ProRodeo Sports News - August 5, 2022

SHORT ROUND

Inaugural Permit Finals set Oct. 7-9 in Waco, Texas New Event

T he Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) announced on Aug. 1 that the inaugural Permit Finals will take place Oct. 7-9 at the Extraco Events Center in Waco, Texas. The Permit Finals,

Texas Fair & Rodeo,” said Wes Allison, President, and CEO of Extraco Events Center. “We are proud to continue our partnership with PRCA and the wonderful relationship when it comes to new opportunities. The PRCA Permit Finals represents another great chance for us to provide for the contestants and bring

hosted by the Heart O’ Texas Committee, will consist of the top 10 permit holders in their respective events. Contestants will compete in nine events in Waco, including the PRCA standard events as well as breakaway roping and barrel racing, in three go-rounds for a purse of more than $100,000. “The Permit Finals creates another opportunity for our young, up-and-coming contestants to showcase their skills as they prepare to take the next step in their ProRodeo careers,” PRCA CEO Tom Glause said. “We are excited for this partnership with the Heart O’ Texas committee.” “For 70 years we have enjoyed ProRodeo at the Heart O’

championship rodeo back to Waco. We believe in the future of ProRodeo and look forward to hosting the PRCA Permit Finals for many years to come.” The top five finishers in the inaugural Permit Finals advance to the Permit Challenge Dec. 1 in Las Vegas at the South Point Hotel & Casino during Benny Binion’s Bucking Horse and Bull Sale. The PRCA has approximately 1,700 permit holders, which is more than the association has ever had. This event is another step toward securing a strong foundation for PRCA membership moving forward.

Longtime contributor Brenda Binion Michael passes A well-known figure in the rodeo community, Brenda Binion Michael of Amarillo, Texas, died July 27. She was 81. In 2015, she was recognized with rodeo’s Ken

When she was 17, her father assigned her the job of registering all the eligible horses on his Montana Ranch with the American Quarter Horse Association. The job was more challenging than it might sound. “Daddy always ran at least 200 mares, so we had 10 to 15 stallions all the time,” she told John L. Moore for an article in America’s Horse magazine. At the 2020 American Quarter Horse Association convention, she received an 80-year Breeders Certificate for her father’s and her affiliation

Stemler Pioneer Award “for her commitment to the ProRodeo Hall of Fame with her continued support of the Benny Binion World Famous Bucking Horse and Bull Sale, which benefits the Hall of Fame and youth educational scholarships.” Brenda was the third of five children born to Benny and Teddy Jane Binion. Benny is considered the driving force behind moving the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo to Las Vegas in 1985. Born in Dallas and raised in Las Vegas, she spent many summers at the Binion ranch in Jordan, Mont., where she eventually lived full-time. Michael attended Texas Christian University in Fort Worth to be near the heart of the cutting horse industry. She helped her family full-time in Montana before buying a ranch near Santa Rosa, N.M. She moved to Amarillo in 1969 and continued her ranching interests. Michael

since the association began. Brenda was preceded in death by her husband Bert France; her parents; her sister Barbara and Barbara’s son Key Fechser, and her brother Ted Binion. Brenda is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Mindy, and Clint Johnson; grandson Ben Johnson, his wife, Kaitlin, and their children Porter, Emery, Hudson, and Henley, all of Canyon; granddaughter Janie Johnson and fiancé Jake Finlay of Weatherford, Texas; her sister Becky Behnen and brother Jack Binion, both of Las Vegas.

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ProRodeo Sports News 8/5/2022