Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association | Weekly Press Release | For Immediate Release | In This Release You'll Find: 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
In This Release You'll Find: 
1. Montana Silversmiths renews as official silversmiths of ProRodeo
2. Rookie Colten Fritzlan win Odessa
3. NFR, NFSR logos set
4. Houston Brown wins RAM Montana Circuit Finals
5. A.J. Williams wins RAM First Frontier Circuit Finals Rodeo
6. Bo Pickett wins RAM Columbia River Circuit Finals Rodeo again
7. What to Watch For
8. News & Notes from the rodeo trail
9. Next Up
10. 2020 PRCA | RAM World Standings leaders
11. 2020 PRCA | RAM World Standings
12. 2020 PRCA Rodeo Results
Montana Silversmiths renews as official silversmiths of ProRodeo

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Montana Silversmiths®, the official silversmiths of the PRCA recently renewed its sponsorship with the PRCA with a three-year contract.

“Montana Silversmiths is proud and honored to once again be trusted with the responsibility of a renewed partnership with PRCA, the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, and the Wrangler NFR,” said Steve Miller, Vice President, Event Marketing for Montana Silversmiths. “This year marks 20 years of partnership and friendship between Montana Silversmiths and ProRodeo. We are proud to be associated with ProRodeo and what it represents within the Western industry, lifestyle, and sports world, as the Brand of Champions.”
 
Montana Silversmiths has been proudly handcrafting buckles for PRCA world champions, Wrangler National Finals Rodeo go-round and average winners, RAM National Circuit Finals Rodeo winners and a variety of others, including the PRCA Announcer of the Year and PRCA Rodeo Committees of the Year.

Handcrafted sterling silver rich in Western heritage is the core of the Montana Silversmiths, who set the gold and silver standard of excellence. The artisans’ creativity, skill and attention to detail remain a cornerstone of their products and partnerships as the Brand of Champions.

Established in Columbus, Mont., in 1973, Montana Silversmiths is a leading designer, manufacturer and distributor of buckles, awards and jewelry products for the Western industry. Visit their website at www.montanasilversmiths.com.
Rookie Colten Fritzlan wins in Odessa

ODESSA, Texas – According to rookie bull rider Colten Fritzlan, the “sky’s the limit” for his 2020 rodeo campaign.

Fritzlan has plenty of reason to feel optimistic after picking up his second big ProRodeo victory in less than a month when he clinched the win at the Sandhills Stock Show & Rodeo in Odessa, Texas, with an 88-point ride on Powder River Rodeo’s Hard & Fast.

Odessa, which is a ProRodeo Tour rodeo, concluded Jan. 11.

Annually the first stop on ProRodeo’s major stock show winter run, Odessa offers a big payout, and Fritzlan’s share of the pie was $4,822, more than doubling his 2020 season earnings.

Already ranked 21st in the PRCA | RAM World Standings and third in the PRCA | Resistol Rookie race before Odessa, Fritzlan moved up to seventh in the world standings and second in the rookie standings after his Odessa performance.

He has several goals on his list in 2020.

“Definitely winning the (Resistol) Rookie of the Year,” said the Rifle, Colo., cowboy, who noted he’ll be traveling with 2019 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo-qualifying bull rider Clayton Sellars this season. “I’m going to buy my Canadian card too, and I want to finish top five in the world standings.”

It’s the next step on the ladder for the cowboy who says he was “born into rodeo.” Growing up in a rodeo family four generations deep, Fritzlan started riding calves at 7 years old, graduating to his family’s roping steers.

“My mom and dad took care of me,” he said. “They bought practice bulls for me, so it was right in my backyard and I didn’t have to go anywhere to work on it.”

Fritzlan progressed through the junior and high school rodeo ranks and now competes for the rodeo team at West Texas College in Snyder, where he is a sophomore.

A welding major, Fritzlan won his region last year and competed at the College National Finals Rodeo. At the same time, he was competing on his PRCA permit and finished fourth in the year-end standings before winning the PRCA Permit Members of the Year Challenge held in Las Vegas during the Wrangler NFR in December.

“I’m feeling pretty blessed between Vegas and now Odessa,” he said. “I was sure glad to get that text tonight that I’d won.”

