Working Ranch Cowboys Assoc. Rodeo held in Earth

Image
  • Working Ranch Cowboys Assoc. Rodeo held in Earth
    Working Ranch Cowboys Assoc. Rodeo held in Earth
Body

The WRCA Rodeo held on September 17th and 18th in Earth offered an exciting showcase of working ranch skills. Twentyeight, five member teams competed during the two-night event. Fourteen teams competed each night. The top winners of this event will earn their spot in the World Championship Ranch Association Rodeo in Amarillo, November 11th through 14th, 2021. The event will be held at the Amarillo Civic Center Complex.

The WRCA Youth Rodeo sanctioned event in Earth boasted 16 teams and was held Saturday at 10 am. The Working Ranch Cowboys Association board of directors recently approved the addition of a Youth World Championship Ranch Rodeo to be held in conjunction with the 26th WRCA World Championship Ranch Rodeo in Amarillo, Texas, on November 11–14, 2021. The WRCA youth ranch rodeo events will be geared for youth members 16 years of age and under. Up to eight WRCA youth ranch teams will compete for the first-ever WRCA Youth World Champion title on November 13, 2021.

The teams involved in the Earth WRCA event come from all over the country. Teams represented ranches in New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, and Oklahoma among other states. Perhaps one of the most recognizable ranches represented was the famous 6666 ranch of Dixon Creek and King County Texas who had two teams entered.

The competition events are based on ranch work that the competitors do daily. The Ranch bronc riding of course is related to breaking and training horses. Stray gathering is obviously about recovering strays which may be injured or need medication. Heading and heeling is a method of restraining an animal to give it medical attention or to brand it. Team sorting cuts certain animals out of the herd. The steers fiercely resist being separated from the herd. The team must cut each of 5 consecutively numbered steers from the herd, while at the same time, preventing them from returning to the herd. This event is much easier described than done.

Wild cow milking is self-explanatory and proves to be one of the most exciting events, and finally, the team branding event. These cowboys not only compete against the other teams, but against the livestock, rules, and time clock.

The events are modified for the youth competition. The younger competitors compete in Sorting, Branding, Trailer loading, Steer Riding, and Doctoring. Youth competitors are under the age of 16.

According to the WRCA website, The Working Ranch Cowboys Association was formed in 1995 by cowboys, ranchers, and others devoted to preserving the heritage, ethics, and lifestyle of the working ranch cowboy and to promote ranching nationally.

The WRCA established the WRCA Cowboy Crisis Fund to help provide financial assistance to working ranch cowboys and their families suffering significant hardships. The WRCA also maintains a Scholarship Fund to send sons, daughters, and spouses of working ranch cowboys to college or vocational school.

The official winners of the Earth Rodeo are as follows:

TEAM PLACINGS

First Place: Veale Ranch / Allen Cattle (Weatherford, TX & Friona, TX). Team Members: John C Brian, Coy Speer, Tanner Allen, and Cutter McLain.

Second Place: Wilson Cattle (Canyon, TX). Team Members: Rodey Wilson, Casey Joe Lewis, Casey McCleskey, Kelton Hill, Dillon Kirkland, and Brooke Wilson.

Third Place: Crossroads Ranch (Roswell, NM). Team Members: Trey Rusk, Jarryd Burris, Emmet Sultemeier, Brock Dearing, Homero Madrid, and Bradley Burris

EVENT PLACINGS

Bronc Riding:

First Place: Crossroads Ranch

Second Place: Slash W Cattle

Third Place: Sooner Cattle Co.

Sorting:

First Place: Crossroads Ranch

Second Place: Smith Cattle Co.

Third Place: Lewis Cattle/Bar SF

Branding:

First Place: Heck Cattle Co.

Second Place: Lewis Cattle/Bar SF

Third Place: Veale Ranch / Allen Cattle

Wild Cow Milking:

First Place: Rockin B Land & Cattle / Southwest Livestock

Second Place: Lyons Ranch / Southwestern Livestock Inc.

Third Place: Wilson Cattle

Stray Gathering:

First Place: Veale Ranch / Allen Cattle

Second Place: Wilson Cattle

Third Place: JC Cattle Company

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS

Top Hand: Holt Hufstedler, Slash W Cattle

Top Horse: Rowdy Metallic, ridden by Colten Jackson, Smith Cattle Co.