooper really jerk the calf down between ten and two? It was hard to tell, the announcers didn’t explain that on the television, and it needs to be analyzed and looked over to make sure it doesn’t put limitations on our sport. This look would be great for both our contestants and our animals.

1. Tuf did a great job explaining what happened for everyone at home on his Facebook.

2. Eliminating gray area is very important for the preservation of our sport.

Katie Schrock: Ground money should count in the NFR only for all events.

Bull riding is the only event at the WNFR where ground money counts. What this means, is that if not all six payout slots are filled after the round with only 1 to 5 covered rides, than the additional money is spread out throughout the contestants that got a qualified time. This added money doesn’t count towards the All Around standings, just that event.

In the team roping at the NFR in round six, there was only five legal catches in one run, and if ground money had counted it potentially could have shook up the standings. (Further investigation says that it wouldn’t have in this particular rare case, but, theoretically, it could in the future!)

If you could make up a rule for the PRCA and WPRA, what would it be?

Drop it in the comments below or send us a message on any social media platform or email us at thatwesternlifeusa@gmail.com! Give us five stars in a review, tell your friends, and help us get bigger and better for you the fans!

Theme Song: Doin’ Me by Trevor Tagle

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The First Ever That Western Life Podcast

What you need to know about the hosts, plus recapping the 2018 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo!

What is the That Western Life Podcast?

This podcast is going to take someones naive interest in a culture and help them explore the trials and tribulations of the western lifestyle. We are here to share the amazing, funny, educational and unique people and animals that are in rodeo and the western lifestyle. We can’t wait to see what we can do to help those in the sport of professional rodeo into more mainstream ways.

Make sure to subscribe today, tell your friends and leave a review!

Meet the Hosts

Rachel Owens-Sarno - San Diego County, California

I’m excited to jump into the world of podcasting and to continue promoting a lifestyle and sport I love with lots of fun, humor, knowledge and facts!

Read more about Rachel here.

Lisa Lageschaar - Weatherford, Texas

“I am still that horse-crazed kid at heart, but over time, have developed my love of horses into a love for every person involved with and every industry linked to horses. I have been presented with numerous opportunities through the western industry, and it is my goal to give back in any way I can to continue to grow and develop knowledge and passion for horses, rodeo, agriculture, and the western way of life as a whole.”

Read more about Lisa here.

Katie Schrock - Pacific Northwest

“I have always maintained to be an approachable and knowledgeable source of information for the western lifestyle whether it be ranching, farming or rodeo. I want to help keep those interested informed on the western lifestyle and not only the importance of these industries but to preserve the culture.”

Read more about Katie here.

2018 National Finals Rodeo Recap

The National Finals Rodeo starts significantly earlier than most people anticipate the 10-day Super Bowl of rodeos starting. With award shows, the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA) convention, and the kick-off party of the Back Number Ceremony. The theme for 2018’s finals was that there could have been any number of stories that could have competed for screen time for Hollywood with the amazing stories that developed and came forward!

J.R. Vezain, a PRCA bronc rider who found himself in a horrific accident that resulted in him being in a wheelchair, he had qualified a spot for the WNFR in the top 15. Unable to compete, Will Lowe took that vacant spot as the 16th place in the world standings. Not only was Vezain included each night in the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund injury update but he was also recognized by the legendary King of the Cowboys, Trevor Brazile, recognizing the inspiration that he has been with his positivity. When he rolled up on to stage at the back number ceremony the crowd went wild! A great light for Christ, he and his wife, Shelby, have continued to be an inspiration!

The western industry is striving and one can see that in the payout of the Number 10 in the World Series Team Roping, happening throughout the NFR in Las Vegas, paid out $376,000 to first place. It was around $2.3 million in that round alone! That’s where we got to see NFR Team Roper Trey Yates watch his grandpa Dick Yates win that money in the Number 10 Round Win. Trey is at his first ever NFR which adds to the added royalty legacy of his grandfather, dad and aunt who are the first family trifecta to qualify for the NFR in one year.

Ten rounds of fast-paced action with a lot of money up for grab! Round payout is $84,615.38 total, paid out to six places over the ten rounds in each event. The average pays out $253,846.15 to the top eight per event. First place winning a round is over $26,000 which can bring a person from 14th to 1st in the world; albeit they would have to be close top to bottom. Noteworthy is that the bull riding has ground money if not all rides are completed in the round.

RAM Top Gun & Bull Riding

Chase Dougherty came on hot in the last 7 rounds of the NFR. He won almost $30,000 more in the RAM Top Gun Award. An award given by RAM Trucks for winning the most money in one event. It was a horse race up until the last few rounds between the barrel racers and Chase Dougherty. Over ten days, Chase cashed $318,266.13 (unofficially) at the NFR including the average. When it came down to Round 10 if only 3 or less riders stayed on their bull, as long as one of those was Chase and one wasn’t Sage, Chase would have won the world. Sage stayed on, won the round and won the world!

