Twisted Rodeo

Tana Poppino rides Goose around the third barrel at the 2012 Guymon (Okla.) Pioneer Days Rodeo. Poppino, her husband, Marty, and their son, Brodie, will be part of the field of nearly 500 contestants at next week's Will Rogers Stampede in Claremore, Okla. (LYNETTE HARBIN PHOTO)

CLAREMORE, Okla. – Many people associated with rodeo talk about the family atmosphere the sport fosters.

None know that any more than the Poppino clan of Big Cabin, Okla.: Tana, Marty and Brodie. Rodeo is in their blood as well as their bloodline, and they travel the country chasing their gold buckle dreams.

They also are part of the nearly 500 contestants who have entered the competition at the 66th edition of the Will Rogers Stampede, set for 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 25-Sunday, May 27, at Will Rogers Stampede Arena just off East Blue Starr Drive in Claremore.

“It’s awesome because this is one of the few rodeos that we get to go to together,” said Tana Poppino, a three-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier in barrel racing. “This is also one of the rodeos that’s closest for us, so it’s one that we all want to do good at.

“I think it’s great that our two hometown rodeos, the one in Claremore and the one in Vinita, area both memorials to Will Rogers, and we get to celebrate a famous Oklahoman that the whole world got to know.”

Marty and Tana Poppino met while attending Oklahoma Panhandle State University on rodeo scholarships and married in 1985. A few years later, they brought a son into their rodeo world. Now he’s competing in ProRodeo on a permit while receiving his education at Southwestern Oklahoma State University.

“I’m excited that I get to rope with my dad and be there for my mom,” said Brodie Poppino, 21, who will compete in steer roping and tie-down roping in Claremore. “It’ll also be great for me to get to rope in front of my Pa and Granny and that they’ll be able to watch us all.”

Although he’s competed in various events, Marty Poppino has focused on steer roping. He’s pretty good at it, too. He’s been one of the top hands in the Prairie Circuit for a number of years.

“We really don’t get to go to too many rodeos together,” Tana Poppino said of the family gathering in Claremore. “We try to go to circuit rodeos between now and the time I leave for the summer.

“I’m just glad that Claremore has steer roping so that we can. This part of the world has more steer ropers than about any other part of the world. It’s awesome that our local rodeos have it, because Brodie can rope and have his dad there to kind of mentor him, and I get to see them both compete.”

BRIDGEPORT, Texas – Folks in Wise County, Texas, know a thing or two about rodeo. After all, some of rodeo’s best live right there in the 923-square-mile region.

Ralph Williams

Those educated fans got to see quite a high quality show last weekend during the Butterfield Stage Days PRCA Rodeo. From newcomers like barrel racer Stevi Hillman to veterans like steer roper Ralph Williams, the Bridgeport champions carried a high tide of pride away from the north Texas festivities.

“This year was the best one yet,” said Lloyd Williams, chairman of the volunteer rodeo committee that brings the rodeo to town each spring. “This year’s rodeo was professionally run, and it ran off smooth.”

Why?

Williams pointed directly at the crew from Carr Pro Rodeo, a Dallas-based stock contracting firm that provided the livestock for the first time this May.

“Pete Carr’s crew was just exceptional to work with, and it was very impressive the way it was put together,” Williams said. “It was a combination of our crew and his crew – we all clicked.”

The key, he said, was in the true athleticism that was featured during the three days of competition. From bucking beasts like bareback horse Dirty Jacket and bull Synergy to world champions like Trevor Brazile, true athletes made a statement in Bridgeport.

Charlie Throckmorton

“That’s as good a set of bucking horses and as good a set of bucking bulls as you’re going to see,” Williams said. “I thought it was just so smooth, from the action in the arena to the flawless work between our announcer, Charlie Throckmorton, and the best sound man in rodeo, Benje Bendele.

“We had a good crowd each night. Even though the weather was kind of crappy, they still came out and saw it, and they saw a good one.”

