ProRodeo Sports News - August 10, 2018

of Valleys with our horses because of Painted Valley. But you can only have so many Valleys in your herd, so you’ll do something from pop culture. I’m sure he’ll just become Beaver or The Beav. Where’s the Beav?” Dodge City Roundup tops USA Today contest On June 25, Dodge City Convention and Visitors Bureau and Dodge City Roundup Rodeo were notified that the Dodge City Roundup Rodeo was being included in a USA TODAY 10 Best Readers’ Choice contest category of Best Rodeo. USA TODAY’s expert panel selected Dodge City Roundup Rodeo as one of the 20 contenders across the United States for Best Rodeo. The contest, which was being promoted by USA TODAY , gave voters four weeks to vote for the candidate of their choice on the USA Today website. The winners were announced Aug. 3, then later in USA TODAY, the Dodge City Roundup Rodeo was selected as the “Best North American Rodeo.” Jim Shoulders monument to be unveiled An unveiling of the Jim Shoulders monument will take place at 11 a.m. (CT), Aug. 25, at Historic Nichols Park in Henryetta, Okla. Shoulders is a ProRodeo Hall of Famer and a 16-time PRCA world cham- pion (all-around, 1949, 1956-59; bull riding, 1951, 1954-59; bareback riding, 1950, 1956-58). The monument will weigh more than 12,000 pounds and stand more than 8 feet high, 10 feet long and 14 inches thick, making it the largest man-made boulder monument in Oklahoma. This event will serve as a prelude for the 25th annual Jim Shoulders Living Legends Rodeo scheduled for Sept. 1-2 in Henryetta. Statue of Clint Johnson in the making Sculptor Tony Chytka of Belle Fourche, S.D., has been making sculp- tures since 1984, and rodeo has been his main theme. Some of his most decorated sculptures are on display at the Casey Tibbs Rodeo Center in Fort Pierre, S.D. Chytka created the first two, large, bronze sculptures of ProRodeo Hall of Famer and legend Casey Tibbs and Mattie Goff Newcombe, which are housed inside the museum in Fort Pierre. His bronze of five-time World Champion Saddle Bronc Rider Billy Etbauer was placed outside the rodeo center in Fort Pierre, and the fourth bronze of Tibbs was unveiled June 2 at the Casey Tibbs Match of Champions in Fort Pierre. In 2019, a fifth bronze, of four-time World Champion Saddle Bronc Rider Clint Johnson, will be placed outside the rodeo arena. According to Chytka, the sculpture of Johnson will be three-quarters life size. “It will be non-stop work for four months for me to get it done,” Chytka said. “I’ve known Clint since we were in high school. I went to college in Spearfish (S.D.), and that’s where Clint was born and raised.” Tibbs, Etbauer and Johnson highlight the top three saddle bronc riders in South Dakota and complete the sculpture garden dedicated to Johnny Smith. “Bronc riding tradition is pretty big in South Dakota, and Casey (Tibbs) could be the greatest ever,” Johnson said. “It will be quite an honor to be honored by that foundation and be in the garden with Casey and Billy Etbauer.” Chytka wants to have the large sculpture of Johnson done in time to take it to display in his booth – TR Chytka Bronze – at the South Point Hotel Casino during Cowboy Christmas during the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

James Phifer photo

Sculptor Tony Chytka’s clay model of Clint Johnson riding Harry Vold Rodeo Company’s Kicking Bear during Round 2 of the 1985 National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.

Hall of Fame’s ‘Name the Colt’ contest winner announced “Leave it to Beaver” isn’t just the name of a TV show anymore. Of the 507 entries in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame’s “Name the Colt” contest, Leave it to Beaver was the winning name. “That’s a great name, I think it’s perfect for a big stud that’s hopefully going to do great things,” said Kirsten Vold, who runs Harry Vold Rodeo Company, which owns the horse. Guests to the Hall of Fame suggested names before

PRCA staff voted to narrow those suggestions to four choices. On the first weekend of August, the 2018 class of inductees to the ProRodeo Hall of Fame voted for their favorite names. The name was submitted by John Nagel, of Colorado Springs, Colo. He was the only one to suggest Leave it to Beaver. Some suggested names were submitted by more than one person. Nagel’s prize was $200 worth of PRCA and ProRodeo Hall of Fame gift cards and merchandise. The colt was born May 15 to Beaver Tail. Painted Valley, the 2010 PRCA Saddle Bronc Horse of the Year, was the sire. Beaver Tail has been bucked as a bareback and saddle bronc horse and bucked off several cowboys at large rodeos, including Prescott, Ariz., and Cheyenne, Wyo. Beaver Tail’s first colt, 6V Pillow Talk, is a three-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo participant. “It was a great way to get the visitors involved, and that’s a great name for him,” Vold said. “We usually do a combination of the lineage. There are a lot $29,645,015

MONEYWON BY PRCA COWBOYS SO FAR IN 2018

ProRodeo Sports News 8/10/2018

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