Fritzlan competed in Odessa on Jan. 9, riding Hard & Fast, a bull he’d seen before but never drawn.

“A buddy of mine got on him the year before and he was really good, and Clay had been on him,” Fritzlan said. “I didn’t try to set a game plan because he doesn’t really have a pattern, but I dang sure knew a guy could win big money on him.

“I was gunner in the first section, and we made it work. He came out to the right and had a little suck back to him. ... He felt awesome.”

Fritzlan hopes the momentum will carry forward as he hits major rodeos in Denver and Fort Worth later this month and San Antonio in February.

“Hopefully we’ll be rolling into San Antonio,” he said. “It’ll be my first year so I’m pretty stoked about that.”

His college rodeo spring semester gets back under way in March, so Fritzlan will be pulling double duty as he gears up for the summer.
“Hopefully I’ll get to do a lot more interviews,” he laughed.

Bareback riders Jayco Roper and Wrangler NFR cowboy Jake Brown tied for the win in Odessa with matching 88-point rides, breaking the arena record formerly held by five competitors at 87 points.

Other winners at the $243,145 rodeo were bareback riders Roper and Brown (88 points on Beutler & Son Rodeo’s South Suds and Beutler & Son Rodeo’s On Tap With Nutrena, respectively); steer wrestler Shayde Etherton (8.2 seconds on two head); team ropers Jr. Dees and Lane Siggins (8.8 seconds on two head); saddle bronc riders Tanner Butner and Parker Fleet (86.5 points on Beutler & Son Rodeo’s Foul Motion and Beutler & Son Rodeo’s That’s A Wrap, respectively); tie-down roper Shad Mayfield (7.8 seconds); barrel racer Kassie Mowry (13.94 seconds); and steer roper Billy Good (52.5 seconds on four head). Tuf Cooper won the all-around ($2,631, tie-down roping and steer roping).
NFR, NFSR logos set

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The logos for the 2020 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo and the 2020 Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping have been released.

The 2020 Wrangler NFR will be Dec. 3-12 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
The 2020 Clem McSpadden NFSR is slated for November at the Kansas Star Arena in Mulvane.
Houston Brown wins RAM Montana Circuit Finals

GREAT FALLS, Mont. – Permit holder Houston Brown won more money by claiming the average at the RAM Montana Circuit Finals Rodeo in Great Falls on Jan. 12 than he had the first two seasons on his permit combined.

“My first year of ProRodeoing I played hard and didn’t make it to the (RAM Montana) circuit finals,” Brown said. “Then in my second year, I dislocated my shoulder a few times and missed the whole summer. I struggled more than a guy should coming off that injury and it took almost a year before I was feeling good about my riding.

The Miles City, Mont., saddle bronc rider remained consistent across the three rounds at the RAM MCFR, including a win in Round 2 on Kesler Championship Rodeo’s Copper Cat to claim the average with 237 points on three head.

“I just drew some really good horses this week,” Brown said. “All the horses here are great, and I just had the most rider-friendly ones and the other guys had some tough luck, and that was a key factor.”

His Great Falls efforts were worth $8,247 and a qualification to the RAM National Circuit Finals Rodeo in Kissimmee, Fla., April 2-4.

“It sure means a lot to me,” Brown said. “Now I need to step up to ride against guys like Jesse Kruse and have some success, which I haven’t had for quite a while.”

Brown narrowly missed qualifying for the RAM MCFR his first season on his permit, finishing 13th in the Montana Circuit in 2017 for saddle bronc riding and 25th in the PRCA | RAM Rodeo Permit Standings with $3,537. He returned for the 2019 season to qualify for the RAM MCFR, ranking 11th in the Montana Circuit standings and 44th in the permit standings.

The tricky part will be balancing ProRodeo with his academic requirements at the University of Wyoming, where he’s working on his bachelor’s degree in animal science and competing on the rodeo team.

“It’s kind of hard for me being in college in Wyoming to go rodeo down in Texas and then fly back to school,” Brown said. “It gets really expensive doing that. It’s not like there’s San Antonio, San Angelo and Odessa all in one week.”