The Butterfield Stage Days PRCA Rodeo became the third event this season in which Dirty Jacket helped a cowboy to the winner’s circle – he matched moves with reigning world champion Kaycee Feild in his win in Fort Worth, Texas, and teamed with seven-time Wrangler National Finals rodeo qualifier Wes Stevenson for the victory in San Angelo, Texas.

Veteran Carr bull Synergy helped NFR qualifier Tyler Willis to the bull riding victory, and a pair of cowboys shared the saddle bronc riding victory on a pair of standout Carr horses: Dawson Jandreau on Ginger Snap and Tol Cawley on Fiesta Savvy.

“We had 16 world champions and 84 NFR qualifications at our rodeo this year,” Williams said. “We had contestants from two Canadian provinces, France and Australia.

“We’ve always been good on the timed-event end. What we really grew this year was on the roughstock end. I was floored with the number of entries in our bucking horse events … a lot of bareback riders and saddle bronc riders. It’ll even be better next year.”

One of the big things for Williams is proof that everybody involved has is always shooting for improvement.

“The atmosphere Pete brings is just amazing, and people are excited from the minute it starts to the minute it’s over,” he said. “I watched real good, and I guarantee you I didn’t lose anybody from start to finish. This is the first time everybody’s stayed for all of it.”

Butterfield Stage Days PRCA Rodeo
Bridgeport, Texas
May 11-12, 2012
All-around cowboy: Trevor Brazile, $2,901, team roping, tie-down roping and steer roping.
Bareback riding: 1. Jeremy Mouton, 84 points on Carr Pro Rodeo’s Dirty Jacket, $1,066; 2. Wes Stevenson, 83 on Carr’s Showgirl, $808; 3. Heath Ford, 82 on Carr’s Broken Dreams, $581; 4. Taylor Price, 81 on Carr’s True Lies, $388; 5. Will Lowe, 78 on Carr’s Snowman, $226; 6. Evan Jayne on Carr’s Scruffy and Seth Hardwick on Carr’s High Lonesome, 77, $81 each.
Steer wrestling: 1. Shane Frey, 4.3 seconds, $1,212; 2. Seth Morgan, 4.6, $1,003; 3. Jace Melvin, 5.0, $794; 4. K.C. Jones, 5.1, $585; 5. Dean Stermer, 5.2, $376; 6. (tie) Shayde Etherton and Jack Hodges, 5.3, $105 each.
Team roping: 1. Bubba Buckaloo/Dakota Kirchenschlager, 4.7 seconds, $1,721 each; 2. (tie) Keven Daniel/Chase Tryan, and Trey Harmon/Braden Harmon, 5.0, $1,384 each; 4. Landon McClaugherty/Larry Hammons, 5.1, $1,047; 5. Chace Thompson/Tommy Zuniga, 5.6, $823; 6. Quincy Kueckelhan/Jett Hillman, 6.0, $599; 7. David Key/Travis Woodard, 6.3, $374; 8. David Motes/Justin Copp, 6.4, $150.
Saddle bronc riding: 1. Dawson Jandreau on Carr Pro Rodeo’s Ginger Snap and Tol Cawley on Carr Pro Rodeo’s Fiesta Savvy, 80 points, $ $1,047 each; 3. Jace Angus, 77 on Carr’s Smoke Wagon, $599; 4. Sterling Crawley on Carr’s Blue Jeans, Shane Menefee on Carr’s Sweet Emotion and Travis Edwards on Carr’s Couch Jumper, 76, $100 each.
Tie-down roping: 1. (tie) Ryan Thibodeaux and Colby Lovell, 8.7 seconds, $1,693 each; 3. Bryson Sechrist, 8.9, $1,214; 4. (tie) Chant DeForest and Clayton Shaw, 9.0, $735 each; 6. (tie) Adam Gray and Sterling Smith, 9.2, $160 each.
