ProRodeo Sports News - April 14, 2023

EDITOR’S LETTER TRACY RENCK

Trevor Brazile is shown competing in tie-down roping at the 2018 Wran gler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. Brazile won his PRCA record 14th all-around title that year and retired from Pro Rodeo with 26 world champion ships. PRCA ProRodeo file photo by Billie-Jean Duff

ProRodeo records that seem impossible to break

T here are some records in sports that seemed like they would have never been broken. When Babe Ruth smashed 714 home runs in his Major League Baseball career, it seemed unfathomable that number would be surpassed. Ruth’s last three career home runs came on May 25, 1935. Along came Hank Aaron. The slugger wasn’t considered a swing-for-the-fences player, but his consistency over time resulted in Aaron breaking Ruth’s record when he hit his 715th career home run on April 8, 1974. Yes, Barry Bonds hit his 762nd career homer on Sept. 5, 2007, but in my opinion, his total doesn’t count because of the cloud of performance-enhancing drug use that hangs over his accomplishments. LeBron James just surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA scoring record. Jabbar held the mark since 1984. With records in mind, let’s switch gears to ProRodeo with records that seem impossible to break. Trevor Brazile is the Babe Ruth of cowboys – the king. His 26 PRCA World Championships seem like a record that will never be touched. Stetson Wright is the new face of ProRodeo and at

National Finals Rodeo and National Finals Steer Roping. That number is incredible and in this modern day when cowboys specialize in single events it will likely never get close to being pushed down from atop the all-time list. Consider at the 2022 Wrangler NFR, team roping header Clay Tryan had the most qualifications of any contestant at 20. That’s 34 short of tying Brazile. Then how about Brazile’s 74 round wins combined between the NFR and the NFSR. There’s no active cowboy even close to that round win number. Two other ProRodeo Hall of Famers like Brazile – tie-down roper Cody Ohl and saddle bronc rider Billy Etbauer – will likely never be knocked off their NFR round win thrones in those events as they are at 52 and 51 wins, respectively. In steer roping, the legend Guy Allen has 18 PRCA

Tracy Renck is the editor of the ProRodeo

Sports News . He previously served more than seven years as a media coordinator at the PRCA. He has three decades of experience in sports journalism with the last several consumed by ProRodeo.

World Championships on his resume. Next in steer roping world titles is Brazile with eight. The most dynamic young star steer roper out there is Cole Patterson. He has one world title in 2021 and it is hard to imagine he or anyone will break Allen’s mark. Every cowboy wants to be a record-breaker. Maybe Riley Webb is the next Trevor Brazile or Cody Ohl. Maybe Stetson Wright or someone in his family overtakes Etbauer in saddle bronc riding. Maybe Cole Patterson is the next Guy Allen. However, in the meantime, appreciate these sample sizes of ProRodeo records and understand they may never be broken. But then again, if history has taught us anything, never say never.

only 23 years of age he already has seven PRCA World Championships. Catching Brazile, however, would still be a big ask of Wright since he competes in roughstock events – saddle bronc riding and bull riding – and roughstock competitors aren’t known to have lengthy careers like timed event cowboys such as Brazile. Brazile also has 54 total qualifications in Finals events – the Wrangler

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