Other winners at the $211,660 rodeo were bareback rider Wyatt Bloom (249 points on three head); steer wrestler Ty Erickson (10.6 seconds on three head); team ropers Radley Day/Taylor Williams (20.7 seconds on three head); tie-down roper Trevin Baumann (30.5 seconds on three head); barrel racer Tara Stimpson (39.88 seconds on three runs); and bull rider Connor Murnion (168.5 points on two head). Gerald Eash was the all-around cowboy ($3,829, saddle bronc riding and bull riding).
A.J. Williams wins RAM First Frontier Circuit Finals Rodeo

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Steer wrestler A.J. Williams completed his collection of RAM First Frontier Circuit trophy buckles after winning the year-end title in 2018 and the RAM First Frontier Circuit Finals Rodeo in Harrisburg, Pa., Jan. 11.
 
“It means the world to me, I don’t know how to describe it,” Williams said. “It’s just unbelievable.”
 
Williams, 31, narrowly missed winning the RAM FFCFR last year when he finished second in the average. But this year was different, and the cowboy from New Providence, Pa., had 20/20 vision for what he needed to do to win.

The first round was a rough one for the RAM First Frontier’s steer wrestlers, but that worked in Williams’ favor as his 14.5-second run kept him in the running for the average. He went on to place second in Round 2 with a 4.6-second run and won the final round in 5.2 seconds to claim the average at 24.3 seconds on three head.

Williams’ win came aboard a horse called Mo, owned by Williams' hazer Michael Cliver.

“She has a branded ‘03’ that looks like Mo, so that’s what we call her,” Williams said. “Good horses are hard to come by out here, and she’s one of the best. She worked like crazy and stuck them right where I needed them.”

All told, his Harrisburg efforts were worth $7,843 and a qualification to the RAM National Circuit Finals Rodeo in Kissimmee, Fla., in April.

Williams finished the regular season in third in the 2019 First Frontier Circuit standings with $5,191 and is upbeat about what he can accomplish this year.

“I’d say I’m about as hungry as I am every year,” Williams said. “I’ll just keep practicing and going to everything I can with my work schedule.”

When he’s not at rodeos, Williams runs his own garage door business, called Williams Door.

“I’d love to make the (Wrangler) NFR, but I doubt I’d ever make it, but I love making the RAM Finals and go on from there,” Williams said. “I love going down there. I’ve gone the last few years and love the atmosphere and all the competition.”

A bonus to his Harrisburg win is a qualification for the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show in Fort Worth, Texas, Jan. 24 through Feb. 8.

“I’ll try to enter Fort Worth, and we’ll see where we go from there,” Williams said. “I don’t know how it’ll be since it’s my first time in Fort Worth. I’m pretty much a circuit guy since I don’t have time to go on the road and go rodeo, but I’ll go to a bunch of circuit rodeos.”

Many top cowboys never make it to the Wrangler NFR in Las Vegas. The reasons are as varied as the contestants, but for most, the responsibilities of home, jobs or businesses keep them tied to a specific geographic region or circuit.

Other winners at the $186,742 rodeo were all-around cowboy Ty Rumford ($7,058, tie-down roping and steer wrestling); bareback rider Tim Kent (252.5 points on three head); team ropers Jacob Rounds/Shawn Quinn (27.1 seconds on three head); saddle bronc rider Ray Hostetler (234 points on three head); tie-down roper J.R. Myers (30.4 seconds on three head); barrel racer Wendy Chesnut (43.16 seconds on three runs); and bull rider Braidy Randolph (233.5 points on three head).
Bo Pickett wins RAM Columbia River Circuit Finals Rodeo again

YAKIMA, Wash. – In similar fashion, tie-down roper Bo Pickett returned to the Yakima Valley SunDome to defend his average title at the RAM Columbia River Circuit Finals Rodeo and secure his second trip to the RAM National Circuit Finals Rodeo.

A year ago, Pickett clinched the average title at the RAM CRCFR and not much has changed. The Caldwell, Idaho, cowboy won the three-head average in 27.0 seconds Sunday.

“I’ve had good luck here,” Pickett said. “The first round I knew I had a good calf from when we broke them in, and I knew he was going to be pretty soft. I just got a really good start and made a solid run, 8.9 (seconds) was winning the round when I went in.”