Barrel racing: 1. Stevi Hillman, 15.28 seconds, $1,644; 2. Mary Walker, 15.46, $1,409; 3. Tana Poppino, 15.64, $1,174; 4. Fallon Taylor, 15.69, $1,018; 5. Tana Renick, 15.73, $783; 6. Shelley Morgan, 15.81, $626; 7. Karen Little, 15.82, $470; 8. Tracey Ivy-Austin, 15.84, $313; 9. Debra Cooper, 15.92, $235; 10. (tie) Jodi Ray and Reagan Dillard, 15.93, $78 each.
Permit holders steer roping: First round: 1. Shawn Trimble, 15.5 seconds, $725; 2. Justin Bay, 16.2, $551; 3. Scott Welch, 16.6, $357; 4. Jake Radenmacher, 17.3, $184. Second round: 1. Colt Williams, 11.1, $725; 2. Shawn Trimble, 11.9, $551; 3. Austin Bruce, 12.7; $357; 4. Cord Hodge, 13.1, $184. Average: 1. Shawn Trimble, 27.4 on two, $725; 2. Justin Bay, 31.6, $551; 3. Brad Prater, 38.4, $357; 4. Robert A. Fudge, 48.2, $184.
Steer roping: First round: 1. Will Gasperson, 10.7 seconds, $1,463; 2. Ralph Williams and Trevor Brazile, 10.9, $1,085 each; 4. Riley Christopherson, 11.1, $706; 5. Ty Herd, 11.4, $454; 6. Rod Hartness, 11.6, $252. Second round: 1. Dan Fisher, 9.9, $1,463; 2. Tony Reina, 10.3, $1,211; 3. Cody Lee, 10.6, $959; 4. Buster Record Jr., 10.8, $706; 5. Jess Tierney and Kim Ziegelgruber, 11.2, $353 each. Third round: 1. JoJo LeMond, 9.6, $1,463; 2. Vin Fisher Jr., 10.6, $1,211; 3. Mike Chase, 10.7, $959; 4. Jay Sellers, 11.0, $706; 5. Dane Noyce, 11.1, $454; 6. Jarrett Blessing, 11,2, $252. Average: 1. Ralph Williams, 38.0 seconds on three runs, $2,195; 2. Trevor Brazile, 38.2, $1,816; 3. Buster Record Jr. and Shane Suggs, 39.8, $1,249 each; 5. Chad Decker, 39.9, $618; 6. Mike Outhier, 40.6, $378.
Bull riding: 1. Tyler Willis, 87 points on Carr Pro Rodeo’s Synergy, $1,238; 2. Seth Glause, 82 on Carr’s Black Gold, $938; 3. Dakota Cater on Carr’s Black Powder and John Jacobs on Carr’s P Diddy, 85, $563 each; 5. Bryan Richardson, 84 points on Carr’s Black Ice, $263; 6. Chance Ratchford on Carr’s Blue’s Man and Wyatt Gregg on Carr’s Illegal Smile, 83, $94 each.

DUNCAN, Okla. – Hunter Herrin has been one of the best tie-down ropers in ProRodeo much of his eight-year career.

After winning the Guymon (Okla.) Pioneer Days Rodeo and placing at the Chisholm Trail Stampede in Duncan, Okla., the

Hunter Herrin

first weekend of May, he’s surged into the lead in the Prairie Circuit’s tie-down roping standings. Now he’s one step closer to reaching one of his goals, winning the regional title.

Destination Duncan is now part of Herrin’s itinerary, where he will be shooting for a third straight average title set for the Ram Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo, set for Oct. 18-20 at the Stephens County Expo Center.

“It means a lot to me to qualify for the Prairie Circuit finals, because I’ve qualified for the finals the last two years in Oklahoma City,” Herrin said of the Ram National Circuit Finals Rodeo, which features the year-end and finals-average champions in each event from each of the 12 ProRodeo circuits. “We’ve had some success there, and if a guy’s going to rodeo, you’ve got to try to make it there.”

