PRCA Vs. Top Ranked Contestants … which side will win??!!

Is the PRCA getting too greedy?? The Pro Rodeo board is bluffing with Las Vegas and Florida about the future of the National Finals Rodeo while leaving out the contestants?  The top rodeo contestants being spurned by the PRCA board that says they are looking out for them?? The drama continues…

Editors note: This announcement has come from a group of contestants that have formed together to protect the sport of Professional Rodeo and its members.  You can follow them at their facebook page Support Rodeo Contestants.  I will have an exclusive story in the next couple of days with personal accounts as to what this will mean for the cowboys and cowgirls in the future.

January 6, 2014

A group of the top cowboys and cowgirls have been working diligently behind the scenes to try and protect the sport of professional rodeo. Much has been written lately about the challenging negotiations between the Professional Rodeo Cowboy’s Association (PRCA) and Las Vegas, which has been the home of the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) for the last 29 years.

As these negotiations occurred, a group of the top contestants in the sport of professional rodeo have come together to make sure that the integrity of their profession is not lost in the negotiations over the millions of dollars created each year by the fans who flock to the NFR to see the top cowboys and cowgirls compete for the world championship buckles.

Operating under a tight timeline the group recently proposed changes to the PRCA structure in exchange for the commitment of the cowboys to provide greater support to PRCA sanctioned rodeos.

A key member of the group is eleven-time world all-around champion, Trevor Brazile who has a record 19 gold buckles. “We went to the PRCA with a proposal supported by the top cowboys that would have strengthened the PRCA. Unfortunately, our proposal was not accepted,” said Brazile. “We appreciate what the PRCA has done for the sport in the past, but at this point, we feel the time has come for the top contestants to be more directly involved in the future of our sport.”

“We are forming a new organization to work together with committees and sponsors to make sure that the sport of professional rodeo continues to deliver the highest quality product to our great fans,” said Brazile.

“After an exhaustive effort of the top cowboys to help save the current structure, we now realize its time for a change and that there is a huge opportunity for the contestants of professional rodeo to work together to advance the sport,” said K.C. Jones, one of the leaders behind the new organization and a seven-time NFR steer wrestling qualifier. “We are extremely excited to showcase the best contestants at the best venues to give the fans the top quality action they want.”

“This is important to us because we are the cowboys that people come to see compete for the world championships,” said legendary tie-down roper Fred Whitfield, who has won eight world championships and qualified for 20 NFR’s. “What people need to understand is that we are also professional athletes who take the history and integrity of our sport extremely seriously. We have the greatest appreciation for our fans and we have come together to make sure that our fans continue to have a chance to see the top contestants in our sport battle it out every year for a real world championship.”

Four-time world champion bareback rider Bobby Mote, who has 13 NFR qualifications, said he became involved to protect the future of the sport. “We did everything we could to work the PRCA to create the change that we believe this sport needed to go forward. But now it is time for a new direction and this group of cowboys is focused on working with everyone who wants to see professional rodeo get to the next level, while still protecting the heritage of our sport,” said Mote.

“Ultimately this is an exciting time for our sport,” said Brazile. “It is an honor for me to wear a gold buckle and each time I put one on, I appreciate the weight and importance of the heritage of this sport. As the sport of professional rodeo enters a new era we want to make sure that the integrity of the gold buckle is never compromised and that we provide our contestants, fans, and sponsors with the greatest world championship rodeo possible.”

We will be following all breaking news from both sides of the fence concerning this issue.  This will be a huge change in the way Professional Rodeo is treated no matter how this turns out.  Make sure to stay tuned to www.therodeoroundup.com for all your updates from both sides in the following days, weeks and months!

A partial list of contestants already supporting the effort include:

Trevor Brazile
Fred Whitfield
Bobby Mote
K.C. Jones
Wes Stevenson
Ryan Motes
Charly Crawford
Martin Lucero
Casey Colletti
Bray Armes
Bradley Harter
Brittany Pozzi
Cesar de la Cruz
Sherry Cervi
Cory Petska
Travis Graves
Drew Horner
Buddy Hawkins
Kaycee Field
Christy Loflin
Caleb Bennett
Fallon Taylor
Jake Rinehart
Billy Bugenig
Seth Brockman
Jake Long
Trevor Knowles
Kevin Daniels
Jarod Smith
Jane Melby
Clint Cannon
Trula Churchill
Yvan Jayne
Jim Ross Cooper
Garrett Tonozzi
Chase Erickson
Lance Brooks
Dru Melvin
Kory Koontz
Justin Davis
Riley Duvall
Sabrina Ketcham
Taylor Jacob
Richmond Champion
Tyler Pearson
Jake Cooper
Coleman Proctor
Taylor Price
Jean Winters
Will Woodfin
Sean Mulligan
George Gillespie
Colby Lovell
Jade Corkill
Jacobs Crawley
Dakota Kirchenschlager
Chase Tryan
Blair Burk
Chad Ferley
Bryce Miller
Jeff Willert
Brandon Beers
Erich Rogers
Walt Woodard
Tilden Hooper
Cade Swor
Olin Hannum
Cory Soloman
Jake Hannum
Hunter Herrin
Clint Robinson
Rich Skelton
David Motes
Lisa Lockhart
Adam Gray
Kollin VonAhn
Nick Sartain
Clint Cooper
Kaleb Driggers
Luke Brown
Shada Brazile
Hunter Cure
Chad Masters
Tuf Cooper
Stran Smith
Matt Shiozawa
Stetson Vest
Will Lowe
Shane Hanchey
Josh Peek
JR Vezain
Justin Maass
Scott Kormos
Matt Reeves
Michele McLeod
Jacob Shofner
Ben Shofner
Cooper Shofner
Cole Edge
Matt Kasner
Ryan Jarrett
Mickey Gee
Chet Johnson
Clayton Hass
Jason Thomas
Ty Erickson
Bryce Miller
Sterling Crawley
Taos Muncy
Isaac Diaz
Jesse Bail
Cort Scheer
Tyler Corrington
Sam Spreadborough
Cody Taton
Jake Wright
Jesse Wright
Cody Wright
Cole Elshere
Wade Sundell
Todd Suhn

Cody Ohl
Patrick Smith
Luke Branquinho
Jessy Davis
Brock Hansen
Charmayne James
Casey Martin
Stan Branco
Cody DeMers
Wade Sumpter
Ryan Gray
Steven Dent
Dugan Kelly
Justin McDaniel
Paul Eaves
Sammi Bessert
Dakota Eldridge
Speed Willams
Dean Gorsuch