Pickett won the first round in 8.0 seconds and the second round posed the same scenario for him. Once again, 8.9 seconds was splitting first and second in the round, and Pickett finished in 8.3 to win the round.

“I had another really good calf – pretty much the same run – good start and made a good solid run. My horse worked really good all week,” Pickett said. “I just stayed behind the barrier and made good runs.”

Pickett went on to take fourth in the final round in 10.7 seconds.

“I had a second-and-a-half lead in the average and the second-place guy was 11 flat (Sunday),” Pickett said. “I knew I had some time and I missed the barrier a little bit more than I wanted to today. I kind of misread my calf and I went a little further down the arena, but when I got her caught, I knew all I had to do was tie her down. She was good on the ground, so I just made sure she stayed down to win the average.”

Pickett earned $6,337. His win came aboard his 15-year-old mare, Hollywood. Hollywood was injured in the fall and the RAM CRCFR was her first rodeo back since the Pendleton (Ore.) Round-Up in September.

“I’ve ridden Hollywood since my sophomore year in high school when I bought her as a 6 or 7-year-old, and I’ve ridden her for eight years,” Pickett said. “I have another horse too, and I’m going to pick and choose when I ride her. But in situations like this when there are good calves in these buildings, she’s hard to beat. I’m really comfortable on her, so it’s hard for me to get on anything else right now.”

Pickett’s return to the RAM NCFR in Kissimmee, Fla., in April is also one he’s looking forward to after his debut last year didn’t go as planned.

“I didn’t do any good – I didn’t rope good,” Pickett said. “I was 10 (seconds) on my first one and came back and tried to pull off a shot I didn’t need to, and I missed. So, to get to go back, I’m eager because I really thought I dropped the ball there.”

Although Pickett is a fourth-generation cowboy, he also played football and basketball. The offensive lineman was a 3A Snake River Valley Conference first-team selection his senior year.

“I played sports – roping was never pushed on me,” Pickett said. “There are so many other ways to make a living, but I was drawn to roping. My dad, Rich, taught me how to rope and then later my uncle stepped in and started helping.”

While athleticism may be the obvious crossover from playing sports to roping calves, it’s being coachable that Pickett describes as being his takeaway from sports that helps him pursue his goals in rodeo. 

“Early on, I learned how to get coached and how to take criticism, and it’s helped me in the rodeo world,” Bo Pickett said. “A guy has to be coachable.” 

In addition to his dad, those coaches are eight-time world champion and ProRodeo Hall of Famer Joe Beaver and Pickett's uncle Dee Pickett, another ProRodeo Hall of Famer and two-time world champion.

“I’m not in this alone,” Bo said. “I’m sending all my runs to my dad, my uncle and Joe. My uncle has been a huge part of the horsepower part of it in the last few years, and Joe is where I get my fine tuning. They’re all helping me.”

Speaking of goals, the ambitious young tie-down roper has his sights set on big dreams.

“The goal I’ve set out for since I was a kid is my goal this year,” Pickett said. “I really hope to make the (Wrangler) NFR this year. That’s been my goal and that is why – for whatever reason – I keep going. Until I accomplish that I don’t see myself quitting.”