If cowboys and cowgirls compete in Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska, then the destination is Duncan in October. Only the top 12 contestants in each event at the end of the circuit season qualify for the regional finale. With most of the season remaining on the schedule, any one of the hundreds of contestants can make a move into the top spot.

Dustin Elliott

With it being one of the largest springtime events, the Guymon rodeo’s payout helps contestants make a significant move in the standings – in rodeo, dollars equal championship points, so the top earners are atop the money list. For most of the Prairie Circuit standings leaders, a good portion of their earnings came from the Oklahoma Panhandle: bull rider Dustin Elliott of North Platte, Neb.; steer wrestler Dean Gorsuch of Gering, Neb.; steer roper Cody Scheck of Ellinwood, Kan.; bareback rider Justin McDaniel of Porum, Okla.; barrel racer Tana Poppino of Big Cabin, Okla.; and team ropers Charles Pogue, a header from Ringling, Okla., and Jett Hillman, a heeler from Purcell, Okla.

“Doing well in Guymon is pretty important to me,” said Elliott, who earned $2,164 by placing third. “This is one of our bigger circuit rodeos, and being in the Prairie Circuit, it’s one you don’t want to miss.”

In addition to placing in the opening go-round in Guymon, Poppino won the championship at the Old Settlers Reunion Rodeo, a once-every-five-years event that takes place in the tiny western Oklahoma community of Cheyenne. Poppino pocketed $925 for that feat, which is why she carries a $1,500 lead over the second-place cowgirl, Ashlie Withrow of Henryetta, Okla.

Tana Poppino

“The Old Settlers Reunion is just one of many celebrations of Oklahoma history,” Poppino told the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association. “Rodeo is a natural fit for the celebration that brings visitors to town. It’s always an honor to win an event that means so much to a community, and it kind of makes you feel like you are part of Oklahoma history.”

Elliott, McDaniel and Gorsuch are three of the many world champions who call the Prairie Circuit home. They’re also regulars in championship events like the Ram Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo. They know the importance of making it to Duncan in October.

Elliott won his Montana Silversmiths gold buckle in 2004, while McDaniel won the bareback riding title in 2008 – the 25-year-old cowboy is a four-time qualifier to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo who added NFR

Justin McDaniel

average titles in 2008 and 2010. Gorsuch won gold in 2006 and 2010, winning at least a share of the average championship both years.

“With the circuit finals being in Duncan, I’d really love to be there to represent Oklahoma,” McDaniel said. “I’ve never won the circuit before, and one of my goals is to win the circuit. If I could do it in Duncan … win it in my home state, that would be awesome.”

Of the leaders, only Weston Ireland of Sallisaw, Okla., and Scheck haven’t played on ProRodeo’s biggest stage in Las Vegas, but he owns a circuit year-end championship. Ireland, a saddle bronc rider who attended college at Oklahoma Panhandle State University, won the region three seasons ago.

But Scheck is a three-time qualifier to the Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping, the equivalent to the NFR in his chosen discipline. In fact, Scheck won the average title at the Clem McSpadden in 2010.

“Winning in Guymon is pretty big, because it helps the summer run if you have a little money won,” he said. “Hopefully I can strike it big at the big rodeos.”

Charles Pogue

The key to winning a championship is staying on that roll and being consistent throughout the season. Both Pogue and Hillman understand that as well as anyone. Pogue qualified for the NFR 15 times in his career and won the average title multiple times in Las Vegas. He and Hillman have won the last two team roping titles in the Prairie Circuit; they’d like to make it a three-peat.

“By staying close to home, I try to get to enough rodeos to make sure I get to the circuit finals,” Pogue said. “With it being in Duncan, that’s just 40 miles from my house. That makes it even better.

“I know the people on the committee, and they’re working hard to make it a good finals, a special rodeo for us.”