2019 Predictions; Sage Kimzey wasn’t 100% at the finals and the 2019 season started last year. Could Chase Dougherty or Sage’s kid brother, Trey, take the 2019 title?

Trey Kimzey set a new record in 2018 as a Permit Holder Earnings. Sage is out to catch Don Gay’s 8 World Championships in the NFR. Sage knows how to stay on and ride - one of the most talented in professional bull riding in the country.

Clayton Bigelow & Virgil

An astounding moment at the 2018 NFR was Clayton Bigelow's Round 5 ride on Virgil! An impressive, big gray bucking horse, left the crowds and the judges speechless! If you want to  talk about athletes showing up at the NFR, C5 Rodeo’s Virgil tied the arena record in 2017 with Tim O’Connell, then came back in 2018 to set the arena record at 93. There are only 10 rides in the PRCA period that are 93 or 94; this ride is now one of those.

Wade Sundell - Bareback World Champion

In the round where Clayton Bigelow set the arena record, Wade Sundell on Medicine Woman had a 92 point ride. Keeping pace with that record setting ride kept him in the world title chase. He split round 7 with Chase Brooks. He came to perform and rode at the top of his game, placing in eight of the rounds. One of those bucking horses came from Get Smart who was named the bareback horse of the NFR. He’s been eight times to the NFR and won the American!

This was on top of the rough year that Wade had where he lost his home to a fire. This was a huge explanation point on the end of the year on the road!

If you have never heard of Wade Sundell or are new to rodeo, check out this song by Chance Danison (WARNING: explicit!) that kind of gives you a sample of how Wade got the name “Wild Wade.”

Will Lummus & Grinder with KC Jones

KC Jones is a 9 time qualifier in the steer wrestling but wasn’t competing in the same capacity as he has done in the past; he was the hazer for first-time qualifier Will Lummus. A Mississippi cowboy, he did his darndest to make the steer wrestling exciting this year! Will’s horse Grinder was at its first NFR, and can be a challenging venue for a horse new to the NFR but he handled it with poise. However, he would let out some of his personality with a few bucks every time that Will dismounted to wrestle a steer.

Tie Down Roping; Caleb Smidt & Tyson Durfey

Prior to the 2018 finals, the 2016 World Champion Tyson Durfey had the unfortunate loss of his number one horse Nikko, after a complication in a displaced colon colic surgery on November 23rd. Anyone who knows rodeo or horses, knows how important those horses are not just as a partner in a working environment but also to family. He rode his back up horse, Mitch, and ended up winning some good money! Durfey and Mitch even got the win at the Tuf Cooper’s Tying the Knot Invitational Roping over Trevor Brazile.

Caleb Smidt won the first round and the world title after what may have been the roughest family months. He lost his brother and sister-in-law on the night of their wedding when their helicopter crashed, killing all three involved, which made national news. Throughout the rodeo, Caleb’s family held up signs every single night that said, “God is still good.” To add more emotion to this story, he gave that round one buckle win to his father-in-law to thank him for what he has done for him in his life in the past year as he had also lost his father shortly after the 2017 NFR.

Barrel Racing; Hailey Kinsel’s Sister

A horse that never weakened, Hailey Kinsel and her palomino mare Sister, fired hard every single run, clinching the world title in Round 9. Hailey was saying that Sister had nothing left to prove and so she pulled out TJ, the big gelding she ran college rodeo on and even filled her WPRA permit. It was a great nod to the horse that helped build her professional career!

Kelly Bruner, a veterinarian, qualified on her main mount Susie, who is a gelding, but he wasn’t feeling the Thomas & Mack arena. Susie didn’t want to turn the first barrel so she ran a couple of young horses, and she won rounds on a horse named French Zone. People who don’t give up who are also working a full time job while managing rodeoing and winning enough money to make the NFR.

Another contestant, making it to the NFR in a limited number of rounds, is Nellie Miller and her mare Sister. Utilizing “professional planning” and winning when it counts; when she won the 2017 World Title it was on one of the lowest rodeo number counts.

Trevor Brazile, The King of the Cowboys, Kind of Rides Away

“The Cowboy Rides Away,” will Trevor Brazile really be “done?” Will we see him back, qualifying on a limited number of regional to Texas rodeos or maybe with his son or daughter? If he can make it on a limited number of rodeos and it doesn’t affect his family and involvement with his kids’ sport; he’s going to do it. Knowing that he had to do as well as he did in the 10th round in order to win the average title making the count 24 world titles. In an emotional statement to the camera, his legacy will continue to grow and build. It was a great moment for him, his family and all of his fans. He’s made a big impact in the lives of so many rodeo people!

What an amazing National Finals Rodeo and what a great 2019 rodeo season we have coming up! Make sure you subscribe on iTunes, leave a rating, tell your friends, and check out more of our articles! We want to hear from you! Send us a message on any social media platform or at thatwesternlifeUSA@gmail.com.

Theme Song: Doin’ Me by Trevor Tagle

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