Other winners at the $146,643 rodeo were bareback rider Trenten Montero (245 points on three head); steer wrestler Blake Knowles (17.1 seconds on three head); team ropers Riley Minor/Brady Minor (16.7 seconds on three head); saddle bronc rider Tate Owens (235 points on three head); barrel racer Olivia Train (40.57 seconds on three runs); and bull rider Jordan Spears (173 points on two head). Caleb McMillan was the all-around cowboy ($2,988, tie-down roping and bull riding).
News & Notes From The Rodeo Trail
The Cowboy Channel will broadcast the final day of the Division 1 Xtreme Bulls event in Fort Worth, Texas, Jan. 22 at 8:30 p.m. (ET). The Fort Worth event is Jan. 21-22 and is the first Division 1 Xtreme Bulls event of 2020. On Jan. 26, the finals of the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver will air live at 4 p.m. (ET). To find out how to get Cowboy Channel, visit https://www.thecowboychannel.com/watch
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World champion Steven Peebles out after neck surgery. In 2015, Peebles claimed the PRCA bareback riding world title. Unfortunately, since 2016, the Redmond, Ore., cowboy’s career has been sabotaged by injuries. Peebles' latest setback came Jan. 6 when he had surgery in Bend, Ore., to repair a bulging disc in his neck. “Throughout last year I was having some neck issues a little bit, and they were off and on,” said Peebles, 30. “After the rodeo season was done in the fall and I was doing some work, my neck was just killing me all the time. I rode (at an unsanctioned PRCA rodeo Dec. 21 in Billings, Mont.), and I don’t know if it was whiplash during the ride or what. When I got off, everything was normal, and then as soon as I was walking out of the arena, I felt nerve spasms all through my neck. By the time I left the rodeo, it was bad. I could hardly hold my head up. I got home and had an MRI and found out that I had an almost entire disc shoot out the back of my neck into my spinal cord. It was intolerable pain.” Peebles said the surgery has alleviated the pain, and he’s expected to be out of action for at least two months. Staying healthy has been a nightmare for Peebles. In the spring of 2019, he had elbow surgery on his right (riding) arm. A short time later, Peebles suffered a broken fibula in his right leg May 18. In July, in Casper, Wyo., Peebles tore his abdominal muscle from his pelvis and had to miss another month. In 2016, Peebles broke his back in an ATV accident. That injury led to him having back surgery and shoulder surgery in 2017. He battled chronic injuries in 2018 and had more injuries a year ago. Peebles, a seven-time qualifier for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (2009-15), isn’t ready to retire. “I really want to make the Finals at least one more time,” Peebles said.
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Bareback rider Tucker Depew, a PRCA permit holder, 18, of Blackduck, Minn., died Jan. 10 when his Ford Explorer slid off ice-covered I-35 and plunged down an embankment, overturning several times. He was pronounced dead at the scene by Harrison County Coroner Zach Wilson. The accident occurred near the 98-mile marker, four miles north of Bethany. The ice storm caused several slide-offs over the weekend. Depew was headed to his first PRCA event – the CINCH World’s Toughest Rodeo in Des Moines, Iowa. Depew attended college at Missouri Valley in Marshall, Mo.
Next Up
Jan. 16          National Western Stock Show & Rodeo, Denver, begins
Jan. 17           CINCH World’s Toughest Rodeo, Moline, Ill., begins
Jan. 18          Busch Rodeo & Concert, Fort Pierce, Fla.
Jan. 18          Rodeo of the Mid-South, Southhaven, Miss., begins
*Official through Jan. 13, 2020
2020 PRCA | RAM World Standings
Please see prorodeo.com for the latest standings update. All standings are unofficial.

2020 PRCA Rodeo Results
About The PRCA
The PRCA , headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., is recognized as the unsurpassed leader in sanctioning the sport of professional rodeo. The PRCA's mission is to unify membership in providing an innovative fan experience, to grow the sport of professional rodeo and provide new expanded opportunities for our membership and sponsors. Since 1986, the PRCA has paid out more than $1 billion in prize money to its contestants. The PRCA offers the best cowboys and the best rodeos; delivering the best fan experience while positively impacting our communities and embracing the spirit of the West. A membership-based organization, the PRCA sanctioned 732 events in 2019, and there are more than 40 million rodeo fans in the U.S. The PRCA televises the sport's premier events, with the world-renowned Wrangler National Finals Rodeo on The Cowboy Channel and RFD-TV and streaming on   ProRodeoTV.com . The PRORODEO® Tour and RAM National Circuit Finals Rodeo also air on The Cowboy Channel and RFD-TV, and  ProRodeoTV.com . PRCA-sanctioned rodeos donate more than $40 million to local and national charities every year. For comprehensive coverage of the cowboy sport, read the ProRodeo Sports News , the official publication of the PRCA, and make sure to check out the digital edition of the PSN. The digital PSN and daily updates of news and results can be found on the PRCA's official website,   www.prorodeo.com .
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For additional information about this press release, contact:
Tracy Renck
719.528.4758
trenck@prorodeo.com

Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association
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