The past couple of weeks the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association has been on a terror across the county as the busy time of the season begins to kick off. Professional rodeo athletes, male and female alike, have begun their travels that will include thousands of miles from coast to coast across the United States and beyond. This time of the season that is affectionately known as “Cowboy Christmas” gives those within the PRCA and the Woman’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) organizations the boost they need to make it to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo this coming December in Las Vegas, Nevada!
Along with the strain of competing at event after event each and every day there is also the concern for animal and athlete safety. While we talk about the huge things happening during events we must also keep in mind that there will be things that happen while chasing those white lines. For those cowboys that have hung up their spurs we must also talk about some fine folks that have moved on to greener pastures and are watching all of our moves from far above our heads. All this will be touched on briefly in this week’s PRCA weekly update.
The Wrangler Champions Challenge in Spanish Fork, Utah was undoubtedly an exciting event to be a part of whether you were a contestant or simply a fan sitting in the stands or watching at home. Saturday June 4th was the night that the steer wrestling event took center stage as a 25 year-old cowboy made history. Tyler Waguespack clocked an amazing 3.4 second run to best the previous record of 3.5 seconds. This young steer wrestler has had a tremendous time at WCC events pocketing over $16,500 which is over a third of the total money he has earned in the 2016 season.
He talked about this history making evening by simply saying, “I’ve been having a lot of luck at these, and have been riding some really good horses”. He went on to say “I was riding Ty Erickson’s horse, Shake ‘Em, the 2015 Horse of the Year”. This cowboy was drafted and rides for the Team ProRodeo Gear and his efforts at the WCC events have earned him the nickname “Mr. Consistency” and has sent him shooting up the Weather Guard PRCA World Standings to the number two position just $2,291 out of the top spot securing him another trip to the Thomas & Mack this December!
PRCA Saddle Bronc Rider CoBurn Bradshaw
Photo Credit: PRCA
When you want to talk about a man on a mission in the new style format of the Wrangler Champions Challenges one name should come to mind. CoBurn Bradshaw who was drafted by and rides for the Team PRCA has made his mark and has put every other saddle bronc rider participating in the WCC’s on notice through the first six tour stops in 2016. At each and every one of the stops Bradshaw has managed to pick up enough points to take home checks in all six of the stops thus far!
The 21 year-old cowboy from Beaver, Utah picked up yet another win and a huge chunk of change just this last weekend in Kissimmee, Florida taking home $4,284. His astounding run in the 2016 WCC season brings him to a total of $14,682 in just the first six events. That being said he is solidly in the number two position in the Weather Guard PRCA World Standings and just $1,083 behind the number one man in Jacobs Crawley. He talked about his success so far in 2016 by saying, “It’s all about the mental game, and I came out of the Finals last year with more confidence than I’ve ever had, and I’ve become a lot better bronc rider because of it.”
Tommy Lucia And Whiplash
Photo Credit: Ft. Worth Stock Show And Rodeo
In the past two weeks the rodeo industry has lost both legends and young superstars of the sport of professional rodeo. Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association’s Entertainer of the Year from 2003 to 2005 Tommy Lucia passed away June 1st but is survived by an amazing family that will carry on his legacy for many years to come. This past September Lucia was honored with being inducted into the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum’s Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
PRCA Bareback Rider Coy Lutz
Photo From: Coy Lutz Facebook Page
In yet another tragic event the professional rodeo world lost another fantastic up and coming rodeo superstar in Coy Lutz. On May 28th he was competing at the opening night of the Cowtown Rodeo and in an instant everything came to a tragic halt as Lutz lay motionless on the arena floor. After bucking off his horse he was stepped on numerous times and subsequently lost his life due to the injuries he sustained. He received his PRCA permit two days after his 18th birthday and ultimately passed away doing what he loved at the young age of 19.
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